My wife is a huge James Taylor fan, not untypical for women who were in high school in the early 70s (must have been several thousand of them in attendance that night). I think she's seen him in concert at least eight times, this would be the sixth time for me. Musically, it's a long way from my usual tastes. But the thing about JT is he surrounds himself with extraordinary players and it's always an opportunity to see some players who are in the upper tier. Last time I saw Taylor was when he toured with Carole King. The legendary Leland Sklar was on bass that night and even when the song didn't do it for me, there were these lovely bass runs just rippling through the auditorium.
Steve Gadd was Taylor's drummer on this tour. I've never Gadd in the flesh so I was looking forward to it. On the old chestnut "Country Roads", which Taylor usually plays without much change in the arrangement, Gadd was set free to create a middle section that went to places a James Taylor song had never gone before. "Blue Lou" Marini was back on horns, playing everything from sax to the penny whistle. Luis Conte was fascinating on percussion. I can't remember the name of the bass player but he was in fine form. And the guitarist, Mike Landau, was channeling Peter Green when they hit "Steamroller". The sound was impeccable, loud but absolutely clear. Taylor's voice is still pretty supple. I guess singing soft rock for over forty years is easy on the pipes.
While it wasn't the best show I'd ever seen, it was entertaining. Taylor and the band were solid pros but there was a genuine passion in their performance. Plus it was the night before our 35th wedding anniversary so hey, I won some major points. All of which I'll expend when I drag my wife to see The Who next fall.
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