James Taylor "October Road"

I borrowed this from the library, and enjoyed it so much I bought the expanded CD edition.

I'm going on two weeks now and these songs haven't left my head. Good lyrics, good band; signature guitar and voice. JT has really put out a good one here.

James Taylor was one of the first artists to get to me. His is a voice that has affected us all. It's one of the great rock voices, and his songs are some of rock's greatest, as well. It is pure pleasure to hear him in such fine form on this recent release.

 

He has been on a winning streak in the last few years. He sounds as good as ever.

Buy his DVD's too! They are also excellent.

 

I've never thought of him as having a "rock voice". Interesting statement, but I can't agree.

 

The song "Caroline I See You" from "October Road", could be one of the best songs James has ever released IMO!

Chris C

 

if you like "october road" and you haven't heard "hourglass" run, don't walk, to the store and get it!

 

FYI, in case you don't know - Paul McCartney heard a demo tape of James back in '68 or '69 and signed him to Apple. Great call, Paul!

Off of October Road, my favorite track is "My Travelin' Star" - great tune.

In addition to his classic pop voice, James is a highly-underrated acoustic fingerstylist with a style of playing that is integral to his music, the intro to "Mexico" being one classic example.

 

Re: Re: James Taylor "October Road"

Yes, "My Travelin' Star" is one of the tunes I've been hearing in my head. Holding the note on the end of each phrase is striking and done to great effect.

I like his guitar playing, too, very melodic, he gets great tone, and, as you note, very integral to his songs .

 

James CAN rock, although he doesn't much anymore. If you have heard "Stand & Fight" live, with Kootch and Waddy Wachtel on guitars, you will have heards James' "rock" voice. There is an import Live CD from Rio with a great cover of "Knock on Wood" sung by James.

Most folks think of him as "Fire & Rain", but there is a great depth to his music that you will find goes way beyond the radio foder.

BTW - Many of his CBS albums are now available on SACDs, including October Road. These are must haves for folks who like JT!

 

I would also like to recommend the Live at the Beacon Theater DVD video. It doesn't have any songs from his recent CDs, but there are some great performances on this.

 

I just picked up Taylor's "Dad Loves His Work" on SACD. It's excellent, with a very fine multichannel mix. There are 1 or 2 songs I don't care for, but the rest is great. Nice price, too - $13.99 at Best Buy.

They also had "Flag", which will be my next SACD purchase.

 

Yeah, what a great album! And that magical voice of his hasn't diminished with the years.

September Grass and October Road are my favorites but they're all good. And Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is one of the most beautiful Christmas songs you'll ever hear.

Mud Slide Slim was the first album I ever bought, way back in '71 or '72. But it's no more, I literally wore it out.

It's funny, there was a skip on Machine Gun Kelly that I still "hear" to this day whenever I hear that song.

 

I saw him live in Dec of 2002 and he was great. I dont remember who the lead electric guitarist was, but he added a great sound to the whole set. The drummer was great as well, Mr. Whatshisname himself, the guy who played with Paul Simon and everyone else whos name I cant remember. Probably the best session drummer on earth.
Try picking up the Apple James Taylor Cd for different versions of Carolina and Something.

 

Re: Re: James Taylor "October Road"

That is one of the best renditions ever of this song, and I've heard a lot of them. I got one of the rare promo CD singles of this in 2001, with only this song on it, before the LP came out, and it sounds wonderful. It sounds like a small jazz combo behind James in this song, and it's excellent. I have not tired of this version of the song.

 

The drummer was STEVE GADD, one of the greatest of all time!!