Customer Reviews
Simply Brilliant Intimate Gig - By: Zoso, 12 May 2008 
As a lifelong fan of JT (I grew up listening to his songs) I was gutted I missed the DVD of this set being shown on TV last week. I ordered this, & let me say this is excellent. If you are a fan of JT, get this, a great live album, & the DVD of the show, with insights into his past & family life, with his typically dry sense of humour, are magic to watch & listen to.
A real heart warmer - By: sweetpea, 26 Apr 2008 
I'd only heard of James Taylor: am the wrong area but most of all the wrong nationality (French)but thanks to my husband (an ex roadie), was introduced to some great music such as Carole King. I bought this CD/DVD on spec & can't stop playing it: I like Travelling Song best. James Taylor is new to mein a sense & he's at the top of my tree right now!
JAMES TAYLOR....LIVE AND RELAXED. - By: P. Clack, 11 Jan 2008 I always think James Taylor live is one of the most enjoyable pleasures in
modern music.From a young artist signed to the Beatles Apple label,he has for many years continued to produce great albums & such personal live shows,he contacts so well with his audience.All of his other live sets have been with his band but now we get JT mainly on his own,but with some help from his keyboard player (oh & this huge drum machine,which he doesn't use much anyway) doing a hometown concertin the beautiful colonial theatre in
New England.Before the concert begins we take a stroll with hisin this beautiful part of America,clearly so dear to his heart.The concert is a mix of classic & newer songs.I've always so admired his exquisite guitar playing & here it's lovely to get the whole range of his different styles & hear them so clearly.The voice is well known & as great as ever.On the DVD his chat between songs is enjoyable & at times very humerous as well.The bous out takes are fun,especially one where he doesn't quite reach the pirch of the song & does impressions of some well known other artists doing his song including an excellent Dylan.Overall a really enjoyable set both on CD & DVD,to any aspiring young guitarist I say watch this see a craftsman at work.
DVD with bonus CD rather than CD with bonus DVD - By: firesidefred, 01 Jan 2008 As a big James Taylor fan I was really looking forward to finding "One Man Band"in my stocking this Xmas. After the first few listenings the album leaves me with mixed feelings.
The tracks I enjoy the most are the James & guitar tracks, the attempts to use taped harmonies & drum leave me a little cold. I would have thought that this was an opportunity to give an airing to songs that could have been re-arranged for solo guitar & voice rather than run through tracks that need filling out with keyboards however well done. The live performance isn't a one man band show, more stripped back. Golding's keyboard accompaniment is good but the set list is too much like James' other live CDs/DVDs. I don't think this adds as much to the Taylor collection as the title would suggest.
After being disappointed with the CD I settled down to watch the DVD. The DVD made much more sense. OK it's not one man band but the live set comes across more as a satisfying whole. The between track banter & chat James has with the audience adds to the set, this is highly edited on the CD. I think other James Taylor concert DVDs are better. As an exercisein "down home feel good" this is ok. James' warmth & charm are fully evident as ever.
CD poor, DVD much better. This more a DVD with a bonus CD rather than a CD with a bonus DVD
"Unmistakable Warm Baritone ... James Taylor ... Hear Music (2007)" - By: J. Lovins, 05 Dec 2007 Hear Music presents "ONE MAN BAND" --- A new CD/DVD of live recordings & the stories behind the songs --- New performances from some of his most beloved recordings are interspersed with insightful & humorous anecdotes on the inspiration for the songs --- In Taylor's own words -- "Performing these songsin their original, stripped down formin small halls is like going to the well for water -- It reconnects me to the music & puts me backin touch with the audience --- I feel like we could take this evening around the world," --- Taylor says of his latest work. As his unmistakable warm baritone moves into a few bars of "Somethingin the Way She Moves," once again the world is drawn to him.
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter & guitarist, bornin Belmont, Massachusetts --- Taylor's career beganin the mid-1960s, but he found his audiencein the early 1970s, singing sensitive & gentle acoustic songs --- He was part of a wave of singer-songwriters of the time that also included Joni Mitchell, Tom Rush, Cat Stevens, Carole King, John Denver, Jim Croce, Don McLean, Jackson Browne as well as Carly Simon, whom Taylor later married --- His 1976 album Greatest Hits was certified diamond & has sold more than 11 million copies --- He has retained a large audience well into the 1990s & early 2000s, when some of his best-selling & most-awarded albums were released.
One Man Band (Track Listings)
Disc One
1 Somethingin the Way She Moves [3:47]
2 Never Die Young [4:24]
3 The Frozen Man [5:07]
4 Mean Old Man [3:42]
5 School Song [1:27]
6 Country Road [4:08]
7 Slap Leather [3:07]
8 My Traveling Star [4:11]
9 You've Got a Friend [5:01]
10 Steamroller Blues [5:59]
11 Secret O' Life [3:42]
12 Line 'Em Up [4:39]
13 Chili Dog [1:57]
14 Shower the People [4:56]
15 Sweet Baby James [3:41]
16 Carolinain My Mind [5:04]
17 Fire & Rain [4:52]
18 Copperline [4:52]
19 You Can Close Your Eyes [3:08]
Disc Two
1 One Man Band: The Concert DVD
Hats off to Hear Music --- strongly recommend this CD to all music lovers & others who need to hear some great music --- James Taylor (singer, songwriter & producer), Larry Goldings (Organ, Synthesizer, Piano, Harmonium, Keyboards), John Oliver (Conductor), Michael Prichard (Choir, Chorus), Kurt Walker (Choir, Chorus), Kieran Murray (Choir, Chorus) & Caroline Taylor Choir, Chorus), please stand up & take a bow for this well deserved rare gem you've given us --- this is a keeper!
Total Time: CD & DVD ~ Hear Music ~ (11/13/2007)
