Customer Reviews
Exposes James Taylor's lack of songwriting talent! - By: Withnail, 24 Oct 2008 
Coming just 2 years after Taylor's last album of covers songs (James Taylor at Christmas, itself a reissue of the 2004 Hallmark James Taylor Xmas Cd) & a year after the unplugged live album, this new album again highlights how indifferent Taylor's career has been. Once memorably described as a purveyor of counter culture melodies, Taylor never recaptured the heights of his Sweet Baby James album of 1970. The rest of the '70's saw Taylor settle into an easy pattern of having hits with other peoples songs whilst having very few self penned hits (and this guy was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame??!!) Quite how he's managed to sustain a career over 40 years is anyone's guess but the guy must have some pretty good publicists who are to spin some rubblish to the media to cover for the fact that the guy has had very hits written by himself. So what to make of this new release? Well the fans don't seem to be happy that Taylor hasn't released an album of new material since 2002 & the result is an album of the usual Taylor schtick. All of these songs are tastefully performed & Taylor's voice ( his only true talent) remains intact. In short it's best to avoid this career holding CD & get something more worthwhile Like Jackson Brownes new album. Now there's a talent!!!
Comfortable Covers - By: Robert Macnamara, 19 Oct 2008 
Yes as stated its a covers album, & yes I to had reservations. You get some great covers albums like Kathryn Williams - Relations, Horse - Coveted, where the artist makes it different & thus interesting, others just do rehashed versions like Karaoki. This is none of these, he doesn't reinvent the songs but plays themin a way that only JT can. I have always said that there are some artists who push the boundaries & again are interesting, i.e. Radiohead, Pink Floyd...., James on the other hand is someone who I have always had the delight to know that his new album wasn't going to change drastically & I have always been happy with that. If thats how you like your Mr Taylor you'll love this, if your looking for new ideas your lookingin wrong place.
Wider coverage please - By: Amanda Richards, 18 Oct 2008 This album of covers is mostly for people who are familiar with music from the `50s & `60s, & probably won't win JT any new fans. He's always been able to mellow out a tune & put his own distinctive spin on it, but a couple of the tracks on this album are TOO mellow, some to the point of being almost unrecognizable, especially if you know the popular versions of the songs.
The songs that make the album worthwhile for me are "Wichita Lineman" (Glenn Campbell, 1968) & "Seminole Wind" (John Anderson). Others are "It's Growing" (The Temptations, 1965); "Why Baby Why" (George Jones, 1955); "Some Days You Gotta Dance" (Keith Urban) & "On Broadway" (The Drifters' 1963 hit)
On the other hand, give me Neil Diamond's version of "Suzanne" any day, & as for "Hound Dog" - nuff said - Elvis rules!
Stronger on the country tunes & average on the R&B, this album has its highs & lows. It's probably a good choice as background music for social gatherings & peaceful nights at home with a good book, but the song choices & arrangements add up to nothing special or particularly memorable.
Listen to the samples & buy only the songs you like.
Rated: 3.5 stars
Amanda Richards
Great Songs Revisited by a Great Musician - By: Gilsy, 02 Oct 2008 This is a collection of songs that obviously mean a lot to James & it is a chance for us to get a little insight into the man himself. He treats all of them with respect whilst giving them the treatment that only James Taylor could.
As he's said himself these are songs he's been playing live regularly over the years, & it shows, they are played with beautiful precision & emotion. I see this album as a James Taylor tribute to his favourite songs, & what a fitting tribute it is.
Give it a chance! - By: Ronnie Paul, 01 Oct 2008 OK, so it's a covers album, not the first choice for James Taylor fans. However,the voice, musicianship, interpretive skills are all therein abundance.
JT has always done covers, most of them equal or better than the originals. This is obviously a labour of love, & the harmonies created both instrumentally & vocally are joyful. The album was createdin real time so to speak with only one overdub (Yo-Yo Ma) so it has a "live" feel running through.
Some tracks work better than others its true; & we'd all prefer an album of new tracks, but that's comingin 2009 soin the mean time, relax, sit back with a loved one & let James & his band soothe your mind & cleanse your soul.
