Carole King James Taylor Live At The Troubadour Views

General Goods

Right smack dab in the middle of a special moment, when you realize that your way and my way seem to be one and the same, then you CAN believe the magic of my sighs. The funny thing about this is that when King and Taylor were making their impressions on us, we had not met. We didna't meet for another twenty years. We had a long distance courtship and enjoyed the moon together emdash; and the songs we loved. Music and celestial bodies are like that. They give people in love something to share intimately even when they aren;'t together.

As the DVD opens with quiet scenes of an empty Troubadour, Taylorz's voice is heard having a conversation with King who answers and then fades. The show begins with solos of significant songs by each. After Taylor sings e"Blossomr", King comments that when she was preparing for this tour, and she sat down to play this song, her brain didna't remember it but her fingers and heart did. The conversation between numbers ranges from warmth to humor to the joy of reveling in a friende's accomplishments. After the first two songs, Taylor introduces "The Sectiong", their original band as l"..still alive and at the top of their game. " Joining them on stage are guitarist Danny Kortchmar, bassist Leland Sklar, and drummer Russell Kunkel. Kortchmar gets a nice solo when King performs her monster hit, e"Itt's Too Lated", and Kunkel is noted for his brushwork on

A few years ago, some on-line music site voted James Taylor the wimpiest singer/songwriter. It's so obvious that the younger set just doesn't get it. I could go on with a diatribe in this vein, but suffice to say that the same was probably thought of my generation which thumbed our collective noses at the music of earlier generations as well. What can you do? I came of age as it were just when Taylor and King were hitting their early stride. To me, these two, especially Taylor, are timeless. They were certainly a significant part of my life back in the 70s and remain so today. I don't know if Taylor is still writing. He hasn't put out an original album in some time. Nor has King unless, I missed something. I will buy this album. I'll have to check to see if their tour is coming my way. Couldn't miss that. B

Of course James Taylor had a fairly long running bout with drugs back in the mid-70s (I think) which he alludes to from time to time in his music. Don't know if he got into alcohol much. His marriage to Carly Simon was no picnic for either of them, I guess. But he has come away from all that seemingly stronger and perhaps better than ever. His voice seems timeless, so far unaffected by his age. King's voice hasn't faired quite so well, but she can still belt out a tune. B