My Amazon Reviews: James Taylor "One Man Dog"

Puppy Love
4 Out Of 5 Stars

With "One Man Dog," James Taylor continued his strong run of self-confessional albums that mixed his singer songwriter roots with some soul, a little rock and rolling and his resonant voice. The second half of the album takes it's inspiration from side two of The Beatles' "Abbey Road" with a batch on mini-songs that tie together. The whole album has a loose feel, with many of the songs clocking in at under two minutes. A good album by singer-songwriter standards and another forward step in Taylor's career, spawning the top 20 single "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight."

The first album recorded in Taylor's home studio, it could have easily been credited to James Taylor and friends. Future wife Carly Simon makes an appearance and Linda Ronstadt performs a lovely duet on "One Morning In May." Alex, Hugh, and Kate Taylor are all on board to help out, and the mini-suite contains everything from musical saws and chainsaws running through wood to good effect. Overall, a decent album if a little disappointing after the full-on classics "Sweet Baby James" and "Mud Slide Slim."

     

My Amazon Reviews: James Taylor "Sweet Baby James"

I Always Thought That I'd See You Again
5 Out Of 5 Stars

Basically the pivot point for American Singer Songwriters, "Sweet Baby James" was James Taylor's ode to fallen friends, new babies and coming to terms with being an old man in a younger man's body. Set free from his brief tenure at Apple Records but still with producer Peter Asher, Asher allowed Taylor a much freer range of music making the second time around. Gone were the Beatles-esque flourishes that buried the songwriting on that debut, in were gentle pianos, strummed guitars, and Taylor's voice as the primary focus. Armed with a batch of intimate and personal lyrics, the album became an instant classic in 1970.

It's easy to hear why some 40 years on. The confessional "Fire and Rain" ties the suicide of a best friend and Taylor's own recovery from heroin addiction into a deeply moving song about loss and redemption (and makes the cover of "Oh Susannah" relevant). At the same time, the title track conjures images of winter on the prairie as a lullaby to a newborn nephew. The album's other big hit, "Country Road," was all about soul searching for a moment of transcendence and wondering if it could ever come.

There are plenty of other reasons to adore this album. "Steamroller" eventually morphed into "Steamroller Blues," the staple of Taylor's live shows and a slow-burner event then. "Blossom" was enough of a favorite that Taylor and Carole King (who plays piano on the album) revived it for their reunion tour. Each song has a magic to it that Taylor would capture again on "Mud Slide Slim" and many times through his career, but this was the album that introduced Taylor and his signature sound to the world. Much due for remastering, like the rest of Taylor's Warner Catalog.

     

My Amazon Reviews: John Mayer "Born and Raised"

Born to be Grammy Bait
5 Out Of 5 Stars

John Mayer's public mea culpa comes musically, a whispered plea for understanding after some serious public bumbling of his life. Who knew that, when his musical world finally had a collision with the paparazzi word, it would humble the guy into making the stellar music of "Born and Raised"? It's the first album he's made where what used to be affectations towards the singer-songwriters of the 70's that John's long been enamored by become genuinely personal and effective.

You can't blame the man for wanting to make something other than knock offs of his heroes. He may have been extremely good at doing just that, but now he wants to be the man who - as he states in the song "Queen of California" - finds the "sun that Neil Young Hung after the gold rush of '71." The pallet he is drawing from is serious CSNandY and James Taylor turf, yet now he sounds less like he's rubbing shoulders with them and more like he's proving he can make music that spiritually accentuates his forebears. Those public slaggings have obviously made him want to try harder, and left their stings. "Now the cover of Rolling Stone ain't the cover of a Rolling Stone," he realizes in "Speak for Me."

"Born and Raised" also chucks aside any attempt at overproduction (no loudness wars here) for a spartan acoustic setting. "Whiskey Whiskey Whiskey" begs for quiet in a life that was filled with too much background noise, along with a great harmonica riff. Same with "If I Ever Get Around to Living," as blatant a confirmation that trials by fire are something that need to be part of the past. The bulk of the album is spent in these contemplative moments, and it all rings true. It's not only Mayer's personal best, it maybe one of 2012's classiest albums.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Joshua Radin "The Rock and The Tide"

Between a Rock and a Tidal Place
3 Out of 5 Stars 

For his third album, Joshua Radin trying to rock out a bit more. He still specializes in sad girlfriend types of songs, but this time around he pumps up his band. There are traces of Arcade Fire chiming chords and a little bit of U2 guitar soloing in the mix, where he seemed to stick to the James Taylor/Bob Dylan orbit on his first two albums. That will likely surprise fans of "Simple Times" when they hear the bubbling opener "Road To Ride On," which packs more punch than the entirety of Radin's previous album, or "Streetlight," which may be his best single so far.

Knowing his previous works kind of distracts from the decent material on "The Rock and The Tide." Joshua is obviously trying to break away from the singer-songwriter as sad troubadour mold, but it was his sensitivity that made his other records standouts. Unlike John Meyer, who used a desire to blast his old image as wimpy whiz-kid by forming a rocking blues-trio, Radin just sounds like a gifted singer-songwriter going pop. And his whispery vocals are in place for good songs like "We Are Only Getting Better," "You Got What I Need" and "Leap." It's not bad, it's just not unique.

I can't say that I blame Joshua for trying, after all, Jason Mraz and Meyer are working this same territory and breaking the bank on it. "The Rock and The Tide" is enjoyable folk-singer material and written by a better-than-average songwriter. A good album overall, worthy of an average grade.

 

My Amazon Reviews: Various Artists "Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records"

Apple to The Core  
3.5 Stars Out Of 5

This delightful sampler of The Beatles' very own label is a lot of fun, if also loaded with plenty of trifles. It pulls a whole batch of lost 45's and gathers them onto one 21 songs salute. It's also a bit of a history lesson as to where The Beatles themselves thought music would head. They where often spot on, with the discovery of Badfinger (3 singles), James Taylor (the original version of "Carolina On My Mind") and Billy Preston (two singles). There's a few misses who should have been bigger (Mary Hopkin, with her classic "Those Were The Days") and Chris Hodge, whose near hit in the USA, "We're On Our Way" was one of the last Apple Singles.

Also plenty of fun stuff in the middle, like British Star Jackie Lomax's Harrison penned "Sour Milk Sea" and a novelty TV theme for a Brit Comedy "Thingumybob," written by McCartney and played by The Black Dyke Mills Band (allegedly the "most famous brass band in the world). The goofiest of these is the rarity "King of Fuh," by Brute Force, who was a member of The Tokens (of all groups!). Reportedly only 1,000 copies were ever pressed and its obscene double-entendre ("All hail the Fuh King") had factory workers at EMI refusing to handle it.

There's a handful of duds, as well. Hot Chocolate eventually became a hit-making pop band ("Emma" and "Every #1's a Miracle"), but their reggae-ed version of "Give Peace a Chance" is forgettable. Lennon's early foray into political singles, "God Save Us," is overbearing. "Golden Slumbers-Carry That Weight" by Trash was a sneak peak at The Beatles' "Abbey Road," and won't make you forget the more famous version. It's very telling to hear how many of these artists were "Applized," with different members of The Beatles writing, playing or producing these acts in their own image. Compare Taylor's Apple "Carolina On My Mind" to the more famous version; it's obvious he was being pushed to a sound that wasn't a completely natural fit.

Overall, however, "Come And Get It" is a treasure trove of lost singles that Pop History buffs will thrilled to have. Beatlemaniacs will find it a must own, and plenty of folks who'd listen to old AM radios will likely discover forgotten songs buried in the back of their aural memories.