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Avg: 3.5 (212 ratings)
- Date Released: September 30, 2008
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Singer-Songwriter
- Label: Hear Music / Concord
The original JT plays it sweet and gentle with these 12 covers
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We Say...
Though James Taylor is one of the figures who defined the singer-songwriter movement in the '70s, compositions by other people have long been part of his repertoire. Some of Taylor's best-known recordings include "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King), "How Sweet It Is" (Marvin Gaye), "Up on the Roof" (the Drifters) — dude even made a Christmas record. Still, there's something a little surprising at first about Taylor's covers album, and it requires some adjusting to think of him purely as a vocalist.
After his battles with personal demons early in his career, Taylor, at age 60, presents a consistently amiable image, and so the finest moments on Covers exude the characteristics that fit him the easiest: sweet and gentle (a lovely version of the Temptations' "It's Growing"), longing and wistful ("Wichita Lineman"). This is no late-era Johnny Cash project, with material that challenges the singer or pushes him out of his comfort zone — Taylor's music has long walked a line that links the most agreeable elements of country, pop and soul, and so he does best with the selections that don't veer too far to any one side. The surprise stand-out is "Sadie," the Spinners' sentimental ode to motherhood, which Taylor delivers with convincing, understated emotion. Cut live in a home studio, Covers has a sound that's never less than pleasant. And if it's a stretch for James Taylor to imbue "Hound Dog" with much in the way of sexual menace, or capture the youthful frustration of "Summertime Blues," all 12 of these songs feel like things he's been singing for years. -
They Say...
A cozy companion to One Man Band, James Taylor's 2007 intimate stroll through his back pages for Starbucks' Hear Music, Covers once again finds the singer/songwriter on familiar, friendly territory, as he returns to his easy rolling full band and digs into the songbook of the rock & roll era. It's his era, of course, the time he had hit singles, including many hit cover versions, as he points out himself in his brief liner notes to the album. All of this makes Covers feel perhaps even more comfortable than One Man Band, which had the distinction of its unique guitar-and-piano arrangements, something that made his hits sound relatively fresh. Here, standards -- and despite a couple of oddball choices like the Spinners' "Sadie," John Anderson's "Seminole Wind," and the only modern song here, the Dixie Chicks' "Some Days You Gotta Dance," this is all standards like "Wichita Lineman," "Suzanne," "Hound Dog," "On Broadway," "Summertime Blues," and "Not Fade Away" -- are given Taylor's warm, mellow signature, so Covers winds up feeling a bit like an outdoor concert on a sunny summer Sunday afternoon: something that is wholly relaxing and not in the least surprising.
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| 01. |  |
It's Growing |
4:07 |
|
| 02. | |
(I'm a) Road Runner |
3:19 |
|
| 03. | |
Wichita Lineman |
3:41 |
|
| 04. | |
Why Baby Why |
2:41 |
|
| 05. | |
Some Days You Gotta Dance |
2:41 |
|
| 06. | |
Seminole Wind |
4:50 |
|
| 07. | |
Suzanne |
3:36 |
|
| 08. | |
Hound Dog |
3:03 |
|
| 09. | |
Sadie |
4:34 |
|
| 10. | |
On Broadway |
4:11 |
|
| 11. | |
Summertime Blues |
2:39 |
|
| 12. | |
Not Fade Away |
2:45 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 42:07 Total Length
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Credits
- James "J.T." Taylor - Guitar // James "J.T." Taylor - Harmonica // James "J.T." Taylor - Arranger // James "J.T." Taylor - Vocals // James "J.T." Taylor - Producer // Larry Goldings - Organ // Larry Goldings - Piano // Larry Goldings - Piano (Electric) // Larry Goldings - Cello Arrangement // David Lasley - Vocals // Yo-Yo Ma - Cello // Yo-Yo Ma - Cello Arrangement // Luis Conte - Percussion // Robert Fortunato - Photography // Steve Gadd - Drums // Ted Jensen - Mastering // Michael Landau - Guitar (Electric) // Kate Markowitz - Vocals // Dave O'Donnell - Producer // Dave O'Donnell - Engineer // Dave O'Donnell - Mixing // Andrea Zonn - Fiddle // Andrea Zonn - Vocals // Arnold McCuller - Vocals // Tommy Steele - Art Direction // Tommy Steele - Design // Jeff Babko - Organ // Jeff Babko - Organ // Jeff Babko - Piano // Jeff Babko - Piano // JoAnn Tominaga - Contractor // Sam Feldman - Consultant // Jimmy Johnson - Bass // Mark Konrad - Piano Technician // Scott Hoffman - Drum Technician // Jonathan Brett Prince - Guitar Technician // Caroline Taylor - Vocals // Joe Tooley - Assistant Engineer // Eddie Jackson - Engineer
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