James Taylor, Covers

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.