Review of James Taylor : October Road
There's a comfortable sense of the familiar to James Taylor's first collection of new songs since 1997's Grammy winner Hourglass; such is the curse of being a decades-spanning cultural icon. But, as on his best work, there's also an almost stealthy sense of musical restlessness that seeps into Taylor's songs here, as he colors some with deft jazz and international influences. The reunion with producer Russ Titelman (they last collaborated on 1976's In the Pocket) seems to have gratifyingly inspired as much gentle reassessment as retrenchment. Longtime Titelman compatriot Ry Cooder guests on the title track, a song whose autumnal comforts fit the Taylor canon and other album tracks like "September Grass," "Baby Buffalo," "My Traveling Star," and "On the Fourth of July" (the story of Taylor's romantic meeting with current wife Kim) like an old slipper. However, "Belfast to Boston" cries for peace in Ireland and elsewhere with some surprising Gaelic flourishes, while "Whenever You're Ready" throws some Brazilian rhythms and jazzy horns into the mix, and Dave Grusin's slick orchestral arrangement turns "Mean Old Man" into an elegant cabaret surprise. A little more of this musical adventure amidst the familiar romantic ballads and paeans to the comfort of home and family--including a gorgeously spare cover of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"--certainly wouldn't hurt. --Jerry McCulley

Users's Reviews - James Taylor : A very pleasant album.
This is a very good album. The melodies are very pleasant and it has that "James Taylor" feel to it. However, the songs are not as striking as his others, such as "Sweet Baby James", "Mexico", or "Country Road". All around, though it is a very pleasing album and definitly worth buying.

Your latest reviews - James Taylor : Remind yourself how good this was
"Ten miles behind you and ten thousand more to go" is a line that is too perfect for the `Sweet Baby James' (1970) album. I was young at the right time to hear the line "You just can't kill for Jesus" in the song `Lo and Behold.' "There's a well on the hill . . . let it be." James Taylor was so new to most people when they first heard `Sweet Baby James' that it made a great first impression. The songs `Fire and Rain,' `Steamroller,' and `Country Road' were worth listening to every time they were on the radio, if you didn't listen to the radio too much.

Sail on home to Jesus, won't you good girls and boys?
I'm all in pieces, you can have your own choice . . .

Mama don't understand it, she wants to know where I've been
I'd have to be some kind of natural-born fool to pass that way again
But you know I can feel it on a country road.

Everyone seemed to face some choices eventually, and having `Sweet Baby James' to listen to in the meantime helped imagine some cowboy with nothing but songs and a fire. "But I always thought that I'd see you again" was the expectation raised by `Fire and Rain,' even if "Won't you look down upon me Jesus?' was a line in there somewhere. In `Blossom,' sunshine is the big relief with an empty road behind. "Much too long a day" doesn't sound too bad, but James Taylor could make a complaint out of "They don't see the days slipping by, and neither do I" in `Anywhere Like Heaven.' Playing around with the blues is the only possible explanation for `Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me.' The the album returns to the "Slippin' away" theme, with "You can say, Someday I want to be free," which shows up in `Suite for 20 G.' Then he "Said I'm sure enough fond of my rock `n' roll," which we all ought to feel by now.