Day 139: May 19: Instrumental 1 

(Instrumental)

Pretty filler on the One Man Dog album.  Simple and short but catchy.

Instrumental I

Speaking of pretty instrumentals- here's a famous one from the Allman Brothers.  This was on the radio the first time I kissed Jana.

Jessica

Day 138: May 18: Some Days You Gotta Dance

"Gotta Loosen up Those Chains and Dance"

The Dixie Chicks recorded it first- then after James had this much fun performing it with them he cut it himself on his Covers album.  It's one of the few that he's covered that doesn't predate much of his recording career.  This is a lot of fun.  James voice sounds great and he's having some goofy fun.

Some Days You Gotta Dance

I'm taking Jana to see the Dixie Chicks in Nashville in August.  This is one of their best- a reaction to the mind blowing reaction they got from comments about not liking then president, George W. Bush.  The comment about being embarrassed that he was from Texas resulted in airplay bans and threats of violence and death.  They took some time off and came back with this.

Not Ready to Make Nice

Day 137: May 17: Our Town

"No one seems to need us like they did before."

Beautiful song from a beautiful movie.  James works well with Randy Newman's sensibilities and ends up with a poignant ode to the isolation found in the aging process.

Our Town

Randy does Disney better than just about anybody.  This might be his best entry- and the version here with Lyle is better than Randy alone.

You've Got a Friend in Me

Day 136: May 16: Turn Away

"And now your eyes won't meet mine."

A little overproduced but not a bad track from the That's Why I'm Here album.  I wouldn't likely seek it out, but  if it was playing I'd sing along.

Turn Away

Here's a similarly titled, similarly overproduced piece of cheese from Chicago.  Most of the post-Peter Cetera era of Chicago is guilty pleasure territory and this one is no exception.  It was popular but this ridiculous video makes it seem worse than it really is.

Look Away

Day 135: May 15: Before This World/Jolly Springtime

"Give up the love that takes and breaks your heart."

Mournful and harmonic.  Sting sings back-up and his influence is really felt here.  In places it feels very much  like a James Taylor song and at others it sounds a lot like something that could be on a recent Sting album.  I don't usually care for contemporary Sting, but the combination works well.  The second half is oddly combined.  It's pleasant enough though.

Before This World/ Jolly Springtime

I think post-Police Sting peaked with the Ten Summoner's Tales and Mercury Falling albums.  This one is also mournful and was also covered later by Johnny Cash.

I Hung My Head

Day 134: May 14: Wonderful World

"I don't claim to be an 'A' student."

Makes me sad that this is the only thing the three recorded together.  Beautiful harmonies.  I could listen to this all day.

Wonderful World

Here's one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs...beautiful even without James.

Only Living Boy in New York

Day 133: May 13: Little More Time with You

"Why leave the life I love here in the great state of Maine?"

Drug addiction as a metaphor for being "hooked" on love.  It's catchy and has a Maine reference- what else could you want?  How about a harmonica riff played by Stevie Wonder?  A real nice one from the Hourglass album.

Little More Time With You

Here's Stevie with perhaps  his best song singing about a different kind of love- love for his baby girl.

Isn't She Lovely

Day 132: May 12: Back in the High Life Again

"when you're born to run it's so hard to just slow down."

Even before I knew that the harmony on this song was James Taylor, it was what made the track work for me.  I think it's the best song of Steve's solo career.  Steve was a musical prodigy- a prog-rock Stevie Wonder.  At age 14, he joined the Spencer Davis Group- at some point writing Gimme Some Lovin'.  This title track from a mid-80's album was sort of a comeback for him.  It feels a lot like John Lennon's Watching the Wheels- I'm back, but on my own terms, and my own pace.  There's also a haunting cover by the late great Warren Zevon that I hear in my head whenever I hear this original version.

Back in the High Life Again

The legend of Steve Winwood was so powerful that the potential of working with him (and the potential of getting away from the drama of Ginger Baker) was enough to break up Cream.  The result was a single album from Blind Faith producing two of the best songs Eric Clapton was ever a part of- the beautiful Can't Find My Way Home- and this haunting track.  I think it was largely Ginger Baker's horning in on this group that made Clapton lose interest so quickly, but there's something special about the two of them together. Here's a reunion of the two playing "Presence of the Lord."

Presence of the Lord

Day 131: May 11: Natural Woman

"Your love was the key to my peace of mind."

Certainly not a song you think of as a James Taylor song, but he plays and sings on it on this Letterman performance.  It's essential Carole King- here it's medley-ed with How Sweet it is.  Seeing them together would be sweet indeed.

Natural Woman

Aretha has a famous version of that one- so here's a clip of her really giving it to Matt "Guitar" Murphy while Jake and Elwood look on.

Think

Day 130: May 10: Way You Look Tonight

"I will feel a glow just thinking  of you"

James croons, Chip yawns.  It's fine.  It's pretty.  I'd rather hear folky James than fogey James.

Way You Look Tonight

That last song was recorded by many people, including Fred Astaire in Swing Time.  Here's Fred doing what Fred does best.

Let's Face the Music and Dance

Day 129: May 9: Loves Me Like a Rock

"Who do you think you're fooling?"

This duet of Mellencamp and James comes from the Kennedy Center honors saluting Pail Simon.  It's a fun version and a rare scenario that would team these two up.  The song itself is a highlight from Paul's illustrious solo career.

Loves Me Like a Rock

Here's another great one from the solo catalog that he plays here at a reunion concert with Art.  Wish he still wrote songs this good.

Kodachrome

Day 128: May 8: Carolina in My Mind

"Ain't no doubt in no one's mind that love's the finest thing around."

One of my absolute favorites.  This song has drastically evolved over James' career.  On his eponymous album it had a bouncy bass line played by Paul McCartney which made the song feel oddly upbeat for a song about being homesick.  In this early live version, it's extra mellow and mournful- almost too much so.  Later, James finds a happy medium- both in the studio recording that appears on the greatest hits album (that most people are most familiar with) and the live versions to follow.  It's a beautiful song.  

Carolina in My Mind

Here's another song about wanting to get back home to North Carolina.  The fellas in Old Crow Medicine Show came across an unreleased Bob Dylan song on a bootleg recording and wrote verses to it and it resulted in this beautiful piece of Americana.  I also like that it references nearby Johnson City.  Oh and the Darius Rucker version takes all the soul out of the song.  This is the definitive version.

Wagon Wheel

Day 127: May 7:Sailing to Philadelphia

"A new morning has begun"

Now we're talking.  James duets with masterful guitarist Mark Knopfler for this character study of the drawing of the Mason Dixon line.  James' high pitched purity is matched greatly with Mark's nasal response.  This is one of James' best collaborations ever and certainly of the last 20 years.

Sailing to Phialdelphia

Besides his phenomenal solo work, Knopfler also played guitar for Dylan for a spell- he's on the Slow Train Coming album, but he's best known as the creative force behind Dire Straits.  The Brothers in Arms album is one of the greatest in rock history- but my favorite is either Sultan's of Swing or this one (which usually makes me tear up)- except when accompanied by this corny video.

Romeo and Juliet

Day 126: May 6: What the World Needs Now

"It's the only thing that's there's just too little of"

This is an all-star collaboration of an old standard headed up by Steve Tyrell and I guess it's as good as a song this cheesy can be.  James' verse is the best in the song and it's interesting to hear him in a song also featuring Rod Stewart.  The song also features Martina McBride and Dionne Warwick.  It's a very guilty pleasure.

What the World Needs Now

I don't know much of anything about Steve Tyrell.  He seems to have been a large part of the Father of the Bride II soundtrack largely covering standards.He appears to more often be a record producer than a recording artist.  I found this stumbling around youtube and it seems to be representative of his work.

Laughter in the Rain

Day 125: May 5: Johnnie Comes Back

"trying to keep her devils at bay"

Despite the upbeat tempo this one is pretty dark lyrically.  It's a tale of someone using addiction to keep a woman interested.  This may be the period that James hit his low sobriety wise- I don't know if this is based on something real but certainly addiction is on his  mind.  It's catchy.  A solid track off of Flag.

Johnnie Comes Back

I know the Johnnie be good line warrants some Chuck Berry- but I'm going with this one instead.

Be Good Johnny

Day 124: May 4: Blossom

"seems my dreams have frozen."

A love song from James which he says here was written to his pig.  Regardless, it sure is pretty- a standout track from the Sweet Baby James album.  It's basically a flower metaphor for a cure to loneliness.  

Blossom

And speaking of songs about flowers and loneliness:

One Red Rose

Day 123: May 3: One  Morning in May

"and the tune that he played made the valleys all ring."

An old folk song covered here by James and Linda Ronstadt.  It's not as good as the duet of I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine on Linda's Get Closer album, but it's still really nice.  Pretty harmonies and a nice arrangement.  

One Morning in May

Here's some really early Linda back when she was with the Stone Ponies.  One of the kids on my team uses this song to pump him up at tournaments.  I don't really get that- but I do get the appeal of the song.  Her voice is so pure and strong- although she is a terrible lip-syncher.

Different Drum

Day 122: May 2: Another Grey Morning

"...move me. Move me. I'm locked up inside."

Weather as a metaphor for mood.  This is a pretty track from the JT album.  Some melancholy beauty.

Another Grey Morning

One of my favorite Beatles deep tracks is also influenced by weather.  Here it's discontentment manifested in reaction to the day,

Rain

Day 121: May 1: First of May

"Made in the shade"

One of my least favorite songs on one of my least favorite James albums, Never Die Young.  There's too much choral singing and the song doesn't really seem to go anywhere. But it's the right James song for May 1st.

First of May

Hahahaha.  He can't stop laughing.  And as a result, this is my companion piece.

I Love to Laugh

Day 120: April 30: Never Been Gone

"Great ambition is all a dream."

James is featured in a harmony vocal with Carly and Lucy Simon on the opening of this track from Carly's Spy album.  It's kind of pretty and the sentiment of remembering what was important to you is a nice theme.  

Never Been Gone

Carly is more often a miss than a hit for me- but I like this one.

Haven't Got Time for the Pain

Day 119: April 29: Gaia

"Foolish school of fish on wheels."

This one isn't one of my favorites- but I do find it interesting.  In mythology Gaia is  (if Wikipedia can be trusted) the personification of the earth and this song is part love letter, part apology, part warning ,and part pleading for deliverance.  It's a little heavy handed.  Gaia is also, in mythology the "goddess of the earth"- and this song can also be read as addressing her.  Either way, it is an environmental missive.

James also refers to his agnosticism in this song- something that seems to pop up especially on his Hourglass album.

Gaia

This is perhaps my favorite corny love letter to the environment.  The albatross and the whales- they are my brothers. 

A handful of years ago, when preparing a speech highlighting some of our outstanding alum, a colleague was excited to find out that a member of the Little River Band was from Carson-Newman...until he figured out that the band is Australian and that this guy would have joined the band long after their moment in the spotlight.  Regardless, I bet he gets to play this song a lot.

Cool Change

Day 118: April 28: It's Only a Paper Moon

"It wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me."

Here's the other James entry on the "A League of Their Own" soundtrack.  This one is an interesting take on an old Nat King Cole song.  I had an argument about this version with someone several years ago.  I think James taking a more literal approach to the lyrics makes it his own.  Nat plays it more up-tempo giving the song an almost ironic feel- or perhaps like the singer is trying to convince himself that things are ok.  James slows it down and makes the same lyrics mean something slightly different.  Musically, it's the same strategy he uses for songs like Handyman and Everyday.  Take the upbeat song, slow it down and add in pathos.  I think it works here.  My friend thinks the tension in Nat's version is what makes the song work.  That tension is absent here.  I'll let you judge for yourself.

It's Only a Paper Moon

This song was a go-to for me when I was a kid scouring my grandfather's record collection...when I wasn't grooving to some Burl Ives.  The sing-a-long here isn't too great but I really like seeing Nat perform.  I think I was first drawn to Nat because of my grandfather but have really grown to discover how much good stuff he put out.

Rambling Rose