Review by James Taylor – The 70s legend’s golden baritone shines best when stripped bare | James Taylor

CIn the summer twilight, Ames Taylor plays the beautiful intro to Fire and Rain, a song he’s been performing for decades – and the audience cheers in appreciation of this classic. But he’s still 78 years old feel Those old songs? He sings it beautifully in his soothing baritone voice, but perhaps it no longer lifts and soothes his heart quite as it does ours. Is the man standing on stage in front of Edinburgh Castle now just a heritage work on a heritage site?

There is evidence for the prosecution. His live show has an impressive professionalism that sometimes verges on boredom. The 11-piece backing band, including four backing vocalists, is full of seasoned players whose smooth dexterity can seem bloodless. As a result, the best songs in the set are generally those with spare instrumentals. The Millworker has an austerity that befits its subject matter, the soul-crushing exploitation of labor. Taylor’s voice shines in its simple surroundings – violin drones and military rhythms.

If less is more when it comes to arrangements, the same can be said about presentation. The large screen at the back of the stage displays a number of videos that appear to be AI-driven, and are so ugly that they distract from and undermine the songs that should be presented. Sweet Baby James deserves better.

Such visuals belie the distinctive quality of Taylor’s music and personal presence: charming civility and friendly grace. “Carolina on My Mind” sounds like a hymn, sung in a tight choral ensemble. Carole King’s You’ve Got a Friend, a touchstone that risks stagnating, is bright with impeccable sentiment. Such highs easily outweigh the evening lows.

As for fire and rain, that’s the best of all. And yes, Taylor still feels his desperate pain — or so it seems when in the last line he slightly changes the lyric from the recorded version to “I thought I’d see you just one more time, Susan.” This direct address to the friend whose suicide inspired the piece suggests that the song remains as alive to him as it is to us, huddled in the dark and privileged to hear it.