James Taylor

JT is James Taylor coming out of his personal closet. In "Looking for Love on Broadway" he
sings, "Had my fill of self-pity," and that's epochal stuff for the man who almost
single-handedly developed the eyes-affixed-to-the-navel songwriting and performing
posture. Yet the album supports Taylor's claim. Only one song on JT, "Another Grey
Morning," even skirts depression, and that song illustrates Taylor's evolution rath... More >

James sounds both awake--worth a headline in itself--and in touch; maybe CBS gave him a clock radio for opening an account there. "Handy Man" is a transcendent sex ballad, while "I Was Only Telling a Lie" and "Secret o' Life" evoke comparison with betters on the order of the Stones and Randy Newman, so that the wimpy stuff--which still predominates--sounds merely laid-back in contrast. Best since Sweet Baby James, sh*t--some of this is so wry and lively and committed his real fans may find it obtrusive. (Grade: B)