Tuesday night, I was at Blossom Music Center here in Cleveland for James Taylor and his Band of Legends. The weather was the complete opposite of Saturday’s picture perfect weather that I experienced for Clapton at the same venue. Tuesday night’s weather featured rain and a bit of a nighttime chill to round things out. Luckily, I had the same VIP review tickets in the pavilion that I had for Clapton, so weather was not a concern.

Skip to my review for Cleveland Scene by clicking here.

This was the fourth time I’ve seen James Taylor, and three out of the four times have been with my mom. She was absent for the last JT show, since my parents were living out of state at that point. It’s appropriate that it has become a tradition of sorts for us to go to see James Taylor – my earliest memory of hearing his music, came via a copy of his album That’s Why I’m Here, which my mom had gotten from the library. I gravitated towards “Everyday,” and came to know selected other songs from his catalog via a family friend who had the Greatest Hits CD.

All of my music buying money came via allowance at that point, so I wouldn’t actually purchase any of Taylor’s music until much later. At that time, I generally budgeted my allowance so that I was able to get a new album every couple of months. I developed a real appreciation for the albums that I bought that way.

Once I got into a position later in life where I had access to a lot of CDs and music for free, it was strange to think back to the time growing up when I would spend two to three months listening to a single album. At that later point when I had greater access to music, I would spend (and still do) a week at most listening to a lot of the albums that I would get. The ones that really made impact (Wallflowers’ Bringing Down The Horse comes to mind,) would get a month of solid listening time, but even that was in the midst of listening to many other albums simultaneously.

1988’s Never Die Young was the next James Taylor album that I heard, this time via a CD that was borrowed from the library. The title track really stuck with me, and still hits me lyrically.

We were ring-around-the-rosy children
They were circles around the sun
Never give up, never slow down
Never grow old, never ever die young

Synchronized with the rising moon
Even with the evening star
They were true love written in stone
They were never alone, they were never that far apart

I finally bought my first official James Taylor album in 1993 with the release of Live, a double live CD, and his first official live release. As a music fan, you couldn’t beat the track listing as the perfect career overview. Live doesn’t have ALL of the essential tracks, but it more than covers the bases, and features my favorite song “New Hymn,” in fact a track that appears only on Live. It was a track that many years later, I would end up playing during my sister’s wedding reception, which I was the DJ for.

Source of all we hope or dread
Sheepdog, jackal, rattler, swan
We hunt your face and long to trust
That your hid mouth will say again
Let there be light
A clear new day

But when we thirst in this dry night
We drink from hot wells poisoned with the blood of children
And when we strain to hear a steady homing beam
Our ears are balked by stifled moans
And howls of desolation from the throats of sisters, brothers, wild men
Clawing at the gates for bread

Even our own feeble hands
Ache to seize the crown you wear
And work our private havoc through
The known and unknown lands of space

Absolute in flame beyond us
Seed and source of Dark and Day
Maker whom we beg to be
Our mother father comrade mate

‘Til our few atoms blow to dust
Or form again in wiser lives
Or find your face and hear our name
In your calm voice the end of night
If dark may end
Wellspring goal of Dark and Day

Be here
Be now

James Taylor – New Hymn

Last night’s show was great, and you can read my complete review for Cleveland Scene by clicking here.

A James Taylor show is familiar, yet I always enjoy that he is able to find unique ways to make each show a new experience for longtime fans. On this particular evening, James shed new light on some of the longtime favorites.

He spoke of being “abroad” years ago and coming back to the States to meet a new nephew that had been given his name. While driving, he was thinking of what kind of “cowboy lullaby” he could write for the “varmint” that he was about to meet. The name of that song is one that’s now very familiar to many, “Sweet Baby James.”

Overall, the show was probably a bit deep for anyone that might have been attending their very first James Taylor show. As I discussed with my boss, who had taken a friend to see Taylor for the first time last night, that is USUALLY the kind of show that I wind up going to see when I am attempting to sell someone on an artist.

It’s usually an artist that I’ve seen SO many times, and I’m finally going to get to introduce that artist to someone that I know will appreciate the music. And then at that point, the artist proceeds to play an off-the-wall set that leaves my friend in attendance clearly wishing they had made plans to do anything else, rather than the show they are currently attending instead.

There was the Blue Rodeo show that I took my girlfriend (at that point) to see, where the band used the set to debut a large chunk of their album The Days in Between, which was unreleased at the time. There was the Howard Jones show a couple of years ago where he played an amazing first show, and then for the second show that my friends came out for, he was a bit too chatty. A Michael Penn show a year or so ago that just seemed a bit lacking in comparison to a show on the same tour, at the same venue. The list goes on.

For me last night, there was no one to sell – Mom and I were there as mutual James Taylor fans. It was a fun night, and I’m definitely hoping for a return engagement next summer!