With no new album to push, ageless troubadour James Taylor delivered a mixed bag of songs last night to more than 7,000 old friends at the Blaisdell Arena in a momentary sweet-sounding diversion from a troubled world. Taylor delivers heartfelt
music to Hawaii fansBy Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.comThe tender-hearted Rock and Roll Hall of Famer still has the ability to grab an audience oh-so-gently by the heart from the first song, then hold on until the final encore.
In a two-hour performance, Taylor did the same thing he's done since the Vietnam War was front-page news: sing sweet-natured, soft-rock staples.
Walking on stage in khaki pants and long-sleeve blue dress shirt a few seconds behind his 7-member band, including longtime drummer Russ Kunkel and three back-up singers, Taylor slowly swept into Buddy Holly's "Everyday" as oohs and ahhs filled the arena.
"We missed you," said Taylor, who has been on tour since May. "It's been too long; it's good to be back."
Most audience members were in the age group that clearly remembers Vietnam. Back then Taylor was a balm for socially and spiritually wounded youth. With what's happening in the world today, his music still heals.
While some of Taylor's contemporaries have lost a step voicewise, Taylor's crystalline vocals are still a force of nature.
Last night he played pretty much everything off his first best-of collection and almost as much from his second -- and whoever thought this was a bad time to hear "Fire and Rain" should have been strapped in front and center for this sobering rendition.
He also pulled out a few underpraised recent songs, including the ruminative "Line 'Em Up."
There were two new songs: the tempered crankiness of "Raised Up" and a breezy winner called "Fourth of July", which will be on his new album next year.
There was a mesmerizing take on "Only One," and more new songs -- "Frozen Man" (the best of the lot) and "Raised Up Family," to name a few highlights.
The first half of the show closed with the syncopated classic, "Mexico," with singer Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash joining Taylor on stage. That was followed by a laid-back "Steamroller Blues."
The second set had Taylor taking the stage alone to begin "Carolina in My Mind," with the whole band joining in by song's end.
When Taylor got to "Fire and Rain" and "You've Got a Friend" near the end of the second set, he toned the band down and returned to the gentler, intimate sound of his records.
He followed those numbers with his version of the lighter 1965 Marvin Gaye hit "How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)."
Taylor didn't approach his older material in the same way he did way back when, but there was still a clear message in his understated approach, a simple reminder that life indeed goes on.
Click for online
calendars and events.
