Acclaimed live album offers intimate tour through singer/songwriter’s career
Craft Recordings is pleased to announce the first-ever vinyl edition of James Taylorโs 2007 live album, One Man Band. Available June 7th, the double LP set is pressed on 180-gram vinyl, and housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket. Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed at RTI, this uniquely intimate performance captures Taylor at his best โ paired only with his guitar, drum machine and esteemed keyboardist Larry Goldings (John Mayer, Sia, John Scofield) plus pre-recorded accompaniment of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus on โMy Traveling Starโ and โShower The People.โ Full of his signature wit and warmth, Taylorโs anecdotes โ interspersed throughout the eveningโoffer background on some of his most popular songs.
Following a three-year tour of the same name, One Man Band marked a triumphant homecoming for Taylor. Recorded over three nights, the performances took place at the historic Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA โ a venue that was handpicked by the Berkshires-based singer-songwriter. The album, produced by James and Dave OโDonnell, contains 19 songs and spans material from Taylorโs five-decade-long career, touching not just on his beloved hits (โFire And Rain,โ โYouโve Got A Friend,โ โCarolina In My Mindโ) but also deeper cuts (โChili Dogโ off 1972โs One Man Dog; โSlap Leatherโ from his 1991 LP, New Moon Shine) and more recent material (โMean Old Manโ from his 2002 record, October Road). The pared-down nature of the sets were very much a return to the singer-songwriterโs roots. In the albumโs original liner notes, Taylor writes, โThe last time I toured solo was in the late โ70s. Thatโs how I started out, just the guitar and a handful of songs. As time went by, I added other musicians because itโs great playing in a big band. But from time to timeโฆitโs good to get back to basics and to present the songs in their original form.โ
Originally released as a CD/DVD (the EMMY-nominated film portion of which was produced and directed by Don Mischer for PBSโ Great Performances) and certified Gold by the RIAA, One Man Band proved Taylorโs enduring charm. Rolling Stone heralded the album as โโฆa particularly warm portraitโฆTaylorโs supple baritone remains a wonder of intimacy, and it finds its match in the effortless intricacy of his finger-picking.โ The BBC called it โA treatโฆ It’s a thing of delicate emotive power,โ while AllMusic added, โgiven such lovely readings [the songs] certainly sound as comforting as a reunion with an old friend.โ
One of the best-selling artists of all-time โ with more than 100 million records sold, worldwide โ James Taylorโs music is instantly recognizable, thanks to his gentle, engaging vocals, his acoustic, guitar-driven melodies and his introspective lyrics. When he was just 20 years old, Taylor caught the attention of the Beatles, who released his self-titled debut on their label, Apple Records. However, it was Taylorโs breakthrough second LP, 1970โs Sweet Baby James, which propelled the young artist into stardom with the hit single โFire And Rain,โ making him a poster child for the era of the singer-songwriter. Taylorโs GRAMMY Awardโwinning follow-up โ 1971โs Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon โ featured his first No. 1 single, โYouโve Got A Friendโ (penned by his longtime friend, Carole King). Throughout the next three decades, the artist would continue this momentum, releasing a string of critically and commercially successful titles, including 1975โs Gorilla, the double-platinum-selling JT (1977), 1985โs Thatโs Why Iโm Here and 1997โs critical darling, Hourglass, which earned Taylor his first GRAMMY Award for Best Pop Album. In 2015 Taylor released his first album of new recordings in 13 years, titled Before This World, which earned him his first ever No.1 album on the Billboard Charts.
To date, the five-time GRAMMY winner has released over 25 albums. The new millennium marked an era of recognition for the busy artist. In 2000, Taylor was inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, while his 1976 Greatest Hits LP received a rare Diamond Certification from the RIAA, marking an exceptional ten million albums sold. The singer-songwriterโs talents and cultural contributions were also celebrated on a national scale, when Taylor was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, and, a year later, was a Kennedy Center Honoree. Ever humble, Taylor continues to actively record and tourโhis concerts drawing in generations of loyal fans, thanks to an incredible knack for connecting with his audience members.
In his One Man Band notes, Taylor muses: โIโve often thought that live performance means being well prepared and then waiting for the inevitable, unexpected thing to happenโฆ But the real goal is to be in the present moment and on the surface of ourselves; open and trusting. Nobody wants perfect.โ
2 LP
[one_half]Side A:
1. Something In The Way She Moves
2. Never Die Young
3. The Frozen Man
4. Mean Old Man
5. School Song
6. Country Road
Side B:
1. Slap Leather
2. My Traveling Star
3. Youโve Got A Friend
4. Steamroller Blues[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Side C:
1. Secret Oโ Life
2. Line โEm Up
3. Chili Dog
4. Shower The People
5. Sweet Baby James
Side D:
1. Carolina In My Mind
2. Fire And Rain
3. Copperline
4. You Can Close Your Eyes[/one_half_last]