October Road [Bonus Tracks] [Limited] (CD - 2002)

Personnel includes: James Taylor (vocals, acoustic guitar); Michael Landau (guitar, gut string guitar); John Pizzarelli, Ry Cooder (guitar); Stuart Duncan (violin); Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Michael Brecker (saxophone); Robbie Kilgore, Larry Goldings (piano); Clifford Carter (organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Rob Mounsey (keyboards, synthesizer): Greg Phillinganes (keyboards); Jimmy Johnson (bass); Steve Gadd (drums); Luis Conte (percussion).

"Mean Old Man" won the 2003 Grammy Award For Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals.

"October Road" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

The limited edition of OCTOBER ROAD contains a bonus disc with three extra tracks featuring performances by Michael Brecker, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor and Mark Knopfler.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Personnel: Michael Landau (guitar, electric guitar, gut-string guitar); John Sheldon, John Pizzarelli, Ry Cooder (guitar); Donna Tecco, Tamara L. Hatwan, Robin Olson, Alan Grunfeld, Ken Yerke, Stuart Duncan, Cenovia Cummins, Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Natalie Leggett, Richard Sortomme, Margaret Wooten, Liane Mautner, Belinda Whitney (violin); Brian Dembow (viola); Paula Hochhalter, Stephen Erdody (cello); Rob Mounsey (pennywhistle, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion); Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Michael Brecker (saxophone); Lou Marini (horns); Clifford Carter (piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Larry Goldings, Robbie Kilgore (piano); Greg Phillinganes (keyboards); Steve Gadd (drums); Luis Conte (percussion); David Lasley, Kate Markowitz, Sally Taylor, Arnold McCuller (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Dave O'Donnell ; Russ Titelman.

Recording information: Capital Recording Studios, LA; Clinton Studios, NY; Flying Monkey Studios, NY; Q Division Studios, Boston, MA; Right Track Studios, NY; Secret Studios, NY; Signal Path Studios, Nashville, TN; The Studios At Linden Oaks, Rochester, NY; The Village Recorders, LA.

Photographers: Sante d'Orazio; Russ Titelman; Craig Nelson .

James Taylor's 15th studio album of his first new recordings in 32 years is, if possible, even more familiar and self-referential than ever. By now, it is an article of faith that you could take practically any track from any Taylor album and put it on another one without disturbing the mood, and that is as true of the songs here as it is of those on the other 14. That warm (if slightly deepened) tenor, singing in its odd accent which combines New England and the North Carolina Piedmont, and that acoustic guitar, with its sparkling, unhurried fingerpicking, remain the most prominent elements in the sound. But even more, October Road finds Taylor seemingly intent on evoking his own past. The title track, of course, recalls his song "Country Road," and "Caroline I See You," (even if it refers specifically to his wife), inescapably echoes "Carolina in My Mind." Also, Taylor deliberately recycles themes from his earlier work. "October Road" begins, "Well I'm going back down maybe one more time," while "My Traveling Star" ends, "And shame on me for sure/For one more highway song." Throughout, on what seem like the most personal songs he has written in decades, Taylor appears to be commenting on a second chance he feels he has received, and though he couches the negative aspects in humor ("Mean Old Man," whose subject is the singer, ends with a dog joke, and "Raised Up Family," which contains recriminations, tosses in a musical reference to Gilligan's Island), there are strong hints of a man who feels he's been rescued. As such, it is perhaps fitting (if seasonally curious for an album released in the summer) to conclude with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," a holiday song from wartime that reaffirms the importance of family in a world gone awry. ~ William Ruhlmann

You've got to hand it to pioneering singer-songwriter James Taylor for staying the course decade after decade. His 2002 release OCTOBER ROAD is so much of a piece with his previous work that it wouldn't have sounded out of place as a follow-up to his 1970 breakthrough album SWEET BABY JAMES. The laid-back phrasing, slightly jazzy acoustic guitar chords, artful-but-humble lyrical themes, it's all there. Though the elements that make up the Taylor sound are never far away, OCTOBER ROAD is not just a rewrite of past glories. "Belfast to Boston," with its pennywhistle and (synthesized) bagpipes, is an ostensibly Celtic-themed song about the tragedies of war and hatred, but the song manages to be subtly relevant to its post-9/11 emergence. The good-humored "Mean Old Man" is a Taylor original that sounds like a jazz standard, partly thanks to the work of famed jazzers Larry Goldings (piano) and John Pizzarelli (guitar). While Taylor occasionally indulges himself in a little polite R&B bounce, though, the bulk of OCTOBER ROAD is cloaked in the gentle, contemplative folk-rock style that those familiar with the man's oevure will have no problem cozying up to.

James Taylor's 15th studio album -- his first new recordings in 32 years -- is, if possible, even more familiar and self-referential than ever. By now, it is an article of faith that you could take practically any track from any Taylor album and put it on another one without disturbing the mood, and that is as true of the ones here as it is of those on the other 14. That warm (if slightly deepened) tenor, singing with its odd accent which combines New England and the North Carolina Piedmont, and that acoustic guitar, with its sparkling, unhurried fingerpicking, remain the most prominent elements in the sound. But even more, October Road finds Taylor seemingly intent on evoking his own past. The title track, of course, recalls his song "Country Road," and "Caroline I See You," (even if it refers specifically to his wife), inescapably echoes "Carolina in My Mind." Also, Taylor deliberately recycles themes from his earlier work. "October Road" begins, "Well I'm going back down maybe one more time," while "My Traveling Star" ends, "And shame on me for sure/For one more highway song." Throughout, on what seem like the most personal songs he has written in decades, Taylor appears to be commenting on a second chance he feels he has received, and though he couches the negative aspects in humor ("Mean Old Man," whose subject is the singer, ends with a dog joke, and "Raised Up Family," which contains recriminations, tosses in a musical reference to Gilligan's Island), there are strong hints of a man who feels he's been rescued. As such, it is perhaps fitting (if seasonally curious for an album released in the summer) to conclude with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," a holiday song from wartime that reaffirms the importance of family in a world gone awry. [This limited edition release features a bonus CD with the tracks "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," "Benjamin," and "Sailing to Philadelphia."] ~ William Ruhlmann minimize