University of Virginia Library

Vocalist And Guitarist

"Sweet Baby James" is a departure
from Taylor's first release in
that the concentration is more
upon Taylor as vocalist and guitarist.
The first album tended to be
over arranged and the instrumental
backup was distracting at times, but
this latest gives more of Taylor with
the instrumentalization enhancing
rather than obscuring his voice.
"Country Road" and Suite for
20G" have the fullest orchestration
on the album and are also two of
the better cuts, while "Lo and
Behold," "Blossom" and "Anywhere
Like Heaven" feature a
minimum of accompaniment, and
are excellent songs.

Taylor has an extremely clean
voice which evokes strong emotional
reactions in listening to him.
This is, in fact, probably the most
important aspect of the album.
Taylor is an excellent writer; his
songs deal with life, love and
loneliness and the combination of
his voice and music tend to give the
listener a relaxed, slightly melancholy
feeling. Or he can leave you
with a smile on your face and your
body subconsciously in rhythm with
the music. The music is difficult to
classify as being folk, jazz or blues
since it contains all of these idioms,
but regardless of how you label
Taylor's sound, it is above all
gentle, unhassled and a pleasurable
experience.