November 28, 2007

Paul McCartney and James Taylor

Now don't get too excited - these two gents are not touring together, they only share a headline here on my blog because I am reviewing each of their new releases. I admit I am not a huge McCartney OR JT fan but I wanted to give them both a chance. Here are my thoughts:


I tried to like this "Memory Almost Full, but frankly, other than the songs he wrote with John and "Maybe I'm Amazed" I don't really care for his music. I downloaded onto my iTunes but then deleted it knowing I would never listen to it again.



JT's "One Man Band", on the other hand, has a very worthwhile listen here. If your a fan you must have this. Not only does he play all his hits live, but also shares stories behind the songs. Not really into his mellow sound I thought I'd be bored with it, but I am keeping this on my iPod for when the mood strikes for some Sweet Baby James.

PS -
Special thanks to Randi Kraemer for always thinking of me when new music comes out!

Here are a few I can't wait for:

- Nirvana Unplugged and Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007! Yeah, Baby now we are talking GOOD music!

13 comments:

bob_vinyl said...

Now, I can see how you might not be a big fan of McCartney. he's been wildly erratic over the years although the last decade has been strong for him. However, I can't imagine why anyone likes James Taylor. He makes McCartney look heavy. Taylor is one of those guys who's clearly got some talent and that makes me wonder why he can't figure out that he sucks. He's just music for adults. Yuck.

Anonymous said...

If these 60something artists aren't the best to you, try this one. She's GREAT!
http://LetHerIn.org

Malcolm said...

It seems that most people fall into two camps: they either like Paul's solo stuff or John's post-Beatles work. I might be a rarity because I like them equally well. However, sometimes Paul could be a little too sappy... and John's "primal scream" influenced solo work tries my patience.

Although I am not a huge fan of JT, I enjoy some of his music. "Her Town Too" and "Copperline" are my two favorites by him.

Bar L. said...

Bob, you know what...I can't stand Jame's Taylor's music. I am a crappy music reviewer, I try to be nice. I think he's boring and In will delete it from my itunes as I did with Paul. Why didn't I have the guts to say that last night? I don't like reveiwing stuff I don't like, its no fun.

Bar L. said...

Anon, hmmm I may get out that link but it scares me that you singed in as anony so I probably won't.


Malcolm, You're right. I don't know too many people who like both. I love John.

bob_vinyl said...

I know that I tend to come off as a jerk a lot, but I kinda like writing negative reviews sometimes, especially if it's a bit of a sacred cow. I don't look to be negative, but I don't usually avoid it. If it's a young band that might be able to get something out of the review, I try to be constructive though. I really do want music to be good.

Jeff said...

Can't wait to see the Nirvana review. I've been waiting for that DVD to come out for a reallly long time. I purchased it around a week ago but never really got around to watching any of the extras or anything. It was great to relive that moment.

David Amulet said...

I heard a couple of songs from McCartney and they are good art pop, but not my cup of tea. James Taylor turns me off as much as he does Bob. Blah x10, IMO.

-- david

taotechuck said...

Layla,

I've actually been kind of sad lately because everything I've checked out from the library to review has been good. I think writing bad reviews is extraordinarily fun. Especially when it's someone like James Taylor, who is almost unquestionably accepted as being good. There's value in forcing people to question their opinions.

(Now I'm just justifying being mean, though, aren't I?)

Anonymous said...

taotechuck,
The older I get, the more discerning and mean I become. Music I used to fawn over is now blah blah blah and subjected to my new stringent standards. There's nothing wrong with criticising bad music. That, and I think I also highly enjoy being nasty. Makes up for those times when you want to punch the person who brings two shopping carts to the express line.
Bryan

taotechuck said...

Amen to that, Hatter. I say we make the bastard listen to James Taylor while he stands in line with his 274 cans of soup that he claims are one item. That'll learn 'em.

Mike said...

I like both artists for different reasons. I think James Taylors Fire and Rain is a great song. Lyrically and musically. I would never go to either artist to find a anger release. Both do their thing in a low key way.

Its what makes music the great thing it is....you cant eat cheeseburgers everyday.

Hey Layla? Did you get that Crossroads DVD? Dont forget your buddy! :-)

I got the "new" Zep DVD. Love it. Even love the goofy fantasy scenes and I am mr. clean!

Anonymous said...

Came across this post and could not resist. Paul McCartney has a few songs that I really like. The songs that he belts out..."Beware My Love" is a pretty good song. I think he has a very versatile voice.
As for James Taylor...Yuk! Never liked him, always found him terriby boring. His voice is bland and so are his songs. The only more boring song than his was "Horse With No Name" and I'm surprised that he cannot take credit for it...it is right up his alley.

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