Jazz. Not what you would expect from ol' JT, but look at the credits: Produced and arranged by Dave Grusin. I was expecting this to be mellow in the Taylor mode, but I wasn't expecting smooth jazz-large ensemble mellow. Only a few songs feature the artist's distinctive guitar playing style to any extent, one of which is the cover of Joni Mitchell's "River," which is the sound you might expect a JT album to have all the way through. Turns out this is one of two cuts not produced by Grusin. ("River" was a free download for a couple of years, but I guess you have to come here to get it now.) Considering this originated as a project for Hallmark Cards, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how it turned out. Apparently the two non-Grusin songs weren't on the card shop original, but a version of "Deck the Halls" was. A different cover distinguishes the 2004 Hallmark from the 2006 Columbia. UPDATE: Howard Cogswell notes "Deck the Halls" is part of the Columbia disc if you buy it from Barnes & Noble. FURTHER UPDATE: An Entertainment Weekly article about the history behind "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and its evolving lyrics cites James' performance, first released in 2001 in the wake of 9/11, using the original, more downbeat lyrics. That performance is on this album, although the single almost certainly is somewhere on eBay.
At Christmas, James Taylor (Columbia)
Jazz. Not what you would expect from ol' JT, but look at the credits: Produced and arranged by Dave Grusin. I was expecting this to be mellow in the Taylor mode, but I wasn't expecting smooth jazz-large ensemble mellow. Only a few songs feature the artist's distinctive guitar playing style to any extent, one of which is the cover of Joni Mitchell's "River," which is the sound you might expect a JT album to have all the way through. Turns out this is one of two cuts not produced by Grusin. ("River" was a free download for a couple of years, but I guess you have to come here to get it now.) Considering this originated as a project for Hallmark Cards, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how it turned out. Apparently the two non-Grusin songs weren't on the card shop original, but a version of "Deck the Halls" was. A different cover distinguishes the 2004 Hallmark from the 2006 Columbia. UPDATE: Howard Cogswell notes "Deck the Halls" is part of the Columbia disc if you buy it from Barnes & Noble. FURTHER UPDATE: An Entertainment Weekly article about the history behind "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and its evolving lyrics cites James' performance, first released in 2001 in the wake of 9/11, using the original, more downbeat lyrics. That performance is on this album, although the single almost certainly is somewhere on eBay.
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