How sweet he is

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This article was published 03/06/2016 (3735 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Before he even strung his first notes, James Taylor was awarded a standing ovation from the crowd at MTS Centre Friday night. This was his first time playing Winnipeg, and he was immediately made to feel welcome.

The 68-year-old singer-songwriter humbly sauntered onstage with no introduction — not that one was needed — removed his newsboy cap, took a little bow and found his seat at a stool in the middle of the stage with his guitar.  

The familiar sounds of Wandering were the first to reverberate throughout the room. He crooned as lights twinkled above him like stars in the night sky. Within 30 seconds, Taylor had already fulfilled everything you’d expect a James Taylor concert to be —relaxed, beautiful and perfectly on point. 

Taylor, backed by his 10-piece band, is touring to support his newest release, Before This World — his first album since 2002. Taylor did his duty and scattered both sets with a handful of songs from that new album, knowing full well, however, that those in the attendance were waiting for the classics of his back catalogue. 

“We’re going to play a new tune now, don’t worry, we just got a few of these in here,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll take it off like a Band-Aid and get it over with quick!”

(This dry humour was a semi-surprising and a regular injection into the evening — who knew James Taylor had such a funny streak?)

He quickly jumped into Today Today Today from the new record, following that up with an old hit, the bluesy Country Road, that allowed the band a more obvious moment to shine, especially drummer Steve Gadd who drove the song with a thumping yet intricate beat.

Really, the entire band, many of whom are famous in their own right, were impeccable the whole night — perfectly treading the line between being noticeably good and not overpowering Taylor, who made his appreciation of the musicians behind him known immediately. He took the time to individually introduce each player with a brief but impressive bio, which is not as common a practice as it should be.

“It’s the joy of a lifetime in music to play with these cats,” said Taylor. “It’s the best band in the world, I don’t know what to tell ya.”

Flanking the band on either side of the stage were a series of lighted columns that acted as animators for various songs — from projecting images of maps and landscapes of Taylor’s home state of North Carolina for Carolina in My Mind to appearing to be buildings in a skyline for the Carole King cover of Up on the Roof, they were a simple but effective.

Following a flawless rendition of his breakthrough 1970 hit Fire and Rain, Taylor had the crowd on its feet for Shed a Little Lightbefore grabbing a seat on the side of the stage to sign autographs and talk to fans during a brief intermission. 

Taylor kicked off the second set with a new tune, SnowTime, and, as was his pattern throughout the night, made sure to follow it with one of his biggest hits to date, You’ve Got a Friend — the Carole King classic that gave Taylor his first No. 1 single. It was evident from the first song of the evening his voice has been unaffected by time, but in this moment specifically, the iconic chorus almost melted out of him; so smooth and so stunning. 

Before calling it a night on a more than two-hour performance, Taylor came back for an encore that included Knock on Wood (an Eddie Floyd cover) one of his most well-known hits, How Sweet It Is, as well as one other song.

There’s something comforting about Taylor that is hard to pinpoint — perhaps it’s the ease in which he delivers album-quality vocals, or the familiar friendliness with which he speaks to his audience, or maybe his ability to make an arena show feel intimate. Whatever it is, it’s something that only comes with decades of experience.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel