James Taylor tribute

[Dale]

PBS aired a 90-minute tribute concert to James Taylor. I always liked James Taylor. There are some fluffy songs here and there, but at its best, its good stuff.

Highlights of the show for me: Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas did "Carolina in my Mind." Jerry Douglas playing the dobro. It's just beyond cool.

But the really hot one was Bruce Springsteen playing "Millworker." Yikes. It was intense. A very, very angry rendition. Which reminded me of a concert I attended in 1997 of Bruce playing solo. It was the best concert I've ever been to. There's a really, really dark Bruce.

[Dale]

PBS aired a 90-minute tribute concert to James Taylor. I always liked James Taylor. There are some fluffy songs here and there, but at its best, its good stuff.

Highlights of the show for me: Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas did "Carolina in my Mind." Jerry Douglas playing the dobro. It's just beyond cool.

But the really hot one was Bruce Springsteen playing "Millworker." Yikes. It was intense. A very, very angry rendition. Which reminded me of a concert I attended in 1997 of Bruce playing solo. It was the best concert I've ever been to. There's a really, really dark Bruce.

Now my grandfather was a sailor
He blew in off the water
My father was a farmer
And i, his only daughter
Took up with a no good millworking man
From massachusetts
Who dies from too much whiskey
And leaves me these three faces to feed

Millwork aint easy
Millwork aint hard
Millwork it aint nothing
But an awful boring job
Im waiting for a daydream
To take me through the morning
And put me in my coffee break
Where I can have a sandwich
And remember

Then its me and my machine
For the rest of the morning
For the rest of the afternoon
And the rest of my life

Now my mind begins to wander
To the days back on the farm
I can see my father smiling at me
Swinging on his arm
I can hear my granddads stories
Of the storms out on lake eerie
Where vessels and cargos and fortunes
And sailors lives were lost

Yes, but its my life has been wasted
And I have been the fool
To let this manufacturer
Use my body for a tool
I can ride home in the evening
Staring at my hands
Swearing by my sorrow that a young girl
Ought to stand a better chance

So may I work the mills just as long as I am able
And never meet the man whose name is on the label

It be me and my machine
For the rest of the morning
And the rest of the afternoon
Gone for the rest of my life

[oleorezinator]

how 'bout the band? google the names. stellar.



Musicians
Luis Conte: Percussion
Walter Fowler: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Keyboards
Steve Gadd: Drums
Larry Goldings: Piano, Organ, Synth
Jimmy Johnson: Bass
Michael Landau: Guitar
David Lasley: Vocals
Louis Marini, Jr.: Sax, Flute, Clarinet
Kate Markowitz: Vocals
Arnold McCuller: Vocals
Andrea Zonn: Violin, Vocals

[johnkerr]

PBS aired a 90-minute tribute concert to James Taylor. I always liked James Taylor.

IMHO James Taylor's best work ever was his appearance in the Deep Space Homer episode of The Simpsons, back in 1994. Here, straight off the Internet and with thanks to unknown transcribers with way too much time on their hands, is a summary of that appearance:

Controller: Er, some good news, gentlemen. We have quite a treat for
you. We've been able to coax superstar James Taylor in here
to Mission Control to wish you well and play you a little
bit of his own brand of laid-back adult contemporary music.
Homer: Wow, former president James Taylor.
Taylor: How ya doin', fellas?
Buzz: With all due respect, Mr. Taylor, this isn't the best time
for your unique brand of bittersweet folk rock. We have a
potentially critical situation here. I'm sure you'll
understand.
Taylor: Listen, Aldrin, I'm not as laid back as people think. Now
here's the deal: I'm going to play, and you're going to
float there and like it.
[sings]
When you're down, and troubled,
And you need a helping hand,
And nothing, oh, nothing is going right...

Kent Brockman reports on Channel Six.

Kent: We're just about to get our first pictures from inside the
spacecraft with "average-naut" Homer Simpson, and we'd like to
-- aah!
[Camera shows a close-up of an ant floating in front of the
three astronauts]
Everyone: Aah!
Kent: Ladies and gentlemen, er, we've just lost the picture, but,
uh, what we've seen speaks for itself. The Corvair spacecraft
has been taken over -- "conquered", if you will -- by a master
race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this
vantage point whether they will consume the captive earth men
or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain, there is no
stopping them; the ants will soon be here.
And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to
remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful
in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar
caves.
Marge: Mmm, don't worry, kids. I'm sure your father's all right.
Lisa: What are you basing that on, Mom?
[pause]
Marge: [with forced cheer] Who wants ginger snaps?

James Taylor continues to sing to the hapless astronauts. "{There's
hours of time on the telephone line,/Talking 'bout things to
come.}/Sweet dreams, and flying machines,/And pieces on the ground --
um..." He pauses, then continues, "Sweet dreams, and flying
machines,/Flying safely through the air..."

Things go from bad to worse on the spaceship. Some of the ants land on
the controls and crawl into them.

Race: Oh my God, the ants are shorting out our navigation systems!
[the astronauts smack back and forth into the walls]
Taylor: Ants, huh? We had quite a severe ant problem at the vineyard
this year. I had Art Garfunkel come by with his compressor,
and we created a total vacuum outside the house, and we blew
the ants out the front door. But I'm sure you high-tech NASA
people could care less about our resort-town ways.
Assistant: [menacing] Quiet, you --
Scientist: Wait a minute...this unkempt youngster might just be on to
something.

Race and Buzz prepare the shuttle to be evacuated of air. Buzz pushes
the button with a "Make hatch blow now!" The ants and chips get sucked
out, as planned, and Homer (who has forgotten to attach his seat belt)
dusts off his hands, says, "And that is that!" He, too, gets sucked
towards the hatch.

Luckily, he manages to grab the handle of the door, but it bends under
the strain. "Oh my God," says the scientist, "this is a disaster!"
James Taylor uses the distraction to run away.


Dale, was this trenchant and ground-breaking work on the part of Mr. Taylor even alluded to in the PBS tribute? No, you say? And they call themselves broadcasters. Hah! Their new insect overlords would make short work of them.

[bradhurley]

Highlights of the show for me: Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas did "Carolina in my Mind." Jerry Douglas playing the dobro. It's just beyond cool.

But the really hot one was Bruce Springsteen playing "Millworker." Yikes.

Jerry Douglas is the most wonderful dobro player ever; I've bought albums simply because he was listed as a guest musician.

I haven't heard that Millworker song in years; it inspired me one day when I was walking around the old mill town of Lawrence, Massachusetts to write this little haiku:

Remember the mills
that once lined these riverbanks
eating sweat and dreams

[carrie]

Anne Hills has a good song about two long-time loom workers, "me and Mary," and the shutting down of the mills in Allentown, PA. It's not angry--but it's more than wistful, for sure.

I completely agree about Jerry Douglas. He was playing with Alison Kraus when I saw her some years ago in Chicago. I didn't know him at all then, so I didn't go in expecting anything special, but his playing is what I most remember from the concert: without in any way stealing the show inappropriately, he came forth with THE most moving and inspired riffs and solos of the night; their beauty was painful.

Carol

[djm]

Which reminded me of a concert I attended in 1997 of Bruce playing solo. It was the best concert I've ever been to. There's a really, really dark Bruce.

Bruce? James Taylor is called "Bruce"?

djm

[TonyHiggins]

Is there a particular cd recommended that shows Jerry Douglas' work?
Tony

[dubhlinn]

James Taylor is a highly respected man in this house.

I have all his albums, a few DVDs, and a stack of MP3s.

He always appears with a great band, many of whom he has been with for years.

Most guitarists I know would surrender any available limb to get somewhere near his right hand. He can pick an acoustic like nobody...

He has a nice way with words as well..

I'll not hear a single word said against James Taylor.

Slan,
D.

[Dale]

James Taylor is a highly respected man in this house.

I have all his albums, a few DVDs, and a stack of MP3s.

He always appears with a great band, many of whom he has been with for years.

Most guitarists I know would surrender any available limb to get somewhere near his right hand. He can pick an acoustic like nobody...

He has a nice way with words as well..

I'll not hear a single word said against James Taylor.

Slan,
D.

We're big fans at our house, too. He's my daughter Sarah's favorite. Could be because on a nightly basis, practically, when she was an infant, her Dad sang "Sweet Baby James" as a lullaby. Alternated it, I guess, with "You Can Close Your Eyes." The latter has such simple and direct lyrics, but it's just an entirely magical song.

[dubhlinn]

Ha,

My own eighteen year old son lived and died for the video of JT doing "How sweet it is to be loved by you".
The part of the Vid where they all stop..."and thank you baby", was the be all and everything.
He would laugh and giggle at it and demand a replay.
I would try to lay another one on him but it never worked..
One of these days, eventually, somewhere, he will get the crack behind "You can close your eyes"..

Till then...

Slan,
D.

[djm]

Yeah, but what's this "Bruce" stuff about?

djm

[Nanohedron]

Yeah, but what's this "Bruce" stuff about?

djm

But the really hot one was Bruce Springsteen playing "Millworker." Yikes. It was intense. A very, very angry rendition. Which reminded me of a concert I attended in 1997 of Bruce playing solo. It was the best concert I've ever been to. There's a really, really dark Bruce.

[Dale]

Yeah, but what's this "Bruce" stuff about?

djm

I confused you. Again.

Bruce Springsteen did a James Taylor song at a recent concert paying tribute to James Taylor. Springsteen did the song in a style which he often uses in his solo performances.

That is all.

[Dale]

Is there a particular cd recommended that shows Jerry Douglas' work?
Tony

Well. Many. But, I like http://tinyurl.com/y6h7fq .


And look at this here beautiful photo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MG_3701.jpg