'October Road'

Following the success of 1997's Hourglass, James Taylor laid low professionally for a few years. In 2001 he married current wife Kim Smedvig, with whom he subsequently had twin boys Rufus and Henry. Despite his dedication to his new domestic life, by 2002 James had assembled enough songs for a new album. To produce this album he brought in a face from his past--Russ Titelman who had co-produced (with Lenny Waronker) James's 1970s albums Gorilla and In The Pocket. The album was made in fits and starts--was recorded at various studios from 2000 through 2002. Finally, on August 13, 2002, the completed October Road was released.

The album opens with a pair of autumnal Taylor ballads, though the first, the lovely "September Grass," written not by Taylor, but by John I Sheldon. It's a leisurely tune with Taylor inviting a love interest to lie down in the September grass. It gets the album off to a strong, nostalgic start.

The title track "October Road" is next a fine song with all-star backing, featuring Steve Gadd on drums using brushes, Jimmy Johnson on bass , Ry Cooder on lead guitar, Clifford Carter on organ, Stuart Duncan on violin, Luis Conte on percussion, Michael Brecker on saxophones and David Lasley joining James on harmony vocals. The feel is the similar to the first track, with more nostalgia and more of the autumnal mood, as James answers the "sweet call of the countryside."

Just when you think the whole album might be variations on James's fall classic "Walking Man," the album shifts to a whole new season, though the mood is still quite mellow. "On The 4th Of July" opens with a signature James Taylor acoustic guitar lick, but becomes is a showcase for the backing vocalists which include Chiara Civello, David Lasley, Arnold McCuller, Kate Markowitz, and the whistling James himself. It's a lovely call to domesticity concerning a day on which the protagonist gained a new kind of independence on the Fourth of July.

For the first time, "Whenever Your' Ready" shakes the album out of ballad mode, albeit only somewhat. It's a jaunty number, strong though unexceptional, featuring the horns of Walt Fowler and Lou Marini who had recently joined James's touring band. A very positive song, and like most songs on the album, it seems to be aligned with Taylor's newfound domestic bliss.

"Belfast to Boston," which had made an appearance on the video "Live from the Beacon Theater," which Taylor released in 1998, is a prayer for peace for the people of Belfast, written at a time when Ireland was just about to move on from the period known as "the Troubles," when that country's Protestant and Catholic factions involved themselves in an irregular war that had a strong effect on American cities with large Irish populations, like Boston. Steve Gadd provides military style snare drum rolls, while Rob Mounsey adds synth bagpipes to accompany Taylor's mourning hymn like lyric, stating at its core "Who will bend this ancient hatred."

"Mean Old Man" is a song about an "ornery cuss" finding true love, and serves to showcase for the piano stylings of jazz pianist Larry Goldings, who would later accompany James on the "One Man Band" tour. Steve Gadd adds further jazz touches with brushes on the drums.

"My Travelling Star" features James's adult daughter Sally on backing vocals. The song also features strings arranged and conducted by Dave Grusin. It's another Taylor hymn, this time to the star that causes him to be an "old road dog."

"Raised Up Family" which features plenty of horns courtesy of Fowler and Marini , a guitar solo by Michael Landau. and plenty of percussion accents by Luis Conte. The song itself is another tribute by James to growing up in North Carolina and to the family he feels so strongly about, this time with a strange bit of nostalgia created by adding a few bars of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song.

"Carry Me On My Way" is next and is a nice song that features a prominent guitar solo by Michael Landau and castanets by Luis Conte. Jimmy Johnson adds bass and Steve Gadd, drums. By this point in the album, it becomes clear that Taylor has constructed a full album about falling in love, though musically he is clearly repeating themes and sounds from his previous albums.

"Caroline, I See You" is a love song by James to his then-new wife Caroline "Kim" Smedvig. It's probably the most unabashed love song he'd written since "There We Are" on JT. The piano intro is played by Clifford Carter, who also plays synth Rhodes on the track. The track also features legendary harmonica player Tommy Morgan.

"Baby Buffalo" also features backing vocals by Sally Taylor, Luis Conte on prominent percussion, Jimmy Johnson on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, and Clifford Carter on synth-organ. The song captures a sense of both wonder and regret at the passage of times, somewhat cryptically but very effectively.

For some reason, James chose to close the album with the seasonal standard "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." This is a portent of both the very pleasant James Taylor at Christmas, and last year's American Standard album, as he shows that he can effectively take a standard song, like this one whose origin was in the Judy Garland move Meet Me in St. Louis, and make it a seamless part of his repertoire. Featured here are Larry Goldings on piano, with a string arrangement by Rob Mounsey, featuring violins played by Cenovia Cummins, Richard Sortomme, Donna Tecco and Balinda Whitney. The song, and album, concludes with a lovely tenor sax solo by Harry Allen.

While the wait for October Road was long, it would be nothing like the next wait. October Road would be Taylor's last album of original material for 13 years. For some of that time, it couldn't be helped to think that this may have been Taylor's last batch of songs. Thankfully, it wasn't, but it would have been a strong set to bow out on nonetheless. If the album had a flaw it is that, at least relative to the prior album Hourglass, nothing seemed exceptionally new and the album may have felt too relaxed for its own good at time. But there really isn't a weak song in the batch.