JAMES TAYLOR : JAMES WITH ORCHESTRA

1. Sweet Baby James
2. The Water Is Wide
3. Carolina in My Mind
4. My Traveling Star
5. Shower the People
6. Enough to Be on Your Way
7. Caroline I See You
8. Mean Old Man
9. Fire and Rain
10. Up on the Roof
11. That Lonesome Road
12. Copperline
13. Secret o' Life
14. Country Road

Label : Project Zip

Venue : Tanglewood Music Center, Lenox, Massachusetts, USA

Recording Date : August 30, 2009

Length : 72:47

Quality : FM recording (A+)

Review : James With Orchestra captures James Taylor at Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, on August 30, 2009, in a set that brings together some of the most familiar and enduring songs from his career. The performance opens with the warm, understated "Sweet Baby James" and moves through highlights such as "Carolina in My Mind," "Shower the People" and "Fire and Rain," while the inclusion of "The Water Is Wide" and "Up on the Roof" adds a pleasant change of color. The latter is a Carole King cover, while "The Water Is Wide" is a traditional song. The first fourteen performances of the evening form this bootleg, ending with the upbeat "Country Road." With its FM source rated A+, the recording offers collectors a strong-sounding document of Taylor's 2009 Tanglewood performance, combining his relaxed vocal delivery and characteristic acoustic songwriting with the fuller concert setting suggested by the album title. Although it is an unofficial release, the generous 73 minutes running time makes this a particularly substantial snapshot of the show.

Review : Excellent recording of a live FM broadcast on WGBH/National Public Radio. James Taylor is backed by the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, John Williams conducting and members of The Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Although the complete setlist has 19 songs, this is a nice capture of the first 14 songs of this James Taylor with Orchestra concert.