LITTLE ROCK — Surely there must be some baby-boomer humor in the following riddle: How do you know when legendary singersongwriter James Taylor is ready to “get down,” as the hippies used to say? Answer: He gets up.
That’s right. Despite a recent broken leg, Taylor put on quite a show Friday night at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock. When he wasn’t seated sedately on a stool, he was up and around, even jumping up and down as if to demonstrate that no common skiing fracture was going to slow down Sweet Baby James from the completion of his appointed rounds.
And what a roundly entertaining show it was, with Taylor in perfect mellow voice, his guitar in perfect tune and his 10-person “legendary band,” as it was billed, backing him up tastefully and making no foolish moves. No need for an opening act when you’re James Taylor, and he gave his 6,863 fans a two-hour show, divided into two parts, with the second half delayed a tad while Taylor signed autographs at the front of the stage to accommodate as many fans as he could - before all the others grew so impatient they started calling the Hogs.
From the show’s opening with a jazzy, unrecognizable take on Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” to a beautiful finale of “You Can Close Your Eyes,” Taylor truly put on a memorable show, filled with hit songs, obscure gems and some choice stories, like the background on how he came to write “Sweet Baby James” for a young nephew who had been named after him.
One of his most intriguing stories came as he introduced “Line ‘em Up,” inspired while Taylor watched the departure of President Richard Nixon from the White House after Nixon resigned in 1974.
Of course there were the songs everyone wanted to hear, like “Fire and Rain,” “Shower the People,” “Something in the Way She Moves,” “Up on the Roof” and others, all done with taste and verve. There was no loafing on this crowded stage.
Four backing vocalists added to the rich sound of Taylor’s songs, with the crowd stunned a couple of times by the voice of the tall, distinguished Arnold McCuller, who could rival Al Green for rhythm and blues versatility, while Andrea Zorn shined on both vocals and violin.
Proving that he can rockout with the best of them, Taylor did rousing versions of “Up on the Roof” and “Country Roads” before taking the intermission that he said “gives us a chance to start twice.” He nicely alternated up-tempo songs like “Mexico,” “Steamroller Blues,” Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” and Jr. Walker & the All-Stars’ “Roadrunner” with more poignant ballads, including “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” “First Day of May” and his closing lullaby, “You Can Close Your Eyes.”
And then there was time for signing more autographs.
Arkansas, Pages 19 on 05/01/2011