James Taylor

 Here we have a comparison of a singer 48 years apart !!.....firstly we have a recording from 1972 then by the magic of recording we jump to 2020 and hear some great songs sung very well......I wonder if James ever though that in the distant future he would be singing standards   

 I think that this L/P was about the first one from James Taylor in the early 70's....he certainly looks different these days still I reckon we all must do after 40 odd years !!....he has quite a few well known  backing singers on this one....Now who's heard of "Carol King" and "Carly Simon" not forgetting "Linda Ronstadt " !!! Don't all shout at once my speakers wont take it !!!.....Back to the record...most of the tracks James wrote himself and the last 4 tracks are all joined together...no gaps in the tracks !!!..soooooooo listen to a good chunk of 70's nostalgia music !!...Tracks 7/8/9/10 on side two are recorded as one track !!

 1. One Man Parade

2. Nobody But You

3. Chilli Dog

4. Fool For You

5. Instrumental 1

6. New Tune

7. Back On The Street Again

8. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

1. Woh Don't You Know

2. One Morning In May

3. Instrumental 2

4. Someone

5. Hymn

6. Fanfare

7. Little David

8. Mescalito

9. Dance

10. Jig

One Man Dog is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter James Taylor. Released on November 1, 1972, it features the hit "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight", which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard charts on January 13, 1973. The follow-up single, "One Man Parade", also charted but less successfully, peaking at number 67 in the US and reaching number 55 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. The basic tracks were primarily recorded in Taylor's home studio.

The album is made up of 18 short pieces strung together. It climbed to number 4 on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart. 

         2. One Morning In May

James Taylor

American Standard is the twentieth studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor released on February 28, 2020. It consists of his interpretations of standard songs from the American canon. It won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

American Standard Review by Timothy Monger  (AllMusic)

For pop artists of a certain generation, taking on the Great American Songbook has become somewhat of a rite of passage, occasionally bordering on cliché. Some, like Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon, got to it early in their careers. James Taylor is no stranger to cover songs; everything from early rock to Motown and cowboy songs have popped up in his catalogue, not to mention a pair Christmas albums and an entire 2008 set called Covers. As one of the most revered American singer/songwriters of the mid- to late 20th century, it seems almost inevitable that he would eventually take his turn to honour the generation of pop tunesmiths that preceded him.

On American Standard, Taylor applies his gentle magic to classics like "My Blue Heaven" and "The Nearness of You," refashioning their well-worn melodies into the friendly and inviting mode that is his signature. Wisely eschewing the orchestral big-band approach, he stays on familiar ground, recording on a smaller scale at his barn studio in Western Massachusetts and working with his regular stable of players. He also downplays the role of the piano, opting instead to base the material around the nimble intertwining of his own acoustic guitar and that of jazz guitar wiz John Pizzarelli. The result is a relaxed musical conversation that perfectly underscores Taylor's tender vocals, especially on his sweet rendition of "Moon River," a song so well-suited to him it seems like it should have already existed before now. This sense of pleasant familiarity more or less guides the entire album as he turns "Teach Me Tonight" and "It's Only a Paper Moon" into James Taylor songs written by other artists. Horns and lush backing vocals do appear here and there, as does a slightly misguided dip into a borderline cartoonish vocal baritone on the otherwise strong "Ol' Man River," but the best parts of American Standard occur in the intimate moments that constitute Taylor's wheelhouse and of which there are more than enough to satisfy.

           11. My Heart Stood Still