James Taylor - Live At The Beacon Theatre (2003) DVD9

goodliife · June 29, 2011

Imagen IPB

Video: PAL, MPEG-2, 720 x 576 (1.333) at 25.000 fps

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, LPCM 2.0 Stereo

Menu: Yes

Time: 121 min.

Size: 7,64 Gb

Copy: 1:1

New York's Beacon Theater is the ideal setting for a James Taylor concert and this DVD brilliantly shows why. A theater of this style and size brings a unique intimacy between the performer and the audience and this is evident by Taylor's frequent banter with the audience, and the way he seems to be enjoying himself onstage. The warm and dynamic acoustics which this theater imparts were captured impeccably on this DVD, and are presented in one of the finest Dolby 5.1 mixes I have ever heard.

Live At The Beacon Theater showcases 25 song performances that go all the way back to Taylor's early 70's classics, and all the way up to his Grammy Award winning Hourglass album of 1997. He also mixes in a few interesting cover songs, including two from Buddy Holly. Taylor appears in excellent spirits this evening. His usual shy and reserved persona is clearly evident but he easily disarms the adoring audience with his charming between song chatter. However, like myself, the audience didn't come to hear Sweet Baby James talk, they came to hear him sing and pick that guitar of his, and he absolutely delivers.

Taylor's vocals have never sounded better, and he had an amazing sounding band backing him on this show. He took some liberty with the arrangement of some of his classic songs, most notably on a somber version of "Fire And Rain" that only included Taylor on the acoustic guitar, accompanied by some excellent cello playing. Most of the song performances were exceptional, and ranged from stripped down, acoustic guitar numbers with only Taylor's guitar and vocals, to full blown productions including every member of his band.

A few of the songs sounded uninspired and fell a little flat, when compared to the original versions, but this was hardly noticed among all of the other great performances. On "Shower The People", the male background vocalist handles the middle vocal section of the song and gives a dramatic, gospel-inspired vocal performance that made this old classic sound fresh. "Steamroller Blues" closed out the first set and featured Taylor playing a pretty impressive harmonica intro. This performance was a little bit lighter and more improvised than some other versions I have heard.

Tracklist:

01. YOU CAN CLOSE YOUR EYES'

02. ANOTHER DAY

03. DADDY'S ALL GONE

04. EVERYDAY

05. MIGHTY STORM

06. ONLY A DREAM IN RIO

07. DON'T LET ME BE LONLEY TONIGHT

08. YOUR SMILING FACE

09. JUMP UP BEHIND ME

10. SHOWER THE PEOPLE

11. HOW SWEET IT IS