‘I didn’t know if we’d be back in Manchester’ is a familiar refrain from musicians after worldwide tours have been arranged and rearranged over the last couple of years. And for some of our older singers, it’s likely that fear has been realised. They may have emerged from the pandemic having unknowingly played their last international show, with fans now left bereft of the chance to see their favourites live one more time.
But despite kicking off his show with that sentiment, for James Taylor & His All-Star Band any sign of a career in the autumn of its life seemed like a distant trouble. A sold-out audience at Manchester’s Apollo on Monday night and a setlist lasting some three hours and a mammoth 22 songs, each deftly unfurled by the veteran musical icon - there’s no sign Taylor is stopping anytime soon.
The setlist was split in half with an interval. A slower start followed by a pacier second instalment.
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There was a real juxtaposition stepping from a chaotic country outside to such a soft, calm show inside the Apollo. Such a gulf, in fact, that it begged the question whether this style of old-worldly Americana really has a place in today’s culture.
Superficially, at least, Taylor’s music often speaks of small, mom-and-pop towns. The quaint nostalgia of Copperline and sun-dappled rendition of Carolina In My Mind were beautiful to hear live. Taylor’s command of his voice and guitar are still as silky and skilful as the 70s, and his all-star band are experienced touring stalwarts.
Authentic experiences, but ones that only exist in the memories of a dwindling few. They they seem miles away from society’s jarring shift into a noisy, confrontational, always-on status that has characterised the last decade.
Yet, to view Taylor’s efforts through such a simplistic lens does him a disservice - he certainly didn’t shirk the tough stuff in this show.
Sat in the cramped seats of the Apollo, it’s striking that standing on that stage is one of a core group of American singer-songwriters that shaped their corner of modern American music as we know it today.
Taylor comfortably takes his place alongside Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Simon and Garfunkel, Joan Bayez, Bob Dylan - many of whom he calls friends and collaborators, all of whom were armed with pens and voices that soundtracked the 60s, 70s and beyond.
The height of their fame came at a point in history just as tumultuous as our own. Taylor’s breakthrough song Fire and Rain (performed to rapturous applause) tells of the tragedy of the suicide of a friend, his own drug addiction and mental health struggles. That song was released in 1970 - hearing it in 2022, the lyrics feel acutely prescient.
That’s Why I’m Here recounted the tragic death of friend and actor John Belushi. The experience became a moment for Taylor to make changes to his own addictions.
Another track explored the familiar feeling of having one too many in a bar at 2am, ‘the time when all the best decisions are made, when judgement is at its most sharp’, joked Taylor.
Ending the show with hopeful and heart-warming classics Shower the People , You’ve Got a Friend and How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) proved to be optimistic singalong songs for an adoring crowd, who would have been happy for him to play on through the night. There’s no pretence from this Boston native, this is far from Taylor’s first rodeo.
Of course he was going to get minutes and minutes of standing ovation, and of course he and the band ‘have something prepared’ for an encore, he quipped.
An understated show and traditional-sounding folk songs like Taylor’s can fool the younger ear into forgetting his legacy - and disguise his incisive handle on life’s troubles through his writing. But beneath the soft rock characteristic of the 60s and 70s, Taylor’s body of work is timeless and a reminder that problems which might feel unique to us have happened again and again.
Hearing this still-lively, charming-as-ever 74-year-old sit, sing and share stories from a life at the centre of one of the most culturally significant group of musicians (including appearances from McCartney and Harrison) was one hell of a way of spending an evening.
James Taylor is still a mirror for our times, but his slowed-down show is a comforting tonic for them too.
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