James Taylor
1970-04-25
Sanders Theatre
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Soundboard Recording
1st Set:
01. With A Little Help From My Friends
02. Anywhere Like Heaven
03. Steamroller
04. Blossom
05. Mannish Boy
06. Okie From Muskogee
07. Greensleeves
08. For Free
09. Fire And Rain
10. Carolina In My Mind
11. Riding On A Railroad
12. Isn't It Nice To Be Home Again
2nd Set:
01. Carolina In My Mind
02. Brighten Your Night With My Day
03. Tube Rose Snuff Song
04. Sunny Skies
05. Matthew
06. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
07. Oh, Susannah
08. Sweet Baby James
09. Fire And Rain
10. Sunshine Sunshine
11. Diamonds In The Rough
In the ’70s, the success of musicians such as James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot and Carly Simon cemented the singer-songwriter genre, building on the works paved by artists such as Bob Dylan and Simon And Garfunkel before them. By singer-songwriter, it also meant folkish, gentle, confessional and usually acoustic-based albums, of which James Taylor’s Fire And Rain probably ranks among the genre’s top songs.
Taylor was formerly on Apple Records but moved over to Warner and, in February 1970, released Sweet Baby James, one of his biggest sellers.
It must have been early days for the Sweet Baby James album when Taylor played the Sanders Theatre at Harvard University - there were no obvious signs that this was a “hot-selling star” in concert - and Taylor kept Fire And Rain towards the end of the set, almost as if he was closing his sets with the (hit) single, followed by two or three encores. Like the troubadour he is, Taylor was conversational and amiable, but to listen to a good selection of songs from Sweet Baby James, the fan would have to attend both shows.
Of added interest is Taylor’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s For Free (he refers to her as “a chick”) and brother Livingston’s In My Reply. [The song appeared on Livingston’s self-titled debut album, also released in 1970.]
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