Saturday 6 August 2022

One Man Dog - JAMES TAYLOR***

One Man Parade/Nobody But You/Chili Dog/Fool For You/Instrumental/New Tune/Back On The Street Again/ Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight/Woh Don't You Know/One Morning In May/Instrumental II/Someone Hymn/Fanfare/Little David/Mescalito/Dance/Jig

After a couple of acclaimed musical gems the release of One Man Dog came as an anti climax to fans of James Taylor. Although the US top 20 single Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight is a fine song the rest are largely forgettable. (US:4 UK:27)

“His vocals remain a joy and the record is so smooth playing and production wise, but it is strictly in one ear, out the other stuff.” “You have to wade through a lot of misfires to get to the good stuff, I'm grateful for this album; just as you'd pick ripe fruit from a tree and leave the rotten stuff there, so can you pick the best songs from One Man Dog and ignore the rest.”

One Man Dog is bristling with short funky work-outs that flow from Taylor's tight, accomplished, guitar playing and are taken up by his excellent band. Some, hardly qualify as songs and are more an excuse for having a good time. Strong melodies are provided by Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight and the traditional sounding cover One Morning In May.”

“The biggest problem for me with One Man Dog is that only two tracks last over three minutes long and some clock in at less than a minute. That just makes the album a bit too bitty for my liking. Yes, there are some good tracks on here but there are others that have promise but just don't last long enough to get going.”

One Man Dog is James Taylor’s best album because it is not so much a collection of singles as it is a cohesive mix of songs that mean something. The best part of the album are the last four songs that run together. Nobody bought this album because there was a single song that defined it. It works as one long series of songs about nature and making it on your own.”

“If only music today could be as imaginative and fanciful. The songs on side two are more like movements in one long song. It seems to showcase different aspects of his talents in that he is much more sombre, reflective and open about his own uncertainties and personal troubles.”

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