James Taylor - American Standard

2020 CD release. U.S. pressing.

It takes an extraordinary artist to re-imagine some of the most beloved songs of the 20th century and make them completely their own. That’s precisely what James Taylor has accomplished with his new album, American Standard. Recalling the best of his early work, James infuses new sounds and fresh meaning into these timeless works of art

While these 14 carefully chosen interpretations naturally feature James’s warm, one-of-a-kind vocal ability and incomparable musicianship, what makes this collection unique is the inventive way James and his fellow co-producers, longtime collaborator Dave O’Donnell and jazz musician John Pizzarelli, approached the project.

Unlike most who have tackled similar material, American Standard’s beautifully simple, stripped-down arrangements are based on the 2-guitar collaboration of James and John Pizzarelli, rather than standard piano arrangements. James was determined to keep that sound at the center of the project, and the affect is mesmerizing.

American Standard follows James’s first-ever #1 album, 2015’s Before This World ; It was primarily recorded at his home studio, TheBarn in Washington, MA, with additional work done at United Recording and Capitol Studios in Los Angeles and Treasure Isle and Blackbird Studios in Nashville. An all-star array of Taylor’s musical comrades make significant contributions here including on drums, Steve Gadd; percussion, Luis Conte; bass, Jimmy Johnson; upright bass, Viktor Krauss; melodica/Hammond B3 Organ, Larry Goldings; trumpet/flugelhorn, Walt Fowler; clarinet/sax, Lou Marini; violin, Stuart Duncan; dobro, Jerry Douglas; and vocals, Arnold McCuller, Kate Markowitz, Andrea Zonn, Dorian Holley and Caroline Taylor.

    1 My Blue Heaven
    2 Moon River
    3 Teach Me Tonight
    4 As Easy As Rolling Off a Log
    5 Almost Like Being in Love
    6 Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat
    7 The Nearness of You
    8 You've Got to Be Carefully Taught
    9 God Bless the Child
    10 Pennies from Heaven
    11 My Heart Stood Still
    12 Ol' Man River
    13 It's Only a Paper Moon
    14 The Surrey with the Fringe on Top