Rating: Summary: It's James Taylor at his best Review: James Taylor is such an amazing talent. Forgive me if it sounds like I'm going off the deep end here, but my goodness, the music he writes touches me. What "Pull Over" adds to what we already know is that James Taylor is also incredibly well-spoken, wonderful with his audience and very, very funny. He's just so at ease, when a member of the audience prematurely shouts out a request for "Copper Line," Taylor reaches for the set list and points out that "Copper Line" isn't until the second set. With self-deprecating humor he says, "We're not there yet. You have to sit through all this crap first. You can go out to the bar if you want. We'll send someone to get you when we get there."
Rating: Summary: I KNOW IT'S GOOD, BUT... Review: James'attention to detail is evident in the sound of all his recordings. Both his voice and acoustic guitar playing are exceptional with quite remarkable clarity . Yet there is variety in all his does and great subtely in his acoustic arrangements with that fabulous handmade Olson guitar he caresses to help that beauty sing out. He rocked the Manchester Arena last month with a beautiful , intimate show and it was clear that he inspired tremendous affection from fans young and old with his singing and charismatic charm. The next best thing to seeing and hearing James live must be DVD; only that format can match the quality of sound he consistently produces and with the added bonus that you can actually see the guy which makes it all as personal as I think his output is intended to be.James is amazing. He is trully blessed with a remarkbale voice.It just seems to be going the opposite way to many other seasoned veterans of earlier decades, by just getting better and better. I am itching to get my hands on 'Pull Over' but have the misfortune to live over the pond, and it isn't available here. It is coded for Canada and The U. S. of A.,so no point importing it. James' sensisitivity, his song writing skill and his accomplised musicianship ensure that anything he puts out will deserve our undivided attention and earn our admiration, so, even though I haven't seen it yet, trust me it will be very, very good.
Rating: Summary: What happend to JT? Review: JT is a real great singer and songwriter. And since "Live at the beacon theater" (DVD here, best music DVD I know), I know, he's an overwhelming (LIVE!, see below) performer. "Pull Over" contains 80% the same stuff as the beforem mentionend DVD, and add a couple of new sounds - just the right dose of new age / world music aroma. BUT: Something strange happened with Pull Over. Music and pictures are often not synchronized. In fact I am afraid we partially do not see what we hear. It looks manipulated, and I'm afraid it is. This is even true in the "just man with guitar" part at the end. I just can't believe the great JT has seen this DVD himself.
Rating: Summary: Best JT Video So Far Review: Let me start off that I have just about all JT video footage that there is (most all on VHS) and this is the best so far, the guy is like wine. The PBS special that was made into a DVD concert "Live at the Beacon Theatre" is really good, but it does not contain the energy that "Pull Over" has. I can not say I totally like his new October Road album, but I can say that this concert is great and just makes you feel good all over, all that you expect from JT. In this concert there are tunes from his new album to old ones with a whole new sound, very fresh. As for those that do not like it because it is not in widescreen, well you bought the wrong disc. The one I bought 12/2003 is 16:9, not 4:3; read the specs before buying. The camera work is great, the Dolby Digital 5.1 (sound) is great and most of all the emotion fantastic. The only new players to this long standing family band are the spicy conga player and the outstanding new drummer, almost as good as Carlos, but that's a lot of play up to. This DVD is priced well below most, about the same price as a CD, so why not get the video and audio for a buck or two more? So buy it, play it and enhance your life with life's best music around, yesterday and today.
Rating: Summary: The Ole String Bean Is back! Review: Sweet Baby James is back, this time with yet another terrific concert performance of his ever-growing catalogue of unforgettable songs. While he is easily one of the most successful of all of the record selling artists of the last thirty years, he is also one of the hardest working live performers in the business, and is in perpetual demand throughout the country, indeed, the world, as a first class draw for huge crowds. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing him sing live in decades, but always anticipate his new record releases and DVDs such as these in order to stay in touch with this most singular talent. Like the late John Denver, Taylor approaches the stage with enthusiasm and a charismatic charm that is simply hard for me to resist. Needless to say, I succumbed to the temptations herein pretty quickly. Included here are many works not previously available on DVD, such as "Frozen Man" here with a funny and yet poignant introduction that shows how well Taylor succeeds at broaching bittersweet and often meaningful subjects with a touch of humor and satire. Also new here is "You Can Close Your Eyes", "Millworker", and "That's Why I'm Here", all delivered with the typical flawless Taylor rendition. Of course, the panoply of perpetual favorite favorites like "Fire And Rain", "Copperline", "Everyday", "You've Got A Friend", and "Sweet Baby James" are all here, as are many others, for a total of some two dozen songs or so. Old JT is aging, as are we all, but he has mellowed even more over the years, and by prevailing over his own demons and continuing to do what he does like no one else can, has once again offered us a gift that I urge you to go out and grab for your very own. Enjoy!
Rating: Summary: JT giving it the "Full Monty!" Review: The advantage that this DVD has over the "Beacon" is that it is obviously the best cuts from a number of different performances. I have been following JT since early '69 (the Apple album) and have seen him perform in England on many occasions. I have been fully appreciative of nearly every performance, the main exception being the last tour in September, when most of the musicians were not the "regular crew",seemed to be rather sparse in number, and not as "tight" as usual. This DVD has the benefit of JT being fully "pumped up" and giving it his all!. With the benefit of "cherry picking" a number of different performances the result is an impeccable DVD which is superior to the previous VHS/DVD's that have been released before, although the apparent seamless production makes it seem as if it is just one performance. The backing singers, brass section....need I say more?
Rating: Summary: Great concert by a legend Review: The concert is fantastic. Great selection of songs. The sound is excellent and the widescreen (non-anamorphic) image is a plus (well...better than 4:3). However, the overall quality of the image could have been a little better. Anyway, the performance is really good. Mr. Taylor has a timeless voice and is one of the greatest songwriters of this generation. If you are a fan, I also recomend the Bacon Hill's concert as well as this one. The latter's image is not in widescreen but the performance is flawless.
Rating: Summary: AWESOME CONCERT!! Review: The sound quality is EXCELLENT...Not to mention James does a great job!! Doesn't get any closer to the real thing!! Enjoyed it just as much as the Eagles Hell Freezes over DVD!! EXCEPTIONAL!! -Ryan
Rating: Summary: Better Than Beacon Street Review: This DVD is much better than the "Beacon Street" disc. The recording is clearer making each instrument and voice more distinct. The bass is also up a notch. Most of the songs repeated between the discs like "Mexico" get a better treatment on "Pull Over." The "Frozen Man" intro is very funny along with the cue card incident. I also like the way that he has his back-up singers around him for some of the songs. This ends up having the singing pan across the whole front soundstage rather than just in the left speaker as was the case on "Beacon Street". Songs like "Only One", "Millworker" and my favourite "Shed A Little Light" are alone worth the cost of the DVD. Definately a required disc if you are a James Taylor fan.
Rating: Summary: Still on TOP of his game... Review: This is a wonderful concert with a nice blend of Jame's more current songs and plenty of his chart busting hits. He is surrounded by a great group of musicians and back-up singers. His best instrument (his voice) is still smooth and velvet to the ear. To the reviewer who slammed his version of "Steam Roll Blues"... James was NEVER a blues man and though it was pretty tame, it's still NOT LAME! It is just another arrangement of a song he probably always HAS to cover for his audience.
All and all, this is a great DVD for any James Taylor fan!
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