Rating: 
Summary: What about James?
Review: A very in-depth book, however if you're really interested in details about James Taylor's thoughts, reasonings, actions or detailed accounts surrounding his career, you won't find a ton of it hear. The book is over 300 pages but you could probably knock it down to about 50 pages that actually talk about James. Perhaps the author just couldn't get enough out of the private james taylor. Instead of finding out what went on in the early days with respect to his career, music and interpersonal relationships, we get pages and pages of family history and backgrounds of other people or events. The author gives more information about his friends than about james. Just when you think you're getting to a portion in the book that's revealing, the author sums it up in a page. We hear about his songs including vocals by other artists like Jimmy Buffet or Keith Richards - why not expand on thier relationship a bit? He was married to Carly Simon for many years but not much is learned about their life together and the effects they had on each other.All of this said, the details on the family history and make up does help put a frame around his life. Just don't think you're going to come away with a lot of interesting tales about his thoughts or actions other than some descriptions as to what the songs meant and brief descriptions of certain periods of time. If I wasn't such a huge fan I never would have finished it.
Rating: 
Summary: Geneology and discography, but a biography? Nyeh.
Review: Author Tim White worked his butt off to turn this book into a biography but it is clearly "authorized" and will not do. Outside of a 100-page 600-year family history that the family itself never cared enough about to investigate, and considerable detail about Taylor's music deals, influences, play dates and venues, the biographical material is scarce and overly-vetted, perhaps by Taylor himself who certainly did much living he does not want made public. Plenty of space is given to Taylor's alcoholic but highly-accomplished father, Ike, and the distance he put between himself and his long-suffering wife and children. The emotional agony he caused his family, for there is no other word for the consequences of his illness and personality, is laid out bloodlessly and at a remove, so while we can "guess" what might have gone one, it is never spelled out. One can almost hear James Taylor okaying the allusions but crossing out the specifics. The same applies to Taylor himself and his years of alcohol and drug abuse, which must have produced a miserable life for those connected with him. There is little meat to the discussions of his two lengthy marriages, either, which also were fraught with his heroin, methamphetamine and alcohol addiction and emotional abandonment. James Taylor is a very gifted artist who was married to two artists, the son of gifted parents, the brother of several musicians, the father of two more and the lover of several others. This book had the potential to be a richly-layered analysis of how love, art, joy, duty, ruin, passion, sin and guilt have woven themselves in and out of this family's lives. But it is not. His wives and lovers, for instance, are given extremely short shrift. Being married to James Taylor could not have been a picnic. There is a feeling here that both of his first two wives -- Carly Simon and actress Kathryn Walker -- must have yearned as mightily for a deeper emotional connection to this man they loved, just as the reader yearns to understand what the hell was going on here and how they all traversed the stormy seas of Taylor's personality - and why they bothered. There is no mention at all, as far as I could find, of Joni Mitchell, with whom Taylor had an affair so intense that she devoted two albums ("Blue" and "For the Roses") to its exegesis, nor of the other affairs that lit up or littered his marriages and his life. Other losses -- the sad death of his father and brother, the divorces, deaths of friends, difficulty with intimacy -- are narrated carefully and truthfully, it would seem, but again, with no detail and at a considerable remove. The ghost of James Taylor is here, but the body has been carted away. He insists his music is not autiobiographical, and since his biography is not biographical, Taylor continues to be the mystery he apparently wants to remain. I have no objection to that, but it is nothing to write home about. zzz-zzz-zzz
Rating: 
Summary: Long Ago and Far Away.....A Title aptly put
Review: Beginning with a note of sadness, Timothy White is no longer with us--one has but to read this superb account of JT,and the outside(and inside)influences that shaped his life as a musician.Unlike other reviews that couldn't read the opening chapters, once one has finished this book,one can truly appreciate how and why the author chose to shape this well written account. I came away from this with a better understanding of such a sensitive soul,who fought and eventually overcame early inner demons,that at times was heartbreaking to read. Thank you,JT-for allowing us a peek into your work,and life.
Rating:
Summary: Four Centuries of Creative Insanity
Review: Fantastic biography of James Taylor! You can't understand such a unique artist (or his songs) unless you understand his family, and White traces the family back four centuries to demonstrate repeating patterns of sharp intelligence, adventurous creativity and destructive addictions. Amazing, fresh interviews with all the main characters illuminate the introverted and mysterious Taylor for all to see. Artistry is a fragile phenomenon, and it appears all the more miraculous in this harrowing, epic saga. White has to be the best biographer in music.
Rating:
Summary: James Loves His Work
Review: Got a good feeling from this, the triva, the background, everything. Nothing but the truth. Checked the discography, too, which has already got the damn songs from the next album coming up! Plenty of stuff straight from James, and delivered straight up, no chaser.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book, Gene Pitney Rules!
Review: Hi, I'm just finishing this book and I love it. It's incredibly well written with amazing information I never knew. But my boyfriend is a Gene Pitney freak and he's gonna take over.
Hi, everybody. James, you're pretty damn good but Gene Pitney is my man and my girlfriend showed me this review page. The statements at the top here from this dude about "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" are bull. The song was for the film and that's why it's got the film's title! Everybody knows that. It was a huge hit, man, and came out around the same time. It's didn't make it into the movie for technical reasons as they say but it was meant to, and Pitney put it over for the flick anyhow. David and Bacharach also wrote "Only Love Can Break A Heart" for Gene, and "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" and "True Love Never Runs Smooth." Gene's other hit song for a flick was "Town Without Pity." My friend was crazy for this book, which I didn't read, so I'm staying away from that, but "Liberty Valance" will always be the theme of a great John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart classic and Gene helped make it happen, people!
Rating:
Summary: Many levels of intimate details and history
Review: I have grown up with the music of James Taylor. It has been a part of every important passage in my life. So, I admit to a strong bias for the subject and this book did not disappoint. The book is the ultimate back story of all these important songs, and also an intimate portrait of the important life passages of the man who wrote them. I loved learning, in particular, of the sweet and sad story behind Fire and Rain. James relationships (both personal and professional) make for a satisfying read. I had no idea of the interconnectedness of all the musical artists of that era. It was heartwarming to learn of the sharing and loyalties that you never expect to hear about in that business. There are many levels to this book and I have read it twice now. The first time I skimmed over some of the social context and musical history to get right to the intimate details. The second time I enjoyed the wondrously detailed account of the Taylor clan's Scottish origins and their resettlement in America that read like a high seas adventure. The musical history of many of the important artists of this period makes it a unique reference book and I am glad for the comprehensive index. The photos are wonderful. I can't imagine how much fun it must have been to go through the Taylor family archives. Actually, this book gives us a very good idea.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthwhile read, despite some literary pretentiousness
Review: I liked this book, mainly because it included a lot of James Taylor's own words about his life and work - his childhood, his rescue from New York by his father, and his insights into songwriting are the main themes that come to mind. On the negative side, I think White's attempt to portray Taylor as the culmination of a centuries-old family Zeitgeist is a bit long and loses strength as the narrative progresses. Yes, James Taylor suffered some of the same tribulations as did others in his male line, and he, too, although aware of and strongly influenced by the psychological history of the Taylors, has achieved much on his own terms - perhaps largely due to his own self-awareness. White's story of the Taylor family before the early 20th century would have been more effective if shortened and better integrated in to his telling of James' life. A factual quibble - White claims that Taylor finished writing "Fire and Rain" after returning to the U.S. from his Apple sojurn - current liner notes to the CD version of James' Apple album note the existence of an early take of the song (with choir) in the Apple archives. Yet, perhaps both could be accurate - maybe James continued to revise the song's lyrics after that early recording.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Baby James
Review: I make the same mistake every time I pick up a book by Timothy White. I always think I know the subject I'm about to read about but quickly discover I don't. Having followed White's writing career from the 70's when he wrote some of the best cover stories for "Rolling Stone", I know that this book on James Taylor and previous ones on the Beach Boys and on Bob Marley are drawn from almost three decades of in-depth interviews with the subjects and those in their spheres. A good example can be seen in this newest book with the detailed description of how the Beatles (by way of Apple Corp.) came to give Taylor the exposure he so greatly deserved. We get not only J.T.'s view of those days, but McCartney's and Harrison's as well. This book is worth the money for the chapter on Carly Simon alone. I loved this book and am already looking forward to White's next subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Disappointing
Review: I was looking forward to reading a biography on one of my favorite musicians. I wanted to know how James Taylor started, where his songs came from, what makes him tick, etc. It wasn't in this book. Actually, the answers to all these might be in the book but I couldn't find them. This was a book I could not read from start to finish. I had no interest in stories about his ancestors and they seem to take up most of the pages. I found myself skipping pages in an attempt to find parts where James Taylor is mentioned - and this is supposed to be HIS biography. I'm not sure who would find information about his ancestors interesting. After reading biographies on Brian Wilson, the Eagles, Ray Charles and others I've finished with a good picture of each artist's life. I know no more about JT now than before. I could not and did not finish the book. I won't even put it on my bookshelf with the others.
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