Accompanists, audience upstage James Taylor in SPAC concert

by Barbara Fischkin, The Knickerbocker News, July 19, 1976

James Taylor got it all Sunday night.

Playing at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), the singer of both rock and country tunes got the crowds, the screaming young girls, the beer-drinking rowdies, the cheers, whistles, and finally, raised lighters and matches shining at the end, illuminating the way for a first, and then a second, encore.

People who had been to every concert since SPAC opened for the season were claiming this was by far the best attended. And, judging from the lack of lawn space and the piles of untended garbage lying within walking distance of half-empty waste cans, they were probably right.

In both its ugliness and its less predominant charm, it was a scene fit for a superstar, and Taylor didn’t seem to mind. Unfortunately, he also didn’t seem to belong.

The slender, almost ascetic singer was in an arena more suited to Mick Jagger—and it showed. Intimacy was lost as he left behind many of his older cowboy-style ballads to sing with a band that was too loud and clearly unconcerned with enhancing the melancholy, gripping strain of Taylor’s voice.

This was especially evident during “Road Runner,” a Junior Walker creation during which Taylor was drowned out by his overzealous accompanists. This situation was worsened by the singer’s movements, all too reminiscent of the ones performed by the Temptations. While doing them, Taylor looked stiff, uncomfortable, and silly, and a sleek white outfit only added to the artificiality of the scene.

Taylor’s voice sounds best without a lot of background clutter, and the moments of the concert which were truly his occurred only when he sang simply, with just a fiddle or a banjo and a guitar accompanying him.

*A Long Way From Anywhere,” and “Sweet Baby James,” both done with a minimum of accompaniment, highlighted the concert. “Fire and Rain,” also almost made it, except that the singer appeared to lose interest in the piece, a hit he has probably had to sing over and over again.

It is difficult to say whether the band or the singer should be blamed for this concert.

The band itself was not bad. Some exciting talent was displayed by the musicians, who also would have been better off performing on their own.

According to one listener, who expressed what seemed to be the minority opinion, “They’re a good band all by themselves. I think they ought to go one way and let Taylor go another.”

The band’s performance was especially nurtured when joined by David Sanborn, a saxophonist whose own band did an unadvertised and loud, but somewhat ignored, warm-up for Taylor.

The audience, perhaps, gave the best performance of all. Loud and enthusiastic, they made it seem as though the singer was really getting through to them; really communicating. This reviewer found that hard to believe. His songs seem mostly distant, and although he talked to the audience between numbers, he never quite sounded like he wanted to.

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