James Taylor Album

Listening to James Taylor and his first album is like corking open a nice bottle of wine at the end of the day, or sitting in the cafe talking with a friend. The first two songs are well known in music culture. The album starts off with a nice guitar phrase and then right away he is talking to you about 'he woke up this morning'... "I've seen Fire and I've seen rain" These are classic words; a beautiful description of what we all feel - the good days with the bad. It is the sort of thing that we talk about to our friends and the kind of thing that runs through our mind through the day. A signature guitar style, a "James Taylor guitar style" makes the whole experience simply refreshing for the listener who has been filled with the more modern and more aggressive stye acoustics.

His voice weaves in and out melodically. I wonder if he anticipated, when he first sat down at the piano so many years ago how much of a cornerstone in American music these songs would become. My guess is no. He just just had the pure joy of writing a great song. His next song is " You've got a friend " vividly described as 'winter spring or fall, all you got to do is call'. Wonderful minor chords and walking down guitar phrases. All the while he is having a conversation with you like it is a nice Saturday or you are out in the park reminiscing. Again, this song resonates in our hearts, expressing something that we can all relate to with vivid lyrics.

The third song, again another cornerstone. As a kid I remember hearing this on the radio all the time. This is a more upbeat song with an electric guitar and piano, his voice just bouncing off the notes in happiness. Great third song to follow. Wonderful electric guitar and horns to break the pace a little bit.

Listening to the whole album is again, like a walk in the park, a great conversation with a friend in the cafe. A nice Saturday afternoon after a hard week. Very relaxing, very skilled musicianship, a wonderful spirit, an extremely articulate vocalist. Lots of space and wonderful sense of pace, just really taking time with the theme at hand or the story. More recently he has been singing with Carole King and I cannot wait to explore these songs.

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Sparks Fly in Taylor Swift Concert at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field

There are some artists out there who are better suited to working in the studio. And, when it comes to live performances, they leave much to be desired. Taylor Swift is definitely not one of them.

June 18, Taylor took her "Speak Now" Tour to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and performed in front of a crowd of an estimated 52,000 fans. And all in all, the show was fantastic and worth every penny.

There were three opening acts including Danny Gokey of American Idol fame, Randy Montana and South Carolina Country/Rock band Need to Breathe. Swift took the stage at about 8:45 to the resounding screams of adoring fans.

Swift started the show with her hit "Sparks Fly" and from the very beginning it was obvious that this was going to be a big, theatrical production.

In addition to belting out most of the titles featured on the "Speak Now" album, the country superstar delighted her audience with a few hits from the past including "Our Song," "Love Story" and "Fearless."

Swift went through a number of wardrobe changes but didn't leave the crowd with the irritating downtime that sometimes comes with them. During wardrobe changes and changes to the set, fans were treated to instrumental renditions of her songs, a tap dancing chimney sweep reminiscent of an old Hollywood musical and the dance stylings of a classic ballerina.

Overall, the drama and artistry of the entire production came across almost as if it were a play with a fantastic storyline. But then again, I guess that shouldn't be surprising when the concert headliner actually writes her own songs.

Possibly the most memorable parts came during the performances of her hits "Haunted" and the aforementioned "Fearless."

While Swift had shown her mastery of various other instruments at different points during the show, she used "Fearless" as an opportunity to showcase her skills with a ukulele while sitting under a gigantic white and purple glowing tree. And, with the scene set to compliment the tone of "Haunted," she forcefully pounded a large bell ringing out in accord with the song's powerful violin intro.

Swift sang the fun and inspirational "Long Live" as her pre-encore show closer giving a shout out to the city of Pittsburgh.

When all was said and done, the show was nothing short of amazing. While the operators of the venue itself could have been better prepared in terms of organization, every aspect of the show itself went off without a hitch. Never before have I seen such a wonderfully creative live performance.

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