James Taylor: Only One
[purchase
Only One is from James Taylor's twelfth recording, That's Why I'm Here, released in 1985:
Rolling Stone: "With its heartening aura of renewed faith and burgeoning self-knowledge, James Taylor's That's Why I'm Here reveals a man at peace with himself, his notorious inner demons finally silenced."
AllMusicGuide: "he had found his long-term niche with Baby Boomer fans now permanently tuned to soft-rock radio... (Notwithstanding its initial commercial reception, That's Why I'm Here eventually went platinum.)"
I bought it (in album form) when it first came out, but it was definitely a turning point for me - I didn't want to be lumped in with the "Baby Boomer fans" the review above describes. I missed the demons, the Sweet Baby James who was anything but... with his growling Steamroller, his poignant Her Town Too, his double-entendre'd Handy Man - I purchased October Road for my husband for his birthday one year... but I gave myself permission to call it quits with the man I always teased about marrying (if Robert hadn't asked me first). I preferred to have the memories of what once was... rather than move forward into a self-perceived Candyland (too many Gum Drop Mountains, not enough Molasses Swamps) - and oh, the memories (almost every song on those first 11 albums is near and dear to my heart... :-)
As an extra treat, here's the "official music video", complete with harmonies by Joni Mitchell and Don Henley (of the Eagles)... as well as JT's regular back-up vocalists Arnold McCuller and Rosemary Butler... Leland Sklar on bass... Billy Payne (of Little Feat) on keyboards - check out the cigarette in Joni's right hand!
