The concert is a dance with the memory of Holly and her cozy Canadian wood and stone house. It was the early stages of adolescence, confused and excited, and I learned «Carolina in my Mind» with the idea of singing it. There is something of how cozy her house was, in which she always crackled a fireplace, in today’s Auditorium: four spotlights in symmetry, just three stools and the minimalism of a living room in an American suburb.
It’s wonderful because James Taylor is deadly. He doubts, he forgets lines in a song and he seems tense, especially in the first half. He does not have that aura of greatness, of being greater than life itself that others do have and that makes him close: he is a craftsman whose mission is to fight with paper even knowing that the rule is defeat.
They start on time with «Something in the way she knows»straight to the heart. James Taylor, from now on “the craftsman”, suffers. He hesitates, he forgets and ends it as best he can, putting on a forced smile. The concert is the first of the European tour and nerves show in his tall, skinny armor. Follow Country Road and the expected happens: he warms up and the concert becomes a alchemists ritual.
The band, «All-Star Band», are three of the best musicians I have ever seen. Steve Gadd, famous drummer, is able to make the music full of colors even playing pianissimo and lentissimo. The good musician is known to play slowly and softly; With few exceptions, that is the setlist that the American brings.
It is impossible to exaggerate the acoustic difference between the Auditorium and any other “macro-concert” venue in the capital. Bass is heard clearly, not like a pack of screaming demons but like the sonic glue that should be in the music. The band is “only” four, a reduced format that helps: drums, bass, a gsolo electric guitar and James Taylor, who is a good acoustic guitarist with a more than remarkable right hand. Without forcing, playing with the volume at 6, they fill the symphony hall with magic; if the world made sense, all concerts would be here.
“Sweet baby james” continues and everyone shines. Taylor whispers about the subtle tremolo of a virtuoso guitarist. The bass player, hardly playing, is everywhere and Steve Gadd, now with brushes, is a steam locomotive on a sunny afternoon in Brookline, Massachusetts.
The craftsman picks up the electric for the first time and, harmonica solo included, launches the band into a slow blues (“Steamroller”) where bassist and guitarist exchange a couple of solos.
As songs stand out, apart from the obvious ones, «Copperline» y «Up on my roof»which close the first half.
Already in the second pass, tears in «Don’t let me lonely», one of those timeless ballads that the craftsman has sculpted. It shows that his voice, brilliant in the high register, has lost strength in the bass; wisdom tolls.
The band, which follows its own, plays catch-up in «Fire and Rain», renewing the classic with great success and leading role of the rhythm section. The hits begin to chain and the end is sensed.
«Carolina in my mind»which sounds like the Canadian wood-and-stone house Holly lived in, draws a few drops of rain from my eyes and «Mexico»a personal favourite, his energy is contagious despite several lyrical lapses by the craftsman.
good thing it sounds «Shower the people»reminding me of a detail that I had forgotten to mention: his diction when singing is sublime, being that aspect so easy to forget one of the differences between the very good and the legends.
The end is counted alone. «Smiling face»a brilliant song where the craftsman fights again with his limitations, opens the door to encores: «You’ve got a friend» y «How sweet it is»undoubtedly one of his best works.
Back home, a storm hits Madrid. Through the window I hear the drops, I open it and, poetically, its creak as it falls resembles that of the chimney of that wood and stone house where I played “Carolina in my mind” for a girl 13 years ago. I still give it a touch.