James Taylor's Covers will definitely not be the hippest album you buy this year, and frankly, Taylor doesn't seem to be concerned.
Nine of the 11 songs he covers were released before 1970, and no matter how many Michael McDonald comparisons he earns, he refuses to let go of the outdated horn sections and backing vocals. This is not to say that all of Covers sounds like excerpts from Muzak. When Taylor abandons the overdone arrangements on cuts like Seminole Wind"" and Leonard Cohen's ""Suzanne"" he shows why he became famous in the first place. ""Suzanne"" is especially beautiful. Taylor barely changes it, only adding his signature finger-picking and a few strings, but his emotionally true tenor and connection with the lyrics makes it seem like it came straight out of his personal songbook.
He later proves on ""Hound Dog"" that not every song needs to hearken back to the days of Sweet Baby James to be successful. He morphs Elvis Presley's famous song into a slinky blues jam, complete with a jazz organ solo. Taylor's ventures into blues are consistently more successful than those into Motown and country. He effectively butchers the Temptations' ""It's Growing"" by tossing away the driving Motor City backbeat and replacing it with meandering guitar and Kenny G-style horns. His inexplicable cover of ""Some Days Ykou Gotta Dance"" by the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban honestly sounds like ""High School Musical"" went line dancing.
For the past few years, Taylor has been making his way around the summer amphitheater circuit, entertaining mildly buzzed soccer moms and dads. With a pack of wine coolers and a picnic blanket, Covers could be nice background music, but Taylor owes more than that to his fans. Someone of his talent should want to stretch farther than adding female backing vocals and funky keyboards to other peoples' songs. Perhaps the most disappointing thing is that he has done some great covers in the past. He deserves as much credit as Carole King for the sustained popularity of ""You've Got a Friend,"" and his rendition of Drifters' ""Up on the Roof"" reinvigorated a 1960s classic.
The biggest issue with Covers is not that the original songs are dated, but rather that Taylor does nothing to breathe any new life into them. He doesn't need to bring Timbaland into the studio with him next time, he just needs to rediscover his ability to connect with the heart and soul of his songs.
