James Taylor & Carole King in Sydney

Last night I went to see the legendary James Taylor in a concert with the equally legendary Carole King. Listening to the songs and lyrics of these two great artists was amazing. And for some trivia you might want to know that the musical writing duo of Lennon / McCartney once said that they hoped to become as good as the writing team of Goffen / King referring to the amazing lyrics of Jerry Goffin who once was married to Carole King who, even after they divorced in 1968, still worked together for many years. Together they also wrote standards that became the soundtrack to many peoples lives, and also to many movies.

In November of 1970, James Taylor and Carole King first performed together at the Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. Taylor had just released his debut album for the Beatles newly-formed Apple Records and King was finding her way as a first-time solo performer even though by then she was a famous songwriter with a string of hits for other artists. When they returned to the club for a two-week co-headlining run in 1971, their lives were somewhat different. That summer Taylor's "Fire and Rain" was topping the charts and King's landmark Tapestry was on its way to making her a music superstar. Thirty-six years later, in November 2007, James Taylor, Carole King and members of their renowned original band "The Section" (featuring guitarist Danny Kortchmar, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russell Kunkel) returned to the Troubadour for a three-night, six-show run to celebrate the venue's 50th anniversary.

Well, back to the concert, what a feast of entertainment it was, the fact that Carole king has been writing songs for more than 50 years was not lost on me. Whilst her voice was still the same raw powerhouse we have all come to know and love, when mixed with the almost angelic tones of James Talyor the pairing was very special. They share a musical connection that is clearly magic. They share similar songs and have recorded each other as well, and when they played and sang the songs that were similar or the same they showed their incredible musical versatility.

The downside of seeing two great performers in this forum is that invariably, there will be many many songs that are deleted from the set list, a fact that James Taylor referred to with regret himself, but for the most part we were lulled through the brilliant versions of Steamroller Blues, Up on the Roof, You've Got a Friend, Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain and many, many others. Two of my favourite albums of all time are Tapestry by Carole King and James Taylor Live which I bought from Sam Goody in New York city some years ago. I really enjoyed the concert. It was great to see and hear James Taylor, who spoke much more than I imagined, he even had such a vibe with Carole King that they almost seemed playful, they gave us 4 encores and closed the concert with Locomotion, a song that went to number three in the US by our own Kylie Minogue, and went to Number 1 in the US and here for Grand Funk Railroad, and the Chiffons. Which was incidentally written for Eva Narcissus Boyd, who was the baby sitter for Carole and Jerry who once asked Carole to write a song for her, and they did.

The band (The Section)which have also been playing for them for 30 years was exceptionally good, and they had great back up singers and percussionists.

I never got the chance to meet them as both James and Carole are a little private, but that did not in anyway lessen the amazing difference that concert was.

I know that a host of celebrities were in attendance along with the other 12,000 fans. I also saw good friends Malu, and Lydia, and Ala was there as well, but I missed seeing her. I even had a woman lean over behind me and say hi Craig, and it was a dear friend Irene and her husband Tim.

I wanted to show some of my personal pictures from last night. I haven't been able to stop playing their music since the concert finished, it was a wonderful event. As Australia was just the start of the world tour, I commend watching it to you if they come to a town near you.

Thanks to all the people who made that concert happen, and a special thanks to Carole King and James Taylor for bringing their special mix and blend of these standards to us here in OZ.

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Quote taken from concert tour promotional material.