James Taylor - 1986-03-24 - Amsterdam Netherlands (SBD)

James Taylor
1986-03-24
Carre Theatre,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Soundboard recording
320 kbps
Artwork Included

01. You Can Close Your Eyes
02. Something In The Way She Moves
03. Sweet Baby James
04. Wandering
05. Carolina In My Mind (incomplete)
06. Up On The Roof
07. That's Why I'm Here
08. Only A Dream In Rio
09. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
10. Handy Man
11. Walking Man
12. Country Road
13. Your Smiling Face
14. Long And Far Away
15. Millworker
16. Traffic Jam
17. Sea Cruise
18. Everyday
19. Only One
20. Fire And Rain
21. Mexico
22. Brother Trucker
23. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
24. You've Got A Friend
25. Steamroller
26. Knock On Wood (missing middle; spliced)
27. That Lonesome Road
28. Backstage Interview

James Taylor - 1986-03-24 - Amsterdam Netherlands (SBD)

James Taylor entered the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2000, alongside Eric Clapton, the Lovin' Spoonful, and Bonnie Raitt, just to name a few.  Sir Paul McCartney inducted James Taylor, harkening back to the dyas when JT was o ne of the earliest artists recruited by Apple Records. 

Today's post goes back to the 1980s, a time when it didn't seem like Taylor might build the resume needed to be inducted into the Hall. At that time, Taylor found his life falling apart around him. His marriage to Carly Simon ended, he was once again hooked on drugs, close friends John Belushi and Dennis Wilson both died tragically, and his music career had stalled. He thought it might be time to retire. Then he was invited to play at the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio De Janiero in January 1985 and his life changed dramatically. In an interview years later, Taylor described the experience as follows: “We put the band together and went down and it was just an amazing response. I played to 300,000 people. They not only knew my music, they knew things about it and were interested in aspects of it that to that point had only interested me. To have that kind of validation right about then was really what I needed. It helped get me back on track.” He penned the tune Only a Dream in Rio as a tribute to that night, filling the song with hopeful lyrics such as “I was there that very day and my heart came back alive.” This soundboard recording captures the rejuvenated JT about 15 months later, in Amsterdam, on March 24, 1986, 38 years ago this very day.