'American Standard' Review: James Taylor takes you back in time with songs that defined Hollywood's golden age
Legendary musician James Taylor returns with 'American Standard', an album that reimagines some of the most iconic songs from the era of jazz. Given that Taylor is one of the most prolific songwriters on the planet, many might not be inclined to check 'American Standard' out. However, they would be wrong to pass up on this gem.
Taylor drew inspiration from Rodgers and Hammerstein's broadway musicals when putting this album together, but instead of simply performing them as they were written he chose to rework these classics and interpret them in new ways.
Songs from the golden age of Hollywood have an air of sophistication to them that one does not necessarily find in modern popular music. In the album's liner notes Taylor says, "These are songs I have always known... Most of them were part of my family's record collection, the first music I heard as a kid growing up in North Carolina. We listened to the cast recordings of the great American musicals: Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, Peter Pan, Show Boat, South Pacific..."
He continues, "Before I started writing my own stuff, I learned to play these tunes, working out chord changes for my favorite melodies. And those guitar arrangements became the basis for this album."
Speaking about the songs on 'American Standard', Taylor has said that they came from a period that was "the pinnacle of American popular song... It was sheet music, anyone would sing it, so the songs had to stand on their own."
Music from that era was designed to fit in Broadway shows, so that even as the cast changed the sheet music would stand as it always has. But this can often make recreating these songs quite challenging. And that is precisely why Taylor's work on this album is so important — it keeps alive a tradition that is often pushed aside in favour of more modern methods of writing and producing music.
The first track on the album is 'My Blue Heaven' written in 1927 by Walter Donaldson, who put down the tune in between games of billiard at the New York Friar's club. George Whiting later wrote the lyrics. Gene Austin's version of the track became a big hit in 1928, selling over five million copies — a massive feat at that time.
This is followed by the iconic Academy and Grammy award winning 'Moon River', which was written in 1961 for the movie 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' starring Audrey Hepburn. Despite this song having been recorded by over 700 artists, Taylor manages to inject new life into it with his own version.
'Teach Me Tonight' was originally written by Gene Paul in 1954 with Sammy Cahn providing the lyrics, and Dinah Washington's 1954 R&B version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Not every singer could take on such a classic and make it work, but Taylor's stripped down, acoustic guitar take on this song just works.
Also included is 'Almost Like Being In Love', which was featured in the 1947 musical 'Brigadoon'. It was composed by Frederick Loewe with lyrics from Alan Jay Lerner and was performed by the incomparable Gene Kelly in the 1954 film version and Nat King Cole in 1993's 'Groundhog Day' starring Bill Murray. Darius de Haas also performed the song in 2017's 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'.
Hoagy Carmichael's 'The Nearness of You' with Ned Washington's lyrics also gets featured. The 1938 track was a huge hit for the Glenn Miller orchestra in 1940.
The album also includes the controversial 'You've Got To Be Carefully Taught', composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics from Oscar Hammerstein II. The song talks about human prejudice as a learned behaviour. While that might seem obvious now, back in 1949 it was quite a bold statement to make considering the segregation that was widely practiced. The song is certainly well-placed in these troubling modern times too.
Taylor's approach to these classics on 'American Standard' is simple and yet it retains the charm and joy of the originals. He makes you feel like you are gently waltzing your way around in an ill-advised feather dress as you dance cheek-to-cheek with Fred Astaire.
Even with the addition of a song that discusses racism, this album is mostly filled with the kind of simple joy many of us yearn for at a time when the world has a whole lot of painful things. Things we will put on the back burner for a bit as we enjoy this beautifully peaceful record that brings old-school jazz into the modern era so effortlessly that you feel a sense of nostalgia for a time you may not have even been a part of.
'American Standard' is a compilation of timeless classics sung by a musician who truly understands what made them stand the test of time in the first place. You can listen to the whole album on James Taylor's YouTube channel.