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Dad Loves His Work


Poor James Taylor. Things were so rotten for him in 1979 and 1981. His marriage to Carly Simon was strained. He felt guilty leaving his kids to tour. Every December, winter would come. More than 10 years after helping to start a confessional-songwriter revolution by singing about his time in a mental institution, he made two extraordinary duds. Flag is stunningly joyless: Wishing he could exist in any skin but his own, Taylor offers condescending character songs like “Brother Trucker” and “Company Man,” replete with drab, electric piano–heavy arrangements that barely rouse themselves out of their chairs. On Dad Loves His Work, he emerges from his emotional cocoon enough to write one borderline classic, “Believe It or Not,” about the holy grail of intimacy. And the confessional-songwriter revolution limped uneasily into midlife crisis.

Buy Flag at Amazon.com
Buy Dad Loves His Work at Amazon.com