James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre

By now, Taylor's skill at low-key love songs is a given, making him an archetypal "sensitive New Age guy" on the strength of his canny mix of emotional vulnerability, romantic imagery, and understated delivery. Less obviously, Taylor has gradually transformed the shadows of disillusionment audible in his earliest songs into a nuanced acknowledgment of his own age. "Line 'Em Up," from Hourglass, typifies his skill at limning disarmingly lucid, frankly philosophical vignettes, here woven around a recollection of Richard Nixon's last hurrah, while "Jump Up Behind Me" affords a testament to self-determination ultimately as serious in theme as it is buoyant in its musical framework. Throughout, Taylor's stage band proves a thoroughbred, its accompaniment rock solid and delicately detailed, and perfectly matched to a crack backing chorus.

Among the first video concerts produced with DVD in mind, Live at the Beacon Theatre has been in heavy rotation in home demonstration suites ever since its release, an achievement understandable after hearing the crystalline 5.1 mix engineered by Frank Filipetti, who shared a Grammy as coproducer on Hourglass and snagged a second award for his engineering of that album. --Sam Sutherland

Product Description
No Description Available.
Genre: Music Video: Concerts
Rating: NR
Release Date: 21-OCT-2003
Media Type: DVD

The bonus stuff is a nice surprise -- an interview with JT, and 2 vidoes -- "Copperline" and "Enough to Be on Your Way" (heartbreakingly gorgeous!)

If you like James Taylor your money will be well spent on this DVD. It's a bargain at any price. I know I'll watch it over and over for years to come.


The FIRST concert DVD you should buy......   January 26, 2002
Jeff R. Clow (Corinth, TX United States)
31 out of 31 found this review helpful

Okay - you've got a new DVD system, with surround sound.

Okay - you like music - especially music that shows off your new system.

Okay - hit the buy this now button and wait five days for the absolutely BEST musical concert DVD on the market today.

James Taylor sings all his hits in crystal clear Dolby Digital 5.1, and the audio engineering on this DVD is SUPERB. If you want to show off a system's surround capabilities - this IS the DVD to do so.

It makes you feel like you're sitting in the fourth row, center for this Beacon Theater concert, and everything is working perfectly. The artist, his backup singers, the band, and the audience all participating like this was THE concert of their lives.

And I bet you'll find yourself standing up and applauding your television screen when Track 11 - Shower the People - is finished. James Taylor allows legendary backup singer Arnold McCuller to shine with his overlay during the last third of the song, and the crowd goes absolutely WILD at the talent of this man who has made a career of singing behind the scenes.

Is this DVD worth spending under $20 on?

Absolutely. You'll watch it again and again....and AGAIN!


What a wonderful voice!   July 7, 2000
Michael Fletcher (Murrieta, CA USA)
22 out of 23 found this review helpful

I never, I repeat never tire of James Taylor's voice. There's nothing that soothes the nerves like the mellifluous tones from this master. As you can tell, I really love James Taylor's music and have been a fan for years. I recently attended a concert of his and it was great.

Concerning this disc, the songs are performed to perfection with super audio and video quality. You really get the sense you're there in the audience. His backup singers are superb. There's even one number where one backup singer steals the show!

Lyric captioning is provided so you can sing along to his songs. I wish all music DVDs had on-screen lyrics. My wife and I love to sing along with our favorite performances. Surprisingly, this feature is missing from many music DVD titles.

If you are a James Taylor fan in the slightest, you'll want this disc in your collection.


Great moments you can play anytime   August 29, 2001
Geoff Dolman (Boulder, CO United States)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

If you're reading this, you're obviously a James Taylor fan. Simply stated, you will enjoy this concert immensely. I was interested by the review below complaining about the MTV short camera bursts and the lack of long shots of JT. While that's true, I didn't find it bothersome in the least. At a concert, I like to look around at the various singers and musicians, and this approach fits that style: maybe it was intentional? The selection of songs was great, the collection of JT veteran musicians and singers outstanding, and the whole night at the Beacon was magic. The only disappointment was the first song, "You Can Close Your Eyes," which was great but too short. Taylor's brief comments show a good sense of humor, and he shows that he is human when a "young heckler in training" seems to get under his skin. The sound is remarkable, and this is a concert DVD you will listen to often. This concert, along with "Hell Freezes Over" and John Fogarty's "Premonition" DVD are the best I've seen and heard. Buy and enjoy!


I've seen jt in conert 50 times/this was one of the best   November 10, 1998
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

I read someone's review (cant't remember who)who didn't give this performance such high marks. Therefore Saturday night when I watched James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theater I didn't expect much. I was by myself, in a fair mood, and had the sound going through my stereo speakers. I've personally seen James Taylor in concert over 50 times and I have to admit, that this was one of the all time best performances I've seen from him. I guess the critic who gave this a bad review has no idea how hard that was to pull off. To plan to record a concert like that - one shot - and for everyone, not only JT, to execute to perfection. I thought it was great. I especially loved Line em Up, Mexico, Don't Let Me Be Tonight(my personal all time favorite), Wandering, You've Got a Friend, Fire and Rain (with just JT on guitar and a someone on the chello), How Sweet It Is (nice short version), Me and My Guitar, and Daddy's All Gone. I flat out loved it! In fact I listened to it again the next night. It was well worth my $20 bucks. But then again, I'm a big James Taylor fan.

Mark Brewer Minneapolis, MN