Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Five-time GRAMMY® Award winner James Taylor has announced 15 Canadian dates to his upcoming North American tour. Tour dates listed below. The shows will include material from his latest album Before This World, the legendary singer/songwriter’s first album of new songs since 2002’s platinum-selling October Road. Before This World was released in June of last year and scored Taylor his first ever #1 album on the Billboard Charts.

Earning critical praise from outlets such as The New Yorker who described Taylor as a “master of songwriting,” the album features ten songs, nine of which are brand new James Taylor compositions. Produced by Grammy Award®-winner Dave O’Donnell, the album offers heartfelt reflections and insight from a life well lived such as the album’s opening track “Today, Today, Today,” which The Wall Street Journal described as “trademark Taylor: elegant, tuneful and just a little wry.” Other album highlights include “Stretch of the Highway” and “Angels of Fenway,” a song about the redemptive spirit of baseball, which Taylor debuted at Fenway Park in Boston.



Recorded at his home studio TheBarn, in Washington, MA, Taylor enlisted the longtime members of his band for the sessions including bassist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Steve Gadd, guitarist Michael Landau, keyboardist Larry Goldings, percussionist Luis Conte, fiddler and vocalist Andrea Zonn and vocalists Arnold McCuller, David Lasley and Kate Markowitz. Taylor also called on close friends Yo-Yo Ma and Sting to add their remarkable talent to the new album, (Ma’s cello is heard on “You And I Again” and “Before This World”; Sting added vocals to “Before This World.”) Additionally, Taylor’s wife Kim and son Henry sing harmony on “Angels Of Fenway” and the classic folk tune “Wild Mountain Thyme.”
On Before This World, Taylor continues to explore many of the themes that have absorbed him throughout his career. “My sort of self-expression and the autobiographical aspect of my work is a thru-line that links all my albums together,” he explains. “I think I have grown musically, and I think people can hear it in what I played in ’68, and you can hear it in what I’m singing about now. It is ongoing, it’s still me, but it’s still evolving.”

The past ten years have been full of extensive tour schedules and notable achievements for Taylor — including his acclaimed One Man Band tour and concert performance film, which aired on PBS and was nominated for an Emmy Award, his wildly successful Troubadour Reunion tour and Live at the Troubadour album with Carole King, two collections of cover songs Covers and Other Covers, a heartwarming Christmas album, James Taylor at Christmas and sold out tours across the US, Europe and the UK throughout 2014 and 2015.

Before This World is currently available in a variety of formats. The special 2-Disc CD/DVD Before This World Deluxe Edition includes the full-length album on CD plus “There We Were: The Recording of James Taylor’s Before This World,” a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the album on DVD. The beautifully rendered 30-minute film, using studio footage and interviews, provides an intimate look into Taylor’s creative process and the recording of this landmark album.



Before This World’s Super Deluxe Edition includes the standard full-length album plus bonus tracks, the expanded “There We Were: The Recording of James Taylor’s Before This World” documentary on DVD and a 40-page hard bound book featuring photos, liner notes, and a collector’s envelope with handwritten lyrics, all housed in a numbered slip case. The album will also be available digitally and on 180gram vinyl.