Live At the Troubadour

iTunes Review

This is one of those dream-team combos: Carole King and James Taylor, two heavyweights of the early-‘70s singer-songwriter era reunited at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, where so many singer-songwriters got their start, with a sterling backup band featuring guitarist Danny Kortchmar, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel. Throw in all the major hits from each artist, from Taylor’s “Carolina In My Mind,” “Fire and Rain” and “Sweet Baby James” to King’s “So Far Away,” “It’s Too Late” and “I Feel the Earth Move” and you’ve got a high watermark accomplishment. This 2007 performance is top-notch throughout. Taylor and King both sing with an expressiveness that never sounds as if they might be the slightest bit tired of performing these songs after all these years. It helps that the band kicks up the perfect accompaniments, supporting the songs with a sweet purr throughout. By the time you get to the King-penned “You’ve Got a Friend,” it’s only a question as to who should take the lead vocal. (They harmonize to perfection.) For fans of either artist, this will surely satisfy.