Thank you, Jack I was mesmerized.

JT has been growing on me for over 40 years - smart, insightful, humble, broadly talented, and so much more. First saw him around 1970 after the 1st album in Hartford CT opening solo for 10 Years After. Tough gig/misbooking, but he still managed to get through even with the stoner crowd that mostly wanted to rock out at 90 mph to "Goin' Home". His recent 40 year reunion w/ Carole King & their communal band is delightful, in no small part due to the interviews and reminiscences. Thanks for adding to my catalogue of JT goodness.

You saw Alvin Lee! Chick Churchill disappointed.

Worst thing I can think of about Taylor is Two Lane Blacktop. That and Carly Simon, she always seemed reasonable to me.

Carol King, not so much. I was living in Idaho when first she set foot on the ground. It was the wrong foot.

Just finished an Phil Spector bio that has many excellencies, not least of which is forgrounding the Jewish contribution to pop music. As a youth, I used to settle for smokin' rope and watching the late Don Kirschner's concert show.

The Specter bio details his work with Lennon, Leonard Cohen, the Stones, George Harrison, and etc.. The author really loves his subject matter (the music anyway)and is a very cabable writer and researcher. Yes, the lurid bits are there, but its rather like reading a biography of Samuel Johnson or Virginia Woolf, he knew or had contact with the most interesting people.

I love John Lennon (and James Taylor), but 30 minutes?

Alvin Lee rocked 40 years ago, but JT endures. As for Carole King, I'm not a huge fan but acknowledge both her artistry and her place in that era of music - for me, her tunes touch a lot of moments from that period.

But their 2010 CD/DVD release of the Reunion at the Troubador is just great. The two of them pair up with their original band from 40 years ago - Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, and Lee Sklar - to reprise tunes from that era. I guess on some levels its almost a little hokey, but the performances and patter are the real deal. JT carries it, of course, and the overall effect is a bit like comfort food for boomers of a certain age.

Now I need to get the Keith Richards tome - hear its pretty amusing . . .

I love the idea of the Beatles stoned out of their heads trying to run a record company in the late 60s. And the fact that they launched James Taylor's career with the company is huge, not to mention Badfinger. I went to the Apple offices with a friend back in the day, and asked the doorman if any of the Beatles were there but he said no. There was a band playing downstairs but we didn't recognize them and after a while we left. Still, I can say I saw the place when the Beatles were still legally one entity in the early 70s.

Apple Recording was a financial disaster at the time but when Apple Computer finally got tired of all the lawsuits and bought the trademark, the price was rumored to be 500 million.
It took a while but the Beatles' Apple idea was a very good move after all.