Then the idea occurred to me, РІР‚ВLetРІР‚в„ўs make this into a guitar project.РІР‚в„ў Because you can tend to have a kind of cookie-cutter experience when making this kind of album. I thought we were doing demos to start with. РІР‚СљBut, yes, it was a very interesting process. And, fortunately for me, IРІР‚в„ўm calling the shots. HeРІР‚в„ўs much more suited to accommodating me than I am suited to accommodating him. It doesnРІР‚в„ўt work for John to give me changes and to have me play them. 'With my limited guitar technique IРІР‚в„ўve managed to interpret these tunes. So thereРІР‚в„ўs some bass notes that are coming out of the guitars that are outside of the usual range. РІР‚СљIРІР‚в„ўm playing my Olson guitars and Pizzarelli is mostly playing a seven-string. РІР‚СљYes, we did work them out together,РІР‚Сњ Taylor concurs. Taylor and the brilliant jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli worked out the core of the guitar arrangements for the album, which must have been an interesting challenge. they are the high watermark of popular music These were written as songs to be done by anyone. So, in my opinion, they are the high watermark of popular music.РІР‚Сњ РІР‚Сљ, they didnРІР‚в„ўt have production values that would dazzle us, and they didnРІР‚в„ўt know who would be performing the song, so it had to exist as a set of changes, a lyric and a melody. In other words, we are listening to a specific person, a specific voice, and you wouldnРІР‚в„ўt think of them being covered by other people, generally speaking. These days what we listen to are performances. РІР‚СљI think the difference is that these were written as songs to be done by anyone. ItРІР‚в„ўs much more sophisticated than music has become. The people of our generation listened to this stuff when they were kids, and I think that it really informed their harmonic sense. РІР‚СљBut this is the music that informed Lennon-McCartney, Paul Simon, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell. They are the previous generationРІР‚в„ўs music. They are songs of the 1920s, 30s and 40s, with a couple from the 50s in there. So IРІР‚в„ўve done a number of these tunes, what are thought of as American Songbook. And I recorded an album of covers which had Oh, What A Beautiful MorninРІР‚в„ў on. РІР‚СљBut on each album I tend to have a cover of some sort. And now Natalie Cole, of course - sheРІР‚в„ўs the real deal she actually is a jazz singer. And Linda Ronstadt, who actually worked with Nelson Riddle. 'But that changed when Willie Nelson made his standards album. People like Bobby Darin tried to change his stripes and become Bob Darin, and found himself on the wrong side of the generational divide. We were unkind and unaccepting of that music. ItРІР‚в„ўs like folk music was okay and Celtic music was okay, but Sinatra was not. When my generation stepped out and were making themselves known, we drew a distinct line between ourselves and what sounded to us like Vegas or in any way РІР‚Вlounge-yРІР‚в„ў. ItРІР‚в„ўs like folk music was okay and Celtic music was okay, but Sinatra was not My generation drew a distinct line between ourselves and what sounded to us like Vegas or in any way РІР‚Вlounge-yРІР‚в„ў.

James taylor guitar lesson