Maybe this is because I was born at the pinnacle of the man's career, but I've always thought of James Taylor as father-like. Maybe it's his soothing voice or his (generally) quiet guitar picking, but whenever I think of JT, I think of this gentle, paternal figure. Anyway...

"Hourglass" is an album that you will appreciate as soon as you take the time to sit and listen to it. James Taylor is a powerful songwriter, and the lyrics to the songs on this CD knock me out.

For those who are not familiar, James Taylor was one of the artists who characterized the whole "sensitive singer/songwriter" movement in the early Seventies, along with artists like Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and JT's future wife, Carly Simon. His songs are highly literate, generally easy-paced and acoustic.

The album opener, "Line 'em Up" has a lyric that references Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. This is probably the only song I skip on this album (hey, I was born two years after Nixon resigned. What can I say?). The next song, "Enough to Be on Your Way" was written partially about his late brother Alex (a recording artist in his own right) and contains one of the most powerful verses I can think of. I usually don't quote lyrics, but here goes: "So the sun shines on this funeral/Just the same as on a birth/The way it shines on everything that happens here on Earth/It shines across the Western sky and/Back into the sea/And spends the day's last rays upon this f*@ked up family/So long, old pal...". Amazing stuff that will hit you twice as hard if you've ever lost someone close to you.

Elsewhere, "Little More Time with You" is a bouncy little number featuring Stevie Wonder on harmonica. On the song, JT explains how he is leaving the life he's grown accustomed to so he can be closer to the one he loves. "Ananas" is sung partially in French, so even though it's a cool song (probably the most "rocking" song on the album) I don't understand half the lyrics. "Jump Up Behind Me" has kind of a worldbeat flavor and features Sting on additional vocals. (JT later returned the favor by guesting on "Fill Her Up" on Sting's "Brand New Day").

Other standouts make light of JT's Atheism or Agnosticism or whatever you want to call someone who doesn't believe or questions the existence of God. "Gaia" is a hushed, beautiful song about the beauty of nature in which JT asks us to pray for flowers, trees and leaves, and then asks us to "for God's sake, save one for me/Poor wretched unbeliever". "Up from Your Life" (Branford Marsalis guests here) concerns being able to somehow make light of life.

As I said earlier, this album can only be appreciated if you take the time to listen to it. This album is quite intimate and well worth the time it takes to listen to it.

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Reading or Studying