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Jun 18, 2015The voice has held up well, the fingers are still nimble and, if you’re a devoted fan, you won’t be disappointed.
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Jun 23, 2015Taylor is at his best when he brings his fuddy-duddy charm.
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Jun 16, 2015Even with a few slightly cornball moments (the world-music salute "SnowTime") and an occasional over-reliance on gauzy harmonies that threaten to depersonalize the songs, Before This World is sweet grown-up James.
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Jun 16, 2015A record as relaxed as the average James Taylor album but one that's also riskier and richer, the right album for him to make at this date.
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Q MagazineJul 1, 2015His first LP of original material since 2002's October Road slips into earshot with the gentle country lilt of Today, Today, Today and rarely breaks a sweat from here on in. [Aug 2015, p.113]
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Jun 16, 2015There are songs about baseball, weather and enduring domestic love, acutely observed and delivered in tones so smooth they slip past in a soft blur.
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MojoJun 10, 2015Pleasing, but lacking his early melodic strength. [Jul 2015, p.96]
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UncutJun 10, 2015Accomplished rather than exciting. [Jul 2015, p.83]
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Jun 10, 2015Before This World, though not a particularly remarkable album, reacquaints us with an old friend, one who we wish would visit more often.
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Jun 15, 2015“Far Afghanistan” is an interesting detour, a new side of Taylor as he ponders the hardships of a soldier and the devastation of war. It’s not enough to distract from the glaring fact that Before This World doesn’t add much to Taylor’s beloved catalog, but doesn’t detract from it, either.