I’ve never understood the appeal of James Taylor. Sure, he has a nice enough voice, but he takes everything that is fun and interesting and sexy about rock’n’roll and renders it toothless. (See “Steamroller Blues”)
Really, he should have taken lessons from his contemporary, George Breakfast.
It’s the clarity and expressiveness of Breakfast’s voice that leads me to draw the comparison to Taylor. But Breakfast has an authenticity that few artists can match. As his extensive biography shows, the guy knows a thing or two about songcraft.
The love songs evoke a gentleness that never dips into maudlin, and when Breakfast wants to get funky (“How About Now” and “I’m In a Hole”) have a certain swagger to them that’s difficult to resist, no matter how goofy they are at first glance.
For me, Love Will Get the Better Of You is everything I love about classic rock without the overproduced nonsense that still gets airplay. I hope this album gets the better of you as well.