Record of the Day: Livingston Taylor, “Ink”

Livingston Taylor
“Ink” (Cd Chesky JDI62)

It can’t be easy being a singer-songwriter in America with the name Taylor, especially if you have an older brother who does the same job and whose name is James. Things are even more difficult if the genre of music you play is the same and your voice is apparently identical to that of your brother; let’s face it, some musical (and non-musical) identity problems may arise.
Yet Livingston Taylor (who is also a good actor and teaches stage art at Harvard University) never worried
more so for this resemblance, and even if his career undoubtedly took place in the shadow of his brother’s worldwide success, he managed to conquer a loyal audience of enthusiasts thanks also to his skill as a performer in concert (his website reports which held thousands).

Taylor N° 2 is also a very good author, endowed with the same taste as James for melody and sophisticated harmonies, often spread over sweet and highly atmospheric arrangements. To notice the vocal differences you have to listen to a couple of albums, but over time the difference becomes noticeable given that Livingston has a less nasal timbre and more linked to the medium-low register.
Records like “Bcycle” and “There You Are Again” highlight his qualities as an inspired and always pleasant author, but today I want to point out an album that sees him mainly in the role of performer.

“Ink”, released in 1997, sees Taylor grappling with famous compositions such as “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder, “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty, “The End of the Innocence” by Bruce Hornsby and Don Henley and ” Hallelujah I Love Her So” by Ray Charles, just to name a few. A very diversified songbook from a stylistic compositional point of view but made uniformly excellent by the great quality of Livingston’s vocal interpretations, capable of moving with ease from whispered atmospheres to tones openly influenced by soul and gospel.

Light, strictly acoustic arrangements flow around his voice, where the guitars reign supreme, embellished with some mouth organ arabesques and supported by an always very discreet rhythm. A truly pleasant listening album, to listen to at home in peace, perhaps enjoying a good cup of hot tea.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.