Graham Clark, Music Features Writer

Album Review: James Taylor Quartet - Man In The Hot Seat

Man In The Hot Seat; The Danzig Collection; The New Money Spyder; Don’t Mess With The Champ; Cold War Etiquette; Murder On The Vaporetto; Diametric Opposition; The Gravedigger; Time For Revenge; Night Garden

Label: Audio Network: AWWJTQ004


Fans of the James Taylor Quartet might be in for a surprise on this lush and cinematic album. Instead of the usual Acid Jazz tracks associated with the band the listener here will find that Man In The Hot Seat owes more to composers such as John Barry, Ennio Morricone and Lalo Schifrin. Indeed any of the ten tracks on the album could have come off the soundtrack to a sixties or early seventies action movie.

Recorded with an orchestra the album is Taylor’s third Abbey Road produced recording in four years. The pressure that Taylor was under when he made the album (his wife was receiving critical care from a brain haemorrhage and he was dealing with long Covid) has given the tracks an urgency and a degree of motion that might have otherwise not been so apparent.

The title track kicks off the album, sounding like it belongs in a James Bond film or from an episode of The Avengers; the lush orchestration leads into a jazzy interlude reminding the listener that it is the James Taylor Quartet coming out of your speakers.

The magic continues with The Danzig Connection on a thrilling sixties inspired number. Other artists have tried to replicate this instrumental sound - most notably Swing Out Sister, another act inspired by music from this period.

The Moneyspyder, a track off the 1993 album of the same name is reborn here as The New Money Spyder featuring Taylor performing on a Wurlitzer. Close your eyes and you could be driving along a mountain cornice in an open top car in the south of France.

The funky beats shine through on Don’t Mess With The Champ on a glorious foray into some top bass lines that even Quincy Jones would be impressed by.

Naturally there is the Hammond organ and Fender Rhodes but also the Theremin, which clearly demonstrates that Taylor was up for a challenge, one that he has triumphed with on this enjoyable album.

Highly recommended.