25. James Taylor

I know, I know. He's a famous person and I can't really admire his persona because I don't know it. The thing is, his voice is a memory from my youth, a welcoming hug from the Carolinas, and a reminder that things don't have to change too much in a lifetime.

James Taylor's voice is an even hum, steady like the wind. It dips and rises and cruises through harmonies like a breeze finding its way around trees. "There's something in the way she moves, looks my way and calls my name..." At this part I have to join in and sing with him, trying to match my voice to his liquid sound. It doesn't matter if I can't though, because the steady voice coming through the radio is forgiving and I can let my own jilted vocal stylings mingle with his balanced rhythm.

What I appreciate even more than his soothing voice is his restraint. Both his lyrics and his sound exude passion but lack that over-the-top excess that you hear in so many desperate artists. Don't get me wrong, a little Aerosmith is enjoyable every now and then, but James Taylor is able to express his love, his humor, and his fear in a way that beckons you to listen further rather than scares you away with its intensity. When he sings about his girlfriend who can't do the Cha-Cha, and then teaching her how and realizing she's better than he you pick up on boredom, his pride, the slight humiliation, but all without drama. When he sings "Down in the Hole" you can hear and feel his despairing pain but without the blood draining from your own face or having to clutch your chest in empathetic misery. I so appreciate his respect for the listener. His lyrical restraint allows me to belt out his songs without getting caught in the drama, and his vocal restraint keeps his sound crisp and steady.

Josh and I made our retreat down the aisle to the song "How Sweet it is" partly because I wanted to play music we both enjoy, but also because Taylor's simple appreciation of human relationships is something I can identify with. I love that James Taylor takes the complicated out of music, and instead provides me with a sound I can smile to as I listen, and sing to as I try to shrug off the strains of the day. I love that he reminds me that just looking at the sweetness of my marriage is the best perspective, that the way Josh looks or the way he moves is a raw and precious gift.