JT

James Taylor supported his just-released new album, Covers, with a set of his own material last Thursday night in a special solo performance at Borders Books & Music's headquarters store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Taylor explained to the crowd of 400, who had lined up early in the morning for wristbands, that he could not perform most of the songs from Covers, which he recorded with his 12-member Band of Legends, by himself. He did, however, play a rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," which appears on the album, along with "Something In The Way She Moves," "Secret O' Life," "Carolina In My Mind," "Sweet Baby James," "Belfast To Boston (God's Rifle" from 2002's October Road album, and "Mexico."

Taylor was in a jovial mood throughout the half-hour set, talking a bit about Covers and telling stories about the songs he did play. He got a laugh from the crowd after "Something In The Way She Moves," which he said got him his deal with the Beatles' Apple Records label: "I played it for Paul McCartney and he liked it. I played it for George Harrison, and he liked it so much he went home and wrote it" -- referring to Harrison's Beatles' hit "Something."

• The performance was filmed and will be posted on the Borders.com web site early next week.
• Taylor has upcoming appearances booked on NBC's The Tonight Show (October 7th) and an October 22nd stop on PBS' Charlie Rose with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who played on "Suzanne." Taylor is also taping a segment for Sundance's new Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...