More often than not, when superstar musicians perform together the results are disappointing. Maybe their styles don’t match, maybe they can’t put aside their egos, but whatever the reason, it usually leaves you shaking your head. However, when it does work, it’s thrilling and magical. That’s what you saw when James Taylor and Carole King performed together in the film “Just Call Out My Name.”

The documentary chronicles their 2010 Troubadour Reunion Tour. It’s two hours of hit song after hit song interspersed with interviews of Taylor and King. We also meet their original band, formerly called”The Section” and now known as “The Immediate Family”, who they brought back to play on the tour. Guitarist, Danny Kortchmar, bassist Lee Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel are legendary musicians who helped make some of the most memorable music of the singer-songwriter era.

What is apparent throughout the film is that Taylor and King are more than musicians who play well together. You can tell their fifty-year friendship is real. Their love for each other is apparent. This tour wasn’t only about the music, but also about the fun the headliners and their band is having being together again,

In an interview during the film, Taylor tells King, “You and I probably just have the same musical DNA.” King later notes, “We did it for each other, but what they’re seeing is us having a good time together.”

When both statements are true, it’s the reason the audience watching the concert is also having a good time. “Just Call Out My Name is two hours of having a good time.

Related Post: How does Carole King’s “Tapestry” sound fifty years later?

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