#14

The Skip 5 Show #14: James Taylor – Only A Dream In Rio

I can’t even remember buying this Best Of (2003) collection of his stuff. Was there one song I wanted to hear? Must’ve got it at work for $1 and forgotten about it. This, for me, is one of those discs that bulks out the collection, is forgotten, and never played. Yet, somehow, if I were to go to get rid of it, I would have pause and deliberation. Welcome to my weirdo brain!

Anyway, this has a smooth, sweet samba-like beat with a chorus of voices in Portugese to capture those South American vibes, with added 80s synths and that doctor’s office waiting room beach music easy listening sound. His vocals are so non-confrontational and gentle that, if he’d somehow ended up in the favelas instead of on an idyllic beach, he’d have be eaten alive within minutes. This one was originally on his 1985 album That’s Why I’m Here.