King and Taylor bring 'Troubadour Reunion' to MSG

Carole King remembers the first time she heard James Taylor's version of her song "You've Got a Friend."

"They surprised me with it, they just sort of threw it on at the end of a session, and it was jaw-droppingly wonderful," she said backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions in March, adding that it was one of her favorite moments in her career. Her current tour with Taylor, the "Troubadour Reunion," will likely yield some more favorites for the Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.

King said rehearsals for the tour were so good that they look like "the picture in the dictionary under the word joy - and you'll see it on everyone's face on the tour, too."

For the tour, both King and Taylor will be onstage the whole time, taking turns singing their own classics. Although Taylor has been a summer concert tradition for decades, King has been far more reclusive in her Idaho home.

However, the chance to work with Taylor brought her out on the road. "We had a reunion in 2007 at the Troubadour club, and we had so much fun we couldn't stop," she said.

The tour, which is supporting the live CD and DVD from the 2007 reunion, has turned into one of the hottest tickets of the season, selling out three nights at Madison Square Garden. When asked about the feat, King didn't hold back her excitement.

"It feels pretty damn good," she said, laughing. "Of course, I have a partner in that, though."

What critics say

"It was . . . pretty much like crack for the boomer-heavy, sold-out crowd of more than 18,000. Or, more accurately, it was like crack rolled in tobacco, fried in lard and sprinkled with sugar."

- Ross Raihala, St. Paul Pioneer Press

"In a supposedly modern era still very much drowned in nostalgic entertainment, it's just about as perfect a journey through this particular past as you're ever going to find."

- Ben Wener, Orange County Register

"This was an evening devoted to nostalgia, 28 songs tailor made for warm and fuzzies and reminiscing and it's playing to packed arenas from Australia to a sold-out North America. For either King or Taylor to mess with the material and modernize it would be sacrilege."

- Howard Cohen, Miami Herald

Setlist

The "Troubadour Reunion" sets have pretty much stayed intact throughout the tour, with only a few tweaks. Here's what they played in Kansas City last month.

SET 1: Blossom

So Far Away

Honey Don't Leave L.A.

Carolina in My Mind

Way Over Yonder

Smackwater Jack

Country Road

Sweet Seasons

Mexico

Song of Long Ago

Long Ago and Far Away

Beautiful

Shower the People

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

SET 2: Copperline

Crying in the Rain

That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho)

Sweet Baby James

Jazzman

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

Steamroller

It's Too Late

Fire and Rain

I Feel the Earth Move

You've Got a Friend

ENCORE: Up on the Roof

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

You Can Close Your Eyes

WHO James Taylor and Carole King

WHEN | WHERE 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan. Also June 30.

INFO $39.50-154.50; 212-465-6741, thegarden.com