Garth Brooks named his daughter Taylor after him. Taylor Swift is named after him. He's The Man. I appreciate another song every time I listen. "Never Die Young" is slaying me today. I'm not even sure I understand it, but I want to. That's a great song, friends.
I get why Nicole DeMille likes him so much. Really, I get why a bunch of people do. The reason "soft rock" is great is because it is constructed with the styles of "rock & roll," purged of stupid teenage rebellion. It's purged of nihilism, in other words. The opposite error I suppose is sentimentality, but there is a wisdom in James Taylor that makes him perfect to carry this banner, and he always has been.
Rock on gently, James.