Like so many of us, James Taylor got me through some stuff. As a shy, sensitive teenager on the precipice of adulthood, his stripped down and plainspoken lyrics--filled with country roads and highways calling--became a road map to navigate my own growing pains, and his unwavering voice and seemingly homespun guitar never failed to make me feel less alone. Of course, what I'm describing is true for generations of fans, but it also hints at what makes Taylor's story--especially that of his own formative years--so remarkable. Taylor was only 21 years old when his breakout album Sweet Baby James was released in 1970. And with Break Shot , he tells of the circumstances--personal, familial, cultural--that delivered him to that point with the same thoughtfulness and poignancy that he's brought to a lifetime of crafting songs. The result is a portrait of a once-in-a-lifetime artist as a young man, told in his timeless and singular voice.