SOMETIMES, given the right occasion, Bournemouth's Windsor Hall can offer up all the atmosphere and magic of a much bigger venue.

That’s what happened on Saturday night, when James Taylor and his band took up residence for a memorable few hours.

Fresh off the Queen Mary 2, where they had performed a couple of gigs at sea on the way over from New York, Taylor and his band needed no warm-up for this first date of a long tour.

The expectant crowd got all they came for and more.

There's no way the unmistakeable voice should still be this good after the years of drug and alcohol abuse its owner lived through.

But amiable Taylor had the air of a man who knows just how lucky he is to have survived as he smiled and chatted his way through the show.

The favourite old hits – You've Got a Friend, How Sweet It Is, Fire and Rain, Carolina, the “cowboy lullaby” Sweet Baby James, written for his namesake little nephew – were all there.

Famous covers (Wichita Lineman, It’s Growing) mostly taken from his latest album of the same name, also benefited from the Taylor treatment.

Standout moments included a heartfelt Shower the People, and an unexpected and gentle Oh What a Beautiful Morning.

Helped by impeccable sound quality, this was an evening of superb musicianship, melodic tunes and life-affirming lyrics.

The simple folk guitar style for which Taylor is famous is so effective and the use of big screens gave us a close-up view.

As a young man barely into his twenties, James Taylor was the central figure of America's singer-songwriter movement.

Forty years on, the talent and professionalism are undiminished and the rapturous reception he was given showed that Bournemouth was proud to send him off on this tour in style.