MANILA — After canceling his Philippine concert in 2017 to protest then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter James Taylor finally returned to Manila on Monday with his All-Star Band at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“I don’t think of my music as being particularly political but sometimes one is called upon to make a political stand,” the ‘70s music legend said at the time.

A recovered addict, who even included a verse about his experience in his classic “Fire and Rain,” Taylor last performed in Manila back in 1994 at the Folk Arts Theater.

“It took a very, very long time. Thanks for having us back,” Taylor, now 76, told the older-skewing crowd on Monday. 

Indeed, watching Taylor again is like meeting an old friend you haven’t seen in years. You just pick up from where you left.

And while his vocal range had diminished with time, it retained its calming, soothing quality that you equate with a kindler, gentler period in your life when music was all that matters.

Taylor opened with the earliest song he was willing to play in public, “Something in the Way She Moves,” from his 1968 debut, which he performed for Paul McCartney and George Harrison that led to his signing with Apple Records. Such was the impact of the song that Harrison used the title as the opening line for The Beatles’ “Something.”

With his now trademark flat cap, the lanky Taylor shared other stories, including one about Joni Mitchell singing backing vocals to “Long Ago and Far Away,” which was used at the concert.

But Taylor’s many hits are stories in themselves and like an astute storyteller, he knows his audience, changing his set list, even if slightly, all throughout his tour. The early part of the concert had his more latter songs like “That’s Why I’m Here” and “Never Die Young,” but when he drove into “Country Road,” the show became like a live version of his greatest hits album, as he sang hit after hit after hit — “Handy Man,” “Mexico,” “Carolina in My Mind,” “Steamroller Blues,” “Fire and Rain,” “Up on the Roof,” “Shower the People,” and an energetic “Your Smiling Face.”

His voice may have been affected by age but his guitar-playing remained on point, and he even brought out the electric guitar for the spirited bluesy track “Steamroller Blues.” 

It was also heartwarming to see Taylor introduce his fantastic band and backup vocals throughout the show, each time reaching out to them for a handshake or a hug. He generously allowed them to bring that extra oomph to his well-worn repertoire, notably the gospel-tinged adlibs of Dorian Holley on “Shower the People.”

For the encore, Taylor returned for “You’ve Got A Friend” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” and while the audience sang along — as Filipinos always do — their tones were more hushed, almost in reverence and deference to this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. 

Taylor granted one more song as he and his backup beautifully harmonized on “You Can Close Your Eyes.”

After taking their final bows, Taylor actually stayed onstage and signed autographs for some lucky fans.

In “That’s Why I’m Here,” he sings, ‘Fortune and fame's such a curious game / Perfect strangers can call you by name / And pay good money to hear ‘Fire And Rain’ / again and again and again.” 

Yup, that’s us. That’s why we’re there.