Like all New Englanders, James Taylor loves road trips. "My favorite thing is to miss my home when I'm gone," sings the 67-year-old Massachusetts native on the bluesy "Stretch of Highway," a cut from 'Before the World,' his first album of originals in more than 10 years. He also digs staying put, and on his latest, the soothing folk-rocker finds peace where he can, singing with characteristic ease. The furthest Taylor wanders is "Far Afghanistan," a Middle Eastern-flavored rumination on soldiers and their gods.