JAMES TAYLOR: "Mud Slide Slim"

Original released on LP Warner Bros BS 2561

(US 1971, March 16)

James Taylor's commercial breakthrough in 1970 was predicated on the relationship between the private concerns expressed in his songs and the larger philosophical mood of his audience. He was going through depression, heartbreak, and addiction; they were recovering from the political and cultural storms of the '60s. On his follow-up to the landmark "Sweet Baby James", Taylor brought his listeners up to date, wisely trying to step beyond the cultural, if not the personal, markers he had established. Despite affirming romance in songs like "Love Has Brought Me Around" and the moving "You Can Close Your Eyes" as well as companionship in "You've Got a Friend", the record still came as a defense against the world, not an embrace of it; Taylor was unable to forget the past or trust the present. The songs were full of references to the road and the highway, and he was uncomfortable with his new role as spokesman. The confessional songwriter was now, necessarily, writing about what it was like to be a confessional songwriter: "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon" served the valuable function of beginning to move James Taylor away from the genre he had defined, which ultimately would give him a more long-lasting appeal.

YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND

(by Carole King)

When you're down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running, oh yeah baby, to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you've got to do is call
And I'll be there, ye, ye, ye
You've got a friend

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep you head together
And call my name out loud now
Soon you'll hear me knocking at you door

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running, oh yes I will, to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall, ye
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there, ye, ye, yeah

Ain't it good to know that you've got a friend
When people can be so cold
They'll hurt you, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them, oh yeah, don't you let 'em now

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again, oh baby, don't you know
Winter, spring, summer or fall
Hey now, all you have to do is call
And I'll be there, yes I will
You've got a friend
You've got a friend, yeah

Ain't it good to know you've got a friend
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend

Oh, ye yeah, you've got a friend

Written and recorded by Carole King in 1971, this song became the biggest, and most well-known hit for then 23-year-old James Taylor, and his only #1 in America. It was the first single off of his third album. Taylor was the first to record it, putting down the track at Crystal Sound studios on Vine Street in Los Angeles with his band, which included King on piano. Days later, King recorded her version at A&M studios on La Brea Avenue. King's version was released first, appearing on her "Tapestry" album in February 1971. The song appeared on Taylor's "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon" album in March, and was released as a single around the same time, going to #1 US in July. According to Taylor, Carole King told him that this song was a response to his 1970 hit "Fire and Rain," where Taylor sings, "I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend." King's musical response: "you've got a friend right here."

Taylor heard this song for the first time in November 1970, when he played a week of shows at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. By this time, his album "Sweet Baby James" had taken off, and Taylor was drawing large crowds. He asked his good friend Carole King to be his opening act, and King grudgingly accepted - she wasn't used to playing her own songs live and was very nervous. King had written "You've Got a Friend" for her upcoming "Tapestry" album, and during soundchecks, she played the song while Taylor listened in the balcony. Later, during a recording session for his "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon" album, Taylor had some studio time left over after recording two songs that day. His producer, Peter Asher, suggested they take a crack at "You've Got a Friend," so Taylor and his band recorded the song. It sounded great, but Taylor didn't want to steal King's song out from under her, so Asher called her with the bold request to let Taylor record the song, which was clearly destined to be a hit. King graciously granted permission, and Taylor's version was released as a single, going to #1 in the US. This worked out well for King, however, since it became a lynchpin of her "Tapestry" album, and while she never released her version as a single, the album sold over 10 million copies in the US. Taylor's version of this song won the 1971 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The song also won for Song of the Year, an award that goes to it's writer, Carole King.

JAMES TAYLOR: "American Standard"

Original released on CD Fantasy FAN 00619

(EU 2020, February 28)

For pop artists of a certain generation, taking on the Great American Songbook has become somewhat of a rite of passage, occasionally bordering on cliché. Some, like Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon, got to it early in their careers, while legacy boomers like Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney offered up their reinterpretations of jazz standards as late-career curiosities, or in the case of Rod Stewart - five volumes and counting - reinvented themselves with them. James Taylor is no stranger to cover songs; everything from early rock to Motown and cowboy songs have popped up in his catalog, not to mention a pair Christmas albums and an entire 2008 set called "Covers". As one of the most revered American singer/songwriters of the mid- to late 20th century, it seems almost inevitable that he would eventually take his turn to honor the generation of pop tunesmiths that preceded him. On "American Standard", Taylor applies his gentle magic to classics like "My Blue Heaven" and "The Nearness of You," refashioning their well-worn melodies into the friendly and inviting mode that is his signature. Wisely eschewing the orchestral big-band approach, he stays on familiar ground, recording on a smaller scale at his barn studio in Western Massachusetts and working with his regular stable of players. He also downplays the role of the piano, opting instead to base the material around the nimble intertwining of his own acoustic guitar and that of jazz guitar wiz John Pizzarelli. The result is a relaxed musical conversation that perfectly underscores Taylor's tender vocals, especially on his sweet rendition of "Moon River," a song so well-suited to him it seems like it should have already existed before now. This sense of pleasant familiarity more or less guides the entire album as he turns "Teach Me Tonight" and "It's Only a Paper Moon" into James Taylor songs written by other artists. Horns and lush backing vocals do appear here and there, as does a slightly misguided dip into a borderline cartoonish vocal baritone on the otherwise strong "Ol' Man River," but the best parts of "American Standard" occur in the intimate moments that constitute Taylor's wheelhouse and of which there are more than enough to satisfy. (Timothy Monger in AllMusic)

Some Covers By JAMES TAYLOR

Original released on CD Hear HRM 30829-02
(US 2008, October 6)

JAMES TAYLOR Debut Album

Original released on LP Apple SAPCOR 3

(UK 1968, December 6)

James Taylor was the first artist to be signed to record on the Beatles' short-lived vanity Apple label. In late 1968, Taylor's sophisticated self-titled disc foreshadowed the introspective singer/songwriter genre that dominated pop music in the early and mid-'70s. Although often touted as his debut, this release is chronologically Taylor's second studio outing. "James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine" - an EP recorded a year earlier - contains rudimentary versions of much of the same original material found here. The album is presented with two distinct sides. The first, in essence, presents a unified multi-song suite incorporating several distinctly Baroque-flavored links connecting the larger compositions. The second is a more traditional collection of individual tunes. This unique juxtaposition highlights Taylor's highly personal and worldly lyrics within a multidimensional layer of surreal and otherwise ethereal instrumentation. According to Taylor, much of the album's subject matter draws upon personal experience. This is a doubled-edged blessing because the emphasis placed on the pseudo-blues "Knocking 'Round the Zoo" and the numerous other references made to Taylor's brief sojourn in a mental institution actually do a disservice to the absolutely breathtaking beauty inherent in every composition. Several pieces debuted on this release would eventually be reworked by Taylor several years later. Among the notable inclusions are "Rainy Day Man," "Night Owl," "Something in the Way She Moves," and "Carolina in My Mind." Musically, Taylor's decidedly acoustic-based tunes are augmented by several familiar names. Among them are former King Bees member Joel "Bishop" O'Brien (drums) - who had joined Taylor and Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar in the Original Flying Machine - as well as Paul McCartney (bass), who lends support to the seminal version of "Carolina in My Mind." The album's complex production efforts fell to Peter Asher - formerly of Peter and Gordon and concurrent head of Apple Records A&R department. The absolute conviction that runs throughout this music takes the listener into its confidence and with equal measures of wit, candor, and sophistication, James Taylor created a minor masterpiece that is sadly eclipsed by his later more popular works. (Lindsay Planer in AllMusic)

JAMES TAYLOR: "Walking Man"

Original released on LP Warner Bros W 2794

(US 1974, June 16)

"One Man Dog" drastically lowered expectations for a new James Taylor album, and those expectations were almost met by "Walking Man", a more considered effort than its predecessor that managed to be just as trivial but even less interesting. As a result, it became the worst-selling album of Taylor's career. Somehow, a songwriter who had seemed in 1970 to have as precise an idea of the national mood as Bob Dylan had had in 1965 now seemed to be a man without a country. Earlier in the year, Taylor had hit the Top 5 with a cover of "Mockingbird" sung with his wife, Carly Simon, but this record lacked even the charming inconsequentiality of that performance, something Taylor would regain and live off of in later years. Instead, "Walking Man", which began with Taylor asking, «Who is this walking man?» and ended with him commenting, «"It's really not so bad to be fading away,» sounded like the statement of a songwriter who either had nothing to say or didn't know how to say it. (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

JAMES TAYLOR: "One Man Dog"

Original released on LP Warner Bros BS 2660

(US, November 1972)

A lot was riding on this album, James Taylor's followup to his two big hits, "Sweet Baby James" and "Mud Slide Slim and The Blue Horizon", which was released 21 months after the latter, a long time between records in those days. And what a letdown. "One Man Dog" contained 18 tracks, some of them instrumentals, many of them running less than two minutes. A lot of it was sketchy and seemingly unfinished, and none of it had the impact of the best songs on the last two albums. "One Man Dog" spawned a Top 20 hit in "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," and it made the Top 10 and went gold itself largely on the momentum of Taylor's career. But it disappointed fans, and in the 19 months it took him to record another album, Taylor was bypassed by the singer-songwriter movement, becoming more of an easy listening covers artist (his next hits were remakes of "Mockingbird" and "How Sweet It Is"). (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

DON'T LET ME BE LONELY TONIGHT

(by James Taylor)

Do me wrong, do me right
Tell me lies, but hold me tight
Save your good-byes for the morning light
But don't let me be lonely tonight

Say good-bye and say hello
Sure 'nough good to see you
But it's time to go
Don't say yes, but please
Don't say no
I don't want to be lonely tonight

Go away then, damn you
Go on and do as you please, yeah
You ain't gonna see me getting down on my knees
I'm undecided and your heart's been divided
You've been turning my world upside down

Do me wrong, do me right, right now baby
Go on and tell me lies, but hold me tight
Save your good-byes for the morning light, morning light
But don't let me be lonely tonight
I don't want to be lonely tonight
No, no, I don't want to be lonely tonight
I don't want to be lonely tonight

This was the lead single from "One Man Dog", a concept album about fame primarily recorded in Taylor's home studio. He explained to Mojo magazine July 2009: «I wrote a number of songs that talked about being uneasy about fame. There are things about it that are odd, and should be questioned.» This song finds Taylor asking a girl to spend the night to fend off his loneliness. He comes off a bit desperate and very capricious, at one point telling her that he's not going to beg, but then preceding to do so. It sounds a lot like the manipulations of an addict, which Taylor was at the time. The song was released the same year he married Carly Simon (they divorced in 1983). The Isley Brothers covered this in 1973. Eric Clapton recorded it in 2001 for his album "Reptile". Jazz giant Michael Brecker is featured on tenor sax. He was a popular session player on many rock and pop songs in the '70s and '80s. Taylor sang on a version that was included on Brecker's 2001 solo album "Nearness of You: The Ballad Book". This version earned Taylor a Grammy win for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Sweet Dreams And Flying Machines

Original released on LP Warner Bros WS 1843

(US 1970, Fébruary 1)

“We had all the fun. It almost killed us” (James Taylor, 2002)

Owner of a very expressive voice and a peculiar guitar style, capable of penning memorable tunes, with the inestimable help of the underrated Danny Kootch (Kortchmar)  on tasteful guitar duets , overall harmonizing and even some leads, plus the occasional piano of friend/lover/collaborator Carole King, rotating bass players and the hardened Russ Kunkel on drums ( who is curiously omitted on the LP sleeve credits) , James Taylor takes us through a very stunning catalog of some of the best  late 60’s West Coast sounds. From the falsely waltzing title track, through the foot stomp driven Bluesy twin acoustics of “Lo & Behold”, the jazzy, delicately hi-hat driven, swinging “Sunny Skies”, the soulful, brass arrangement boasted ,electric blues of “Steamroller” , the travelling stop and go “Country Road” and the Folksy/Rag/Jazzy twists of the Cowboy song “Oh Susannah”. Flip the record and enter the gracious “Fire & Rain”, acoustic guitar, drums and strings alternating in the role of increasing tension with delicate subtlety, the seemingly Poppy “Blossom” constantly modulating descending and ascending patterns in a misleading simplicity, and playa like a folk-inflected “Here Comes The Sun”. “Anywhere like Heaven” with delicious steel guitar and fiddle flourishes, the thrilling vs cheerful Rural Blues “Oh Baby don’t you Loose your Lip on Me” and end  with the sumptuous mini-epic “Suite for 20G”. The track begins in familiar Taylor territory, wuth sunlit lyricism and a neat descending guitar refrain. Halfway through, however, it shifts gear and slides into a high-rolling  R&B blow-out, complete with majestic horn section. “Sweet Baby James” went on to achieve triple platinum sales, and triumphantly established Taylor as a musical force in the new decade.

FIRE AND RAIN
(by James Taylor)

Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to

I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

Won't you look down upon me, jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line 
to talk about things To come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now

Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now

Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now

Taylor wrote this in 1968 at three different times. He started it in London, where he auditioned for The Beatles' Apple Records. He later worked on it in a Manhattan Hospital, and finished it while in drug rehab at The Austin Riggs Center in Massachusetts. In a 1972 Rolling Stone interview, Taylor explained: «The first verse is about my reactions to the death of a friend (that would be Suzanne - explained below). The second verse is about my arrival in this country with a monkey on my back, and there Jesus is an expression of my desperation in trying to get through the time when my body was aching and the time was at hand when I had to do it. And the third verse of that song refers to my recuperation in Austin Riggs which lasted about five months.»

The line, "Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground" is a reference to a band Taylor was in called The Flying Machine, which he formed with Danny Kortchmar in 1966. The band recorded some songs and released one single, but split up without issuing an album. Taylor went to England, where his demo got the attention of Beatles associate Peter Asher, who arranged an audition with Paul McCartney and George Harrison. They liked what they heard, and signed Taylor to their label, Apple Records. By 1971, Taylor was on a new label and "Fire and Rain" was a hit. The enterprising (some would say exploitative) folks at the label that controlled The Flying Machine's recordings suddenly became interested in the band, and cobbled together an album from those recordings which they released in 1971 as James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine.

The lyrics, "Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone. Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you" have been the subject of a great deal of speculation, with rumors that Suzanne was Taylor's girlfriend who died in a place crash. In a 1971 interview with Petticoat, Taylor explained: «It concerned a girl called Susanne I knew who they put into an isolation cell and she couldn't take it and committed suicide.» Her name was Susie Schnerr, and Taylor also explained that it was months before he found out about her death, as his friends withheld the news so it wouldn't distract Taylor from his burgeoning music career. In a 1972 Rolling Stone interview, Taylor added: «I always felt rather bad about the line, 'The plans they made put an end to you,' because 'they' only meant 'ye gods,' or basically 'the Fates.' I never knew her folks but I always wondered whether her folks would hear that and wonder whether it was about them.»