The Best of James Taylor

James Taylor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B00007IT8S
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #8 in Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > General
  • #14 in Music > Pop > Soft Rock
  • #14 in Music > Rock > Folk Rock

Track Listings

1. Something In The Way She Moves

2. Sweet Baby James

3. Fire And Rain

4. Country Road

5. You've Got A Friend

6. You Can Close Your Eyes

7. Long Ago And Far Away

8. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

9. Walking Man

10. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

11. Mexico

12. Shower The People

13. Golden Moments

14. Steamroller (Live)

15. Carolina In My Mind

16. Handy Man

17. Your Smiling Face

18. Up On The Roof

19. Only A Dream In Rio

20. Bitter Sweet (Previously Unreleased)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Any good singer can interpret a song, but it takes a stylist to make it his own. James Taylor is a stylist. This 20-track anthology obviously can't chronicle much more than the hits and high points of Taylor's career, but it nonetheless captures the artistic essence of a performer who's become a virtual synonym for "singer-songwriter" since his emergence in the late '60s. A lot of ink has been spilled ruminating about Taylor's role in soothing a '60s-burned generation, but given his own well-known demons (depression, addiction) his gentle voice often sounds like the physician wisely healing himself. His muse seems fully formed from the opening "Something in the Way She Moves," a track cut for the Beatles' Apple label in late ‘68 (and one that seems to share some symbiotic relationship with George Harrison's own classic "Something" from the period), its tone at once familiar and inviting--if ripe for a few decades of parody--as it wends its way from his seminal early '70s hits through a slate of later originals, R&B ("How Sweet It Is," "Handy Man") and pop ("Up On the Roof") covers. Tellingly, he delivers those chestnuts with an offhand confidence and illumination that makes them his own, a sense that informs even his jazz and Brazilian ("Only a Dream a Rio") flirtations. The set's newly recorded bonus cut, John Sheldon's "Bittersweet," is a pleasant pop confection that showcases Taylor's knack for being laconic and upbeat in the same breath. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

20 of his greatest singles and most popular album tracks released on Apple, Warner Bros. and Columbia/Sony. Slipcase. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One for the JT Newbies, April 8, 2003

By 

T. C Lane (Marina, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best of James Taylor (Audio CD)

Couple of notes: the version of "Something In The Way She Moves" is the Apple Records version from 1969, but "Carolina In My Mind" is the 1976 re-recording. Also "Steamroller Blues" is the live 1975 cut. Among the odd surprises on this Collection are "You Can Close Your Eyes" a great album track from Mud Slide Slim, and "Golden Moments" a forgotten track from 1976's In The Pocket. This CD swallows the whole of the first Gr. Hits album, save for "Something" which is remade on the first (but not this) Hits CD. Because this is a WB Records release, 15 of the 20 songs are from JT's WB days. The Columbia years are sorely lacking. Where's "Her Town Too" or "Copperline" or "Secret O'Life" to name three. So, if you're a beginner to JT's catalog and you like what you hear on this CD then seek out his Greatest Hits Vol. 2 on Columbia Records. The one new song, "Bittersweet" is a good uptempo song that wasn't written by Taylor. There are no liner notes, except for a quick paragraph from JT. If you're a JT newbie this is for you. The rest can do with the other 2 Greatest Hits albums.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best One Disc Compilation of the Man That's Out There!, April 10, 2006

By 

Frederick Baptist (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best of James Taylor (Audio CD)

This is by far the best compilation of JT's work that's out there. Not only are the 20 tracks here truly representative of the best that JT's ever done, the sound quality is brilliant as the tracks have also been very well remastered. For those of you who are sticklers for detail and order, the tracks are arranged in chronological order as well and yet the album does not sound as disjointed as you might expect. The liner notes albeit short have been written by JT himself too. JT is that special individual who has managed to carve out his own unique sound and his works are able to evoke great emotion out of his listeners with the ability to transport them to other worlds. Great remastered sound, great value for money and great songwriting make this a must have in any music-lover's collection. Very highly recommended.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good collection but..., January 20, 2006

By 

Rick "hunternc" (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of James Taylor (Audio CD)

..."Something In The Way She Moves" and "Country Road" are not the same versions as on the original JT's Greatest Hits from '76, which I prefer. If I were to do a one-disc comp, I would have included "Never Die Young" and "Copperline" (they could have dispensed with the live "Steamroller Blues" for one of those tracks.) And, the closing, newly-recorded "Bittersweet" is okay, but sounds like a leftover track that he decided to stick on this collection because it didn't really fit anywhere else. But, those complaints aside, this is still a good overall compilation with really nice sound quality.