Flag (Hybr) (Ms) [Hybrid SACD - DSD]

James Taylor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 9, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000YTP48
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #549,468 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Company Man

2. Johnnie Comes Back

3. Day Tripper

4. I Will Not Lie for You

5. Brother Trucker

6. Is That the Way You Look?

7. B.S.U.R. (S.U.C.S.I.M.I.M.)

8. Rainy Day Man

9. Millworker

10. Up on the Roof

11. Chanson Française

12. Sleep Come Free Me

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great sound -- Good songs, March 14, 2004

By 

Daniel A. Cooper "Music Lover & Audiophile" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flag (Hybr) (Ms) (Audio CD)

This review is for the hybrid SACD version of this album.

This is a good, but not great, JT album from the late 70s. There are a few good songs, such as Millworker, Company Man, and his tasty cover of Up on the Hill, but his quasi-disco version of Day Tripper was a mistake. He has the usual suspects in his band, including the solid rhythm section of Russ Kunkel & Lee Sklar, along with Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar on guitar, all of whom put in their usual quality work.

The sound quality of this disc is terrific. The CD layer isn't much of an improvement over the redbook, but the SACD layer sounds considerably better. There is the usual warmth and seperation we've come to expect on good SACDs I really enjoy the presentation of acoustic guitar on SACDs, since this platform does a terrific job of bringing the unique timbre of steel string acoustics to the fore with amazing clarity.

The multichannel mix is a solid, ungimmicky presentation and JT's vocals are anchored on the center channel with a tiny amount of bleed to FL and FR. To fully appreciate, you'll need a good center channel speaker, or else you'll need to dial down to the stereo mix on the SACD layer, which is still much better than the CD layer, but loses some of the instrument separation.

All in all, this is an excellent sounding version of a perfectly average album.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Up On The Hill?, March 29, 2011

By 

Just The Facts (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flag (Hybr) (Ms) (Audio CD)

The previous reviewer, "Daniel", referred to JT's great version of Carole King's song as "Up On The Hill." WTF? It's "Up On The Roof", home boy. As soon as I read that, the rest of his review went straight down the ole draino.

James Taylor's "Flag" is a rare treat. From "Rainy Day Man" to "Brother Trucker" to "Mill Worker", this is one of JT's best, most consistent efforts before he gave up heroin. Listen for Carly Simon singing background on "B.S.U.R". She's an ugly chick but can sing up a storm. But I can also see why JT got sick of tapping that nasty @ss, what with her huge, Mick Jagger-sized lips and all.

Also of note is "Johnny Comes Home", a cool track about some girl that comes around only when she needs some of Taylor's hard-earned drugs (or wants to borrow his car). Perhaps you know a chick like that.

This disc sounds terrific in multi-channel. I suggest that you acquire it if you can. Problem is, the SACD version is hard to come by. Nobody wants to part with their copy and it's been out of print forever. Good luck in finding it. Expect to pay a mint.