Customer Reviews

Flag

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really like this CD and felt the single review before mine doesn't do this CD justice. It would be a shame if that review kept a person from enjoying this wonderful CD.

This is classic JT (personally I think his only misstep was "Never Die Young" and even that had a few good moments).

But c'mon this Cd has several great tunes such as BSUR, Rainy Dan Man, and especially Millworker. Yes, I even like his cover of "Day Tripper".

If you liked the JT CD, this is a safe follow up in a similar style. Trust me...it's good stuff.

Let me start by saying that I am a big James Taylor fan, and I don't mean to be negative, but I would not recommend this album to anyone but the serious JT fan. There are a few bright spots, most notably James in his 'story telling' mode on the heavy 'Sleep Come Free Me' and, and the interesting 'Millworker', sung from a single mothers perspective--quite peculiar, but somehow it works. There are also two cover tunes here- 'Up On The Roof' which sounds great, and 'Daytripper' which does not. For the most part, the rest of the album seems to be rather pointless, almost as if James lost his way. If you are a new fan, try "JT", "Greatest Hits" or "Sweet Baby James". Save this one for last.

I was lucky enough to first see James Taylor live in a small outdoor venue called Avaloch in rural Lenox, Massachusetts in the summer of 1970, after this first album recorded by the Beatles in London had been released and just before the release of the fabulously successful "Sweet Baby James" album by Warner Brothers. He appeared alone on-stage with a full head of long, long hair in a simple denim shirt and cut-up jeans with his four or five acoustic guitars, and for two and a half hours proceeded to absolutely enchant the sprawling lawn-full of hundreds of audience members with a spellbinding performance of all of the work from both of those albums. Although virtually unknown at the time, word of mouth had spread so quickly in the Berkshires area (who still considers him one of their own) that many of us went out to get the album to play before he appeared. The rest, as they say, is history. Everyone there became lifelong James Taylor fans.

While this particular album was nowhere near as popular as some of his other releases, I consider it to be proof positive of Taylor's enduring ability to produce a continuing stream of memorable songs and albums. With breathless ease he delivers with such memorable songs as "Rainy Day Man", "Millworker" (from a failed Broadway play), a terrific cover of "Up On The Roof", and a number of lesser known but still very interesting and captivating songs like "I Will Not Lie For You", "Company Man", and "Sleep Come Free Me", about a convicted murderer sentenced to life in prison. For anyone else, this album would have been a stunner, but following a number of stellar efforts like "Sweet Baby James", "Mudslide Slim", and "Gorilla", it considered a disappointing work by many. Give it a listen. I think you will come to like this "lesser' effort by JT, and will include it in your collection of frequently played CDs.

These are indeed basically story songs. "Company Man", "Brother Trucker", "Millworker" are the basic down to earth songs that most workers can relate to, each expressing the hopes and the frustrations of the working world. "I Will Not Lie For You" and "B.S.U.R." are deep striking comments. "Sleep Come Free Me" expresses life in prison. For a change of pace, there's the playful "Is That The Way You Look?" Notable of the radio pop songs are "Rainy Day Man" and the cover of "Up On The Roof". "Day Tripper" didn't come off as well for me, and the "Chanson Francaise" seemed basic filler. But one which especially reached me was the poignant "Johnnie Comes Back" with it's all too common story.

This album isn't one of his most popular and I find that there's less to say about this one than there is about others. But if you enjoy the singer's folk style, the self-revealing lyrics, the way he works with the back up musicians, this definitely belongs in your collection.

The reviewer that mentioned his difficulty listening to JT's greatest hits gives a very apt description of FLAG, an album that truly shaped my exploration of music. There's very little in JT's catalog that I don't like, but I do take issue with a lot of his greatest hits. For the most part, they are such beautiful, catchy melodies ("ear-worms") that they almost overwhelm the lyrics. On songs like Sweet Baby James and Fire & Rain, for example, James could have written lyrics about eating puppies and people might not have even noticed.

FLAG has some great melodies, but they do not overwhelm the poignant, gut-wrenching lyrics of songs like Sleep Come Free Me, Johnnie Comes Back, and Millworker -- songs that reveal universal truths about the human experience. FLAG is not "easy listening." It's something far better -- more like a Masters' Class in songwriting for the advanced listener. I thank my dad for playing that album when I was a teenager.

This is one of my favorite James Taylor albums. His cover of "Up on the Roof," especially, should be required listening (along with the Drifters' original). And to the person who said this was a boring album cover, an explanation: the cover is semaphore for "Man Overboard," and referred to JT's heroin problems at the time. He has since, thankfully, recovered.

Flag is less known, but still great cuts. Ideal for chilling, painting the room to, or taking a nice long drive to.

OK!, so you've probably heard or read that 'Flag' is either not one of James Taylor's best, or perhaps not one of his most popular albums. Well, there are a couple of things that you need to remember when reading a review of any kind of art. First, everybody has different tastes, and also that reviewers tend to assume that people reading their (usually highly subjective and often very specific) reviews, will agree with them and/or will understand what they're trying to say. That's a long-winded way of saying that whether you're familiar with James Taylor's music or not, you really should give this album a chance (all of his albums in fact!).
As someone who has all of Mr. Taylor's other CDs, I'd say that 'Flag' is probably, at least in its first half, unique in the sense that it feels by far like his most full-blooded, musically hard-edged and flat out soft-rock orientated album. So this is hardly the best example of an 'easy listening' experience then, and if you've only ever heard JT's other (largely ultra-relaxing) '70s albums that draw you in with that unmistakable, emotionally expressive voice which oozes soft, gently persuasive emotional reflection, then this 1979 offering could well be a bit jarring or disappointing at first.
On the other hand, for my money the latter half of 'Flag' seems to get a little more laid back and this culminates with the final track entitled (appropriately enough) 'Sleep Come Free Me'. Whether you like anything on the album that precedes it, well... who knows?... Buy it and try it!! If you want to avoid any feeling of disappointment then maybe you could prepare yourself for 'Flag' by listening to Mr. Taylor's '80s releases 'That's Why I'm Here.' or 'Never Die Young.', or even 1974's 'Walking Man' - although 'Flag' on the whole probably has a consistently higher level of energy than any of those.
Just don't decide whether or not to buy this album based on any review that you read (except this one of course!!). But I think one thing's for sure. If you happen to be somewhere on the long and winding road of getting to know JT's extraordinarily rewarding music, then 'Flag' will just prove what anyone who has his full back catalogue can tell you. James Taylor is an exceptionally versatile singer-songwriter who deserves every bit of the praise, fan enthusiasm and critical acclaim that's been heaped upon him for the best part of forty years.

Have fun with 'Flag' fellow JT fans, and bring on the new original album James! - we know you make a great 'One Man Band' but 'October Road' was six long years ago. We need fresh inspiration!!

This is hodgepodge release for James Taylor. Some pointless covers for the Beatles, a remake of his own song "Rainy day Man", songs written for the failed Broadway musical "Working", as well as few new good compositions. The Album is enjoyable to hear however it is recommended for the Hardcore James Taylor fans only, such as me.
If you wish to hear some great James Taylor albums, try instead: "One Man Dog", "Sweet Baby James" or "October Road"

James Taylor's "Flag" is an album like none of his others. The production on the album is somewhat muffled which can be both an enjoyable listening experience and a drag. It doesn't really carry itself like an album, rather, like a compilation of unreleased stuff. The album has a few good songs going for it, like, company man, johnnie come back, milworker and of course "up on the roof" but as I said there is no connection between these songs making this a somewhat trite listening experience. The cover of day tripper is disastorous and you will immediately want to skip it. Before reviewing, I listened to the album in it's entirity and honestly I bet in 1979 when people first bought the LP, they were probably very disappointed after waiting 2 years for an album. Truly this album is trash. all the good songs are attainable on other JT discs, so I suggest buying those.