Customer Reviews

Gorilla

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With a voice as clear as a bell, James Taylor's Gorilla is a great listen in virtually every cut. From his vibrant Mexico, to his beautifully structured harmonies in Lighthouse, and the unique title cut Gorilla, Taylor's album has the intimate feel that only truly gifted musicians can achieve. Close your eyes and you're in a dimly lit coffee house listening to his musical poetry. The depth of his songs compared to what passes for music today is a breath of fresh air. Well worth the money to add this to your collection, or to rebuy it if your's is an old and worn copy as is mine.

A young James Taylor at his best! Includes the happy Mexico and How Sweet It Is, along w/ the sad I Was a Fool. Listen as Crosby and Nash synchratically harmonize as back up to James on Lighthouse or the soft-sung love that passionatly pours from Sara Maria. This is one of James' best ever. If I'm ever lucky enough to meet him, I will thank him for this album with a sincere gratitude.

I don't know how many times I've seen James Taylor in concert. I know that the second time was in a gymnasium at Central Michigan University in the Spring of '75, just a week or so before this album was released. Due to some events in my life at the time (Yes, I WAS a fool to care), these songs became almost immediately engraved on my primordial hard-drive. Now, older and (by some accounts)wiser, I still find this work very appealing and, from start to finish, both cohesive and comforting. It's hard to find a favorite track here...they're all great.

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 this album to play before he appeared. The rest, as they say, is history. Everyone there became lifelong James Taylor fans.

This particular album is 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 new songs as "Mexico", "I'm A Fool To Care", and "How Sweet It is". It is even more amazing considering it comes after he had already topped the charts with such extraordinary albums as "Sweet Baby James" and "Mudslide Slim", and it provides convincing evidence that our Sweet Baby James was here to stay. It, like its predecessors, is a very memorable album, and most of us who owned the original vinyl version of this album have upgraded to the CD as it has become available. It seems to showcase different aspects of his talents in that he is much more somber, reflective, and open about his own uncertainties and personal troubles in the songs he sings, and in the delivery as well. It has weathered the ravages of age very well, and it is as welcome on my CD as anything else I can think of. No one sings quite like Taylor, and it is a wonderful album to have playing as you are working your way through a quiet Saturday at home, reading or doing chores or kicking back with a Sam Adams and a few friends. Come on back to a better time, friend; sit on down with us and listen a while. This is vintage James Taylor. How sweet it is!

Yes, I am a shameless James Taylor fan. From the first time I heard him sing "You've Got a Friend", there has been no one to surpass his music and style since. This album, "Gorilla" happens to be my favorite. The beautiful ballads, such as "I Was a Fool To Care" and the upbeat songs such as "Mexico" --- J.T.'s songs will take you through a full range of emotions, and wonderfully so. Give yourself a treat and get this CD. I guarantee you won't be sorry.

West Coast music never really caught on in Britain in the 70s. In the US, on the other hand, Anglo rock behemoths like Led Zep, Stones, Bad Company, etc. didnt stand a chance next to the seductive charms of Linda Ronstadt, Eagles, Carly Simon, Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, etc. James Taylors Gorilla is one of the best mid-70s soft rock albums. It comes from the period when Mr. Taylor had hit a purple patch songwriting-wise and was consolidating his position as one of USAs top recording artists. Like so many of his albums from that period like In The Pocket, it is a filler-free zone. Here we have mid-tempo nuggets like Mexico (check those harmony vocals!!), bitter-sweet confessions (I Was a Fool to Care, You Make it Easy), a truly glorious cover of a soul classic (How Sweet It Is), and sad, quiet interludes of unmatched tenderness like Wandering and Sarah Maria where Taylor in troubadour mode is transcendent, displaying a vulnerability and humanity that warms the deepest recesses of the soul. As backing vocalists, Taylor engages the services of friends and lovers (David Crosby and Carly Simon respectively) and the best musicians in town like Steve Gadd ensure that the whole thing swings like a mutha. Simply put, Gorilla is accomplished but relaxed, polished but sensual, sophisticated but almost painfully human. Gorilla is a slice of West Coast paradise. Come as you are and bring your own Margaritas.

Maybe because James is deeply in love(with his ex-Carly)when he produced this album with her clearly participating....love does wonderful things to an artist...he makes beautiful art...in this case, music....and what a beauty...my vote for the BEST JT album ever(this is hard to beat)!If there ten CD's I'm stuck with in a remote island(with an enviromentally friendly SOLAR powered CD player...hey SONY, how about that....James will love it too)....this is one of them! No fillers here...every song is a gem....how rare is that?

Like most of JT's work, this album contains easy listening soft rock. It marked a change of direction for JT in that it lacks the introspective, personal quality of his earlier albums. Still, it contains some very good music, backed up by some of the greatest musicians around, including Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carly Simon, Randy Newman, and saxophone master David Sanbourn. Like always, it has JT's beautifully sweet voice and laid back six string accoustic guitar.

Several classic hits came out of the album including the "Mexico" and "How Sweet it is to be Loved by You." Like much of JTs work, it reminds me of the easy comfort of waking up to diffuse sunlight on a Sunday morning.

A wonderful album that doesn't get the attention it deserves, and more than worthy of remastering. They've done it in Japan but the U.S. has yet to issue remasters of the classic J.T. WB albums.
The two fantastic singles from this album, HOW SWEET IT IS and MEXICO, have overshadowed the other true classic J.T. performances and compositions on "Gorilla", such as MUSIC, FOOL TO CARE, LIGHTHOUSE (for which he makes use of Crosby and Nash in the same way he did for MEXICO and also NOTHING LIKE A HUNDRED MILES on "In The Pocket"), WANDERING, and SARAH MARIA (written about the artist's daughter). But truly there is not a clunker in the bunch on this disc, which is arguably J.T.'s most listenable album, front to back. If you don't have this album you are missing essential James Taylor music. Buy it...

If you know J.T, this will be a welcome return to his usual smooth and competent writing, singing and production. If you don't know J.T., there's no better place to start the relationship. Others have hailed this as his best overall effort. I don't know, that's like trying to decide which Boston Celtic or NY Yankee team was the best, there are SOOO many good ones it's hard to choose. Enjoy.