New Moon Shine

James Taylor

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 1991)
• Original Release Date: October 1, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002726
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,511 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ol' Sweet Baby James is known for his gentle coo-ing about life's little joys and tragedies (he's seen fire *and* he's seen rain) and for surrounding himself with the best studio musicians money can buy. Steve Jordan and Steve Gadd on drums ensure the rhythm is solid and guitarist Danny Kortchmar and saxophonist Michael Brecker are top flight cats who keep things in place. Taylor himself is in fine form, penning an immediate audience favorite, "Copperline," and getting playful with Sam Cooke's hit, "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha," which initially seems incongruous but over time makes sense as more blue shirt soul from Martha's Vineyard's favorite boy. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best JT album since the 1970s., February 21, 2000

By	Scott M. Blish (Elmira, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Except for a somewhat lame but still listenable Sam Cooke cover, this is the best, most consistent album that James Taylor has recorded in years. He continues his one-per-album "quirky song" quota with "The Frozen Man", and "Copperline", "Shed a Little Light" (a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), "Slap Leather" (an anti-Gulf War song) and an awesome cover of the traditional "The Water Is Wide" are all highlights, but they are all overshadowed by the absolutely incredible "Native Son", a tale of a Union soldier returning home from the Civil War that is the most moving song, lyrically and musically, that Taylor has recorded since "Fire and Rain". A must-have for all fans of JT, even casual ones, and should also be high on the list of anyone who enjoys good, well-written, laid-back acoustic-based music. 5 stars, despite the fact that "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha" is probably second only to "Day Tripper" as the worst JT cover ever. The rest of the album is that good. :-)

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introductory CD to James Taylor, May 1, 2000

By	J. Liesenfelt (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having owned Hourglass and, of course, his greatest hits CD, I purchased New Moon Shine to listen to his more recent work and it made me a James Taylor fan. "Copperline" is a favorite that sets the mood for the whole CD. "Slap Leather" is a sharp, fast rocker along with "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' 'Bout That". "Shed a Little Light", "Down In The Hole", "Oh Brother" and "Like Everyone She Knows" are the acoustic type songs with the backing vocals you see on his several TV specials. My favorite on the CD is "The Frozen Man", a song that sends you to the lyric sheet to follow along with the story. If you are thinking about exploring James Taylor after listening to just his greatest hits, this is the CD to listen to first.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ole Stringbean Renders Another Masterpiece!, August 5, 2000

By	Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

James Taylor has given us so many wonderful albums over the last couple of decades (Gee, is it thirty years already?) that it truly surprising to see him come up with yet another blockbuster of a song cycle as he has produced here. From the opening bars of "Copperline", a dreamy recollection of why it is we can never go home again to the comical yet thoughtful "Frozen man", in which Taylor playfully cautions us about the dehumanizing possibilities science is beginning to confront us with, there isn't a dog in the bunch. As always, this is an eclectic mixture of folk ballads like "Native Son" and "The Water Is Wide" to an excellent cover of old favorite "Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha" to contemporary songs like "Got to Stop Thinking `Bout That". What we have here, folks, is a guarantee of entertaining, superbly rendered, and always memorable music by one of the old masters of popular folk-rock. After all, "JT" has now successfully negotiated the fifty-year mark, and like the rest of us boomers, shows no sign of slowing down or repeating himself. Enjoy!