James Taylor

James Taylor

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 1991)
• Original Release Date: December 6, 1968
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000CKZH
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,517 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Signed to Apple Records, James Taylor had already made a name for himself as a songwriter, placing two songs on Tom Rush's classic album The Circle Game ("Sunshine, Sunshine," "Something in the Way She Moves"). Both appear here on his debut album alongside "Carolina on My Mind" (which features Paul McCartney on bass). Taylor's thin, reedy voice complements the wispy, often overly sensitive songs and the production by Peter Asher is understated throughout--even if it does at times include a string quartet. Only "Knocking at the Zoo" attempts to upset the gentle balance. As a poster boy for mellow, he succeeds. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original Apple Records Release of First James Taylor album!, August 20, 2000

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

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.

This is a fantastic folk album, and shows a different aspect 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. But many of my favorites are here, including a spare and lean version of "Something In The Way She Moves", "Carolina In My Mind", and "Rainy Day Man". Yet I actually prefer many of the other cuts, such as "Brighten Your Night With My Day", "Don't Talk Now" and Something's Wrong". My all time favorite song from this album is a sleeper that he never plays and that no one else seems to be familiar with, a traditional song called "Circle Round The Sun".

His performance on it is a brilliant early indication of just how incredibly talented an interpretive artist Taylor really is, transforming this old folk song into a stunning contemporary number, complete with an indelible guitar accompaniment with the usual "Taylor" treatment and a haunting, suggestive vocal that literally oozes with heartfelt sincerity. This is a lesser album only in the sense that many of the works are unusually spare and folksy, but it is certainly a terrific showcase for how well Taylor can deliver on a variety of original works and covers of traditional folk songs. Enjoy

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Warm Reflection of Gentle Toughts, May 6, 2003

By	jeff hirshberg (New york) - See all my reviews

An old record my sister had in a Paul McCartney cover had more scratches on it than a couch in a house with twenty cats. I listened to it, and came to adore it. It was JT's first album on Apple records. To save my needle, I copied it onto a cassette, and played it for over twenty five years before a radio station told me the album was rereleased on CD. Talk about luck, the first store I went to had a copy of it. It was mine; all mine. For the first time, I could hear the guitar music without the background of all the scratches.

There is a tender sensitivity to this album reflecting a great deal of JT's emotional experience in his early years. His songs tell of warm loving relationships, expressed through greatly tender poetry. There is a softness and vulnerability in his voice, lyrics,and music we never see quite the same in his later productions.

"Something in the Way She Moves"

"And I feel fine any time she's around me now;
She's around me now almost all the time.
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now
She's been with me now, quite a long long time,
and I feel fine"'

"Circle Round the Sun"

"I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some;
Let me say that I love my baby,
And she's bound to love me some.
Now she throws her arms around me,
Like a circle round the sun, yeah".

"Sunshine Sunshine"

"Sounds of laughter, here comes sunshine;
Smiling faces all around;
They possess you, bless you sunshine
Now, you can never let them down
I say sunshine".

This album was always there for me when I shared the same vulnerabilities James had in his youth. What I could not express on my own was right there on that old cassette tape.

There are some reviewers here who write about any and every album ever created. I only write about those which have touched my life as this one did.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The less well known first half of Sweet Baby James., March 31, 1999

By A Customer

James Taylor's first album remains largely undiscovered. JT fans who think Sweet Baby James was his best, enjoy his later stuff but feel he never quite reached that level again, MUST hear this album. It is a masterpiece. Much of it reminds me of "Country Road" with strings bridging the songs (the strings style reminds me of Beatles orchestral works, such as in Yellow Submarine, from this era). Anyone who has wondered where the song, "Carolina On My Mind" came from will now have their answer. Another magnificent selection is "Circle Around the Sun," a traditional song that has been borrowed in part by the Grateful Dead (I Know You Rider) and Janis Joplin (Piece of My Heart). This album is hard to find. It is really the first half of the Sweet Baby James work. Get it-you'll thank yourself!