James Taylor - James Taylor - Review

Songs: Don´t Talk Now, Something´s Wrong, Knocking ´Round The Zoo, Sunshine Sunshine, Taking It In, Something In The Way She Moves, Carolina In My Mind, Brighten Your Night With My Day, Night Owl, Rainy Day Man, Circle Around The Sun, The Blues Is Just A Bad Dream.

Best Song:  Carolina In My Mind

Type of Music: Soft Rock/Folk

Comments:

Most people think that James Taylor popped up out of nowhere in 1970 with his album Sweet Baby James and the Hit Single Fire And Rain. T´is not so. James was born in 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. Around 1964 he played in a band called The Fabulous Corsairs. After that Danny Kortchmar asked him to play in his band that was called The Flying Machine. They released one single namely Night Owl/Brighten Your Night With My Day. In 1968, James went to England and met producer Peter Asher (The Peter from Peter & Gordon). Together they went to see Paul McCartney and as a result James Taylor was the first artist to sign for Apple Records.

After some long hours in the Think Tank, the resulting album was simply called James Taylor. Peter Asher thought it a good idea to add some brass. He also provided most of the Baroque style links between the songs. Especially the first six tracks are thus glued together and form a suite based on Taylor´s personal experiences including his short stay in a mental institution, here referred to as The Zoo. It is well-known that James has had a serious heroin problem throughout his career. 

Despite the above, this album sounds quite confident. James knows how to write a nice soft-rock song or two. Other artists seem to think so as well. It´s obvious where George Harrison got his inspiration for Something. And Bonnie Raitt would make Rainy Day Man her song on her album Streetlights. James himself would re-record some songs later on in the seventies and would even hit the charts with Carolina In My Mind.

James Taylor is a pleasant combination of folk, soft-rock, blues and country, craftily produced by Peter Asher. Another perfect album for a rainy Sunday morning. Unfortunately, not all songs are as good as Don´t Talk Now, Something, Carolina In My Mind and The Blues Is Just A Bad Dream. As always, there´s quite some filler as well. Not really bad but somewhat boring.

Still, a very confident first album from an artist that would go on to dominate the Soft-Rock Scene in the early Seventies.

Who should buy this Record: Everyone who enjoys pleasant Soft-Rock. It is not an Essential James Taylor Album though.

Score: ******** (8 out of 10)