Customer Reviews
Up On The Roof - By: Gavieboy, 25 Sep 2006 
This is a great album; as soon I listened to the first song I was hooked on this man, I listened to this cd for a month non-stop; his voice has something in it which I could never tire of hearing again & again; every song on here is a gem; Steamroller & Mexico spring to mind as two of the best on this cd; an utter joy to listen to anytime of the day.
Taylor made for success - By: Mr. Michael N. Heryet, 23 Dec 2005 I've been a fan of JT since Sweet Baby James, Mud Slide Slim & One Man Dog all still played on vinyl - though "You've Got a Friend" is slightly blurry as I've worn the groove down! Saw him a few years ago at Cambridge Folk Festival & was surprised how similar his voice was. It has changed little over the years - remarkable given his track record. However, he has less hair!! This album can quite rightly claim to be the best - at least it has all my favourites on many of which I only have on vinyl. It's great for playing lazily at home or on the car CD. Do yourself a favour & buy it. You'll never regret it.
A great introduction to James Taylor's music - By: P D Harris, 15 Apr 2005 James was born into a wealthy family but that didn't shield him from life's problems including drug addiction & depression. Perhaps these problems ultimately helped him to succeedin the often strange music business - the song that first established his reputation (Fire & rain) is autobiographical & could not have been written by a man without any worries or problems.
James, though born & raisedin America, made his first recordingsin London for the Apple labelin 1968. The resultant album was a flop at the time although it contained some fine songs including Carolina on my mind (herein a 1976 re-recording) & Somethingin the way she moves (the Beatles classic). Peter Asher, formerly of Peter & Gordon, began his career as a record producer with Apple & James Taylor's album was among his earliest productions. James returned to America following the album's failure. Peter also moved to America after quitting Apple & secured an American recording contract for James,in whom he still had faith.
James had far greater success with his first American album, Sweet baby James. The outstanding song was the aforementioned Fire & rain. Only a minor UK hit, it was a much bigger hitin America, where it catapulted him to superstardom. His next album, Mud slide Slim & the blue horizon, yielded another huge American hit - You've got a friend, which also made the UK top five & remains his only major UK hit. Indeed, James only had one more UK hit after that (Mockingbird - see later).
One-man dog, his third American album & fourth altogether, yielded another American hit, Don't let me be lonely tonight, which failed to chartin the UK. After that, Peter Asher switched his production efforts to Linda Ronstadt, with whom he had even greater success, while Carly Simon rescued James from his loneliness (at least for a few years). They married & also recorded a duet - Mockingbird, a cover of the R+B classic by Charlie & Inez Foxx, made the American top five but is conspicuous by its absence from this set.
James never quite reached the same level of brilliance again (even when he teamed up with Peter Asher againin 1978) although his later music is still worth hearing. He continued to have American hits, but with covers rather than original material. His cover hits included How sweet it is (Marvin Gaye - or Junior Walker), Handy man (Jimmy Jones) & Up on the roof (originally an American hit for the Drifters, it became a UK top ten hit for Kenny Lynch).
This compilation, focusing on his seventies music but including one newly recorded track (Bittersweet) contains all the essential James Taylor tracks except Mockingbird so if you only want one collection of his music, this is a good choice. Buy a Carly Simon compilation for Mockingbird - & plenty of other great music.
Excellent - By: , 27 Feb 2004 
Originally I bought this CD for my Dad at Christmas. However, having listened to it before giving it to him, I was suddenly asking myself whether I should keep it or give it to him. I particularly love the song, "Handy Man" but the rest of the album is extremely listenable. Buy this!
Long live JT!!!!!! - By: , 31 Dec 2003 What can i say, other than he's one of the greatest artistsin contemporary music! Each & every single one of his tracksin this album brings some memory, some important date, some discovery, some period of my life. His songs are evocative, intelligent, funny, his voice is full & he managed to capture a time to perfection. Though i find it hard to be subjective, i will say that this album contains material from his best era; what he produced laterin the 90s does not match his earlier work, so on that basis, i'd say go ahead & buy it and, like some other person reviewed here, smile while you listen to Walking Man...and let yourself go with Shower the people..!
