One for the JT Newbies

Couple of notes: the version of "Something In The Way She Moves" is the Apple Records version from 1969, but "Carolina In My Mind" is the 1976 re-recording. Also "Steamroller Blues" is the live 1975 cut. Among the odd surprises on this Collection are "You Can Close Your Eyes" a great album track from Mud Slide Slim, and "Golden Moments" a forgotten track from 1976's In The Pocket. This CD swallows the whole of the first Gr. Hits album, save for "Something" which is remade on the first (but not this) Hits CD. Because this is a WB Records release, 15 of the 20 songs are from JT's WB days. The Columbia years are sorely lacking. Where's "Her Town Too" or "Copperline" or "Secret O'Life" to name three. So, if you're a beginner to JT's catalog and you like what you hear on this CD then seek out his Greatest Hits Vol. 2 on Columbia Records. The one new song, "Bittersweet" is a good uptempo song that wasn't written by Taylor. There are no liner notes, except for a quick paragraph from JT. If you're a JT newbie this is for you. The rest can do with the other 2 Greatest Hits albums.

Without the Later Songs, Taylor's Legacy Here is Incomplete

Depending on your view of the artist, the 2003 Warner Bros.-produced issue THE BEST OF JAMES TAYLOR may be a slightly misleading title. The collection's apparent intention is to take James Taylor's biggest Hot 100 hits and album tracks, taking the expected suspects ("Fire and Rain"; "Country Road"; "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"; "Mexico"; "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You"; "Shower the People") while adding other notable tracks not on his first GREATEST HITS from 1976 ("Long Ago and Far Away"; "Golden Moments"; the original recording of "Something in the Way She Moves"). The collection also generously cross-licenses with Columbia, taking later hits like "Your Smiling Face"; "Handy Man"; and "Up on the Roof." Thus the 70s are well-represented, with perhaps a fan favorite or two missing (the Carly Simon duet "Mockingbird" is still annoyingly absent).

But the near-absence of songs from the 1980s and 1990s is puzzling. It may make sense why this era was not really considered, as apart from "Her Town Too," Taylor really didn't have hits as far as the Hot 100 goes. But that was not due to a songwriting slump, it was mainly due to the general audience's shifting music tastes. Besides, Taylor was still a consistent hitter on the adult contemporary charts, scoring hits like "Everyday"; "That's Why I'm Here"; "Never Die Young"; and "Copperline." Maybe these songs weren't considered because Warner wanted to focus on Taylor's growth as an artist, and Taylor intentionally decided from the early 1980s onward not to change his style of music, just delivering a record of similar-sounding material every few years. Regardless of the reason, Warner missed one simple fact about Taylor's legacy: by delivering generally more of the same material at consistent quality, while maintaining a core audience, Taylor showed that his power as an artist actually continued to grow as much as ever during these years. Then again, maybe Warner did understand that, but including just the fan favorite "Only a Dream in Rio" and the fine new tune "Bittersweet" from Taylor's later work barely even hints at the artist's remarkable staying power.

So this compilation can't help but come off as slight, since it is the later hits that bring Taylor's career into full perspective. But then again, it depends on what you want: casual fans looking for a full retrospective would be best off getting Warner's GREATEST HITS and Columbia's GREATEST HITS, VOL. 2 (which largely focuses on the later work), but anyone who wants a concise focus on Taylor's big hits, as well as most of his best work, would probably not go wrong by getting THE BEST OF JAMES TAYLOR.

True talent and ability

This CD is great! The collection is perfect for any James Taylor fan.