Sweet Baby James

James Taylor

Warner Brothers, 1970

http://jamestaylor.com

REVIEW BY: Curtis Jones

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 10/19/2012

James Taylor had an awesome start to his career -- for a moment.  In 1968, he was one of the first artists picked up by The Beatles’ new label, Apple.  Then, he recorded his first album using the studio time while The Beatles were not using Trident Studios during their sessions for The White Album.  His lyrics in “Something In The Way She Moves” from that first album inspired George Harrison’s “Something.”  But then the album was not promoted, and Taylor’s drug rehab prevented promotional touring.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

So by 1970, Taylor basically had to start over.  He and his producer Peter Asher left Apple for Warner Brothers and pulled together a mostly sweet and basic collection of tunes.  The resulting Sweet Baby James is one of the reasons why people like me like to listen to entire albums and not just the hits.  Sure, there are gems like “Fire And Rain” and “Country Road,” which are radio favorites, but there are so many other solid tunes like "Sunny Skies" and “Blossom” that keep this album running. 

The album ranges from the spirituall-inclined with “Fire And Rain” and “Lo And Behold” to downright traditional with a beautiful version of Stephen Foster’s “Oh Susanna,” which is lovely with its simple vocals and single guitar.  Taylor also shares a generous portion of his sense of humor as well.  “Steamroller” and the lackluster "Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me" are both thinly veiled sarcastic jabs at white blues.  "Suite for 20 G," a disoriented mishmash of unfinished songs thrown together to create a final track, was named for the fact that delivering that final track guaranteed Taylor a $20,000 payday.

For all the trouble that James Taylor went through in his youth with mental illness and drug addiction, he was able to turn that pain into some phenomenal music.  Sweet Baby James really serves as Taylor’s debut, since with this record he was able to start promoting and touring in support of the album as it began its ascent up the charts.  This album rightfully launched him into music history.

Rating: A-

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© 2012 Curtis Jones and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Warner Brothers, and is used for informational purposes only.