James Taylor - James Taylor: Greatest Hits

James Taylor's mid-'70s departure from Warner Bros. may be one of the best things that ever happened to the label; otherwise, it might not have been in such a rush to compile his Greatest Hits, one of the company's biggest sellers ever at 11 million and counting. Taylor's style, which all but defines the word diffident, has more backbone than it's often given credit for. Here, as surprisingly complex songs like "Carolina in My Mind" (in a newly recorded version) and "Steamroller" stack up, he sounds like an artist worth spending some time with. At the least, few of his singer-songwriter cohorts came up with a melody as lovely as "Sweet Baby James." --Rickey Wright Amazon.com

Has it all!!

Great CD. Great artist. I've enjoyed James Taylor for years. This just brings a huge number of his best works to one disc. Just pop it in. Sit back & enjoy. May 10, 2008

great--as far as it goes, that is (three and one-half stars)

James Taylor Greatest Hits is a good retrospective even though at twelve songs I think it's a bit too short. They should have added a song or two; but what we do get is excellent material. The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is tastefully done.

"Something In The Way She Moves" has a very pretty melody and the guitar and James' singing carry the bulk of the melody. This song is a sweet one that has traces of folk music in it; and the string instruments are very well placed into the musical arrangement. "Carolina In My Mind" features James Taylor front and center--and that's OK with me! The melody is very solid and James sings this with all his heart and soul. Excellent! James' voice is very rich and full of masculine warmth; his uncanny sense of timing enhances his performance even further.

"Fire And Rain" tugs at my heartstrings whenever I hear this torch song; it's all very beautiful and James sings this passionately. James carries this tune well and the piano works well for this love ballad. "Country Road" again places James right in the spotlight--and he doesn't waste a minuet! James delivers "Country Road" with panache and this impresses me greatly. The slight twist of folk and country music elements enhances the natural beauty of "Country Road."

"You've Got A Friend" is probably my very favorite song on this CD; James delivers this flawlessly and the emotion again tugs at my heartstrings because James sings of unconditional and undying love and friendship. The guitar carries the melody well but the other instruments help out, too. James also handles tempo changes effortlessly--although we know that it really wasn't so easy; James could make it seem easy because he is so talented.

"How Sweet It Is (To be Loved By You)" has a pop music flavor to it; and I can never tire of hearing James Taylor singing this fine tune! The melody stuns me with its beauty and there's no wonder why this was a huge hit for James. Great! "How Sweet It Is (To be Loved By You)" is clearly a major highlight of this album. In addition, James Taylor does a great job on "Shower The People;" this touching love song stresses the importance of showing your special people just how much you really love them.

The CD also ends very strong with James Taylor performing "Steamroller." "Steamroller" is a live track that James carries perfectly and his adoring audience loves every minute of it!

James Taylor fans will want this CD if they don't already have these songs in their collections. Because this album is so short it may be best suited for the casual fan who doesn't care to delve too deep into James Taylor's work. I have to take off one and ½ stars to make this a three and ½ star review because the CD is just too short to be called a "greatest hits" collection.
May 6, 2008

James Taylor - Just Barley Scratches The Surface, But A Nice Collection Of Songs

Everyone born before 1980 is familiar with the music of James Taylor. He was on the leading edge of the singer / songwriter movement in the 70's and was a constant of top 40 radio throughout that time period. The "Greatest Hits" album is just that, a collection of Taylor's big hits up through 1976. Pretty much every song here should be familiar to most people and there really is not a dud in the bunch. Taylor's laid back songwriting style is somewhat deceiving, as his lyrics often evoke serious subject matter and contain a depth that many others of this ilk lack. Along with the studio hits, one highlight of this album is the last cut a live version of "Steamroller" that highlights a side of Taylor not always seen. The song is lowdown blues /funk finding Taylor stepping out of the laid back soft sound he is known for substituting it with a gritty beefy delivery. This single disc hits set just barley scratches the surface of what Taylor is all about, but it is a fine little collection for what it is. March 26, 2008

All the title can say is that its James Taylors Greatest Hits (please take the word "Greatest" in mind)

After a hard day of school and chores, I either want some speed metal that break a ton of rules or something quiet and soft, that is where James Taylor's Greatest Hits comes in. If you haven't read about this CD, this contains 12 songs (including a live version of "Steamroller".) The best thing about the recording is the best of the best (I fell off my chair when I found out that most of these songs were made in the 70s.) If you want to download by MP3, I think you should start off with my favorite song "You've Got a Friend" because it is that good that you might play it several times and it doesn't matter if you listen to it by Ipod or CD. Then there is another awesome song, "Carolina in My Mind" which has a pretty good riff at the beginning. The only problem with the Greatest Hits album is I either like or hate Steamroller, but that isn't worth 4 stars. Also, I have never liked the album artwork, but normally that isn't too important since this is only a Greatest Hits album. So, start buying and enjoy! Bye-bye March 12, 2008

Sweet baby James

Just replacing the have to have L.P.s finally with the C.D.s. Everyone needs this in their collection and so do their kids. We Boomers were lucky! August 11, 2007

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