The Best of James Taylor - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Any good singer can interpret a song, but it takes a stylist to make it his own. James Taylor is a stylist. This 20-track anthology obviously can't chronicle much more than the hits and high points of Taylor's career, but it nonetheless captures the artistic essence of a performer who's become a virtual synonym for "singer-songwriter" since his emergence in the late '60s. A lot of ink has been spilled ruminating about Taylor's role in soothing a '60s-burned generation, but given his own well-known demons (depression, addiction) his gentle voice often sounds like the physician wisely healing himself. His muse seems fully formed from the opening "Something in the Way She Moves," a track cut for the Beatles' Apple label in late `68 (and one that seems to share some symbiotic relationship with George Harrison's own classic "Something" from the period), its tone at once familiar and inviting--if ripe for a few decades of parody--as it wends its way from his seminal early '70s hits through a slate of later originals, R&B ("How Sweet It Is," "Handy Man") and pop ("Up On the Roof") covers. Tellingly, he delivers those chestnuts with an offhand confidence and illumination that makes them his own, a sense that informs even his jazz and Brazilian ("Only a Dream a Rio") flirtations. The set's newly recorded bonus cut, John Sheldon's "Bittersweet," is a pleasant pop confection that showcases Taylor's knack for being laconic and upbeat in the same breath. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description
20 of his greatest singles and most popular album tracks released on Apple, Warner Bros. and Columbia/Sony. Slipcase. 2003.

Album Details
Packaged with UK Only Slipcase Artwork.

Customer Reviews: Read 76 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

One for the JT Newbies April 8, 2003
60 out of 62 found this review helpful

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.

4 out of 5 stars

Great remastering, just a few flaws... April 9, 2003
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

Ok, so if you're like me, you've been waiting for a newly packaged remastered edition of JT's earlier work. All in all, this cd sounds great.. much better than the classic "James Taylor's Greatest Hits" (white cover) that's been on the shelves for such a long time. My only glitch though is that "Something In The Way She Moves" is the original version from his '68 debut, and not the recut (and better) version on the old greatest hits. The version for "Country Road" is also different, and not nearly as good. However, they did manage to include the old greatest hits version for "Carolina In My Mind" (thank God). Songs like "Up On The Roof" and "Only A Dream In Rio" are good, but not needed since they're already covered on the James Taylor Greatest Hits 2 (Columbia) release. It would have been nice to have other older tunes. The cd is great though.

5 out of 5 stars

The Best One Disc Compilation of the Man That's Out There! April 10, 2006
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

This is by far the best compilation of JT's work that's out there. Not only are the 20 tracks here truly representative of the best that JT's ever done, the sound quality is brilliant as the tracks have also been very well remastered. For those of you who are sticklers for detail and order, the tracks are arranged in chronological order as well and yet the album does not sound as disjointed as you might expect. The liner notes albeit short have been written by JT himself too. JT is that special individual who has managed to carve out his own unique sound and his works are able to evoke great emotion out of his listeners with the ability to transport them to other worlds. Great remastered sound, great value for money and great songwriting make this a must have in any music-lover's collection. Very highly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars

Great Idea, But...... April 24, 2003
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

For the longest time, James Taylor, it seems, refused to release a current anthology of his work, save for the 1976 Greatest Hits album. Fans for years have been crying for an updated anthology of his work and we finally got them, even if the sequence is reversed. Columbia recently released "Greatest Hits 2," featuring only his Sony recordings, Warner Brothers followed up with this updated set of his more vintage material. The Columbia songs seem redundant to me, the same songs here are on the "Hits 2" release. If Warner wanted to include his Sony songs, they should've used songs not on his "Hits" cd, "Only One" and something from "October Road" comes to mind.

Still, this is a nice collection and the updated mastering is excellent, at 70 minutes with twenty songs including the new cut there is a little room left for an additional track or two, we'll have to wait for the import version for a fuller disc.

5 out of 5 stars Great mastering of great songs April 12, 2003
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

As a sampler of the anticipated upcoming remastering of James Taylor's Warner Bros. catalog, this is a fantastic teaser. All these tracks have been available for a long time on CD, except for the rare Apple recording of "Something in the Way She Moves," yet the WB tracks (everything up to "Handy Man") have never sounded so warm and clear. The Joni Mitchell harmonies on "You've Got A Friend" and "Long Ago and Far Away" are a revelation, as are the lovely multi-tracked JT harmonies "Golden Moments" and the strings on "Walking Man." The few tracks on the end of the disc from his early/mid Columbia years have been remastered recently, both on their original albums, and the "Greatest Hits Vol. II," which is also a nice overview of Taylor's post WB years up until his great 2002 studio album "October Road." (The exception is, the new song "Bittersweet" which is amiable, but not resonant like Taylor's other recent work.) It might have been better to draw upon some more choice album cuts from the WB years, but this is merely subjective. What's here is poignant, passionate, sublime and sounding better than it ever has.

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