Reviews (page 3 of 9)
I've never listened to James Taylor, but I associated him with Jackson Browne, who I've not listened to much but whose album Late for the Sky (and whose song These Days, particularly the Nico version) I like quite a bit. This album at least I found to be some saccharine, unconvincing bullshit. He tries various styles – countryish, gospel, blues, folk – none of which succeed. A mercifully short 31 minutes. Two-Lane Blacktop is a good road movie in the late 60s/early 70s crop of Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Zabriskie Point etc., but it's been a few years since I watched it and James Taylor's performance doesn't stick in my mind when I think of that movie. I think of Warren Oates' line: "If I'm not grounded pretty soon, I'm gonna go into orbit".
Chill. Fine.
Meh
I still have a soft spot for soft rock, and James Taylor's voice is perfect for that genre. He's a little bit too clean cut for blues, but his more folk-style songs are excellent. Helps that Fire And Rain is one of my all time favorite songs, as well.
1/2
Muy tranqui
Forgot about most of this as I was listening to it :( Way more Jesus-y than I was expecting! The extra star is literally just for Fire And Rain (although Steamroller Blues got really close to canceling that out).
Sweet baby James is adorable
Just ever so slightly too sweet.
I liked this a lot, chilled country bluesy folksy goodness.
no strong objections to the music, which is at its best is a nice breeze across the face, but come on rng machine u havent even given me a joni album yet. get real
Q decirte muy country
I would give it a 4, but it's not quite there...
I'm in my country days. You can throw any shit that sounds like country at me ----> 5 stars. Jokes aside, this is fine music.
I generally like classic folk/country, but this album is too sappy for my tastes.
Although I do know Jaqmes Taylor and our legendary of a singer-songwriter he is but his music is a bit too slow for my taste.
Solid guitar work and nice, calming voice. A few standout songs with most of the album being quite enjoyable. Nothing that really elevates it to an iconic level, but something I could see myself coming back to again.
I’m not usually a huge James Taylor fan, but this is a solid album. It’s easy to see why this one gets talked about so much. The whole thing has a relaxed, lived in feel, and it works better for me here than it usually does with him. I liked the bluesier stuff most, especially “Steamroller.” “Sweet Baby James” was good too, and of course you can’t help but sing along to “Fire and Rain.” Favorite song: "Fire and Rain"
Turns out his hits are far better than the album cuts. 3.5 rounded up
so nice
Background music but I was sort of actively disinterested, so it's kind of a 2.5/5. Rounding down because I was told it was serial killer music. 2/5.
J'ai en vinyle depuis des lustres et je n'écoute pas souvent. Ça m'a agréablement surpris quand même.
Me semble j'ai donné 5 étoiles à pire que ça. Les vacances commencent pour moi et c'est une belle journée ensoleillée, ça me rend magnanime. En plus, juste pour avoir gravité autour de Joni, il mérite son 5 étoiles. J'aime beaucoup sa voix et sa persona de cowboy tourmenté et romantique.
Bien mais pas convaincu complètement. Faudrait plus d’écoutes attentives.
Decent country album that was a nice short listen, not terribly exciting but good background music in a pinch
The voice is Clear and soft, and what else? Idk.
Pretty decent album, I enjoyed it here and there. Love, fire and rain, some of the bossa nova style is pretty great, but it’s not as exciting as I hoped it would be. 3 to 5.
Masterpiece. Really wonderful to listen to.
Enjoyed this on the first listen but it lost a bit of its essence while repeating it. I will revisit it. 3.5
Smooth and sweet for a good part of it. Not a fan of the bluesy tracks
Fire and Rain is a great song. He has a great voice. Easy to listen to. Nice album.
He has a good voice, I'm not sure his cadence does much too grab the listener. This is fine music, but just falls a little short. If this is what you need from your music, then this is a cohesive, and consistent album.
# Album Name: Sweet Baby James # Artist: James Taylor # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: A very americana country feel. Steamroller blues. What a tune. Great bit of blues there. Lovely little album. Could become a 5 in due course. # Top Tunes: Sweet Baby James / Lo and behold / Steamroller B / Country Road / Fire and Rain # Would I listen to it again? Yes
Day811 - a less cynical younger version of me could really enjoy this without thinking it’s corny. still i sang along
This is such a great album. There are some awesome hits, but also some really solid songs o haven’t spent a lot of time with. Classic James Taylor sound. 4/5/26
***An ok, easy listening album
Every song is a skip. Garbage for me.
Sure, it's got Fire and Rain, one of the greatest folk songs of all time. Sure, it's got the title track and Country Road. But sweet mother's milk even the lesser known songs are perfect. Blossom, Sunny Skies, Anywhere but Heaven.
This is just Mac and Cheese in an album form It’s simple, the lyrics are very basic, it’s really short, but it’s just got a pleasant sound to it. I was surprised by how much I vibe with it; I like the horns in the last song quite a bit. Vocals are also really nice, clear but not too in your face which I think is a hard balancing act I still don’t think I’m a huge folk fan but I liked this one a lot better than Crosby Stills and Nash for some reason. The variety’s not amazing on this one, When I first saw this album I joked that it couldn’t be more generic if it tried (the dudes name is Jame Taylor and it’s just a white dude looking at the camera), and although it didn’t do a lot to shed that reputation, it was pretty damn solid.
Just kind of bland.
Now the first of December was covered in snow / and so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston / Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frostin' / with ten miles behind me and 10,000 more to go... Oh my God, possibly one of the greatest verses ever written. Absolutely love it. Second album from James Taylor, some very solid songs (Sweet Baby James, Fire And Rain, Country Road, Steamroller Blues) and some that catch you unaware (I'm looking at you, Susanna). Came out in that awesome era and truly announced his ascendence. Up for Album of the Year, losing out to Bridge Over Trouble Water by Simon and Garfunkel. No shame in that! These songs have more than stood the test of time.
This album is definitely background music, I put it on and I kind of got bored as I was listening to it. It’s good, I can’t deny that, but it didn’t really do anything unique in my opinion.
I genuinely don't know if I've heard of this guy before. I feel like I've heard the name James Taylor before, but the name is so generic that I may have either made the name up on my own, thought of a different person, or misremembered a combination of other names. It is possible though that I have heard of this guy because he seems to have a decent cultural impact, with this album selling over 3 million copies in the US. So, is this album good? Yeah. I liked it. The singing is good. It works for the style of music he wants to make. The sound is also quite nice. The guitar work is solid and the rest of the sound is also pleasant. There is a decent variety in the songs. The writing is thoughtful and there isn't really a bad song on here. Some songs blend together a bit, but others stand out. Overall, this is a pretty good album. I would be surprised to see that it didn't win the Grammy for album of the year, but it all makes sense when you see that it lost to Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Good album. Excellent guitar arrangements. Most of the songs are short and deceptively simple (the last suite came as a surprise). However, even if admitting that this is good, I didn't find it particularly interesting.
Just average 70s soft rock
First time listening to James Taylor. Honestly I found it difficult to pinpoint what genre category he falls under. Yes he primarily a singer songwriter with folk instrumentation but his voice carries a country cadence to it along with some blues and a tiny bit r Rock n Roll to boot. Yeah short and sweet, i can only see this growing on me more and more.
Listen - it may not be earth-shattering but hot damn James Taylor could flat out sing and play. His simplicity is his strength, with a smooth style but an edge informed by loss, heartbreak and a Carolina charm. It's a great record, just perfect singer-songwriter work.
burning funk not in evidence
these are good songs but i can't take james taylor singing them seriously for some reason. his voice just oozes herb energy
I really didn't care for the involvement of Oh Susanna in here but I enjoyed it overall.
Some ultra classics interspersed with dreck.
soor van ultra light neil young.. verdwijnt rap op de achtergrond
Never heard of this before. I read the description of folk rock singer songwriter, so thought it might be alright, but no. Too country for me.
Inoffensive. Fire and Rain is the clear stand out. 3/5.
Well done, especially “Fire and Rain” and “Anywhere like Heaven”
I remember this album so well
Sounds nice
Good
This is the album that has all the things I love about James Taylor. He's got some versatility, some soul, and can write a catchy tune.
Mjög gott singer-songwriter væb, en svo skemmtilega suður-soul skotið á milli. Daðrar við fimmuna. Held ég hendi barasta í fimmuna, mig langar ekkert að hætta hlusta.
ai elizabeth... FAVS (top 3): sunny skies, streamroller blues, fire and rain mençoes honrosas: country road; blosson; oh baby, dont you loose your lip on me; suito for 20 g um bom album, começo meio fraco mas é a vibe do album mas eu curti pra caramba! nota final: 4/5
James Taylor somehow seems a bit slept on. A terrific album with great songwriting and impressive arrangements.
Ótimo álbum folk blues
Pretty decent folky soft rock album. My favourite songs were the ones where James went all in on the blues.
I’m not a big folk fan obviously but this was pretty nice to listen to. At least he can sing well, unlike some other folk singers I’ve been subjected to from this album list. This could also be influenced by my parents LOVING James Taylor, so I grew up listening to him. Fire and Rain is a classic. Also was surprised by Steamroller Blues, which didn’t really fit the vibe of anything else on the album, but it was bangin’
While this album is mostly unremarkable, I will say it's some of the chillest folk rock we've had and doesn't overstay its welcome at all. Pleasant! Standouts: Steamroller Blues • Suite for 20 G
Not great, not terrible. James Taylor is right down the middle for me and so was this.
Nice and relaxing
Didn't seem remarkable to me.
I'm biased because this is the music that my dad played for me when I was a youth. This was the first I had heard some of the more country moments but songs like the title track and fire and rain are engrained in my memory. I could probably give this a 4 for being a little slow but for me this is music to sleep to or for getting through a bad shroom trip. So I guess it being a little boring is good.
James Taylor is about as folksy as I get, and no small part of it is my mother putting on his albums when I was younger. It’s funny that you can tell how old a reviewer is because a lot of people mention this in their reviews; very western-parents core. This is very nostalgia tinged for me, otherwise it would be just a nice folk or singer/songwriter album. His voice is crystal clear like it always is and there's never a note missed, note even on the more jam oriented final track. It's all very put together and all very pleasant. An easy going and light listen.
Fire and Rain is a classic. Not a fan of much else here.
i like it.
James Taylor's parody blues songs on this album are better than any attempts that Led Zeppelin made in the genre. Overall, an enjoyable album.
Definitely slow for my preferences but well made and the man has a way about a song.
I am inherently immune to the vitriol this album receives, as I had countless little league coaches growing up who all landed in the James Taylor demographic, including my parents. I can take the easy delivery of James Taylor at face value and enjoy it for what it is, not having to wring my fist the way many other reviews on this album do. That being said, this record is just fine. Is it solely included for “Fire and Rain”? Maybe to an extent. It’s a great, contemplative, placid song. As are many others on here. But I won’t venture out further than to say James Taylor is occasionally easy on the ears. There isn’t a lot of seasoning added to the mix. I don’t think he reinvented the easy-listening wheel or anything with this project. But his recognizable voice carries a lot of weight. I’ll take a 3/5 for this one, a 6/5 if you’re taking an Appalachian road trip
This is one of the greatest.
Good stuff
Classic tunes
3.6 3x short and sweet
cute
Steamroller is a fun song!, some songs are very religious like lo and behold and some are like a fun jingle like sunny skies
All the songs sound the same, and thats not necessarily a good thing
This never gets to the point of greatness - Sweet Baby James is good, Fire and Rain is very enjoyable - but it does have some proper duds. Steamroller Blues just an appalling metaphor. Crap. It's a 4 when it's good and a 1 when it's bad.
okay
Absolute banger
Not really a fan of this one. Not bad, just not my thing. 2/5
James Taylor does not move me, but the pillow he presses gently to my sleeping face is soft, not unpleasant.
Grew up on this, the greatest hits songs are timeless, the rest are a bit less sparkly but a 4 nonetheless, fight me
Very pleasant if not a bit dull. Lots of childhood memories associated with this. Some good - Sunday roasts. Some bad - feeling travel sick whilst my dad listened to the so often that it still triggers a slight feeling of nausea. Balances out as a 3 stars.
My dad played this album every Sunday evening for about 10 years when I was growing up. This now triggers an anxiety response where I feel like I’m going to school in the morning. 1 star for being the first album on the list to make me feel physically sick.
Bien pero no es pa mi
Ugh, this one was mostly a struggle. I really don’t care to hear about Jesus in music, especially bland ass music like this, so I ended up hitting skip on a couple tracks. A couple decent songs, but the rest was meh.
This kind of soft rock 70s stuff feels really shmaltzy and tries so hard to be “easy listening ” that it’s a really tough listen
It was an alright album although I tended to like the non commercial songs on the album - Oh, Susannah version was cool and I liked the blues influenced songs of Steamroller, Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me and Suite for 20 G. The others were too saccharine for my tastes.
5/5
I liked it more than I thought I would having no prior experience with J. Taylor
4.5/5 Incredible album, some fantastic songs on there. Honestly my biggest complaint is that it's over too soon! Some of these songs are already on my playlists :P
Liked: Sunny Skies, Anywhere like Heaven, Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me
8/10
Overall, I am surprised that this was quite a nice album - it had a beautiful blues jam, there was a chill rendition of Oh Susannah, and it was a pretty decent experience having this in the background. This is quite an old album, so it may have been quite cool listening to this back in the day. Nowadays, it is a bit meh, but it's generally pretty nice.
Good vibes but nothing special
Top Songs: Fire and Rain
Ikke lige mig. Noget af det lidt for kedeligt. Noget af det lidt for funky. Også lidt bedaget lyd.
There’s a great photo of James Taylor and Carly Simon standing against a railing, I presume on a boat - she’s in some sort of bikini, he’s in a white suit, they are both wearing leis, and they look hot as hell. I mention it because the man in that photo looks like he should make much cooler, sexier music than this pleasant but slightly bland folk rock.
I can appreciate James, I think he is an underrated guitar player and he can clearly lay on the emotion in his songwriting. I will never purposely seek out his catalogue to listen to. I will never jump up to turn his songs off whenever they happen to come on.
4.5
Solid folk album. Great soundstage on some of the tracks and really enjoyed is vocals. Not a big fan of the tracks where he shows off his take on blues.
meh
A wonderful medley of fusion and styles - Suite for 20G is a perfect example of this
3-4 classics in this effort, loved the last track. thanks JT!
capaz era para 3,5 pero no existe !!!
Sensational album top to bottom, soulful songs, great voice. Country Road, Oh Susannah, and the track with the full on brass section!
This was alright
Classic James Taylor, super chilled out folk music. It's a super popular album full of great songs. It's hard to go wrong listening to this one. Great for chilling out or setting a relaxing mood. There is a nice build up to the big hit song and then it lets you back down easy. A really great album to put on and listen to the whole way through.
This was a very comforting listen on the plane, super chill and pleasant. Nothing to write home about!
A bit meh, very nice sounding but kinda dull, not doing it for me
If you can get past Taylor calling himself "Sweet Baby James" (which is a fucking struggle, by the way) you'll realise that it's a pretty decent album with pleasant folky elements, but upbeat enough at times so it doesn't become boring. I might consider a 4 if the lyrics weren't so vomit-inducing
You think this is fluffy soft rock with no balls? Think again, this album is brutal. With lyrical themes that would make a NYHC band proud, this album fucks. Hard.
Very mellow. Very cool.
Boring
Pleasant
<<<Getting jacked off on your way to Tanglewood in your Subaru listening to this one
Lovely. Can't believe it took me so long to listen to this one front to back
Very chill 3.5/5
Bluesowe klimaty zawsze w sercu
Solid stuff from Jamesy
It’s classic, sing-along, smile, and ease.
تجربة جديدة نوّع الالبوم مميز ما اسمع كذا كثير اغلبه فولك وما اسمعه كثير حتى فيه سوفت روك وكنتري و بلوزز اغنيه وحده وفيه وحده فيها ريحه بلوز وكلهااا ممتازه بصراحة تجربه جديده ممكن ارجع اسمع كم اغنيه اكثر من مره بس حاليا مافي شي علق بمخي الا Steamroller
Much beloved though pretty anodyne collection of songs, and Taylor got only more boring, and more popular, from this point forward.
Oh I love this one.
Not bad. Soothing.
Oops sorry, nodded off. Oh NO, it's still going. SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
My father once said to me, "I know some people who absolutely love James Taylor". I couldn't tell if he disapproved of that opinion, but it's time to come clean: I'm one of them.
The songs are nice, but not particularly interesting. His mostly unchanging voice gets old fairly quick too. Overall not a bad listen but not one I overly cared for either.
Before listening, I was vaguely familiar with James Taylor, but only really knew one or two songs. While it doesn't do anything extraordinary, this album is a nice listen. James Taylor's voice is consistently pleasing to listen to, and the (mostly) stripped back instrumentation throughout the album makes the album very calming. While this isn't my usual pick for music, I can see it being a great choice to put on as quiet music to wind down at the end of the day. There were a few songs that stood out to me throughout the album, namely Steamroller, Country Road, Oh Susannah and the final track, Suite for 20 G. While the other songs were all good, these ones were definitely the highlights for me. Favourite song: Suite for 20 G
This is a nice album. But nice doesn't mean great. The best moments are when James Taylor is at his most singer-songwriter-y: "Fire and Rain," "Sweet Baby James," "Country Roads." The worst moments are when he goes bluesy, which feels tonally disconnected from the rest of the album. I like the album. But it feels too saccharine too many times. I'll always prefer James Taylor in "Greatest Hits" form. Also, it's hilarious to name your debut album "Sweet Baby James" if your name is James.
He makes me sleepy
Surprisingly really good. Very warm and tender and I didn't get bored. The length of the album also helped in that regard being 31 minutes. 4/5
well fantastic song writing, and a great voice. No doubt Fire and Rain is a fantastic song. I'm just... not in the mood for James Taylor. Maybe ever in the mood? I'm going to go with 4 stars here
I really wish more of the US singer/songwriters that everyone fawns over wrote melodies and sang as well as James Taylor. I would listen to this 1000x before I would willingly listen to Bob Dylan or Lou Reed. "Fire and Rain" is an all-time classic. It's presence on this album automatically adds +1 to the final score. 4 stars.
3/10
Although his voice is great, I've never been much of a James Taylor fan outside of "Carolina in my Mind". However, I was very impressed with this.
i figured i was gonna enjoy this, and im so happy i was right.
has irgendwie gschafft zum nonie es james taylor album lose. die erste drü song sind schomol preemium. folky, country de erst. die andere verschwmed gad chli, s isch no früe. steamroller voll blues, super geile gotarretone und wenn d band inechunt isch huuere geil. country road schöööni chords und drop d und sini stimm scho suuuper. fire and rain au seehr schön, er liebt sus chords und setzt sie sehr gekonnt iih. blossom suuper cooli abstiigendi bassline. geil. de posuune run wenn er bass trombone bi suite for 20 G isch jo HUERE GEIL. s goht afoch uuufeeee
sweet baby james riese titel lo and behold hetmer jz chli z wenig pfupf ABER sunny skies isch megaa herzig de blueees isch na cool aber auchli najaaa zu wiss? hahah "I'm a cemebtmixer Baby"? country road isch cuuute! ohh und blossom isch supeeer de letscht song isch funny hahaha hmmm knapps 4i? hans ultra cute und agnehm gfunde, wenn au mengisch chli langsam für min gschmack
I was aware of James Taylor but never listened to one of his albums before. Now I agree with all those 1-star reviewers. I especially liked the one who said (to paraphrase) "this is the kind of music you play to old people to keep them quiet". One-word review: Anodyne.
Classing and fun easy listening from a great songwriter,
Easy enough to listen to and I really like James' voice however, I found some tracks got lost into background noise. Would listen again but probably wouldn't buy on vinyl!
not for me
Very chill and beautiful album. I particularly enjoyed "Country Road" and it reminds me of the song "The Greatest Adventure" from the old The Hobbit movie from 1977. I've always heard of James Taylor but never listened to him. Decent classic 70's small band music. 6/10
Just an amazingly pleasant experience. Tossed both Country Road and Fire and Rain onto my playlist. Saw that Carole King is credited on the backup vocals. Just another reason to like the album.
Classic folksy stuff. Good tunes.
This was a pleasant listen. Nice vocals and lyrics with soothing guitar melodies. Not really my type of music, but I thought this was pretty decent.
Wundervolles Album sowie der Säner, Die nicht zu Starke Musik und die Stimmliche begleitung finde ich gut
There are some classics in here!
“Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor is just as sweetly naive as the title suggests. This album probably fulfills all the clichés associated with singer-songwriters: it consists of naive poems about the author himself—more specifically, about how he felt at certain moments—which he sings himself over predictable chord progressions. What perhaps sets it apart from many others is that James Taylor is a fairly talented singer and that, despite their simplicity, the songs were professionally produced and recorded. On a positive note, you can't tell how old “Sweet Baby James” is—apart from a few wobbles in “Anywhere like Heaven,” which would certainly have been corrected before release after the advent of hard disk recording. Oh, and the last two minutes of "Suite for 20G" are nice - that's the way to play these songs!
Top 10 albums
Sounds amazing. Not for me. 3/5
This album is important from a sales perspective for the singer/songwriter movement of the early 1970s, but personally I have not been a fan, beyond the single of "Fire and Rain". Pleasant enough, though not my jam.
Hmm, very "spiritual".
Cantautor más conocido por la versión del clásico de Carole King, You've Got a Friend, que por temas como Fire and Rain de este su segundo disco. Country Folk, más Jackson Browne que John Denver, pero ahí anda. Referente de todos los cantautores setenteros, es tanto una virtud como un demérito: a veces aburre. Aquí mete cosas de blues, algún tema con buenas hechuras de clásico. Toca y compone bien, de eso no hay duda. Participó además en el clásico Tapestry, mientras Carole se recomponía de su divorcio de Goffin. En su debut ya contó con McCartney y Harrison, de hecho fue una de las primeras referencias de Apple. No fracasaron por falta de ojo. Aquí Lo and Behold, suena tanto a Hi-Heel Sneakers (otro tema tocado por Elvis) como a Blackbird, con ese fingerpicking tan característico suyo. Sunny Skies es tan simple como hermosa. Steamroller es un blues ya tocado por muchos otros, Elvis sin ir más lejos. Aquí le mete una sección de metales desde la mitad del tema que sorprenden y le hacen ganar muchos enteros. Country Road me gust más, no me recuerda al clásico de Denver aunque tengan títulos parecidos. Oh, Susannah es un clásico cien mil veces cantado (por los Byrds en Turn Turn Turn!). Esta versión suena limpia y sincera, más reposada. No es poco. Abre la cara B, el clásico Fire and Rain. No termina de despegar, es un buen tema pero podría ser mejor. Por ejemplo con el piano de Blossom, que incluso gana profundidad con unso coros doblados. Carole... Anywhere Like Heaven es country de principio a fin. Pero no es un tema que porte demasiado. Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me en clave blues tampoco. Bonito cierre con Suite for 20 G. También suena a Cat Stevens. A mí me gusta más Neil Diamond o áun más Paul Simon, pero se deja escuchar bastante bien. Las letras son buenas.
Sweet Baby James - 3.5/5 Lo and Behold - 2/5 Sunny Skies - 2/5 Steamroller - 1.5/5 Country Road - 3/5 Oh Susannah - 2.5/5 Fire and Rain - 3.5/5 Blossom - 3/5 Anywhere Like Heaven - 3/5 Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me - 2.5/5 Suite for 20 G - 3/5 I can't rate an album highly if you compare boinking your significant other as if you were a steamroller. This could definitely placate anyone born before the 1960's. For me it's just perfectly cromulent. Overall: 2.5/5 Favorites: Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain
Это не плохая музыка, просто не моя подача. Альбом топчется на месте, лишь в конце выдавая какую-то структуру.
Great voice! Not usually what I am in the mood for, but buttery smooth with a country twang. And Fire and Rain, is, well, fire. 3.5. Not quite in the four range, so will get rounded down. But pretty darn good. 3.
Nice chill listen, great playing and nice voice
Oh my gawd he does yacht blues too?
FIre and Rain is one of the best songs ever recorded. The rest of the album pales in comparison, but isn't awful. Some doesn't age well (Steamroller Blues I'm looking at you), otherwise an absolute classic. An enjoyable listen, one of the defining albums from a master of the singer-songwriter genre, during its absolute peak era.
Baby I’m a cement mixer!
Feel like this was on a lot around the house growing up. Steamroller Blues, Country Road, and Fire and Rain are so good. Not my style enough to get four stars, but it's a well respected 3.
"White guys who pretend to have the blues" is of of my least favorite subgenres in this project. "How big is my dick? and "I want to have sex with a sixteen year old" are two other ones, but I digress. But seriously, what sort of blues can this man possibly have? I spilled chamomile on my LL Bean catalogue and didn't catch what they said on All Things Considered? My beeswax candle is burning unevenly? You just know that the crowds go wild at Tanglewoods when he busts out one of these (ahem) "funkier" numbers though. Get up, Gordon. Dance like you just cashed a stock dividend. The thing is, despite not caring one way or another for his music, I kind of really love that James Taylor has his own sound that he sticks to. Sort of connected to the great singer-songwriters of his era, but not quite the same stature, and more improtant, immediately recognizable as his own self, which makes the blues turn feel even weirder - completely unnecessary. I definitely added a star here because he gives a shoutout to Stockbridge. Let's go, 4-1-3!
As the title states this is album is sweet. James Taylor at his early best and not much as changed throughout the years. Outstanding album.
I'm sure that James Taylor is a good songwriter. But I simply don't like this kind of music. This is fine to listen to in the background when you don't really hear it. But not for concentrated listening.
..
7/10… singer songwriter / folk rock / *1970
So close with the unibrow. I feel like in the era before "no means no" this album was the soundtrack to an awful lot of quasi consensual sex.
This seems like a good choice for a James Taylor album, and I guess this is supposed to be the token American soft-rock album (since there's no Jimmy Buffett, John Denver, Neil Diamond, etc.)? I don't know James Taylor's discography all that well, so I don't have a sense if this earlier album is a bit more wide-ranging than later stuff, but I was surprised with the occasional blues- and gospel-oriented tracks interspersed with his well-known hits, and I always enjoy hearing his almost Cat-Stevens-style "Country road" and "Fire and rain" (not so much his rendition of "Oh, Susannah"). And funny to read that the "Suite for 20 G" track was cobbled together last-minute and named for the fact that adding this track meant completing the album and getting $20,000, which was probably a healthy cash infusion for a guy that was couch-surfing at the producer's house by that point. (3)
I bought JT when it came out--I was 13 or so--and that's enough James Taylor for me, though Fire and Rain is a really good song.
Lullabies for the Gatsbys. So well performed and meticulously recorded, so beige. It's like taking a master craftsman and having him roll white paint on ceilings.
pretty nice little album - classic 70's acoustic pop.
One time I was driving around Milwaukee, listening to this album and a woman passed me, called me a honky, and told me to drive faster. I consider this to be one of the most emblematic experiences of my life. I’m not sure the JT‘s voice or demeanor lends him a lot of credibility when it comes to songs like Steamroller and their entry into the blues canon. But God helped me. I love this artist, and I love this music.
I'm rating this high. Could be personal bias. I think it's one of the best albums of its style. On the fence between 4 and 5, I'm giving it the full 5 just because of how fantastic the conversation between "Fire and Rain" is with Carole King's "You've Got a Friend".
A couple classic acoustic bangers but dang I may need a producer all kind of weird stuff that shows up on here. I don’t wanna hear James Taylor singing the blues. Sorry I just ain’t at work.
A bit on the sweet side, but sometimes that is just what you need!
Really? Generic ass
nice smooth tunes good voice.
Sad cowboy
This was nice and enjoyable.
Full vibes μου αρεσε οπως περιμενα κ μονο απ το εξωφυλλο πως θα μαρεσει
Ugh, can the terror stop now? First I got Adele, then Frank Sinatra and now "Sweet Baby James", how much more of overpolished mainstream pop, plastic crooners, or semi-folk- candlelight-whining songs, can a man take? My next 'present" better be good, hopefully my last 1/5 for a while.
This was nice chill music to work with. Above average quality for sure.
Een lekker album. Zangert-liedjesschrijvert-liedjes. Een enkele keer pakt ie wat meer uit. Een vleugje Americana danwel Country en natuurlijk een bluesy randje. Ik heb hier weinig op aan te merken. Ik mis net een beetje extra om het een 5 te geven en ik vind het nadelig als de eerste track de mooiste track is op zo'n album, maar een hele dikke 4 wil ik hier wel voor uitdelen.
I started crying while listening to this. My dad used to sing the title track to me all the time when I was little, and even though I haven’t listened to it in years, I knew every word. This is another one of those albums that’s best described as pleasant to listen to. Taylor’s voice is really peaceful 🙂↕️ Fav songs: Sunny skies, blossom, suite for 20 G
Ok, we are now at back-to-back-to-back classics of my childhood / early adulthood. I love James Taylor, I love this record. It's great.
I enjoyed it!
I really liked this album. Never heard of James Taylor before, but he blends a very good amount of lighter songs with intermittent heavier songs that often times come out of nowhere and kick ass. The better songs on the album are few and far between, but being only 31 minutes long, you never have to wait too long to get to them. For instance, the first three songs are pretty light and traditional Singer Songwriter pieces. A little fillery in places, but they’re still fun to listen to. Nothing special. James has a voice that doesn’t necessarily blow me away. In fact, it took me a little bit to warm up to, but I still think it’s pretty good, and at the end of the day I ended up rather enjoying it. Song 4, “Steamroller Blues” is where this album starts getting really good. A few very good songs as well as a tight playtime save this from being a low 3, and this is one of them. This song sounds like it’s parodying classic Blues aspects, since the first 3 songs had nothing to do with that genre, but it’s executed so well here, and stands out so much by itself that it ends up being my second favorite song on the album. Immediately following it is “Country Road”, which was another fun one with some charming Country aspects, naturally, as well as the only song I recognized my first listen through. Following that is another filler song, and then “Fire and Rain”, his most popular song. I thought that one was just ok personally. Reminded me a little too much of the music you’d hear at a school graduation for my liking. 3 more filler songs and then finally, my favorite song on the album, the closer, “Suite for 20 G”. Not an amazing song name, but a pretty amazing song. It starts off light, like the other songs on the album, but then out of nowhere you get a killer guitar solo to end the album off on a strong note, and some very old fashioned Rock and Roll aspects that again feel like more of a parody or an homage to the genre itself. It also truly stands out, so much so that if the rest of the album had more of that, I’d consider giving this a 5. As it stands now, there’s a lot of filler here, but the short run time makes that not as big of an issue when the song variety itself here is pretty good, especially when you get to one of the better songs on the album. It feels rewarding to listen to them almost. This is very much Singer Songwriter first and foremost, but the random interspersion of other genres make it an interesting and truly worthwhile listen. I did end up adding the closer to my usual rotation as well. Good album, thank you James.
I rather enjoyed this album. I’ve heard Fire and Rain of course but not a lot of other stuff. I feel that you have to be in a certain state of mind to want to listen to James Taylor. It’s quite calming and relaxing. But I can’t see it making feel calm and relaxing if I was, say, in an energetic mood. Perhaps because I was in a chill mood, this album resonated well. I was expecting more soothing folk music but I was pleased to hear more of a blues sound on this record. I appreciate how James Taylor can play and sing different melodies simultaneously. His lyrics are very folk-lore and story driven which I do enjoy. Great listen .
Favorite song off the album: Man on the moon Number of songs I liked/added to a playlist: 4 Not one I’m likely to repeat but generally pleasing, it was pretty good and not quite but almost rock.
Me encanta cuando un album te transmite “vibes” de tu, encima de tu caballo caminando hacía el atardecer, hasta verte a tu mismo discutiendo con tu hermana porque deja a vuestro hijo solo mientras tiene sexi time con vuestro padre.
Chill and sweet easy listen. Fav songs title track, fire and rain, anywhere like heaven, and oh baby
Well, that was bloody lovely. I didn't really know anything about JT other than the title track, but this album is short, sweet and incredibly consistent. He seems to flit from folk to blues with a bit of gospel and country, but it all holds together effortlessly. His ear for a melody is just outstanding. I don't often come away from an album wishing it was longer but this was over too soon.
His best
A fine "contemplating in the car" album. I will not complain about listening to "Fire and Rain" 3.5
Rach love this guy, I find him to be very average.
Niet slecht, maar deed me ook niet veel. Had meer nummers als Suite for 20 G kunnen gebruiken, de pure folk-nummers kabbelen maar wat voort en komen niet echt binnen
Wat een fijn album.
Wel gezellig, beetje achtergrond muziek. Ik hou niet van dit rating systeem, 2,5 sterren
Best chill albumpje om in de zon te luisteren, wel beetje randlm blues
Ik ging hier verrassend goed op, maar niet echt wauw
Arme James maakt prima muziek, maar dit is uitgebracht in de tijd dat Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Carole King, Neil Young (en ga zo maar door), die een beetje uit dezelfde vijver vissen, allemaal met knaller na knaller kwamen. Dan moet je iets heel goed doen om op te vallen, en dat doet dit album gewoon niet. Verder best aardige melodietjes. Sommige nummers deden echt helemaal niets voor me.
I guess this is fine for what it is, but it's not really for me.
Favorite track was fire and rain
Nice
One of several albums I wore out in the 70s-80s.
:) baby music. Prefer Carole King
Nie dla mnie totalnie, nie mój styl- coś Ala country jeśli nie country
smooth
This is how I learn he was actually a former president.
YES! Fire and Rain er en av mine favorittlåter. Gleder meg til å sjekke dette ut i sin helhet. / Jeg er veldig glad i enkle album. Dette føles rått og strippet helt ned til beinet. Ingenting overflødig, bare helt rått fra hjertet. Det er derimot ikke særlig banebrytende, og har noen lowlights. Veldig fint album Høydepunkt: Sunny Skies, Blossom, Fire and Rain Lavpunkt: Steamroller Blues, Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me
if im killed and i will oh please please raise a stone and ascribe all of these lonely word "fuck this shit"
I only liked the bluesy songs
I'm fucking tired of country.
Not bad, however extremely boring
Another new experience for me, listening to a James Taylor album, and it was pretty good. There were a couple of really good tracks, especially 'Suite for 20 G' which was a great closing track. On the basis that 4 stars, in my own grading system, means I would seek the album out again then I will have to award 3 stars this time.
If anyone gave up before the Big Band Jazz Country Craziness then you only have yourself to blame, that shit kinda slapped. The rest, however, did not.
James Taylor has a wonderful voice and I’m grateful to him for the inspiration he must have offered Michael Stipe (and, I suppose James Blunt – begrudgingly, if the price of James Blunt existing in the public eye is his music, I’ll pay it). There are moments in this record – “Blossom”, or the bridge of “Suite for 20 G” (a song that manages to be pretty much all bridge) – where I’m transported by the sheer quality of what’s happening. The professionalism of it. But ultimately, it’s background stuff. The most backgroundy background stuff ever put to record, very perhaps.
Loved it
Album 1005 of 1089 Sweet Baby James - James Taylor (1970) Rating : 5 / 5 There’s really no denying how great this album is. These are songs that have quietly passed through generations and still feel just as natural and relevant today as they did when they were first released. Taylor has a rare gift — the ability to take a simple phrase, a small observation, and turn it into something lasting and deeply familiar. The songwriting is effortless without ever feeling lazy, and his vocals carry a calm confidence that never tries to oversell the moment. This album doesn’t rely on big production tricks or flashy performances. It’s just beautifully written songs delivered with warmth and sincerity from beginning to end. Whether it’s the gentle storytelling, the comforting melodies, or the way the songs seem to settle in rather than demand attention, this is one of those albums that earns its reputation honestly. A timeless listen that reminds you how powerful simplicity can be when it’s done right.
"Cliff, Everyone's seen fire and rain" "Oh. Well, then, i guess I got nothing to say."
It’s a’ight. Saved 2-3 songs; once is enough with the rest.
This was fine, but nothing special: not required listening before I die.
I thought I would like this album since Fire and Rain is so iconic, and Sweet Baby James is a lovely song. But no, I cannot stomach a whole album of James Taylor.
Clearly has talent, but other than the occasional standout, not really appealing to me.
Appreciate his talent.
Honestly thought this would be worse. Has some rock grooves in it
Great voice, good LP. I like some of his later music better.
Disco bem arranjado e muito bem gravado. Traz canções bonitas como "Fire and Rain", "Blossom" e a incrível "Suite For 20G". Mas traz uma presença de elementos blues e country que me desagradam um pouco.
I think this is perfectly fine but its very generic and uses very standard formulas for the songs which just cause fatigue whilst listening.
Kolejna americana. Alabama mentioned. Te albumy niewiele się dla mnie różnią i mają zdecydowanie mniejszy impakt, kiedy nie jest się z Ameryki. Fajna mieszanka gatunków tho.
Simplistic, but in a good way. Well written songs and melodies. A little one note at times. Overall a good album. 3.5/5 Might listen again
Listening to Sweet Baby James feels like comfort food—familiar, grounding, restorative. James Taylor’s gift as a songwriter and artist lies in how effortlessly his soothing voice and delivery create a sense of home, even without my favorite, “Carolina in My Mind,” included on this 2019 remaster. “Fire and Rain” remains timeless, and while I’ve long appreciated his collaborations with Carole King, it’s just as rewarding to hear his lighthearted take on the blues here, which breaks up the album’s introspection and longing in a fun way.
78/100. Sweet Baby James by James Taylor is a great blend of country, blues, and folk. Taylor’s smooth vocals and gentle instrumentation make this album sweet and enjoyable, creating a warm and comforting listening experience. A solid classic that highlights his songwriting and storytelling skills.
Wow what an album! Just an incredible voice, incredible, yet simply stated instrumentation, and a good variety of music. Lots of soul, lots of blues, lots of folk. Not every song is a knock out punch, but a bunch on here that I really loved.
Some really great cuts included here. I've listened to this album so many times I even enjoy the sugary-sweet crap...oh well. 4 heavenly pins of light
Almost offensively fine
Not bad, too slow
Really good! Trails off. Should have been shorter and on band camp
Very calming and cultural
Soo corny I don’t like folk THAT Much Favorite song: Fire and Rain
I can tell that it's good music, but it's not something I would want to listen to.
I really appreciated the variety of styles and sounds. Oh, Susannah in particular was a treat. Something about a classic song everyone knows really lets the artist shine through
This was a difficult one to rate, as I didn't love it but also can recognize it's very good at what it's trying to be. Overall I'd say not my cup of tea but can totally understand others loving it.
I hated this so much.
For the sake of it being a big of the singer song writer thing if the 70s. But you’re still better off listening to his greatest hits.
A couple of classics and a few other suprisingly good songs
It's pleasant and charming in a certain way, but I don't really dig folk rock. Listenable at least, but I won't be going back.
"I'm a Steamroller baby, I'm about to roll over you" What did he mean by this?
It was good experience of listening such a soft country-ish album. I did not feel anything special about it and it was not bad.
Amazing voice and composition. Saw him a few years ago for the first time, others who had seen him before said his voice is not what it was but it doesn't matter. The feeling behind every note is still resonating.
Emotional. One of my mums favourites. She passed away 2 years ago .
Huge amount of variance in quality here. "Fire and Rain" and "Country Road" are deserving classics- arguably two of the greatest folk songs ever written. Then there's dated white-boy blues slogs all over Sides A and B that drag the experience down significantly. Still, those two big hits really do a lot of heavy lifting here, so a 3/5 is in order.
Gear: Focalman Cleardara Artwork: 😐🪵🟦 Production (2019 Remaster): 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🌧️🛋️📖 Rating: ☕☕☕/5
One of his best!
All his songs sound the same to me. (fire and rain is a classic though.)
Likte da ikkje
He’s got talent. Nice guitar playing. Pretty songs. I’m just not very interested.
gute Musik, aber nix besonderes
Listened Before? Y This one is an old staple of mine. A really good minimalist folk record, and the title track, Fire and Rain, and Country Road are classics. But my sleeper is Steamroller Blues! Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Steamroller Blues
I like his sound, but after about two songs it all starts to sound the same. "Fire and Rain" is one hell of a song.
Heard one song. Hated it.
short and sweet
Really dull
The blues songs weren’t bad. He should have stuck to those
Some classic tunes here from a classic singer songwriter. Only real complaint that they are all similar in tone and emotion.
I was surprised to like this album this much, especially because I did judge it by its hilarious cover, but it was just really good. Solid all around. Listened to it twice.
Overall Rating - 4.36/5 (8.73/10). One of the great folk singers of the 20th century, and this album shows why.
He has a lovely voice but I find the whole thing a little too smooth and bland and it did kinda wash over me in a very mellow way.
Sweet Baby James He still has one of my favourite voices, soft and honeyed, suiting his soft-folk guitar playing, and giving his music a warm, soothing, friendly ambiance. I’ve always tended to listen to his greatest hits, but I am vaguely familiar with this, and of course it contains a few classics in Sweet Baby James, Sunny Skies, Country Road and the still superlative Fire and Rain. I’m not always convinced by the more bluesy songs in his catalogue, like Steamroller. I don’t actually mind it, but there is no doubt that it carries an anaemic quality that makes you think he isn’t actually a truly hot and bothered lover about to mow you down. Oh Baby works slightly better musically, but I still don’t believe in ‘old lovin’ man JT’. Outside that some of the songs I knew less well I really liked: Lo & Behold is a very nice country-folk bluesy number, Blossom and Anywhere are both similarly lilting, enjoyable soft pop rock tracks But Fire & Rain really is a superb song, a sad and melancholic song about suicide that is able to balance the specific and universal with a brilliant melody and arrangement, particularly the long low double bass throughout. I’m not quite sure it makes it to a 5 as there is a feeling of slightness, but this is a solid 4 star singer songwriter country-folk-soft-rock delight - loosen your turtle neck, light the fire, turn down the lights, pour a glass of red wine, put this on and lie luxuriantly on your sheepskin rug. 👶👶👶👶 Playlist submission: Fire and Rain
The title track is a shining example of how you can make something so astoundingly MoR, so bittersweet. Not least the superb melody; but the gentle country-folk and lullaby vocal is like a warm hug from a fat Auntie. His vocal stops some of these tracks becoming trite - 'Sunny Skies' in another's mouth would be unbearable (I'm thinking Randy Newman as this does have a Toy Story flavour). James's vocal though is so unhistrionic and mellifluous; his unemotional style negates any twee overtones. It's undoubtedly fantastic. I'm caught between a four and five. If I was an aural sommelier, I'd pair it with American Pie as the 'night' listen and this as the brighter 'day' listen. As a creature of the night, I place it a micron below McLean's album.
Several amazing tracks, a couple meh tracks. Several tracks that feel a little cringey in retrospect. James Taylor thinks he's a grizzled old bluesman! He's a soft rock hero!
What a romp! Fun album from start to finish. Sweet Baby James is, well, sweet lol. Nice chill music. Lo And Behold starts out solid, but then the beat kicks in and it goes into overdrive. Steamroller has a nice blues feel. Country Road has some real good guitar work (as do several songs on the album). Oh Susannah was really fun, hearing James's rendition of the old nursery rhyme. Oh Baby Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me makes you feel like you're sitting in an old western saloon. And then Suite For 20 G just rocks out with killer guitar music. Fun times! Best song: Suite For 20 G
James Taylor will forever be Mom music to me... Because he's my mom's favorite. That said, it's still decent music!
This album has all of the vibes I’d want for fall. James Taylor is a good singer, and the way the chords move in every song is just awesome. “Sweet Baby James” is a phenomenal opener. It’s kind of a lullaby, and it’s a sweet one. “Lo and Behold” becomes a bit more of a stomping gospel-ish folk song. Some references to the Lord are definitely evident, and the song is killer. “Sunny Skies” is just a folktale masquerading as an upbeat and jolly song. The biggest thing I love with this song is the chord movements. “Steamroller” turns the vibe to a bluesy sort of feel, and it fits James Taylor’s voice really well. A brass section also joins in on this song, making it feel like a nice walk with the coolest guy in town. “Country Road” is more in line with the folky James Taylor I know, and it kind of feels depressing. That’s what Taylor does best, though. “Oh, Susannah” is a cover of the folk song of the same name. Taylor’s voice and guitar arrangements fit really well as he plays the song over the span of two minutes. The arrangement also goes from country to jazz-ish and back. “Fire and Rain” is just a really good song in general. This is Taylor’s biggest hit, and it shows because of the emotion he put into it. “Blossom” feels like some kind of Joni Mitchell song. Even though James Taylor, a singer from Boston, and Mitchell, a singer from Canada, were born so far apart, it feels like they connected just to make this song. “Anywhere Like Heaven” is just a good song that one can definitely get lost in. The strings and lap steel definitely make an impact on this song’s vibe. “Oh Baby Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me” is another bluesy song, but it recalls Robert Johnson rather than a big band swing composer. Taylor takes his sweet time with the guitar on this one. “Suite for 20 G” is a testament of a good ending to an album, as it’s just upbeat and folky. Overall, this album gets a 4/5. Oh Baby was a decent song, but at least the others are awesome.
Like the childhood cocoa that once felt sweet and comforting but now tastes cloying and sticks unpleasantly to your teeth, this soft folk-rock album blankets you in gentle acoustic warmth and soothing vocals, yet its persistent sweetness feels like tooth decay.
Liked some of the tracks
Folk, 62 eme album => 1/5
singer songwriter, 1970 -> 3
Meh, bland middle-of-the-road pap. And WTF was that Steamroller of Love song?
Probably not a frequent addition to very many party playlists.
Reminiscent of stuff I was listening to in my late teens… would probably have liked it much more then, but still enjoyed it.
There's a moment about half an hour into the "Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii" TV special where whatever mix of Quaaludes, benzos, speed, and booze the King had downed before the show evens itself out. To that point, Elvis' performance had been pretty damned rough. Losing some lyrics, slurring, and basically looking awful. And then it's like a switch is thrown and he becomes ELVIS PRESLEY again. Until I saw that show, I never really understood why people went crazy over this deep voiced white dude. When he remembered he was a rock star, his stage presence was downright Plant, Mercury, Daltrey, et al. Why does this matter in a James Taylor review? One of the songs that Elvis absolutely rips through in the back half of the show is "Steamroller," which is a silly little throwaway on this album. I had no idea it was a cover when I saw it, but Elvis absolutely sells it -- makes it sexy as hell. Go watch Aloha from Hawaii. As for this disc, it's fine. Super mellow sounds of the 70's. Nice and unassuming, but that's about as far as I'll go.
No thank you.
I've never listened to this album (57). Fire and Rain slaps. The rest is some just ok 70s guitar dude stuff.
I felt meh about this.
Exceptional writing, singing and guitar playing. An album full of melody and thoughtfulness. Beautiful.
Very bluesy, a fun listen
Rather enjoyable for a country album, despite this not being my typical genre of choice. A little generic feeling at times, but I think that's because this album is the foundation for a lot of these musical tropes for singer-songwriter country.
Do I have to?
I haven’t listened to James Taylor in a long time because I thought I was too cool now but turns out I’m not cool after all - still kinda like it.
Nice little folk album, I enjoyed it but it's nothing particularly memorable or mind blowing.