Reviews (page 6 of 9)
I often wonder what kind of music someone like this would make in the here and now. I mean this guy apparently likes to rock and roll. I certainly appreciate the folkier songs as another review mentioned. But Lo and Behold this is not for me. Fave: Sweet Baby James
I've apparently listened to this album once before but it didn't leave much of an impression. It's getting a weird amount of hate in the reviews here, did James Taylor do something? 😳 Seemed inoffensive enough to me - the attempts at soul were a bit cringe, preferred the folkier end of things, for sure. Fave tracks - "Lo and Behold" for the folkiness. "Fire and Rain" rang a bell when I heard it and I was initially thinking maybe I heard a cover version, but I'm pretty sure it was the appearance on the Simpsons I was thinking of! 😆
Okay for background music at work but wouldn't listen again.
Lost a star for that weak a$$ Steamroller Blues. Sing the blues if you're gonna sing the blues. Other stuff is pretty nice tho.
Is this really music? Is like poetry with slight musical accompaniment. I couldn't listen to this back in the day, and I thought maybe I could now, since I became able to listen to Dylan and Neil Young. But sigh, no. I'll give 2 stars to avoid getting hate.
It has now been 16 albums since I gave out my last 5, which is the longest dry stretch I've had out of the 231 albums I have rated. I hope I get something I love soon. Anyways, back to this album, uh... it's ok. Folk and Singer-Songwriter are my least favorite genres, not because I find them bad, but I just don't get much out of these type of songs and I find most of it boring. James Taylor has a good voice and the songs sound good, but this music is just too calm for me and a lot of it sounds the same. The blues track was interesting and I liked the horn section. Not really sure why Fire and Rain has 350 million streams on spotify and Oh, Susannah only has 4 million. To me these songs sound exactly the same, not really sure why people would so heavily gravitate towards one. Anyways this album was more enjoyable than I thought it would be, but not something I think I would listen to again.
apparently he's hated due to being 70s taylor swift or something? maybe theres a lot of covers on the album? as someone who doesnt know much of the context here, i liked the album and was impressed by some of the songs, did not get why fire and rain was so much more popular than the other songs, imo there's better ones, maybe the lyrics? anyway, good album!
One of those classic early folky 70s albums with a hazy blue tinge (Joni Mitchell, Simon & Garfunkel). It's all very pleasant but I prefer the darker, deeper singer songwriters of the period. Oh and be sure to check out Two Lane Blacktop😎
Even managed to fuck up oh Susanna, what a Twat.
Ok in the background, nice enough voice, but a bit too country and a bit too sickly sweet for.my taste
I could not be less bothered.
One of the cousins had a kid named James, and he was always referred to as Sweet Baby James... literally ALL THE TIME, to the point of "was this a joke?" I still don't get it.
Meh.
The less popular bbq sauce, and for good reason (2.5/5)
no no no
Like! 4/5
Short and unremarkable.
Just a bit boring. There were a few moment where I could maybe see why it was on this list, but mostly this album didn’t really speak to me. Highlights: Fire and Rain
Fine. To its credit, this album does sound like something that would be very popular in 1970. Good job Jimothy!
Pretty decent but mostly meh. I think I don’t like James Taylor’s voice. Some of these songs are awfully cheesy too. Dude does Oh, Susannah like he’s Raffi or something. But then Fire and Rain is legitimately good, so. You know.
This album has always just been OK for me. I’ve never been super into James Taylor. Acoustic or Acoustic/Electric folksy music is usually my thing, but this guy seems so docile. Reading other reviews, I think the “sappy” and “sugary” criticisms are fair and probably the biggest knock against it for me. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a three, but if Cat Stevens did this album, it probably would’ve gotten a five.
I think it was pleasant enough - it sort of came and went…
Pleasant
One of the best mellow albums of all time
maybe his best
“you said you never met one girl who had as many james taylor records as you but i do” - taylor swift in begin again but wtf taylor because this was not worthy enough to own on record
i love this kind of sound but holy fuck this shit was so boring i felt myself losing it from track one i am going to set myself on fire and pray it doesn't rain (YES THAT TRACK WAS CHEEKS TOO) if i have to listen to this for one second longer i am on track three as i am typing this i am so sick of this i hate his voice oh my fod what is he evn saying oh my god please shut uuuuupppppppppp i was enjoying this song i was like okkkaaayyyy finally something musically interesting but eventually i reached: steamroller blues is absolutely vile holy fuck what is he SAYING I A, GPOGN TVNONNOJAEVNVJNABGENJOAEFVLJKNEAFVLJNEFVANJAVEFJNNOVEJONTEVAUNOTNOUGNOUOINTVEONTBGOHJBETAEAJBTHJBEGOHBGEAJOBEGJAOJGABEJAEGJAGBEJGOBIAEBGJOIEAJIOBEGAJIOBETGIJOTEJIOGBEAJBGIEOABIJOEGAIJOEGBAIJOBGAE 1001. albums to hear before you die ???????????. this album asks the question: what about 1 album that will make you want to die when you hear it? is there anything worse than a singer-songwriter who can't sing or songwrite???? what the fuck are you good for james? exactly! i want to give this a 1 so bad like literally so bad but i feel like its not horrifying enough to be a 1 so imagine the 2 is a 1.5 or like a 1.1 i listened to the whole thing and all i will say is i doubt i will return to this album again and give it a second chance because it was so boring 'Anywhere Like Heaven' was actually alright though. 1-1.5/5
Didn't rock my world, was alright but just that
-Not really my kinda music at all but had some good songs. I guess I’d give it 2.5? -Favorites are Sunny Skies, Steam Roller Blues, and Suite For 20 G
First James Taylor album for me, and his second studio album (but the one that seems to have launched his fame). My impression of Taylor was basically unoffensive '70s soft rock, and while that's probably kind of true I did enjoy this album. It's fairly short and tight with 11 songs at only 32 minutes, but he does a good job of keeping the sound varied. It's mostly a folk-rock vibe, but there's a bit of country sound, it's bluesy at times, the rock side picks up here and there. It's not the greatest thing I've ever heard, but it's generally good. Throw in a couple of great songs ("Fire and Rain", "Country Road") and you've got a solid album. Favorite song: Fire and Rain Other: Sweet Baby James, Sunny Skies, Steamroller Blues, Country Road, Oh Susannah, Blossom, Anywhere like Heaven, Suite for 20 G 7/24/24
Was always familiar with "Fire and Rain" but the rest I either hadn't heard or rarely heard. I don't know that Taylor's normal stuff really "speaks" to me but I was pleasantly surprised by the blues tracks on this album and really enjoyed them.
I'm not usually into sugary soft rock/folk music but this album is excellently made and it was a very pleasant listen. Not every song was memorable but the album as a whole is just great.
boring
So easy to listen to and groove to.
Another classic singer-songwriter folk-rock album from the early 1970s - it seems amazing today just how big this type of music was back in the day. IOn addition to the title track, this album also contains the single "Country Road", the massive "Fire and Rain", the bluesy "Steamroller", and an interesting version of "Oh, Susannah".
Fire and rain is a good song The rest is the sound of a bed being wet
simple but nice
Singrr Songwriter mit tollen Harmonien.
What I like about Taylor is how clear his vocals are. They soar above his minimal guitar. He has strong melodies. Fire and Rain is an all timer. 6.3
James Taylor has no business playing blues, given how white bread his vibe is. He makes Blues Brothers 2000 sound authentic. His chill folk stuff though is pretty alright. He answers the question, what if Oh Susanna was too hard?
I only really know who James Taylor is because of the lyrics from the song Begin Again, which is better than like half the songs on this album. The tunes are cute and cozy; I liked Sweet Baby James, Sunny Skies, Steamroller, Fire and Rain, and Anywhere like Heaven. Another positive point for the runtime, but can't give this more than the standard 3
Forgettable, bland and not something I would return too.
Romantic and bluesy album. This one was tough because there a couple of really good tracks surrounded by others that lack attention and polish. Overall a fun listen. 6.6/10
Three of his big hits surrounded by pleasant enough songs. I don't know if the blues numbers really work for me, they sound a bit too sweet and refined. A solid 3/5
A soft folk rock album that may be peak James.
I liked sunny skies the most.
I have always loved the soothing and comforting sounds of Taylor’s voice. This album is exceptional.
I don't know why I can never keep James Taylor and Jackson Brown straight in my head. They're both great but this album in particular is special to me.
Solid, but not great
Fine.
Listen, Aldrin, I'm not as laid back as people think. Now here's the deal: I'm going to play, and you're going to float there and like it.
Better than I thought it would be, JT usually bores me
Sweet Baby James Country Road Fire and Rain
Soft folky album.
Yeehaw. Not exactly my thing, but I can dig this. 3.2*
Relatively pleasant, but sex steamroller aside I don't know if I could tell you about anything I just listened to. Washes over you in a loose, ineffective way, regardless of content. Not a bad thing... just barely a thing at all.
A Voice sweet enough to make me forgive the steel guitar
очень кантри, не моё
I like it OK. Not as good as his Apple debut album in my opinion and not as good as his later stuff like JT Great, understate of production and playing, but just not a lot of melodies that grab me.
The platonic ideal of a folk singer-songwriter album; Taylor has such a pure sweet voice, and his lyrics conjure vivid imagery. “Fire and Rain” is a stone classic, and hits even harder once you learn what it’s about.
This had some great tracks I wasn’t expecting. James has one of those amazing natural voices
Why is everyone complaining about how too sweet it is? It's freaking bland af. All the sugar in it tasted artificial.
I liked the guitar lines, got my head rocking a few times. I could see this rating being higher if I listened more
folkcountryrollo.
Some good folk songs, some fluff, but all easy listening. I believe this is the album that put (the original) JT on the map. Fire and Rain got radio play through the 70s because it’s the best song on the album which rates a solid (2.9*s)
Sweet Baby James really laying on the sweet with this one, I don't like the album title or the cover art. I felt like I was in Mr.Rogers' Neighborhood in a way that this might be fine for a specific age group but I am definitely not it. It felt hokey, tepid, and overall weak. There's a few classics on here but even those are just ok. People talk about James Taylor as if he's some Americana Folk God but he doesn't feel genuine and deep enough to me. This deserves to be off the 1001 list for "Steamroller Blues" alone, don't even get me started on "Oh, Susannah." The more I write this review the more I'm disliking the album... ::a hefty hunk of steaming junk:: jingles in the background.
Pretty sappy and much too sweet baby. A few knowns that are ok but it's mostly milktoast blues and watered down r&b. Was he doing something on this album that deserves the list? Very missable IMO but not the worst thus far...1.7.
James Taylor was able to build a career off of a handful of quick acoustical folk songs. He has a certain sound that obviously scratches the itch for a lot of people (pre-millenial 40 year house wives?). Sweet Baby James is firmly is his wheelhouse as his debut that quickly made him a household name. Every James Taylor song sounds the same to me and Sweet Baby James is no different. It's firmly "average" in almost every way. It's not my personal cup of tea but it's also not bad and at 30 minutes there are worse choices. I guess credit where credit is due. 2.4 stars
A very very good album with some of my favorite songs. Sweet Baby James, Country Road, and of course Fire and Rain are classics that rank among the best from any singer-songwriter. In between and around these tracks I don’t love it. I know some love Steamroller, but I think it’s an old song among the others on the album. Anyway, any album with the three songs mentioned above is a four star album at least.
Not every song is wonderful, but I have some really great memories with my parents seeing James Taylor live and listening to these albums. Boomer music, sure, but it's my boomer's music. 4/5
Folky, funky, soulful-James Taylor is an American treasure ❤️
While I heard and liked the classics during the early 70s, I also remember when the album JT came out later and really soured on his style. Listening to this album for the first time, I am not really impressed by the somewhat saccharine vibe. And even the classics seem less engaging, as if they're shortchanged. While I am very sad that he had to suffer the personal travails that plagued him, I can't engage musically. Things generally seem incomplete, embodied perhaps by Suite for 20 G, which the internet tells me was three fragments strung together.
This may be a little heretical, but is this a little too nice? I mean this Steamroller Blues is one of the most polite versions of the song. He makes the phrase "a hefty hunk of steaming junk" sound purely descriptive wrt a demolition derby car. Still, James Taylor. The '70s almost literally began with this album.
For those of you hating on the 80s synthpop, I hope this has proved the antidote you needed. Personally, I find this too saccharine and soft. Fire and Rain is an undoubted classic, pretty much imprinted on our collective psyche and stays with you for days. There were some interesting arrangements like Oh Susannah but Steanroller felt a bit icky and had me hankering for Bobby Darin’s If I Were A Carpenter. I understand JT is a good songwriter but apart from the occasional lightning flash he is just grey drizzle to me.
Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James and Country Road are great. The rest of the songs weren’t bad, they just suffered in comparison to the great ones.
What to do... James Taylor has an unabashedly sweet voice and never overuses his talents or strains himself to hammer them home. He's understated and confident — to a fault with the inclusion of "Oh, Suzannah — and the standouts on this record are timeless and beautiful. They also speak to a depth of sadness and loss which belie the sweetness of the sounds he produces. But, I'll admit that I also lose interest as the music plays, it's understated to the point of abandon. So I'm going with a 4-star because everything on here is quality, but I'm more at a 3 in terms of my being enamored with the material as a whole.
Tepid boomer BS. I've never found him compelling in the slightest, although he's great in the movie Two-Lane Blacktop. Other than that, pass.
An American treasure (even if I over listened to this album as a teen).
I've heard this so much through the years that I'm tired of it. But it was a good album.
I live for this
This was a very enjoyable album. Would recommend.
Didn't have many opinions at all on this, didn't hate it but didn't love it
Fire and Rain. Great album
maybe I gotta stop listening to msuic on spotify
james taylor's voice is annoying sorry not sorry
Wow, this is putting me to sleep. Steamroller is so bad, it feels like he lost a bet, or something. The nerve of him recording Oh, Susannah. Who said that was a good idea? Fire and Rain is still pretty good. But that’s about it for me. It’s very pretty, if this is your thing. There’s a lot of honky tonk, white boy blues, slide guitar and Americana. Suite for 20G sounds like Carol King wrote it for him, but I still don’t like it. This is just meh, for me.
nice and listenable
In a genre that usually doesn’t do much for me, I find myself really enjoying this album. At least I know I can enjoy a good folk album if I find the right one.
Not as horrible as I thought it would be. Three stars
Whether by coincidence or matrix, this site has given me essentially three singer songwriters in a row. Amy Winehouse being a talented trainwreck, John Prine is all about the downtrodden country "my pickup truck broke down and my wife left and I don't have the money for booze..." sort of feel. Neither are in any way bad musically and they have thier places to be sure, but now we have James Taylor! This is what singer/ songwriter is all about. Life without total angst or total hardship. Just about normal people living and getting thrown those curveballs that sometimes graze and sometimes hurt bad. But there remains a hope in his work and a depth that is hard to obtain.
Likeable enough 70s singer/songwriter, probably not something I would seek out. With the exception of Fire and Rain, which is memorable and well written. 3/5
This is so bad. The whitest boy alive singing blues
Somewhere between 2 and 3. It was perfectly pleasant and all, but I also had a hard time caring about it the majority of the time. A few nice tracks.
James Taylor's voice is a drowsy Sunday afternoon in late May, watching dust motes float in a sunbeam. That is sometimes phenomenal, but I struggle to manage more than a couple of consecutive tracks without feeling claustrophobic. I was surprised by how much blues was on this album, though, and you can't deny his effortless guitar playing.
Not a big fan of this at all. Singer songwriter with country leanings is my kryptonite
Really really not my thing
Title track and Fire and Rain are great. The attempts at the blues are embarrassing. The rest is bland easy listening. 3 stars for the 2 good songs alone.
Yeah. Its really lovely. His voice is pure nice. The sings are nice. It's got a gently nice production. Nice. Lovely. Nice. Lovely. Who listens to this? It's all a bit too nice. Nice. 3. Bless.
Really more of a 3, but I have a good amount of childhood nostalgia for James Taylor (especially Christmas CDs) and this is the only one we're getting. My favorite tracks are probably the ones with brass instruments throughout
Sweet, mild, and soothing. Some might say they provide variety but I actually think the serene vibe is hampered a bit (and the saccharine vibe amplified) by the blues songs and the big band in the closer… either way, they don’t detract much from the whole product. Best song: Fire and Rain
Easy listen, mellow sound but also not that special.
Love revisiting these classics.
I liked the acoustic guitar and a handful of songs made my playlist. A lot of it was too cheese whiz for me! Just barely a 3
Pleasant enough songs but a bit boring on the whole 3 ⭐️
As good as it gets for James Taylor fans! A real classic.
Just... no. Even back int he 70s this album was music for our moms and girls with emotional issues. It traffics in banality masking as depth. James Taylor doesn't even have a sweet voice. Instead, it's like Musak - dull with no emotional quotient. The success of albums like this was not due to any inherent positive quality. It was simply that folkies had nowhere else to go after Dylan went electric and the Vietnam War was winding down, leaving everyone exhausted with the now irrelevant protest songs. Sweet Baby James is only useful if you need to get some sleep or want. So, just... no.
I'll give it to James Taylor that his songwriting is on point and at times creative. But the thick layer of soft rock radio plastered over everything is too much for me to take.
I would definitely have chosen a different James Taylor album, but I guess they wanted “Fire And Rain” on the list. When he gets too bluesy on Sweet Baby James I lose interest - but at every other moment there’s just no denying the quality of Taylor’s vocals.
I will never stop remembering my very dear friend every time this album plays. I miss him terribly. Yes, the album is saccharine, maudlin, but James Taylor is one of the best finger style guitar players there ever was. Minus one star for the just plain stupid metaphor of Steamroller.
Thought this was going to be your standard 70’s singer/songwriter country pop album after the first (and title) track. However, from there things markedly improve and I was pleasantly surprised as Taylor shows his range and things get groovy. Gospel, pop, blues, soul and R&B are all ticked off and the clean and warm production coupled with Taylors distinctive voice, sincere song writing, and melodic sensibility makes for an album that sound and feels comforting yet wistful. I thought ‘Sweet Baby James’ was wonderful.
Musicality is too few and far between to make this an interesting listen. Mostly its a just a soft rock slog.
This wasn’t the worst but nothing too exciting. Thankfully it was mercifully short- not as good as like Simon and Garfunkel or Bob Dylan but not terrible
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 an amalgamation 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. Light 4/5.
Loved
Brilliant!
First off I get Carole King without the tunes vibe. All very pleasant but not grabbing me really in any way. Later, some of the softest, must unconvincing blues I've ever heard. The brass really rescues Steamroller when it comes in halfway through. I'm not that familiar with the original ring a ding ding version of Oh Susannah but I feel offended on it's behalf, this version sounds like it's been castrated. Kinda like a 70s David Gray? Sure does go on about rock and roll a lot for something that neither rocks nor rolls. Suite for 20G might have been ok in isolation but I was so sick of it by then I only enjoyed it a little.
great
Eigentlich ganz schön. Ist aber so was von 1970-Schnulze, dass man es heute nicht mehr hören mag
I enjoyed that, it got me out of a mood. I got a bit worried at the first song, that this album would be difficult, but the 2nd song was good, and from then on it was easy sailing, with a decent groove on the last tune… nothing that memorable but my morning commute went peacefully
I don’t like country but this was listenable But it does get boring Sometimes it sounded like it could be in Better Call Saul so that was good 2.5
Like a mix of Jim crocce and John Denver! Can't believe I've never listened to him before
This is nice easy folk listening. It's pretty pleasant to listen to, even if it is at times fairly simple. My favorites were probably Sunny Skies and Blossom. His bluesy stuff was probably the most boring parts of the album to me but overall a good listen.
James Taylor is one of the greatest American born song writers. His casual blend of old Americana deep rooted blues and a tinge of Country Western and Swing allows him the dynamic ability to write heartwarming and tender tunes. This album deserves high praise although some might find it boring or bland. Look to Steamroller Blues and Suite for 20g for said dynamcism.
Not bad for my least favorite genre
Most of it is boring. Towards the end there's some better songs, but the performance is still boring. I don't think I'll ever play this record again. Favorite song: Blossom.
#186. REM, and then James Taylor back to back? Fuck me, right? Al Gore's rhythm seems to be out to get me. I've heard some of his songs before, but for obvious reasons never listened to a whole album before. It's exactly as I assumed it would be though. About as good as any one of his singles, just more. 2/5: James Taylor just seems to me like a less pretentious, but also less good Neil Young or something. Song added to playlist: Fire and Rain I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link
Is it important? Yes. It helps launch the singer songwriter west coast thing. Is it well played? Yes. Excellent musicianship and songwriting. Did I like it? Fire and rain is a good song. And there’s a couple of others. Otherwise I’m going back to other acoustic music I prefer. That’s ok.
+1 point for his warm voice, and for the nostalgia and how folk sooths Boomers. +1 point for the cellos in a country rock song (fire and rain) -1 point for silly use of stereo for the guitars L&R and then rounding up to 2, as I dont hate it, its not offensive or horrible, its ok, I just dont love it. But I wont listen again.... hence sub 3
I suppose I first heard James Taylor when Fire & Rain first got radio play after its release in August 1970. It eventually entered the 2UE Top 40 in November, where it spent 19 weeks in that chart, reaching #5. So it was big and I was a big fan. Taylor had been touring with Joni Mitchell that year & they played a concert recorded by the BBC at the Royal Albert Hall in October 1970. Sometime in 1971 ABC announcer Chris Winter featured the broadcast of that concert on his radio show Room To Move. And not long after that I purchased a copy of a vinyl bootleg of the concert, called In Perfect Harmony, at Martins Record Store, corner of Pitt & Goulburn Streets in Sydney. They were literally selling bootlegs from under the counter. That was when I first heard Steamroller, which had become the comedic part of Taylor’s set. I bought this album soon after & it’s been a favourite ever since. I’m a sucker for western movies & therefore also a sucker for songs about cowboys, so the title track, which had been the first single released from the album but never charted, was a no-brainer for me. The last single released from the lp was Country Road, which did chart. Except for Stephen Foster’s Oh, Susannah, Taylor wrote all the songs. Except for Carole King (who was about to release Tapestry, the biggest-seller of the 70’s) on piano, the musicians were among the cream of west-coast soft-rockers. And the album was produced by Taylor’s manager Peter Asher, who had signed Taylor to Apple Records in 1968, produced his first album for Apple, which he left to follow Taylor back to the U.S. when that album failed. It still works for me.
He's got a great voice, and great guitar style and you can hear how much work went into polishing the songs. But it's just so.... nice. I can admire it, but not nearly enough grit for my taste. A reluctant 3.
I find it hilarious how dramatically other users described the album :') It's nothing remarkable but nowhere as bad as some users have portrayed it to be.
J'ai bien aimé, ce n'était pas sensationnel mais ça se laissait écouter. Mon principal problème est que je vois mal pourquoi c'était nécessaire de l'écouter avant de mourir. 6/10
Loved the album! That was the beginning of that singer/songwriter genre being big and he is the epitome of it. Great album. It’s also in my wheelhouse. That’s my favored genre, so it gets a great rating.
Really great album. Enjoyed the songs and definitely an artist I will listen more to.
Had heard "Fire and rain" before and liked it. Nice to have in the background but nothing really stands out.
Ooooh Susannah, now don't you cry for meee!
Ok
Not the right country road song. Overall decent though.
meh
This one of the best albums by singer-songwriter ever.
I've heard better Christian Rock albums than this.
I definitely enjoyed the first half more than the second, I prefer calmer less upbeat folk I think. Overall fine, but would rather listen to Bob Dylan for a folk fix. Top tracks: Lo and Behold, Sunny Skies, Oh Susannah
Nice enough. I was hoping this might be something a bit special (Tapestry MK II) but for me it’s good not great.
Sure grandpa, let's get you to bed.
One of the reason why most people thinks country music sucks
I have nothing to say about this one.
Calm voice. Nice kinda country kinda troubadour, I've sing fire and I've seen rain song in this album
First album I listened to twice in one sitting.
Sweet baby Jesus
Doesn't offend, don't really know what else to say
Easy listen, enjoyed his blues tracks 3.5 / 5
Not heard of the bloke before but it was a pleasant surprise. Good songwriting and melodies throughout. 3/5
3.5 Enjoyed this, I’m a sucker for a bit of country. Fire and Rain hit me deep in my core, what a lovely song.
I could've lived without ever hearing this album and will never voluntarily listen to it again. 2 stars instead of 1 because he can definitely sing.
Soild folk rock albums deserves to be on the list.
Haven’t heard of this, not sure it’ll be my thing. Singer/songwriter from 1970. Actually not too bad right away, nice and chilled.
Enjoyable but few songs stuck out.
sounds nice but almost overwhelmingly basic, great singer and guitar playing but pretty much nothing else is happening. Fire and Rain is great but the rest is forgettable
Favorite
An extra star for comedy lyrics in Steamroller. Otherwise sugary rubbish
A bunch of little country-esq songs for the morning. Nice album to listen to in the morning, Taylor’s vocals are nice. Good vibes all around, cool!
Mid
Me comencé a aburrir un montón.Vacas, mi mujer, cabalgar y comer queso de cabra suena como la vida perfecta de un granjero de montana pero llega un punto donde ya. Pretty mid, great voice tho. 5/10.
Me sorprendió gratamente, estaba esperando algo aburrido que el de Joe Ely, pero i kinda fucked with it. 3.5
Nice flower-power music
This was pretty good. Some good songs, some definitely lacking. Not upset about listening to it, but to modern standards, it's lacking a bit.
Part of me wants to give this album a 4 star review on the strength of "Fire and Rain" alone. If I had to point to the absolute peak of this strain of singer/songwriter, it's "Fire and Rain." Few other songs pinpoint the moment between disbelief and cognition of loss; the moment you realize a part of you and a connection to another being is dissolving and there's no fighting it. The line "I just couldn't figure out who to send it to" kills me every time. An in between there are deft and layered invocations of vivid images. "Sunny days that [he] thought would never end" always sticks with me. Is a never ending sunny day a good thing or oppressive to people of Taylor's temperament? It's a complicated and compelling. The title and leadoff track is as fine a ballad as you'll hear. Taylor's voice is sweet and soft without straying into the saccharine. His control of tones and melody is exquisite and belongs aside great singing cowboys. There are other nice songs that carry the usual James Taylor charm. He shows full command of a variety of rootsy song styles. "Lo and Behold" does a good job of working in the style of spirituals to focus on questions of right and wrong. "Sunny Skies" feels like the musings of a farmhand killing time between back breaking tasks. "Country Road" is a solid, soulful country song. It's when Taylor turns to the blues that the album stumbles. "Steamroller Blues" is a half baked blues pastiche, and joins some of the worst of the genre. We get another round of it with "Oh Baby Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me." Is he serious? Would that make it better or worse? This is still a wonderful Singer/Songwriter album. I'm probably dinging it unfairly for fairly minor transgressions, but something about well-my-baby-dun-me-wrong blues pastiche that makes my being revolt. Like, yogurt commercials used to do that shit.
Awesome
Almost every song perfect. This album - egotistically titled as it is - took folk singing in a new direction. JT, Carly Simon... CSN (&Y), Joni Mitchell... the sound of the early 70s (and beyond), leading to Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles... and unfortunately "Soft Rock" and the slam it receives. But such beautiful music.
Good, easy to listen to. Nothing that really will draw me back to this, however.
Loving that Buffalo Springfield sound when it hits. Favourite track: Lo and Behold.
OK boomer blues and folksy pop.
My previous knowledge of James Taylor is that Taylor Swift likes him
Wow a lot of hatred for JT on this site. It's a bit sweet and sappy at times. Also has that AM radio 70's soft rock vibe but that's what make is so good. Not quite 5 stars JT seems to also have a dud or two on his albums and this no exception.
I am an unapologetic fan of this record. Taylor is a wonderful song writer and a capable guitar player. Fire & Rain is beautiful and poignant. I quite like the percussion on the record, too.
Better then i was expecting. Between a 3 and a 4.
This album is rated entirely too low on this site. Is it sappy? Sure. But James Taylor can sing, his songs are fun to listen to, and easy to sing along with. I probably should knock it down a star because I really hated the Oh Susannah on here (doesn't fit the album for me and sort of puts the brakes right in the middle of the thing) but I won't do it. When you want something very easy to listen to, with good acoustic guitar work, and some blues sensibilities, it's really hard to go wrong with this one.
Classic rock. Wonderful album. Great voice. Very talented.
Sadboi Country, schon boppin
What a fraud. The best parts are when he’s pretending to be a poor white kid from the country instead of a prep school kid from Boston. The worst parts are when he’s trying to sound like Robert Johnson, it’s musical black face. Fuck you James Taylor
1.6
Folk-country bastante lento. Por lo menos canta muy bien. Ni fu ni fa.
folkcountryrollo.
One of my top 10 - ever. The Beatles recognized his talent, produced/published his first album, but didn't keep him in the Apple Studios corral!
7.5/10
Blind album, but some familiar tracks I enjoyed. Glad I got to see him live with Jackson Browne
Classic
His voice is good, but it's just another country album among all the others around the list. No novelty.
Unmemorable, but not unlikeable
Pretty good.
Love this so much
I used to hate on JT so hard, primarily because of the white collar vanilla fan base he has established over years of churning out the blandest white man music on Earth. However, this album was before all of that. This album is a photograph of a young artist, just starting out, going through a number of personal struggles. And it’s honest as hell. Fire and Rain, for all the faults it inspired, is such an honest heartbreaking song. The songwriting on this album is great, but I’d also give a shoutout to the well timed usage of percussion to significantly enhance the potency of these tracks. Sunny Skies and Country Road are also standouts.
Passed the time. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. MOR for me.
More soulful than I expected, I wonder who was callin this grown man sweet baby
This is nice. Not incredible, but enjoyable. His trip into the blues is only notable for how out of place it is. It’s almost endearing if you couldn’t tell how full of himself he is. He’s goofy, so whatever. 4/5
Sweet little piss baby of an album
Nr. 115/1001 Sweet Baby James 3/5 Lo and Behold 3/5 Sunny Skies 3/5 Steamroller Blues 3/5 Country Road 4/5 Oh, Susannah 4/5 Fire and Rain 4/5 Blossom 3/5 Anywhere like Heaven 3/5 Oh Baby 2/5 Suite for 20 G 3/5 Average: 3,18 Pretty good whilst also being unremarkable
Für Fans von leiseren, introspektiven Songs ist “Sweet Baby James” sicherlich ein Meilenstein. Ich fand es etwas monoton.
smooooth voice
This album should be something I love but it's just missing some X factor, I don't know what, that makes it really dull.
the eyebrows.....
Good. Very late 60s. I'd heard Fire and Rain before.
This is likely the greatest folk music you will ever hear. But it’s still folk.
Enjoyed this way more than I thought I would
Favourite tracks: sweet baby James; fire and rain; country road
Not a big fan of this. James' voice isn't interesting enough to carry the simple melodies and lack of rhythm. Fire and rain was good but not much else worth a relisten.
James Taylor is one smooooth man. It's not his fault that most of his songs sound like the opening titles of a 70's sitcom. Also, can we talk about what's going on with the random blues songs he has sprinkled throughout the album? In particular track 4, Steamroller Blues, is... not good. 3.25 stars
folkcountryrollo.
He has a pretty voice. My parents listened to this album a lot growing up.
Anywhere Like Heaven is my favorite song on this album. Overall the album has weathered well. This being one of the many soundtracks of my teen years I enjoyed reminiscing as I listened.
As far as cheesy singer/songwriter albums go this was not too bad. I love Fire and Rain, even with the heavy handedness present here and in the rest of the songs.
Niet voor mij
Four nostalgic stars for this quiet album from back when I was alive
Wonderful album
Super gentle singer songwriter album. Half and hour of very pretty acoustic guitar songs with just a couple of livelier and more fleshed out numbers to keep things interesting. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Fire and Rain Date listened: 19/01/24
Album: Sweet Baby James Artist: James Taylor Year: 1970 Genre: Folk Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ this album was incredible. Love James and his ability to songwrite and tell stories. Fave song: Fire and Rain Would I listen again? 100%
This is love at first sight. The singer was telling stories through his voice.
Boy I loved this album back in the day. It was a fave of the underground FM radio I listened to all the time before I went to bed. Fire and Rain and Sweet Baby James were like magic songs. They still stand in my opinion. I wonder what the young'uns feel when they hear them.
Think it was ok, can’t remember much
Great voice, but I don't dig his style at all.
A good singer songwriter album, Country Road is a great tune. Overall it’s a fine album, Taylor sings well and the music is played well. Nothing really mover me much here. 3 stars
more bluesy than i expected but i still prefer the Quartet!
For country. I didn't hate it. System for 20G was the best song
Having been a teenager in the early 90’s, this type of soft rock singer-songwriter schlock will never be anything but painfully uncool to me. The only way shit like this sold in the 90’s was by way of the Time-Life compilations that were advertised via infomercials aired on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. It was boring and lame then, doubly so now. Just have a look at these lyrics from “Steamroller”: “I'm a cement mixer A churning urn of burning funk I'm a cement mixer A churning urn of burning funk I'm a demolition derby A hefty hunk, steaming junk I'm a steamroller baby I'm 'bout to roll all over you I'm a steamroller baby I'm 'bout to roll all over you I'm gonna inject your soul With some sweet rock 'n' roll And shoot you full of rhythm and blues” It’s possibly the dumbest metaphor for coitus ever committed to tape. Also, imagine telling someone you were a “churning urn of burning funk” and that person not looking at you like they were about call for a restraining order. Finally, you can thank me later for the mental image of James Taylor shooting his “rhythm and blues”.
it's ok
Great solo album. Not many singers today do solo and those that do, don't do it well.
I really didn't expect to enjoy this album at all. I thought it was going to be quite a slog and pretty tricky to put up with all 36 minutes of it, but having said that this album really picked up after the first track and I was quite surprised. That isn't to say that I'm in a hurry to go back to it, but I also wouldn't be in a rush to skip any tracks of it when they come on in my library. It's my first James Taylor experience and it's been a pretty good one.
Someone’s gotta tell me why I needed to listen to this album. Dude’s got no variation. And the name of this album??
Fine old album that feels like the era
I dig the shit out of this. some blues acoustic guitar shredding, some bluegrass, some folk singer songwriter. Comes together for a solid blend.
Amazing soniscape and mixing. James Taylor has always been the quiet delicate fire and rain guy in my head, steamroller blues and others showed me he has more to offer.
Really loved this one. What a beautiful voice
A bit too folky for me, it had a few real shining tracks but mostly I found it just passed me by
This is perfectly nice, easy folksy-poppy-pleasantness (as long as you ignore the incredibly inauthentic blues of Steamroller and the plain fucking weirdness of Sunny Skies. Oh, and you can get rid of Oh Susannah, too). Several times I thought "oh, Fire and Rain, I know this one" and it turned out to be a different song though, so read into that what you will. This is a nice, easy, unchallenging album to while away 30 minutes - it's very hard to hate, but also to love.
Ég hefði átt að vera á lífi á 7. og 8. áratugnum. Ég hefði pottþétt verið hangandi í Keflavík algjörlega inspíreraður af allri þessari frábæru útlandatónlist. MItt stöff. James kannski heldur rólegur fyrir mig en stórgóður söngvari.
Not my style. James Taylor is technically proficient though
A decent album. Not my style. His voice is nice but the sound is pretty sleepy, overall.
James Taylor serves up some catchy tunes that I can't say I personally appreciate but I definitely know by heart.
What a surprise!! Went in thinking I would find it incredibly boring and cheesy, but I like this more with each listen. It's not my preferred sound as far as late 60s/early 70s goes, but it fits the lyrics so well that I can't really complain. There are some moments of instrumentation I really enjoyed- like Country Road, which is pure Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet/Sticky Fingers. A few songs that I really like (Sunny Skies, Steamroller Blues, Fire and Rain surprisingly), some that I found nice, and only one really that I wish he hadn't included (Oh! Susanna) just because I personally am not a huge minstrel song fan. Hope that's not too controversial to say. Anyway, definitely going to revisit this one! I really can't overstate how surprised I was- I always thought Fire and Rain was this big dramatic mid 80s song for some reason.
Great album, good pacing and very easy to listen to. My type of music Top Songs: Steamroller Blues, Fire and Rain, Suite for 20 G
this was an album i fell in love with a long time ago during a very difficult period of my life, so i will always have a soft spot for this one. i think nowadays, i am not as into it as i was back then, but there's still a lot of really great stuff on here. i know that james taylor is not everyone's bag, and that's fine, but for me, this album is almost therapeutic. just a really great folk-rock album, with some country twang. and nothing is better than james taylor's voice!
A little too folk-sy americana for me. The couple of blues songs were a nice change of pace. No really my jam overall
Liked this, not a go-to though.
I really liked this album. It's the kind of calm, quiet folk that I really enjoy. Easy to listen to, great lyrics, great melodies, just all around pleasant and enjoyable.
I've listened to this album for years. Absolutely love it!
Doesn’t this album make you feel like you’re on a long car ride to grandma’s? Is it just me?
Really not my bag. Made it through 2 songs and completely lost the will to live. Soz
Awful. Just awful. The most white bread album I’ve heard in a long time. Makes perfect sense why my mom loves him.
Smooth like butter
Exactly what I expected. Iconic voice instantly recognizable. Simple and relaxing songs.
Taylor looks about as pissed off at having to sing this saccharine bullshit as I am listening to it. Steamroller Blues is apparently parody, which I guess does come across but it comes immediately after a song where Taylor seems to sing about a personification of the fucking sky completely unironically. Or perhaps it’s all irony. Oops! All Irony! I don’t vibe with this at all. It’s very whitebread, very clean cut American Boomer music. Most people who are giving this positive reviews seem to refer to it as the musical equivalent to comfort food. If this is comfort food, it’s processed American instant Mac n Cheese, an approximation of good home-cooked food that takes up less of the time, but provides a lesser experience. Give me the quiet melancholy of Jackson Browne or the tortured spiritualism of Leonard Cohen over this any day. With them you know where you stand, you know when things are ironic, you know when they’re sincere, and none of it is twee, like Taylor is. The only high spot is Fire and Rain, where the emotions don’t get muddled, it’s straightforward and not sickly sweet. But Jackson Browne would have done a much better version of it, both performance-wise and lyrically. I think Taylor includes too much simplicity, and in this genre, there needs to be a balance.
Three songs I really liked. The rest was fine.
See previous album comment
How sweet it is. Loved it then and love it still.
I grew up listening to James Taylor with my parents so this hits a particular soft spot for me. I'm not sure this is his best album in retrospect, but James Taylor definitely has a place on this list for me, if only for the pure hit of nostalgia.
It’s really not my thing, but it is sweet
Heard before. Liked it more this time around and I wonder why. + Sunny Skies + Steamroller Blues + Fire and Rain + Suite for 20 G
A nice album. Easy listening.
An absolutely peaceful listen.
Pleasant folk-country stuff. Country Road was the only track which stood out though.
Guy with guitar. Good stuff.
Simple, slightly uninspired 60`s singer songwriter. Not the most impressive performances or songwriting, no real standout tracks. 3 stars
Beauty He’s like Bob Dylan’s if he knew how to sing. Also sounds a bit like Jim Croce. Really pleasant. Good lyrics and writing. With my banjo on my knee.
I quite liked the vibe of this. Loved the first couple of tracks.
I'll be honest: I sort of hate James Taylor. James Taylor is just John Denver with harder drugs. And those hard drugs aren't even better drugs. Just harder, more boring drugs. If you ever want the poster child for an Anti-Heroin campaign, this is your guy. I go out of my way to avoid listening to any of his songs, except for "Fire and Rain", which is the one all-time classic in his catalog. I've probably listened to it thousands of times, and it gets me every single time. The one time when Taylor truly caught lightning in a bottle. And that's about as far as I'll go with JT. I wish I could figure out what exactly it is about him that bothers me. He sporadically refers to himself as "Sweet Baby James". Taylor Swift is allegedly named for him. He took the absolute most yawn-inducing version of a Carole King song to number 1. He was Jay Leno's final "Tonight Show" guest because of course he was. Maybe it's that he married Carly Simon and they celebrated their love by releasing an annoying version of that "Mockingbird" song that was always on the radio even though no one ever wanted to hear it. It's probably because he never again found another "Fire and Rain", yet he gets all the Laudits that get him on lists like this one instead of Jackson Browne or Bob Seger.
My friend told me in a record store “buy this record man you won’t regret it.” I don’t regret it. One of my first purchases.
Most fabulous
This is very close to a one star, but the more America-like moments (the band America, I mean) keep it above the water for me, and the final song is at least something different, actually feeling like that "rock" and "funk" he was talking so much about earlier on the album. But those country tracks, and especially those blues tracks? Man, those SUCKED. Just hanging on by a thread, but can't in good faith give it a one.
Liked it a lot, grew on me as the album went on.
“Now i’m a napalm bomb, baby. Just guaranteed to blow your mind” Cool little album, really not my type of music at all, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this record. A very relaxing sounding album that i’m sure my grandma would love to listen to, also has the single: “Fire and Rain” on it, which is a great track and is going on the playlist. A high 3/5 although not my preferred music, very enjoyable
James Taylor as James Taylor always is... mellow, but good. Not in my playlist but certainly in my past. I will give him 3 just to not be a hater on a Friday.
A couple decent songs, but pretty boring overall. The instrumentation is bit too sparse, save for a couple songs that feature horns or slide guitar.
My favorite so far
I wish it was slightly more bluesy but definitely solid overall.
Nice little country folk album. Didn't blow me away, but I liked it.
Laid back music I could relax to. Somewhat similar style to Jim Croce who I really like.
just dreadfully boring
Boring, Christian, hillbilly, boomer music. Some catchy tunes and nice melodies, but overall not my vibe at all. Uninteresting. Fav songs: sweet baby james
Play this to experience Fire and Rain!
A little twee… but nice collection of songs. He’s a decent songwriter
I could listen to James Taylor all day forever.
A few fantastic songs, a few good ones, and definitely some filler. Fire & Rain, Country Road, and Sweet Baby James are just beautiful songs. I like Steamroller’s inclusion here as a gritty blues song that cuts against melancholy of F&R and SBJ.
All timer.
A bit of a drag but short enough.
Smooth and easy. Beautiful lyrics. 10/10 Dad music
surprisingly good album
Cat: this MFer funky as hell. Sneaky.
Meh
Some songs were good, but two were unbearable, don't remember the names
Again it has happened to me, I was SURE we'd heard James Taylor already, being over two years through this project. But this is the first one! And it's so good! Having not really listened to Taylor by the album before, this is pretty much what I would have hoped for. "Fire and Rain" is such a wonderful 70's folky juggernaut, and hearing "Oh, Susannah" lead into it is glorious. I love the blues touches, and although it does contain topical themes of the time, it still feels comfy and warm and reassuring. Thank you.
Just lovely and comforting!
Well this is just lovely. My knees are buckling.
I grew up with this in our family compact cassette collection so I know I have heard this many times, but only Sweet Baby James and Fire and Rain stirred any memories. I think it was a little too mellow to stand out to me then. Fortunately, I am able to appreciate this in its entirety today.
James Taylor’s got a soothing voice so I can see why his music would appeal to people - it appeals to me sometimes. But it’s mostly pretty bland and these songs don’t seem like anything special.
See what a few years and actual talent can create? What a step-up versus the incredibly boring era of '60s folk and psychedelic rock. Sure, maybe this is a bit too sweet and saccharine. What about it, though? Sometimes it's nice to listen to calm, soft rock. Gotta say, that last song was a bit of a cliffhanger. Suite for 20 G goes heavier and is just as much of a fit for JT. That track is an obvious standout, alongside Lo and Behold, Country Road, and Fire and Rain.
Richtig gute Stimme, tolle Gitarre, hat mir sehr gut gefallen.
great
meh
Laid back guitars and thoughtful lyrics. Very much a vibe.
3.5