The Essential James Taylor

The Essential James Taylor
Compilation album by
James Taylor
ReleasedOctober 29, 2013
GenreFolk[1]
Label
ProducerBill Inglot[a]
James Taylor chronology
Amchitka
(2009) 		The Essential James Taylor
(2013) 		Before This World
(2015)

The Essential James Taylor is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor. It was released on October 29, 2013, on Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings as part of their "Essential" series in the US, and on Warner Bros. Records in the EU and Australia. The album compiles tracks spanning Taylor's second album Sweet Baby James (1970) to October Road (2002).

Reception

AllMusic gave the album four stars out of five.[1] In their review, Matt Collar referred to the album as a "superb overview" of Taylor's career.[1] Joe Marchese of The Second Disc also praised the compilation, calling it "a nicely-curated mix of big hits and less familiar gems".[3] While Marchese did lament the exclusion of material from Taylor's first album alongside other select tracks from his catalogue, he still found it to be the "most comprehensive" retrospective of his work.[3]

Writing for American Songwriter, Hal Horowitz gave the album a rating of 2.5 out of 5, expressing disappointment with the relatively short length of the compilation.[4] Additionally, he found its release to be unnecessary, feeling that Taylor's previous three compilations–Greatest Hits (1976), Greatest Hits Volume 2 (2000), and The Best of James Taylor (2003)–already did the same job as The Essential.[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by James Taylor, except where noted.

Disc one
No.TitleOriginal releaseLength
1."Sweet Baby James"Sweet Baby James (1970)2:51
2."Fire and Rain"Sweet Baby James3:23
3."Long Ago and Far Away"Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971)3:21
4."You've Got a Friend" (Carole King)Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon4:29
5."Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"One Man Dog (1972)2:35
6."Walking Man"Walking Man (1974)3:33
7."How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (Holland–Dozier–Holland)Gorilla (1975)3:35
8."Mexico"Gorilla2:59
9."Shower the People"In the Pocket (1976)4:32
10."Steamroller" (live)Greatest Hits (1976)5:19
11."Something in the Way She Moves"Greatest Hits3:10
12."Carolina in My Mind"Greatest Hits3:59
13."Handy Man" (Jimmy Jones, Otis Blackwell)JT (1977)3:16
14."Your Smiling Face"JT2:45
15."Honey Don't Leave L.A." (Danny Kortchmar)JT3:04
Disc two
No.TitleOriginal releaseLength
1."Millworker"Flag (1979)3:49
2."Her Town Too" (Taylor, JD Souther, Waddy Wachtel)Dad Loves His Work (1981)4:28
3."Everyday" (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)That's Why I'm Here (1985)3:14
4."Only One"That's Why I'm Here4:19
5."Never Die Young"Never Die Young (1988)4:24
6."Copperline" (Taylor, Reynolds Price)New Moon Shine (1991)4:22
7."The Water is Wide" (traditional)New Moon Shine3:01
8."Country Road" (live)Live (1993)5:39
9."Secret O' Life" (live)Live3:45
10."Little More Time with You"Hourglass (1997)3:52
11."Another Day"Hourglass2:21
12."Hard Times Come Again No More" (with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O'Connor) (Stephen Foster)Appalachian Journey (2000)3:40
13."Caroline I See You"October Road (2002)4:59
14."My Traveling Star" (live)previously unreleased4:13
15."You Can Close Your Eyes" (live)previously unreleased2:53

Charts

Chart performance for The Essential James Taylor
Chart (2013–2020) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart (OCC)[5] 50
US Americana/Folk Albums (Billboard)[6] 8

Notes

  1. ^ Inglot is credited as the "compilation producer". The original recordings are produced by: Peter Asher, Steven Epstein, Frank Filipetti, Don Grolnick, George Massenburg, Dave O'Donnell, David Spinozza, James Taylor, Russ Titelman, and Lenny Waronker.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Collar, Matt. "The Essential James Taylor". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  2. ^ Taylor, James (29 October 2013). The Essential James Taylor (liner notes). Columbia Records, Legacy Recordings.
  3. ^ a b Marchese, Joe (10 December 2013). "Review: James Taylor, "The Essential James Taylor"". The Second Disc. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b Horowitz, Hal. "James Taylor: The Essential James Taylor". American Songwriter. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  5. ^ "James Taylor". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Americana/Folk Albums Chart 2020-03-21". Billboard. Retrieved 31 December 2023.