James Taylor - The Best of James Taylor (20 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

One for the JT Newbies

T. C Lane | Marina, CA USA | 04/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Couple of notes: the version of "Something In The Way She Moves" is the Apple Records version from 1969, but "Carolina In My Mind" is the 1976 re-recording. Also "Steamroller Blues" is the live 1975 cut. Among the odd surprises on this Collection are "You Can Close Your Eyes" a great album track from Mud Slide Slim, and "Golden Moments" a forgotten track from 1976's In The Pocket. This CD swallows the whole of the first Gr. Hits album, save for "Something" which is remade on the first (but not this) Hits CD. Because this is a WB Records release, 15 of the 20 songs are from JT's WB days. The Columbia years are sorely lacking. Where's "Her Town Too" or "Copperline" or "Secret O'Life" to name three. So, if you're a beginner to JT's catalog and you like what you hear on this CD then seek out his Greatest Hits Vol. 2 on Columbia Records. The one new song, "Bittersweet" is a good uptempo song that wasn't written by Taylor. There are no liner notes, except for a quick paragraph from JT. If you're a JT newbie this is for you. The rest can do with the other 2 Greatest Hits albums."

Great remastering, just a few flaws...

Frederick Baptist | 04/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

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

Great Idea, But......

James Fenos | Columbus, OH United States | 04/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For the longest time, James Taylor, it seems, refused to release a current anthology of his work, save for the 1976 Greatest Hits album. Fans for years have been crying for an updated anthology of his work and we finally got them, even if the sequence is reversed. Columbia recently released "Greatest Hits 2," featuring only his Sony recordings, Warner Brothers followed up with this updated set of his more vintage material. The Columbia songs seem redundant to me, the same songs here are on the "Hits 2" release. If Warner wanted to include his Sony songs, they should've used songs not on his "Hits" cd, "Only One" and something from "October Road" comes to mind. Still, this is a nice collection and the updated mastering is excellent, at 70 minutes with twenty songs including the new cut there is a little room left for an additional track or two, we'll have to wait for the import version for a fuller disc."

Great mastering of great songs

Frederick Baptist | 04/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

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

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