James Taylor
His Apple debut, made in London alongside the White Album sessions, with McCartney on bass on Carolina in My Mind.
James Taylor, 1968
- Released
- 6 December 1968 (UK), 17 February 1969 (US)
- Recorded
- July to October 1968
- Studio
- Trident Studios, London
- Label
- Apple
- Producer
- Peter Asher
- Length
- 38:30
Peter Asher produced it at Trident, using some studio time the Beatles had booked. Richard Hewson wrote orchestrations and short linking passages between songs, which had a mixed reception. Asher said he wanted the strings to make people take Taylor seriously as a composer. Taylor was in hospital and could not promote it, and it sold poorly, peaking at 62 in the US. Jon Landau welcomed it warmly in Rolling Stone, and AllMusic hears in it the beginnings of the introspective singer-songwriter genre. George Harrison borrowed the phrase Something in the Way She Moves to open his song Something. The original version of Carolina in My Mind is here.
Track listing
- Don't Talk Now2:36
- Something's Wrong3:00
- Knocking 'Round the Zoo3:26
- Sunshine Sunshine3:30
- Taking It In3:01
- Something in the Way She Moves2:26
- Carolina in My Mind3:36
- Brighten Your Night With My Day3:05
- Night Owl3:38
- Rainy Day Man3:00
- Circle Round the Sun3:24
- The Blues Is Just a Bad Dream3:42
Personnel
- James Taylor vocals, guitar
- Louis Cennamo bass
- Bishop O'Brien drums
- Don Shinn keyboards
- Freddie Redd organ (Carolina in My Mind)
- Mick Wayne guitar (Carolina in My Mind)
- Skaila Kanga harp
- Paul McCartney bass (Carolina in My Mind)
- George Harrison backing vocals, uncredited (Carolina in My Mind)
- Peter Asher percussion, vocals
More from James Taylor
Sweet Baby James (1970), Gorilla (1975), Greatest Hits (1976), Dad Loves His Work (1981)
Sources
- James Taylor (album), Wikipedia
- James Taylor review, AllMusic
- Carolina in My Mind, Songfacts