I was lucky enough to first see James Taylor live in a small outdoor venue called Avaloch in rural Lenox, Massachusetts in the summer of 1970, after this first album recorded by the Beatles in London had been released and just before the release of the fabulously successful "Sweet Baby James" album by Warner Brothers. He appeared alone on-stage with a full head of long, long hair in a simple denim shirt and cut-up jeans with his four or five acoustic guitars, and for two and a half hours proceeded to absolutely enchant the sprawling lawn-full of hundreds of audience members with a spellbinding performance of all of the work from both of those albums. Although virtually unknown at the time, word of mouth had spread so quickly in the Berkshires area (who still considers him one of their own) that many of us went out to get this album to play before he appeared. The rest, as they say, is history.

This is a fantastic folk album, and shows a different aspect of his talents in that he is much more somber, reflective, and open about his own uncertainties and personal troubles in the songs he sings, and in the delivery as well. But many of my favorites are here, including a spare and lean version of "Something In The Way She Moves", "Carolina In My Mind", and "Rainy Day Man". Yet I actually prefer many of the other cuts, such as "Brighten Your Night With My Day", "Don't Talk Now" and Something's Wrong". My all time favorite song from this album is a sleeper that he never plays and that no one else seems to be familiar with, a traditional song called "Circle Round The Sun".

His performance on it is a brilliant early indication of just how incredibly talented an interpretive artist Taylor really is, transforming this old folk song into a stunning contemporary number, complete with an indelible guitar accompaniment with the usual "Taylor" treatment and a haunting, suggestive vocal that literally oozes with heartfelt sincerity. This is a lesser album only in the sense that many of the works are unusually spare and folksy, but it is certainly a terrific showcase for how well Taylor can deliver on a variety of original works and covers of traditional folk songs. Enjoy

An old record my sister had in a Paul McCartney cover had more scratches on it than a couch in a house with twenty cats. I listened to it, and came to adore it. It was JT's first album on Apple records. To save my needle, I copied it onto a cassette, and played it for over twenty five years before a radio station told me the album was rereleased on CD. Talk about luck, the first store I went to had a copy of it. It was mine; all mine. For the first time, I could hear the guitar music without the background of all the scratches.

There is a tender sensitivity to this album reflecting a great deal of JT's emotional experience in his early years. His songs tell of warm loving relationships, expressed through greatly tender poetry. There is a softness and vulnerability in his voice, lyrics,and music we never see quite the same in his later productions.

"Something in the Way She Moves"

"And I feel fine any time she's around me now;
She's around me now almost all the time.
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now
She's been with me now, quite a long long time,
and I feel fine"'

"Circle Round the Sun"

"I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some;
Let me say that I love my baby,
And she's bound to love me some.
Now she throws her arms around me,
Like a circle round the sun, yeah".

"Sunshine Sunshine"

"Sounds of laughter, here comes sunshine;
Smiling faces all around;
They possess you, bless you sunshine
Now, you can never let them down
I say sunshine".

This album was always there for me when I shared the same vulnerabilities James had in his youth. What I could not express on my own was right there on that old cassette tape.

There are some reviewers here who write about any and every album ever created. I only write about those which have touched my life as this one did.

James Taylor's first album remains largely undiscovered. JT fans who think Sweet Baby James was his best, enjoy his later stuff but feel he never quite reached that level again, MUST hear this album. It is a masterpiece. Much of it reminds me of "Country Road" with strings bridging the songs (the strings style reminds me of Beatles orchestral works, such as in Yellow Submarine, from this era). Anyone who has wondered where the song, "Carolina On My Mind" came from will now have their answer. Another magnificent selection is "Circle Around the Sun," a traditional song that has been borrowed in part by the Grateful Dead (I Know You Rider) and Janis Joplin (Piece of My Heart). This album is hard to find. It is really the first half of the Sweet Baby James work. Get it-you'll thank yourself!

The king of mellow pop got his start here; it's a very good album to listen to as background to just about anything - communal dinners with your friends from the 60's/70's, whatever. And most of the songs are very good to listen to carefully, individually, when you take the time. He's very inventive - the feeling he conjures, even when sad, warms your guts (which can be very, very helpful). Between each two songs is an instrumental interlude; they are of all sorts, played by various players - there's even a harpsichordist.

Taylor isn't about to bring high excitement to anyone, but as for relaxation and groove, he's got plenty. It's not that easy to put 'bite' into 'mellow' - here he does just that. Let's not forget a sense of humor, which inhabits some of the songs - always portrayed with a quiet, confident touch.

Here, his voice doesn't come off nearly so reedy as later on in his career; nor is there even a twinge of his later, more lukewarm and self-absorbed, almost jaded sound. At this early stage, everything was dovetailing together quite nicely. If you don't mind the understatement, it's very elegantly, and eloquently done.

I had never heard of James Taylor until a guy I dated in 1970-71 turned me on to him. I shall be forever indebted to him for that! I played the LP so often that I practically wore out the grooves! "Something in the Way She Moves", "Rainy Day Man" and "Something's Wrong" are probably my favorite cuts, but I like them all.I have used this album for almost 30 years to mellow-out and it still works for me! If you listen to this and like it, you also need to hear "Sweet Baby James" and "Mudslide Slim", but this first James Taylor album (the first artist to record on the Apple label other than the Beatles and produced by Peter Asher) is the perfect adition to any collection of 60's music as well as a great starting point for any new James Taylor fan.Buy it, listen to it and you'll love it!