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For the follow up to his classic SWEET BABY JAMES, which rivals TAPESTRY's place in the boomer canon, archetypal sensitive singer-songwriter Taylor wisely elected not to stray too far from the approach that had worked so well on his previous album. He covers another Carole King tune ("You've Got A Friend,") perfects the L.A. folk-rock sound he inaugurated on his earlier work, courtesy of studio hotshots like Russ Kunkel, Danny Kootch and Leland Sklar, whose names are virtually synonymous with Taylor's '70s work. One of the most memorable tunes here, "Hey Mister That's Me Up On the Jukebox" is one of the more effective songs to bemoan the plight of the lonely balladeer, evidence that Taylor mined the introspective troubadour style long before it became a mawkish sham. In other words, don't blame the father for the sins of the wayward sons.
Live Recording
Unknown Contributor Role: Russ Kunkel.
Personnel: James Taylor (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, background vocals); Danny Kortchmar (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, congas); John Hartford (banjo); Richard Greene (fiddle); Kevin Kelly (accordion, piano); Andrew Love (saxophone, horns); Wayne Jackson (trumpet, horns); The Memphis Horns (horns); Carole King (piano, background vocals); Leland Sklar (bass instrument); Russ Kunkel (drums, congas, cymbals, tambourine, bells); Peter Asher (tambourine, background vocals); Gail Haness, Joni Mitchell, Kate Taylor, Gale Harness (background vocals).
Recording information: Crystal Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA (01/03/1971-02/28/1971).
Rolling Stone (6/24/71, p.42) - "...MUD SLIDE SLIM broods about James Taylor, songster and runaway phenomenon, and expresses his ambivalence and impotence in the face of it all..." Rolling Stone (9/30/71, p.42) - "...it is a natural progression past SWEET BABY JAMES. James Taylor's emotional power derives precisely from his restraint, the absence of any form of affectation or pretension..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Bringing all of his past experiences and failings to bear, the album was almost cathartic but retained the urge to roam and to escape his problems."
Customer Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon Reviews
Average Rating: (4.8 out of 5 stars)
James Taylor's BEST This is the album everyone who loves James Taylor should own. This is the album that people who sort of like James Taylor should own! I would not call myself a Taylor groupie, but this is his best. It is upbeat, sing-along songs. It's got Joni Mitchell singing background. And it contains my favorite Taylor song, (no not "You've Got a Friend"--but that is the second track)"Mudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon." Great lyrics, guitar work and percussion. 5 stars!! :) Submitted by pwallesv (Iron Ridge, WI, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
CD Copy The music is classic James Taylor, but the copy is really poor. The sound is recorded way too low and is muffled Submitted by cl_burnett (Phoenix, AZ) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
Five stars for this Album!
I liked every single song, which is
unusual for a CD. Submitted by jhacker (Cheshire, Or, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
quintisential James I was fortunate to see the James Taylor / Carol King tour in 1971, and now have tix for the upcoming concert. THe three of have have grown older but the music is still relevant. Acoustic rock (much missed in 2010) is alive and well on Mud Slide Slim. Carol, Joni Russ and the gang are present. A must have for your i pod or whatever. Submitted by prmsusan (glendale az) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Great Album, Disappointing Sonics I assume that only an audiophile would buy this Japanese import CD and assume that the reader knows what a great album this is. The US release on CD isn't good at all, sonically. I had hoped that the Japanese version would be better -- Japanese CDs often are -- but this one is only marginally better than the US release. For me, the bottom line is that this isn't really worth the premium price. I wish they'd get around to remastering this excellent album. It wasn't the best recorded album in the first place, but I'm sure it can sound better than this on CD.
I have rated **** because this is just a great album, but not gone to five stars because the sonics are so-so and imho not worth the premium price.
The recent vinyl reissue of Sweet Baby James is superb and not to be missed. The reissue of this album is due to be released soon. I await it for best sonics on this album. Submitted by jfbaxley (Summit, NJ) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 2 of 2 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
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Great Album, Disappointing Sonics
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