James Taylor
Sweet Baby James

THE REVIEW

It's 1970 when the 22-year-old singer-songwriter James Taylor, who returned from England where he worked on his first album with the Beatles' label (Apple), releases his second album: "Sweet Baby James."

It is a singer-songwriter album, with splendid harmonies, endowed with an astonishing simplicity. Introspective lyrics that show us the extraordinary sensitivity of the very young singer-songwriter. Magical notes plucked from the strings of James' guitar caressed by a velvety voice open the album with the wonderful "Sweet Baby James": the life of a solitary cowboy in the hills of the East Coast. Alone with his cattle and the deep green of the landscape where he grazes the cattle, he dreams of women and mugs of beer and sings to brighten his days. Infinite tranquility and sweetness are emanated from the notes of this first track, one of the hits of the album. Taylor’s version of "Oh Susannah" (written by Stephen Foster) presented here in the middle of the album always leaves me speechless, with each listen the sweet notes of the short song touch deep strings of the soul, inevitably leading me to listen again. Simple and moving. "Fire and Rain" is perhaps the most famous song on this album, another unforgettable ballad, about the void left by the suicidal death of 'Susan', known to the author, in a mental health clinic where the very young Taylor was treating his drug addiction...

"Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone...
I've seen fire and I've seen rain,
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end,
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,
But I always thought that I'd see you again...”

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