Search - James Taylor :: James Taylor - Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

Mary T. from ROUND ROCK, TX
Reviewed on 8/28/2006...

One of the best by the best.

Good News, Bad News

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 11/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This companion to James Taylor's 1976 Greatest Hits package, which chronicled his Seventies' output for Warner Brothers, is cause for celebration for casual James Taylor fans who have not kept up with his infrequent studio albums since signing with Columbia in 1977--there have only been seven, and they're all represented here.The sixteen songs collected here are presented in chronological order from 1977's J.T. through 1997's Hourglass. The good news is that you get his late Seventies hits "Handy Man" (No. 4, 1977), "Your Smiling Face" (No. 20, 1977), "Up on the Roof" (No. 28, 1979) and his final Top 40 hit "Her Town Too" (No. 11, 1981), a duet with J.D. Souther from the album Dad Loves His Work. You also get most of the key album tracks including three from each of his Nineties albums, New Moon Shine and Hourglass. The bad news? You get only three tracks from his Columbia debut J.T. Okay, maybe that's a personal bias, but it was arguably his best album for Columbia and second only to Sweet Baby James as the best album of his career. It would have been nice to have made room for "Honey Don't Leave L.A.," "Bartender's Blues" or "Traffic Jam." [Did 1985's That's Why I'm Here really need to be represented by four songs? It was not is strongest album, yet it is the most represented on this collection.] The problem was that Taylor's first greatest hits album covered only six years, and Volume 2 tries to cover twenty years with a single disc. When it comes to one of popular music's best singer-songwriters, that's a daunting task. Overall, it succeeds and this will make a welcome addition to your CD collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"

Get Ready for a Lovely Ride

Bob Waskiewicz | Wintersville, Ohio United States | 11/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been waiting years for JT to put out a greatest hits part 2 ,and everyone else on the planet.All the hits are here,from the remakes that James is famous for,"Up on the Roof,Handy Man,"and"EveryDay."The way James Taylor sings these songs,you swear you've never heard them before.JT's own original songs are all here,"Your Smiling Face," about his new born daughter Sally,one of my all time favorites.To his break up with Carly Simon,"Her Town Too," JT's last top twenty hit.I really enjoyed the live recording of "Shed A Little Light." A Tribute to the late Martin Luther King,and the last number,"Enough To Be On Your Way," from JT's Grammy winning Album,"Hourglass."There's a couple of other songs that I wish were on this collection,like"Millworker,Stand and Fight,B.S.U.R.",but I'm very happy with this CD.It will be a huge hit,like The Eagles,and FleetwoodMac's Greatest hits Record.All I have to say is get ready for a Lovely Ride."