James Taylor-Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971)

James Taylor is one of the greatest singer-songwriters in history. His deeply sensitive, acoustic songs have made him one of the most influential artists of all time. His beginnings were quite turbulent; mental health issues stemming from excessive drug use and a rather unpredictable life marked him for the rest of his life. Musically, his beginnings weren't much better. His first two albums from the late sixties had little impact, and it wasn't until the early seventies, with his second album, "Sweet Baby James", that he achieved recognition from both the public and critics. With a style clearly related to folk, in which he practically used no electronic instruments, Taylor gave much more importance to his voice, his poetic and poignant lyrics, his guitar in the foreground, and minimal but effective percussion. Tracks like the understated “Oh Susannah” (a version of Stephen Foster’s 1848 classic) and the brilliant “Fire and Rain” propelled the album to a surprising third place on the US charts. However, this success would be overshadowed the following year with the release of her next album, “Mud Slide and the Blue Horizon”, which featured a small group of musicians including Carole King (who even contributed the hit “You’ve Got a Friend”), Danny Kortchmar, Joni Mitchell, and Leland Sklar. Following the same musical pattern as her previous album, Taylor presented a series of acoustic songs with minimal accompaniment that reached number two on the Billboard charts and a number one single with the aforementioned “You’ve Got a Friend”, in addition to selling two million copies in the US market.