Product Description
Titles are: Copperline
* Country Road
* Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
* Fire and Rain
* Mexico
* Millworker
* Shower the People
* Steamroller
* Sweet Baby James
* Walking Man
* You've Got a Friend
* Your Smiling Face. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Coffee house music
New Best of James Taylor for Guitar (Easy Tab Deluxe)

Great songs...classic. easy listening, pop. All the hits you wanted from JT with a few hits beyond the Sweet Baby James era. If you ever want to play guitar at a coffee shop, you need this book

Fabulous Easy Guitar Songbook!
I have been playing guitar for about a year and a half and this book has been very enjoyable and easy to follow.I love James Taylor and never thought I'd be able to play any of his songs.This book has made it possible.I highly recommend it.It isn't a beginner book but with just a little experience, it is easy to use.

great gift
this was a great gift for the young guitar player who loves this singer songwriter.

Wonderful for a Fan.
I just adore sheet music and no sheet music is complete without a title from a favorite artist is it? I gave this gift lovingly to my mother, who really enjoys his music. There is something very powerful in his lyrics andmusic. The lyrics transcend generations. When Taylor says in "Fire andRain," "I've seen sunny days that I thought would neverend," we don't know if he was overjoyed at the warmth of the day or ifhe was mad at the world and he didn't want it to be a happy place. Eitherway, it's brilliant. Don't take my word. See for yourself. ... Read more

Product Description
From his Beatles-sponsored debut in 1968 to his Grammy-winning Hourglass album of 1997, James Taylor has been universally acclaimed as a songwriter of exceptional eloquence and emotional power. Dispelling myth and rumor, Long Ago and Far Away examines the roots of Taylor s mental anguish and his recurring bouts with heroin and alcohol. This is an epic family history, an exploration of the real stories behind Fire and Rain and the rest of the songs, as well as a frank account of Taylor s days on the Apple record label, the financial disaster of his Greatest Hits album deal and the deaths and divorces that have haunted his life. In this major biography, Timothy White explores both the career and the troubled personal journey of the legendary singer-songwriter.No writer interviewed James Taylor and his family in greater depth over the decades than the late Timothy White, former editor-in-chief of Billboard, and author of the international best-seller Catch A Fire: The Life of Bob Marley. This new edition has been updated by his friend and former Rolling Stone comrade Mitch Glazer and includes an epilogue about the memorial concerts for Timothy that James Taylor helped organize. SELLING POINTS: Rich with insights from Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, Sting, DannyKootchKortchmar, the entire Taylor family and many other key figures around James Taylor and his music. Original editions sold over ***** copies worldwide! (17,000 N America) Includes many previously unpublished photos and an extensive discography and bibliography. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Interesting read on a music icon.
Yes the book begins with a lot on family history. I found it difficult to get into at first, but the more I read into the history of James Taylor's ancestors, I was beginning to see why this was so important, as James comes from a long line of great men. I did find that the written expression was a little wishy washy to begin with, but it's not too difficult to decipher, so don't let that put you off. I recently wrote a university assignment on the depths of creativity within music and thought James was a prime example. I referenced this book a few times as I found it useful in my study. But this being said, I did find it a very interesting read on a great music icon and would recommend anyone who follows James Taylor's music to get a hold of this book. I do wish there was more on his personal life, but I don't think this was White's intention.

Better said in half the pages
Could have saved a lot of trees. The family tree, going back to the 1700's had two pages of interest. Every time the author wrote a personal, intimate insite he regressed by writing two chapters of name dropping history.
Total disappointment and a huge yawn.

Too long ago, too far away and far too long
It's not enough to state that JT is a complex character and a troubled soul, and then illustrate it with long chapter's of his family's history, or pages and pages about other people who don't really matter in the story and who aren't brought to life either...

I expected to read about James himself, instead of some spare fact-like sentences on his personal life in the form of: 'and then he married Carly', 'they grew apart and divorced' 'by that time he was really addicted' 'he decided to give up his addiction' in beween long long pages of dull facts about who produced what and what they had produced before, and who had been playing with who before and who they were going to play with after...

I learned more about James Taylor through Sheila Weller's "Girls Like Us," her biography of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon than I did through this biography...

Although I've skipped many a page... I'd still like the time back that I spent on those I've actually managed to read...

On second reading, much less satisfied...
This book was completed shortly before author Timothy White died--much too young, at fifty--of a heart attack.I now wonder whether he'd really finished it, or whether this book was just sent into print anyway.There are a lot of loose ends in this book, which were explained to me in Sheila Weller's first-rate "Girls Like Us," a triple biography of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon.Weller and Simon say that Taylor family matriarch Trudy Taylor would not allow White to speak to JT's first wife, and consequently she came off as "neutral to negative" in this book.His strong-willed second wife, Kathryn Walker, was painted in glowing terms; they since have divorced and JT remarried.

I would suggest reading this book along with "Girls Like Us" for much more fully developed picture of an extremely complex man.Weller thrives on writing about relationships as well as musicianship.Her book has many details on JT's siblings, children, and fellow musicians.White tended to be more of a terse guy-guy writer.He loved to get the back story going back generations, as he did most successfully with the Wilson family members on his group bio of The Beach Boys, "The Nearest Faraway Place."So if you're not really interested in Taylor's seafarin' family, this book may not satisfy fully.Although you'll understand perfectly, after reading the tale of Dr. Isaac Taylor's lengthy missions in Antarctica that kept him away from his young family for many months at a time, how JT could come to write "The Frozen Man," in my opinion, his best song.

james taylor
although the first few chapters about family history are lengthy and tough: this is thé reference book about james taylor; family facts are the red threads throughout the book; many detailed facts; unfortunately still not enough interviews with james himself, but that probably always will be a problem; ... Read more

Product Description
Titles are: Line 'Em Up * Enough to Be On Your Way * Little More Time with you * Gaia * Ananas * Jump Up Behind Me * Another Day * Up Er Mei * Up from Your Life * Yellow and Rose * Boatman * Walking My Baby Back Home, plus the arrangement of the album's hidden track. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (69)

very nice recording of nice songs
Top notch audio quality on this studio album. Very enjoyable.Typical JT, very pleasant but nothing out of the ordinary in terms of song writing at first listen.

James' Last Truly Creative CD
This album is full of James' own songs.He shares his own insights into society, religion, even some scientific strands current today.

Such a Pleasant Surprise
With a lifelong appreciation for JT, there was some anticipation when I unwrapped this CD and played it for the first time. Once again, James has combined terrific lyrics, his trademark acoustic guitar playing, and masterful recordings. Together, this makes "Hourglass" a real pleasure to listen to, over and over again!

A 4 star album with a couple of 5 star songs
This is a calm James Taylor album perfect for a late afternoon and an orange sunset. Not like Taylor's older rock albums, it has a more modern feeling, maybe slightly western but by no means country. Being a different kind of James Taylor it will appeal to a different kind of listener, sort of like the difference "Surprise" offers from most of Paul Simon's other work. Good, just a slightly different feel.

On here alot of the songs sound the same, that is except for the first track "Line 'Em Up" which I think is one of the all time best James Taylor songs. You remember how "Your Smiling Face" was jus a complete hit all the way around from the beginning? Well this is like that. From the first note you know that its well written and equally well sung. After this early climax there seems to be alot of filler kind of material with slow ballads such as "Gaia" and "Enough To Be On Your Way". "Jump Up Behind Me" is the next thing close to a 5 star song. A warm and well paced beat paired with Taylor's sultry vocals. "Another Day" stands out among all of the other slow songs. Slow at the beginning, but the it picks up slightly. This album ends on a nice note with "Boatman" and an old tune Taylor turned into gold caled "Walking My Baby Back Home". If you hang on long enough you will hear bonus track 13 which holds no particular intrigue. Just a sporadic little western blues jam Taylor might have put together at the last minute. Its kind of silly, but sung well.

This is a 4 star James Taylor album with a couple of 5 star songs on it. The rest are a little bland. I wouldn't recomend it to those unfamiliar with Taylor's work just as I wouldn't tell some one about Paul Simon and then hand them a copy of "Surprise". But if you like James Taylor, its worth a try.

JT Hourglass
The award winning album is probably one of the top 5 JT albums out there (amongst Mud Slide Slim, October Road, Gorilla and Sweet Baby James).

I use this CD personally for sound quality car audio competitions, as the quality is absolutely amazing (plus JT is my fav music artist).By far one of his best recorded albums along with October Road. ... Read more

Product Description
This anthology captures the artistic essence of the legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor. Twenty great songs including: Bittersweet
* Carolina in My Mind
* Country Road
* Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
* Fire and Rain
* How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
* Mexico
* Shower the People
* Something in the Way She Moves
* Sweet Baby James
* Walking Man
* You've Got a Friend and many more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

How do I love these books?Let me count the ways
I'm an intermediate guitarist and this book is just perfect for me, not playable by sight, but not an excessive amount of work is going to be required ahead to get each song, either.Maybe four to six weeks per song of work will get me there, so the book is going to give me a year of pleasure learning and years beyond that.It's a relief not to only play a limited version of these song based on just chords...on the other hand, if that's all you wanted to do, the chords are named above the staff, too, so you could do just that with this book and have the right chords, not the sometimes mistaken ones you find on-line.These fingerstyle songs are all played in open position, sometimes with a capo.

The tabs are complete, as far as I can see (I have MP3s of all these songs and followed along each one before digging in to learning), and if there's anything missing it's unimportant. (This book also offers a second electric guitar part once and a second acoustic track a couple times, typically in the coda.)

What I'm finding enjoyable, playing my way through early on, is that already I'm getting JT's signature fills--seeing them written out and playing them is giving me an "aha" moment there--and something to do in my own arrangements of other songs and my own songs.

This is the second as-recorded book I've used (the other, the general Clapton, also offered me a bunch of "aha" moments. (As in "aha, there are four guitars playing at once?No wonder it sounds so difficult!")

Kudos to these transcribers (this one is Colgan Bryan) who do a great job and must earn their salaries for this time-consuming work.

A couple of the negative comments here are "huh?" producers for me.No shock that a song written by someone else wouldn't be in here--it's a rights issue.They got rights from Taylor for his own songs.Neither is "Up on the Roof" in here--another Carole King penned song nor is Handy Man (Jones and Blackwell). What's in here is terrific.As for the review saying there are no tabs in this--that's just plain wrong.There are, tabs and standard notation for both the guitar part(s) and standard notations for the vocals.Someone must have ordered the wrong book.

If I could wish for just one more thing in this book, it would be one-paragraph intros by the transcriber about technique. For instance, JT's using his first finger to strum at points, and there's specific info in the tabs about up and down strokes, and I'd like to know without going to youtube if he's using his finger, his fingernail, or a fingerpick.I'll figure out my own way, but it'd be interesting and useful to know how JT did it.

Highly Recommended!
If you play fingerstyle steel acoustic and fancy JT - this is the best tab book out there.I have owned this fine book for almost a year and have worn out such greats as "Long ago and Far Away".If you really practice and don't quit you will sound just like JT. (Singing is another matter) It's just magic! Tab is correctly "Capo-relative".

(Warning!!! Those other JT song books tab actual frets as if the capo were invisible and are not worth the trouble! Imagine having to play hundreds of notes tabbed "3" for example.But like most of JT's compositions, he uses the capo.So if a particular song requires the Capo 3rd fret, every time you see a tab "3", you will have to make the mental subtraction (3 minus 3 = 0) It's only natural to want to play an open string when you see the "0".But when you see "3", you instinctively want to finger the 3rd fret. Very confusing. I have no idea why they would make such a huge error in such a large music publishing company. I have dozens and dozens of tab books, Beatles to Led Zep and trust me, they are all done correctly in Capo-Relative.)

Again, this book is absolutely correct and a joy to play. I highly recommend it.

Not guitar tab
The book is fine, but many of the reviews on this site refer to guitar tab.There is no tab in this book.Look closely at the cover.It says piano/vocal.It is strictly piano/vocal performance.Despite the reviews, if you are looking for tab, this book is not for you.

Excellent Guitar Tabs
This book is helpful because it has excellent guitar tabulation.Often I find tabulation coming across too complicated or too simplistic.This one gave the right amount of information to play the songs correctly and not over-burden me with too much technical stuff.Also, a very nice group of James Taylor songs!

If you are a JT fan, you must get this
First of all, you can't be too disappointed about whether You've Got A Friend is included in this book or not. It was originally written by Carol King. JT also is a songwriter/singer. It makes sense that the Best of James Taylor should include his own compositions. If you want You've Got A Friend, you should look at this book called Acoustic Guitar Bible. It has a great collection ofacoustic songs(recorded version) that are accurate and the book is relatively cheap. ... Read more

Product Description
Many musicians sing about heartache, despair, andconfusion, but few have experienced those feelings more intensely thanJames Taylor, who rose from a childhood of privilege as the son of anaffluent medical school dean to become a modern-day troubadour and popsuperstar.

When he was seventeen years old, his demons led him to a Massachusettsmental institution where he confronted them the only way he knew how,by writing his first songs. Thirty years later, Taylor's songs areamong the most popular in the annals of music, but the demons arestill with him.

But unlike many of his contemporaries who faced a similar struggle,Taylor managed to emerge as an inspirational figure. Fire and Raintraces this remarkable path, including his troubled marriage to popstar Carly Simon and the premature alcoholism-related death of hisbrother: Taylor's ten-month stay in the exclusive private psychiatricinstitution where he finished high school; His self-imposed exile toEngland where he submitted some of his music to the Beatles' AppleRecords, which signed him to his first record contract in 1968. PaulMcCartney mentored Taylor's early career; The story behind his secondalbum, Sweet Baby James, which contained the song "Fire and Rain"about the hopelessness of mental illness and suicide; As Taylor's fameincreased, so did his problems with heroin, alcohol, and mentalillness. In the seventies, the singer nearly fell over the edge manytimes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (93)

Fire and Rain Creates Mud
I so very much wanted to like this book. When reading biographies of contemporary persons, I try to remember to take what I find with a grain of salt and be generous of the author's minor misconceptions and mistakes.For one, we have individuals writing bios who are trained as journalists. Stylistically, there is a conflict. Journalists opine, write tight paragraphs out of necessity, and do not have time or space to develop a narrative.

Biographies need a narrative treatment. It's a form which needs to retell and recreate conversations and situations. Details are everything. When I see writer X of Such and Thus Magazine authoring a biography, I understand what I am getting myself into.

My patience is waning.

"Fire and Rain" has some documentation. There is some worthy content. We learn a few new details. All good.However, I cringe every few pages over grammatical sloppiness. The greater crime is a lack of fact-checking. It causes one to question the author and publisher's motives. Do we get this thing written, ship product out, and accept the shortcomings for the cash?Don't publishers employ editors anymore? Mean, picky editors who force accountability and some conformity to basic standards?

I'll offer an example of this miserable lack of fact-checking.

On page 124, the author is discussing the anticipation surrounding Taylor's follow-up record to his first release, Sweet Baby James.Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon made a huge impression. Sophomore albums usually sell fewer units than first releases, and that is an accepted pattern in the record business. I run into problems in the following sentence from paragraph three.

"Solo artists like Jackson Browne and Cat Stevens were enjoying much-publicized revivals, so it wasn't difficult to predict that Taylor's new album would see massive media exposure."

The problem is this. Although Cat Stephen's 1971 release, Teaser and the Fire Cat was his fifth album, he had not yet taken off in the United States.The two singles from the first three albums reached chart positions of 118 and 115. He did much better in the UK. In 1970, Wild World was 11.This is a pattern of an artist riding up in a nice arch. Teaser was the evidence of Stevens arrival, not, as the author states, a revival.

As for Jackson Browne, the author is egregiously wrong. In 1971, Browne released his *first* album, the eponymous Jackson Browne, fondly referred, to his initial chagrin, as Saturate Before Using. It was a much anticipated release in the industry from the man who had composed hits for other artists.

Borrow the book from the library or go to BookMooch as I did, where folks trade books. But keep the laptop handy because you'll find yourself wanting to confirm certain details.

Terribly written, dull, and not proof-read
This was a terribly written book with countless spelling, grammar, tense, and common sense mistakes.There were even words missing from sentences.Clearly no one edited or even proofread this disaster.

I learned very little about JT that I didn't already know, despite reading all 261 pages.Thankfully, I borrowed it from the public library and didn't waste a cent on this book.

And by the way, I rarely give reviews this negative.But I felt like I needed to warn people before they spent any money on this book.

Blah Blah Blah
I was really curious about this one, and buying it, I thought... "Wow. I've always been Curious about him." Well, this book gives you a few answers, but for the most part it's a boring look at an obviously exciting and dramatic life story. And what is up with Halperin's ridiculous over-use of "Taylor" to describe James. It's almost as if he has no real variance in his writing style. I would also wager that there are quotes attributed to Taylor that weren't actually uttered, such as this gem... "It's time for me to express myself with my music now." I mean, come on...Who Says That? No one. Sorry Halperin. Stick to covering Dead Grunge rockers,'cause that's really your forte. Useless Claptrap, and a waste of American Dollareedoos. For Shaaaaame!

A Bit Too Reverential
Though there is plenty here about Taylor's well known drug addiction and his tempestuous marriage to Carly Simon, this rock bio still comes off as too fawning. It would have benefited from better sources. Taylor or Simon do not appear to have been interviewed, nor was producer Peter Asher. Instead, we read a lot of boring quotes from fans about how great James Taylor is.

The James Taylor Story? Not!
This book isn't worth the paper it's printed on. I hesitate to even put my two cents in because I don't want to encourage anyone else to buy this trash- even out of morbid curiosity- but- this is the stuff of supermarket tabloids- if you really want to gain insight into the life and work of James Taylor- look elsewhere. Halperin can't write and his "quotes" are so obviously made up this "bio" doesn't even pass the straight face test.I feel like I should apologize to Taylor and his family for even reading it. Absolute trash- don't waste you time and money. ... Read more

Product Description
Includes: Fire and Rain * In My Mind * Night Owl * Mud Slide Slim * You Can Close Your Eyes * You've Got a Friend * Gorilla * Mexico * How Sweet It Is * Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight and many more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

disinformation in advertising
a fine piece of work for the james taylor fan...BUT ...how can anyone call a book complete...when it isn't????There is NOTHING complete about this.My lesson...don't believe anything the marketing gurus set before you!!!If it says complete....it's probably only the beginning fragment of a potential scam.if it says final...don't bet on it!there is more than likely a sequel waiting to be mass marketed next winter shopping season!

Complete Volume One
The music, lyrics, and guitar chord diagrams, for almost 70 songs.Although I do not own all the albums, the book appears to contain all the songs from the albums "James Taylor" "Sweet Baby James" "Mud Slide Jim" "Gorilla" "One Man Dog" and "Walking Man."A must-own for the JT fan.

The not-so-Complete JT
I was disappointed. More at what was not in the book than what was in it. This book only covers a few of his many albums. I have no complaints about the music that is in there but I had higher expectations when it said JT complete. I missed the "Vol. 1" hidden down by the ISBN #. Which is my own fault. This is Not James Taylor Complete. This is James Taylor Vol. #1!

An Absolute Must for guitar
I taught myself to play guitar over ten years ago.After learning the basics through a chord dictionary, I bought this book, being the fan I am, and started playing fingerstyle.It was so exciting to me to attempt to play these songs, though frustrating!I look back now at some songs that Ithought I never could play and feel good about the progress I've made.Istill go back to this book today to learn something new or better.If youlike JT and play guitar or piano, you need this book! I then boughtVolume 2 and will purchase the new, Volume 3. ... Read more

Product Description
This folio, from one of the most well-known singer/songwriters in history,features a variety of hits from James Taylor's long career. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

wha??
I bought the book, and the tablature is correct. For instance, on Fire and Rain, the capo is on the 3rd fret, and the first notes are 3 on the 5th string and 7 sliding to 9 on the 3rd string. Ignore where your capo is - since the first note is 3 on the 5th string, it's played open, since the capo is already on the 3rd fret. Easy peasy.

Beware - this is not the tab edition!
Despite what you may think from reading the other reviews, this edition does not include guitar tablature.The one that does has the same cover as this, but has a different ISBN.

Very accurate, but bad tab
The transcriptions in this book are 100% dead on, they play exactly like the CD, which is great if thats what you are looking for.However, they have one huge flaw in them.

Many of the songs use a capo.The tab has the chords in both the key you are playing in, and the relative capo key, which is great.However, the tab is written as if you do not have a capo.

For example,the first chord in "youve got a friend" is an A, but because of the capo at the second fret, you play a G.This would normally give you tab that had a 3 on the lowest string, to play the G note, however, you are really on the 5th fret because of the capo.The tab has a 5, instead of the more intuitive 3.This makes it very difficult to play, because you have to constantly transpose the notes as you are playing.

James Taylor's Greatest Hits
This book of sheet music is ideal for the acoustic guitar player who wants to learn more about the "James Taylor Style" of playing.

Taylor uses many guitar chords in his songs that are not normally seen by theeverage guitar player. Every song in this collection of his early hits hasspecific chord diagrams to help you through the difficult learningprocess.

I have gotten many hours of pure enjoyment from this book andanticipate many years of the same.

If you are a James Taylor fan, thisis a "must buy." You will not regret it! ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of 34 of Taylor's greatest, including: SweetBaby James * Carolina OnMy Mind* Handy Man * Fire And Rain * Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight * more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Flash in the Past
You will love this JT Anthology music book, if you are a serious JT fan...it will bring you many memories of your past and the music never dies.Hey, give it a try, you will be hooked! ... Read more

Product Description
The first difinitive biography of singer-songwriter JamesTaylor, written with the full co-operation of Taylor and his family,numerous friends and musical associates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

Well Meaning, Well Done
Timothy White obviously worked hard on this book. He clearly wanted to put together a well researched, well written book on James Taylor, and he does a fairly good job of achieving his goal.

As others have mentioned, the first quarter of this fairly long book is dedicated to James Taylor's family and background. Fortunately, his family story is quite interesting, and so I didn't mind looking back a few hundred years into the Taylor's roots in Scotland and North Carolina.

White appears to have fairly good contacts with the Taylors themselves, and he interviewed many of the musicians who worked with him over the years. The result is a fairly detailed look at James Taylor's tumultuous and interesting life.

I have to admit that I have some reservations about this book. Somehow I still feel like I don't quite know James Taylor. Having read the book, I can't really say whether he is shy, outgoing, egotistical, caring or insensitive. Interestingly enough, I feel like I could find material in this book to support almost any of those positions.

White knows Taylor's music, and discusses it in great depth and with considerable enthusiasm and skill. But again, I'm not sure that he fully plumbed the depths of the music, nor does he give a complete accounting of Taylor's various strengths and weaknesses. I've loved James Taylor's music since I was a boy, and I've listened to some of his albums over and over again. There are some things that he does as well or better than anyone else, yet I've also been aware of his limitations. In particular, he is a great singer and craftsman, and he has written some of the most beautiful melodies in pop music; and yet his often skillfully written and highly intelligent lyrics are not as deep as those of some of the other great singer-songwriters. I wanted White to wrestle with these inconsistencies and was disappointed that he did not.

If you like biographies of musicians, and you like James Taylor, then you will not be disappointed by this book. Here you can learn many details that help make the songs come alive. Certainly James should be happy with this book, as reading it made me spend a few dollars to fill in the holes in my collection. If you are tempted by the subject matter, by all means buy the book. You will enjoy it.

Nothing About James Taylor A Hermit Wouldn't Know
I concur with all the prior reviews that criticize this book for the lack of insightful, interesting information about James Taylor the Man and the Musician.Virtually nothing new about Taylor, professional or personal, appears throughout the book.Taylor's life is either extremely boring or intensely gaurded by some kind of blood pact with every single one of his past associates.What is certain is the author didn't have the tools to dig deep enough and come up with something sustantial.However, with this book, you will get an extremely detailed and embellished Taylor Family history dating back to 17th century Scotland worthy of the National Archives.The redundant geneology lesson spans nearly 100 pages, including more information on great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, in-laws, and siblings than could possibly be considered relevant or neccesary to the biography of a musician.Unless, that is, you buy into the weak metaphor of James Taylor still plying the ancient trades of his ancestors and voyaging across that timeless ocean that is life, and slurp up some pretty sappy, poetic reviews and subjective interpretations of his songs from the author.Not much else about this book is new or interesting.Indeed, if you put all the James Taylor quotes together, you'd only fill a page or two.Toss in the author's awkward attempt to evoke the mystic qualities of the pioneer Eastern seaboard where Taylor was raised, or the unconvincing "Taylor Curse" of paternal carelessness and addiciton that the author claims haunts the clan, and by the end of the book your patience has been thoroughly tested.Perhaps you may find this book informative if you have no clue who people like Danny Kortchmar, Peter Asher, Carole King, and Carly Simon are, or if you had no idea that James Taylor struggled with substance abuse and spent brief periods of his youth in mental wards for depression.Or maybe you missed the detail about Taylor being first appreciated commercially in London and signed to the Beatles' Apple Record label.Any unofficial fan website could provide these details; you don't need to wade through 322 pages.As far I'm concerned, we're all still waiting for the "definitive" bio on James Taylor.It's hard to believe the author has known and been interviewing James Taylor since 1977.The familiarity one would hope for from that relationship is surely amiss in this book.

Geneology and discography, but a biography? Nyeh.
Author Tim White worked his butt off to turn this book into a biography but it is clearly "authorized" and will not do.

Outside of a 100-page 600-year family history that the family itself never cared enough about to investigate, and considerable detail about Taylor's music deals, influences, play dates and venues, the biographical material is scarce and overly-vetted, perhaps by Taylor himself who certainly did much living he does not want made public.

Plenty of space is given to Taylor's alcoholic but highly-accomplished father, Ike, and the distance he put between himself and his long-suffering wife and children. The emotional agony he caused his family, for there is no other word for the consequences of his illness and personality, is laid out bloodlessly and at a remove, so while we can "guess" what might have gone one, it is never spelled out. One can almost hear James Taylor okaying the allusions but crossing out the specifics.

The same applies to Taylor himself and his years of alcohol and drug abuse, which must have produced a miserable life for those connected with him. There is little meat to the discussions of his two lengthy marriages, either, which also were fraught with his heroin, methamphetamine and alcohol addiction and emotional abandonment.

James Taylor is a very gifted artist who was married to two artists, the son of gifted parents, thebrother of several musicians, the father of two more and the lover of several others. This book had the potential to be a richly-layered analysis of how love, art, joy, duty, ruin, passion, sin and guilt have woven themselves in and out of this family's lives.

But it is not.

His wives and lovers, for instance, are given extremely short shrift. Being married to James Taylor could not have been a picnic.There is a feeling here that both of his first two wives -- Carly Simon and actress Kathryn Walker -- must have yearned as mightily for a deeper emotional connection to this man they loved, just as the reader yearns to understand what the hell was going on here and how they all traversed the stormy seas of Taylor's personality - and why they bothered.

There is no mention at all, as far as I could find, of Joni Mitchell, with whom Taylor had an affair so intense that she devoted two albums ("Blue" and "For the Roses") to its exegesis, nor of the other affairs that lit up or littered his marriages and his life. Other losses -- the sad death of his father and brother, the divorces, deaths of friends, difficulty with intimacy -- are narrated carefully and truthfully, it would seem, but again, with no detail and at a considerable remove.

The ghost of James Taylor is here, but the body has been carted away. He insists his music is not autiobiographical, and since his biography is not biographical, Taylor continues to be the mystery he apparently wants to remain. I have no objection to that, but it is nothing to write home about.zzz-zzz-zzz

Like reading an encyclopedia
If you want to know everything in the world about JT's music history, including practically every person he ever shook hands with, read this.If you're looking for something to put you to sleep at night, read it.If you're looking for a good, readable biography, skip it.

What about James?
A very in-depth book, however if you're really interested in details about James Taylor's thoughts, reasonings, actions or detailed accounts surrounding his career, you won't find a ton of it hear.The book is over 300 pages but you could probably knock it down to about 50 pages that actually talk about James.Perhaps the author just couldn't get enough out of the private james taylor.Instead of finding out what went on in the early days with respect to his career, music and interpersonal relationships, we get pages and pages of family history and backgrounds of other people or events.The author gives more information about his friends than about james.Just when you think you're getting to a portion in the book that's revealing, the author sums it up in a page.We hear about his songs including vocals by other artists like Jimmy Buffet or Keith Richards - why not expand on thier relationship a bit?He was married to Carly Simon for many years but not much is learned about their life together and the effects they had on each other.

All of this said, the details on the family history and make up does help put a frame around his life.Just don't think you're going to come away with a lot of interesting tales about his thoughts or actions other than some descriptions as to what the songs meant and brief descriptions of certain periods of time.

If I wasn't such a huge fan I never would have finished it. ... Read more

Product Description
We present James Taylor as he brings his timeless sound to the 21st century with "October Road". This album-matching folio contains arrangements to all of the "October Road" songs, plus two pages of exclusive photographs. Titles are: "Baby Buffalo", "Belfast to Boston", "Caroline I See You", "Carry Me On My Way", "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "Mean Old Man", "My Traveling Star", "October Road", "On The 4th of July", "Raised Up Family", "September Grass", and "Whenever You're Ready". ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: Toronto : China Inland MissionSubjects: China Inland MissionMissionaries -- China BiographyMissions -- ChinaNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
This exhaustive reference work offers just about everything a serious fan could want to know about singer-songwriter James Taylor. It's chock full of just about every bit of Taylor trivia you could imagine, including biographical details, song origins, discographies, and concert set lists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

james taylor
although much of the contents appear also in the james taylor biography (written by timothy white) it is still a funny little collector's item also with references for e.g. albums by musicians appearing on james's albums ... Read more

Product Description
The Kindle edition of J. Hudson Taylor's classic work (also called "A Retrospect"). Taylor is considered one of the greatest missionaries to serve China; he spent 51 years in the country and is responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries into the country, who, in turned began 125 schools and directly resulted in the conversion of 18,000 people to Christianity. Taylor was known for his sensitivity to Chinese culture and zeal for evangelism. He adopted wearing native Chinese clothing even though this was rare among missionaries of that time.

If you enjoyed this book, look for others in the "Great Lives Series." ... Read more

Product Description
Union And Communion - or Thoughts on the Song of Solomon is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by James Hudson Taylor is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of James Hudson Taylor then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
A hundred years after William James delivered the celebrated lectures that became The Varieties of Religious Experience, one of the foremost thinkers in the English-speaking world returns to the questions posed in James's masterpiece to clarify the circumstances and conditions of religion in our day. An elegant mix of the philosophy and sociology of religion, Charles Taylor's powerful book maintains a clear perspective on James's work in its historical and cultural contexts, while casting a new and revealing light upon the present. Lucid, readable, and dense with ideas that promise to transform current debates about religion and secularism, Varieties of Religion Today is much more than a revisiting of James's classic. Rather, it places James's analysis of religious experience and the dilemmas of doubt and belief in an unfamiliar but illuminating context, namely the social horizon in which questions of religion come to be presented to individuals in the first place.Taylor begins with questions about the way in which James conceives his subject, and shows how these questions arise out of different ways of understanding religion that confronted one another in James's time and continue to do so today. Evaluating James's treatment of the ethics of belief, he goes on to develop an innovative and provocative reading of the public and cultural conditions in which questions of belief or unbelief are perceived to be individual questions. What emerges is a remarkable and penetrating view of the relation between religion and social order and, ultimately, of what "religion" means. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not much of a stylist
For style and clarity, Taylor is no match for William James. I would advise anyone who hasn't read James yet to get a copy from their local library. Update? Hardly. James is the deeper thinker and a far better writer.

Charles Taylor and William James
Charles Taylor's "Varieties of Religion Today," is a superb reflection on the importance of William James' commentary on religion a century ago. In a precise, brief, and resonant book, Taylor conveys a vivid sense of James' insights, yet provides a valuable critique of his "Varieties of Religious Experience" and "Will to Believe,"for the contemporary reader.In addition to being a incisive essay in its own right, "Varieties of Religion Today"
is a useful introduction to several of Taylor's other books and principal concerns as a philosopher, includingon the ethics of belief.I have already read the book three times, and look forward to returning to it, as each reading reveals another level of understanding and insight into the state of religion and secularism in the U.S. particulary and other Western nations.A virtue of the book for this reader, who isn't a philosopher, is the clarity of language and lack of professional jargon.

Varieties of Reading Experience
This book is a fascinating, thought-provoking meditation on religious issues related to William James' classic work. Taylor's take on religious developments in Western Europe/North America is fascinating and enlightening in several senses of the word. And while truly respectful of William James and his insights, Taylor is no cheerleader and convincingly discusses a number of James' key blind spots along with their probable sources. The book's brevity and readability belies the punch it packs.
The one glaring imperfection is the pedantic and pretentious refusal to translate French quotations, some of which seem like they're probably quite important. Too bad, I'll never know for sure.

A reflection on religious belief and the state
This book is a collection of a series of lectures Charles Taylor gave reflecting on the legacy of William James.In thinking about James' work, Taylor reflects on the tensions between private religous experience and public religious expression; the problem of belief and unbelief; and the implications our religious beliefs have for our political organization.It is almost impossible to do justice to the richness of Taylor's thought in a short review.

Taylor's first task is to situate James within his own religious context.James inherited the strand of religious belief that was quintessentially Protestant -- with an emphasis on private feeling as against public expression.For James, the ultimate religious experience is private and fundamentally individual.This precludes James from fully grasping the types of religious expression that are more communally-based.

Taylor's second task is to reflect on James personal struggle with the question of belief and unbelief.In James' day a strong argument was being made that religious belief is intellectually dishonest.Taylor offers a good summary of James' defense of belief as a viable choice.

Finally, Taylor integrates James' thought with the question of how our religious belief interacts with our political structures.Taylor offers an invaluable historical narrative of the variety of relationships between religion and state that we have seen in the past.In doing so, he makes our current dilemmas much clearer.We are moving from a country that has a broad consensus in some sort of belief, but which allows individuals to join whatever church best gives expression to that experience, to a country in which there is no such broad consensus.If there is no shared understanding of the sacred, we are forced to ground our political structures in the purely human.It is not yet clear whether the new project will succeed, but in his reflections on the tensions between belief and unbelief and their relationship to our political organization, Taylor can only enhance our discussions as we move forward into this virgin territory.

Taylor's book does presume that the reader has a fairly sophisticated historical sense.And he often makes reference to the situation in France, which can be a bit opaque to those who lack a basic familiarity with French culture.Indeed, he often quotes from French writers without offering a translation.Still, the book offers valuable insights, even to those without the background to fully grasp everything he writes. ... Read more

Product Description
Sweet Baby James * Traffic Man * Handy Man * Your Smiling Face * Secret O' Life * Shed a Little Light * Everybody Has the Blues * Steamroller Blues * Mexico * Millworker * Country Road * Fire and Rain * Shower the People * How Sweet It Is * New Hymn * Walking Man Riding on a Railroad * Something in the Way She Moves * Sun on the Moon * Up on the Roof * Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight * She Thinks I Still Care * Copperline * Slap Leather * Only One * You Make It Easy * Carolina in My Mind * I Will Follow * You've Got a Friend * That Lonesome Road. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great resource from a great artist.
Pretty new here at my house, but the possibility for both the intermediate as well as the pro, to get the grasp on these songs, are here within range. I bought the video as well. I have to admit that I'm seriously biased in this review, since I've listened to this artist since I was a small kid, always loving his smooth and soulful presentation of whatever material he performs. If you want to learn some great material, as well as getting some really nice guitar approaches to them, get this! He's truly a wonderful artist.

Best "how to" guitar book I've seen!
This "how to" book, which lays out the musical notation, tabulature, and lyrics for the James Taylor (Live)CD, is incredibly useful for the vocalist or guitar player who is experienced, but does not have the ability to sing and play without written support. Perfect for guitar players who either can read music or tabs to play. It's good, very good, and provides a great opportunity to sing and play along with the James Taylor (Live)two disc CD. I highly recommend this top quality, 148 page songbook for guitar and voice teachers and students alike. Thirty-three songs.

Not even close to the original score
Don't buy this if you want the actual transcription of the performance. It isn't even close. If all you need are the guitar chords, the basic melody notes, and a dumbed-down piano score, then this will suit.

A must have for Guitar Players and James Taylor fans.
As a longtime James Taylor fan, this book was exactly what I had beenlooking for. It is the companion to JT's LIVE album of a couple of yearsago. It contains complete sheet music as well as guitar chord blocks forthose of us that don't read music.The songs covered in the book are avery good cross section of JT's hits. They are ( in order )

Sweet BabyJames Traffic Jam Handy Man Your Smiling Face Secret O' Life Shed a littlelight Everybody has the blues Steamroller Blues Mexico Millworker CountryRoad Fire And Rain Shower the People How Sweet it is New Hymn Walking ManRiding on a Railroad Something in the way she moves Sun on the moon Up onthe roof Don't let me be lonely tonight She thinks I still care CopperlineSlap Leather Only One You make it easy Carolina in my Mind I will FollowYou've got a friend That Lonesome Road

Along with all the great sheetmusic, there are several pages of pictures from the live tour.As you canguess, I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description

This volume offers an exploration of successful organizational change -- through the use of a purposeful, product-oriented vision shared by all members. It stresses the four pillars of sociotechnical methodology -- systems, power, product, and purpose. For business managers, sociologists, and psychologists.

Customer Reviews (2)

Impossible Reading
In my 7 years of post secondary education, I can honestly say this is the worst book I've ever had to read.

Why?

1. The writing style is horiible.You'll have better luck understanding books on the synapticreflexes of sub-Saharan lizards than you will this book.Many sentencesare structured poorly and the authors' choice of words make understandingtheir point very difficult.

2.The Socio-Technical System (STS)described in the book is a complicated methodology to reengineer a company,division, etc.What it really is is a "MOTO" method - a MasterOf The Obvious method.This is not to say that book doesn't have many goodpoints about reengineering a system, it does.However, it complicatesreasonable methods into an overall complex system that obscures theirvalue.

3.In practical terms, the STS system described in this book isimpossible to implement. Afterall, have you ever heard of STS before?Ofcourse not... because it's not used in practice.

4.It's expensive, veryexpensive.

If you are hoping to learn more about reengineering, I wouldrecommend another book.As much as I'd like to be able to offer one, Icannot, sorry.

If you have to read this for a college class, make sureyou have plenty of time set aside since it will take you longer than youthink.

Outstanding for organizational redesign and design.
This represents a one of a kind. Socio-Technical Systems has been around for a long time but never a better read if you are really interested in designing for performance. Taylor and Felten have a proven track record andhave done a great job with a difficult subject. They take you through theprocess of design step by step with a case study of examples. It's focus onsystems thinking and defining organizations as a living system helps usredefine our view of organizational life. For organizational developmentand trainingpractitioners this book is a must read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Found an Ancestor
This book was awesome!It has an entire section about three ancestors of mine with fascinating stories.The quality was exactly what it was said to be and the service was excellent.This has become a treasured book in my collection.

Second Edition
The book is a good history of the St. Croix River that is now the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.The book was originally written in 1964/5 and this version is only updated in the introduction so the history ends before Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Dunn does give a thorough history of the river prior to 1965.The book is a good read especially if you are from the Minnesota Wisconsin area. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (26)

Necessary
In this "spew thee out of My mouth" church age, we don't know what we don't know.Point out to me one Christian today whose LIFE is a testimony as was George Mueller and Hudson Taylor's.If you desire to be mentored by one who knows Christ in that their life was Christ--rather than live "darkly" in today's Laodicean church age--then come out of the collage and into God's vision for His children through the testimony in this book.If you miss this, you may wander on in the wilderness for years unnecessarily.This book is 100% Walk, not theology.

Excellent model for ministry with family and faith.
As a married minister with children, I often wrestle with how much my family should sacrifice for the good of others.I have heard horror stories of preachers' kids leaving the faith because they resented church, and felt as if they missed out on much that life offers.I want to please my Lord with all of my being, but could my zeal hurt them instead of help them?Can they learn to love Jesus with all of their being without having all this world offers?

Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret was a huge boost to what a married man with children can accomplish by faith.He did not have everyone's support, but he unquestionably had the Lord's.His zeal, passion, and faith led to revolutionary efforts spreading the gospel in China.The work met with much hardships and heartaches.Yet, he had what mattered most -- peace.He did not have that at the beginning of his work.Through time, he came to know God's peace that passes all understanding.He lost some of his children while doing the Lord's work.He lost his first wife at a young age.He had to send his older children back to England for educational purposes.Taylor endured a lot of silence from supporters in England when he craved moral support.Yet, through it al, he possessed the peace that only the Lord can give.

When Hudson and his wife lost their child, we do not read that they blamed the work in China and went home.No, you read of an accepting peace, and a determination to stay the course.When his first wife died, she passed on comforted by the promises of God.Through conflict, roadblocks, and other difficulties, faith in God won by far.

Reading this book helped remind me that when you have a genuine love for the Lord, it will infect others.Prayer is powerful, and it is a great tool to help your family and friends.I don't have to accept the advice of some that does not challenge ME to challengemy family.God wants us all in covenant with Him, and He can work out things in His time.In the meantime, we are to pray, laying all our cares before Him, and get out and do His work.God will take care of the rest!Again, this book was a real help to a married minister with children pondering what we are able to do in the kingdom of God.

Matthew 6:33

Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret
I found this to be a very informative book.I was familiar with Hudson Taylor but since I have been reading about Christianity in China I wanted to read more about him.Great faith building book.

love it
one of the most provoking men i have ever read about.although the book is old and some of the language takes some getting used to, the power of God shines through and really left me asking questions and seeking after God and His Kingdom. highly recommended!!! =)

Will enjoy reading
I'm sure I will enjoy reading this great book.Shipping and delivery went well. ... Read more

Product Description
Warner Brothers, record # 1843 StereoDate: December 1969. Side ONE (S39638): 1. Sweet Baby James; 2. Lo And Behold; 3. Sunny Skies; 4. Steamroller; 5. Country Road; 6. Oh, Susanna. Side TWO (S39639): 1. Fire and Rain; 2. Blossom; 3. Anywhere Like Heaven; 4. Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me; 5. Suite For 20 G. Featuring - Danny Kootch on Guitar; Carole King on Piano; Randy Meisner, Bobby West & John London on Bass; Russ Kunkel on Drums; Red Rhodes on Steel Guitar; Chris Darrow on Fiddle; James Taylor on Guitar and Vocal. 33 1/3 RPM - Long Playing ... Read more