The Best of James Taylor [2003]

1	Something in the Way She Moves 2:26
2	Sweet Baby James 2:53
3	Fire and Rain 3:25
4	Country Road Single Version 3:31
5	You've Got a Friend 4:30
6	You Can Close Your Eyes 2:31
7	Long Ago and Far Away 2:21
8	Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight 2:36
9	Walking Man 3:34
10	How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) 3:36
11	Mexico 2:59
12	Shower the People 4:32
13	Golden Moments 3:31
14	Steamroller Blues Live 5:06
15	Carolina in My Mind 1976 Version 3:59
16	Handy Man 3:19
17	Your Smiling Face 2:47
18	Up on the Roof 4:21
19	Only a Dream in Rio 5:02
20	Bittersweet 3:44

Barnes & Noble

With James Taylor's 2000 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this updated Best of James Taylor takes on new resonance. Superceding 1976's multi-platinum Greatest Hits package, this 20-song anthology compiles the dozen songs featured on its Warner Bros. predecessor alongside post-Warners material, including one new song, the twangy, mid-tempo cut "Bittersweet." JT's sweetly melancholy songs and voice made him one of the best-loved singer-songwriters of the '70s, and his hits -- including "Fire and Rain," "Carolina in My Mind," and "Shower the People" -- have proven both monumentally influential and timeless in their appeal. Ironically, some of Taylor's biggest hits have been cover tunes, ranging from his chart-topping 1971 interpretation of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend" to later Top 5 successes such as a gently rocking version of the Motown hit "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" and his Grammy-winning, harmony-soaked reading of Jimmy James's "Handy Man." Although Taylor's post-'70s work is represented only by "Bittersweet" and 1985's "Only a Dream in Rio," with its Portuguese harmonies and airy keyboard arrangements, and there's nothing from his platinum-certified 2002 disc, October Road, The Best of James Taylor still offers an essential career encapsulation from one of pop music's most revered artists. Dave Gil de Rubio

All Music Guide

To compile a comprehensive one-disc best-of James Taylor album is a daunting task in and of itself. To compile it from material from three labels is a gutsy thing for David McLees and Warner Bros. to do and expect to make fans -- let alone pompous critics (no exception here) -- happy. Over 20 tracks, Warner has succeeded -- with full cooperation from Taylor, who wrote the liner notes -- in giving an accurate representation of the songwriter, who has survived and even flourished for over 35 years in the music biz. More importantly, they've displayed the great range of the artist as a songwriter of purpose, humanity, and empathy, an artist who has never placed himself above his audience. The album kicks off with "Something in the Way She Moves" from his only release for the Beatles' Apple imprint, and moves to the Warner material that covers the years 1969-1976, many would argue his greatest years. It's strange how songs like "Fire and Rain," "Country Road" (the 45 version), "Mexico," "Walking Man," and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" do not seem to age; they feel as immediate and relevant in the 21st century as they did in the 1970s. And who can forget Taylor's version of "You've Got a Friend," with the searing backing vocal from Joni Mitchell? The producers also chose for inclusion here the 1976 version of "Carolina on My Mind" and the live take of "Steamroller" from the first Taylor Warner hits compilation in 1976 -- it's now the only way to get these tracks. From the Columbia years there are only five tracks. Two from JT ("Handy Man" and "Your Smiling Face"), his unforgettable read of the Goffin/King classic "Up on the Roof" from Flag, and "Only a Dream in Rio" from That's Why I'm Here. Some would argue with this one as opposed to something from Hourglass, but it's a small, nearly insignificant complaint. There is also a new recording here, "Bittersweet," finished just before release with Taylor's new band, that is a nice icing on the cake, but, to be a critic about the whole thing, this writer would have preferred they include "Anywhere Like Heaven" from Sweet Baby James instead -- another miniscule complaint. This is one of the most accurate and representative best-of packages to come down the line in a long time. Thom Jurek