Gorilla

Loved this album on vinyl, and so great to get back to it again in CD format. James Taylor is mostly feeling pretty good here, and there’s an east, bouncy beat to many of these tunes. A delight!

After the lukewarm reception given to his previous album  Walking Man  this found James Taylor hitting full stride. It was here that Taylor went from being a largely folk influenced trubadour to becomming a pop craftsman.The bounciness of the hit "Mexico" and the classic Motown romp of "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" are enough alone to carry the album by themselves! The ballads are some of the strongest he'd ever done from "Music",Wandering","You Make It Easy",the picturesque "Lighthouse",the breezy "Love Songs" to the plain lovely "Sarah Maria". There's an air of happiness throughout the album too that really makes it all so appealing. The title track is a really funny McCartney-ish kind of "music hall pop" piece,showing a comic side of Taylor that shows up every now and then.The uptempo "I Was A Fool To Care" is another excellent bouncy type of tune and the sense of heartbreak and betrayal in the lyrics really punch out at you."Angry Blues" gets much of the same flavor;another of Taylor's by now patented funky takes on the blues. The singer-songwriter style has gone in and out of fasion over the years.And one of it's trademarks is being a kind of folk music that takes influences from popular styles around it:in the 80's it might be a slight new wave touch,the 90's might show the influence of alternative rock and of course you have the ambient styles of singer-songwriter pop today. In this period of JT's creativity he was surrounded by a busy and fulfilling musical landscape where Philly Soul,Motown,funk and country rock were all over the charts,the radio and record players across the nation and he was more then willing to harness all of this into his own signiture sound. It influeced the whole world of singer-songwriter pop after it and is a must have if you love great pop songwriting and musicianship.

Arrived on the estimated date in excellent condition. CD sounds great.

I own many James Taylor albums but I find myself playing this one the most. It's effortless for me to listen to. I just love it. Lest you think I am snowed with anything JT does, well...I only like half of In The Pocket (still a good album) and I * detest * "Flag" (ick! ick!). The last later JT album I had an interest in was New Moon Shine in the 80's. Somehow after that I lost interest. However, one must remember those shining moments - this is one of them. This album is sort of a "stealth peak" album (i.e. I only realized it in retrospect) that started with James Taylor (1st album on Apple), Sweet Baby James, Mud Slide Slim, One Man Dog (all good in their own idiosyncratic ways : ) If you like harmonies and thoughtful yet soothing heartfelt songs of his genre, you'll like this. Oh and really good sounding acoustic pop guitar playing -- the production's good but not overdone - everything's there for a reason. Try it?P.S. Find the live version of the duet "Mockingbird" with Carly Simon on the No Nukes album and listen to it for the sheer joy of it. It's a lot of fun! Was probably made about the time this was released.

I bought this for myself - it's long been one of my favorites

Absolutely great all the way through!

When I started seeing old James Taylor CD on import,I got very excited!Knowing that these were Japanese imports that were converted into high quality sound! Gorilla is a classic! "Wandering","I was a fool to care" and even "You make it easy" stand out now in the sound,clear and crisp. Check out the prices! I got this import for $7! What a deal! I am a big James Taylor fan from way back . I remember hearing "Fire and Rain" on the radio for the first time...... Gorilla really did not sell well for James as others did, but "How sweet it is to be loved by you"(track 3) will take you back! Check out Amazon's import selections and their are other James Taylor imports that are nicely priced!

To be honest I bought this CD, along with "Sweet Baby James" and "Mud Slide Slim" because I had both "SBJ" and "MSS" on vinyl. I was very familiar with "Mexico" but not familiar with the title track and other songs from this album. Maybe it's because I love "Sweet Baby James" and "Mud Slide" so much, and compared them to "Gorilla" so I was a little disappointed in this release. I recently purchased JT's latest CD "Before this World", and started buying his earlier work on CD. If you are a completist, and have to have everything from James' catalog, then purchase "Gorilla'. I personally would go for the much better "Before this World" CD. (I also wrote a review of that release.) I would put Sweet Baby James, Mud Slide Slim, and last but not least, "Before this World" in the "must own" category.

Another good stroll down memory lane. Originally bought on vinyl in 1975. Saw him in concert in Cardiff in 2011. Good concert, good memories!

beautiful songs,peacefully sung if i was back in my 70;s isle of Wight days i'd have rolled myself a ------ and laid back and relaxed after a hard day's toil.

Been waiting for this album for a while well worth the wait. Brilliant songs. Roseanne Cash recommended it in her Biography.

Had forgotten just how good this album is, a terrific follow-up to Mud Slide Slim. Great to hear these amazing songs again.

An album I bought years ago on vinyl. Now replaced as a CD. James Taylor at his best..