"Ten miles behind you and ten thousand more to go" is a line that is too perfect for the `Sweet Baby James' (1970) album. I was young at the right time to hear the line "You just can't kill for Jesus" in the song `Lo and Behold.' "There's a well on the hill . . . let it be." James Taylor was so new to most people when they first heard `Sweet Baby James' that it made a great first impression. The songs `Fire and Rain,' `Steamroller,' and `Country Road' were worth listening to every time they were on the radio, if you didn't listen to the radio too much.

Sail on home to Jesus, won't you good girls and boys?
I'm all in pieces, you can have your own choice . . .

Mama don't understand it, she wants to know where I've been
I'd have to be some kind of natural-born fool to pass that way again
But you know I can feel it on a country road.

Everyone seemed to face some choices eventually, and having `Sweet Baby James' to listen to in the meantime helped imagine some cowboy with nothing but songs and a fire. "But I always thought that I'd see you again" was the expectation raised by `Fire and Rain,' even if "Won't you look down upon me Jesus?' was a line in there somewhere. In `Blossom,' sunshine is the big relief with an empty road behind. "Much too long a day" doesn't sound too bad, but James Taylor could make a complaint out of "They don't see the days slipping by, and neither do I" in `Anywhere Like Heaven.' Playing around with the blues is the only possible explanation for `Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me.' The the album returns to the "Slippin' away" theme, with "You can say, Someday I want to be free," which shows up in `Suite for 20 G.' Then he "Said I'm sure enough fond of my rock `n' roll," which we all ought to feel by now.

Sweet Baby James was James Taylor's debut album for Warner Brothers. James Taylor was a mellow singer songwriter. Sweet Baby James is a fine introduction to the talented songwriter James Taylor. Sweet Baby James is a solid album from beginning to end. Highlights include: Sweet Baby James, Sunny Skies, Steamroller, Country Road, and of course Fire and Rain.

When we speak of classic records, this is the kind of stuff we have in mind. Maybe the most inspired singer-songwriter record of all time. A record that has everything from a blues inspired jam, packed with a big band horn section ("Steamroller Blues"); to a gospel revival-like track ("Lo And Behold"); to a traditional nursery rhyme made into a folk ballad ("Oh, Susannah"). And, of course, there's one of the most emotional songs ever recorded, ...."Fire And Rain". As for the rest of the record, it's an incredible adventure of masterful songwriting. With bright and jovial songs like "Sunny Skies" and "Blossom", surrounded by others that can be solemn and sublime, this record is true genius. JT gives the album great flow by placing his energy in the perfect places. As soon as you might feel that the album may be going down the "same ol' road", he sends out a spark of enthusiasm that lifts the musical spirits in yet another direction. Taylor shows a heavy penchant for the blues here, while intermingling an explosive brass section; all the while, supplying heavy doses of his signature guitar style. While Taylor gets help from some friends such as Carole King (piano) and future Eagles bassist Randy Meisner, its his stellar songwriting and heartfelt vocals that power this rocket.

This is a record that can make you smile and skip through the fields, it can make you dance and groove, and it can make you cry with wild abandon, too. This is a record that launched the career of, arguably, the best singer-songwriter of all time. This is "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor, ....and it's a piece of art that everyone should own.
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