In the Pocket is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, and his last to be released under Warner Bros. Records before signing with Columbia. Released in June 1976, it was one of his most memorable albums, and it found Taylor recording in the studio with many colleagues and friends, mainly Art Garfunkel (who duetted with him on “A Junkie’s Lament” and also contributed vocals on “Captain Jim’s Drunken Dream”), Carly Simon (Taylor’s wife, who harmonised with him on “Shower the People”), Stevie Wonder (who wrote with Taylor the song “Don’t Be Sad ‘Cause Your Sun Is Down”, a song on which he also played the harmonica) and also David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt, among others.
The result of the sessions, which took place between late 1975 and early ’76, was a very melodic album and one of his most diverse and polished, highlighted with the single “Shower the People”, which through the years became a Taylor standard and concert favorite. Released as a single, the track peaked at #22 on the Billboard charts on September 18, 1976 and reached the summit of the Adult Contemporary charts in the US. Despite its success, In the Pocket didn’t match the success of Taylor’s previous album Gorilla, reaching only #16 on the Billboard album charts (it was Taylor’s lowest chart position during the 1970s and also the lowest since his debut album). Nevertheless, it managed to eventually get a Gold certification by the RIAA and became a fan favorite.
Tracks
1 Shower The People (James Taylor) 4:34
2 A Junkie’s Lament (James Taylor) 3:31
3 Money Machine (James Taylor) 4:36
4 Slow Burning Love (James Taylor) 3:44
5 Everybody Has The Blues (James Taylor) 2:03
6 Daddy’s All Gone (James Taylor) 3:37
7 Woman’s Gotta Have It (Bobby Womack, Darryl Carter, Linda Cooke) 4:20
8 Captain Jim’s Drunken Dream (James Taylor) 4:04
9 Don’t Be Sad ‘Cause Your Sun Is Down (James Taylor, Stevie Wonder) 3:30
10 Nothing Like A Hundred Miles (James Taylor) 3:45
11 Family Man (James Taylor) 3:39
12 Golden Moments (James Taylor) 3:34
Musicians
1 Shower The People
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Acoustic Guitar | James Taylor |
Fender Rhodes | Clarence McDonald |
Organ | Clarence McDonald |
Organ | Nick DeCaro |
Vibraphone | Victor Feldman |
Percussion | Russ Kunkel |
Background Vocals | Carly Simon |
Vocals | James Taylor |
2 A Junkie’s Lament
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Acoustic Guitar | James Taylor |
Fender Rhodes | Clarence McDonald |
Moog | Clarence McDonald |
Organ | Nick DeCaro |
Harp | Gayle Levant |
Chimes | Milt Holland |
Percussion | Russ Kunkel |
Background Vocals | Carly Simon |
Vocals | Art Garfunkel |
Vocals | James Taylor |
3 Money Machine
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
Organ | Nick DeCaro |
Piano | Clarence McDonald |
Horns | Michael Brecker |
Horns | Steve Madaio |
Percussion | Victor Feldman |
Background Vocals | Valerie Carter |
Vocals | James Taylor |
4 Slow Burning Love
Bass | Willie Weeks |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
Acoustic Guitar | James Taylor |
Mandolin | Danny Kortchmar |
Fender Rhodes | Clarence McDonald |
Synthesizer | Nick DeCaro |
Accordion | Nick DeCaro |
Dulcimers | Kenny Watson |
Harmonica | James Taylor |
Percussion | Russ Kunkel |
Vocals | James Taylor |
5 Everybody Has The Blues
Bass | George Callender |
Drums | Jim Keltner |
Acoustic Guitar | James Taylor |
Keyboards | Craig Doerge |
Horns | Ernie Watts |
Horns | George Bohanon |
Horns | Oscar Brashear |
Tuba | George Callender |
Vocals | James Taylor |
6 Daddy’s All Gone
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
Guitar | James Taylor |
Fender Rhodes | Clarence McDonald |
Percussion | Russ Kunkel |
Vocals | James Taylor |
7 Woman’s Gotta Have It
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Waddy Wachtel |
Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
Acoustic Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
Fender Rhodes | Clarence McDonald |
Percussion | Russ Kunkel |
Percussion | Peter Asher |
Vocals | James Taylor |
8 Captain Jim’s Drunken Dream
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
Acoustic Guitar | James Taylor |
Mandocello | David Grisman |
Mandolin | David Grisman |
Piano | Clarence McDonald |
Marimba | Victor Feldman |
Vibraphone | Victor Feldman |
Percussion | Victor Feldman |
Background Vocals | Art Garfunkel |
Vocals | James Taylor |
9 Don’t Be Sad ‘Cause Your Sun Is Down
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Acoustic Guitar | James Taylor |
Piano | Clarence McDonald |
Harmonica | Stevie Wonder |
Percussion | Russ Kunkel |
Percussion | Russ Titelman |
Vocals | James Taylor |
10 Nothing Like A Hundred Miles
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Waddy Wachtel |
Acoustic Guitar | James Taylor |
Banjo | Herb Pedersen |
Dobro | David Lindley |
Background Vocals | David Crosby |
Background Vocals | Graham Nash |
Vocals | James Taylor |
11 Family Man
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Drums | Russ Kunkel |
Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
Organ | Clarence McDonald |
Horns | Michael Brecker |
Horns | Steve Madaio |
Percussion | Bobbye Hall |
Background Vocals | Alex Taylor |
Background Vocals | Bonnie Raitt |
Background Vocals | Carly Simon |
Background Vocals | Valerie Carter |
Vocals | James Taylor |
12 Golden Moments
Bass | Leland Sklar |
Acoustic Guitar | James Taylor |
Organ | Nick DeCaro |
Harp | Gayle Levant |
Percussion | Bobbye Hall |
Vocals | James Taylor |
Liner Notes
Producer – Lenny Waronker, Russ Titelman
Co-producer (Production Assistant) – Trudy Portch
Arranged By (Horns) – James Taylor
Arranged By (Strings) – Nick DeCaro
Engineer – Lee Herschberg
Mastered By – Lee Herschberg
Mixed By – Lee Herschberg
Art Direction, Cover, Design – Mike Salisbury
Photography – Norman Seeff
Mixed At Warner Bros. Recording Studios
Mastered At Warner Bros Recording Studios
Recorded At Warner Bros Recording Studios
Phonographic Copyright Warner Bros Records Inc
Copyright Warner Bros Records Inc