Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon is James Taylor’s third studio album. Released in March 1971 as the follow-up to his commercial breakthrough and critical triumph, Sweet Baby James, it almost equaled the acclaim and surpassed the success of its predecessor at the time of its release. It contains Taylor’s biggest hit single in the US, a version of the Carole King standard “You’ve Got a Friend”, which became his only #1 on the Billboard charts on July 31, 1971. The week before, the album itself reached its peak position of #2 in the Billboard album charts. It was held off the top spot by King, then ruling the charts with the blockbuster Tapestry album, which contained her version of “You’ve Got a Friend”. (James Taylor also worked with King on her album and appears on several tracks performing acoustic guitar and backing vocals.)
Months later, the album managed to generate another Top 40 hit, “Long Ago and Far Away”, which reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other songs became standards in concert, particularly “You Can Close Your Eyes”.
In 1972, “You’ve Got a Friend” received Grammy Awards both for James Taylor (Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male) and King (Song of the Year).
Tracks
1 Love Has Brought Me Around (James Taylor) 2:45 2 You’ve Got A Friend (Carole King) 4:30 3 Places In My Past (James Taylor) 2:03 4 Riding On A Railroad (James Taylor) 2:43 5 Soldiers (James Taylor) 1:15 6 Mud Slide Slim (James Taylor) 5:20 7 Hey Mister, That’s Me Up On The Jukebox (James Taylor) 3:49 8 You Can Close Your Eyes (James Taylor) 2:30 9 Machine Gun Kelly (Danny Kortchmar) 2:37 10 Long Ago And Far Away (James Taylor) 2:21 11 Let Me Ride (James Taylor) 2:44 12 Highway Song (James Taylor) 3:54 13 Isn’t It Nice To Be Home Again (James Taylor) 0:54
Musicians
1 Love Has Brought Me Around
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Guitar
Danny Kortchmar
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Piano
Carole King
Horn
Andrew Love
Horn
Wayne Jackson
Percussion
Russ Kunkel
Percussion
Peter Asher
Percussion
Danny Kortchmar
Background Vocals
Joni Mitchell
2 You’ve Got A Friend
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Acoustic Guitar
Danny Kortchmar
Percussion
Danny Kortchmar
Percussion
Russ Kunkel
Background Vocals
Joni Mitchell
3 Places In My Past
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Piano
James Taylor
4 Riding On A Railroad
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Fiddle
Richard Greene
Accordion
John Hartford
Piano
Carole King
5 Soldiers
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Piano
Carole King
6 Mud Slide Slim
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Guitar
Danny Kortchmar
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Piano
Carole King
Percussion
Russ Kunkel
7 Hey Mister, That’s Me Up On The Jukebox
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Piano
Carole King
8 You Can Close Your Eyes
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
9 Machine Gun Kelly
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Acoustic Guitar
Danny Kortchmar
Percussion
Russ Kunkel
Percussion
Danny Kortchmar
Background Vocals
Peter Asher
10 Long Ago And Far Away
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Piano
Carole King
Percussion
Danny Kortchmar
Background Vocals
Joni Mitchell
11 Let Me Ride
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Guitar
Danny Kortchmar
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Piano
Kevin Kelly
Horn
Andrew Love
Horn
Wayne Jackson
Percussion
Danny Kortchmar
Percussion
Russ Kunkel
Background Vocals
Kate Taylor
12 Highway Song
Bass
Leland Sklar
Drums
Russ Kunkel
Piano
Carole King
Piano
James Taylor
Background Vocals
Kate Taylor
Background Vocals
Peter Asher
13 Isn’t It Nice To Be Home Again
Acoustic Guitar
James Taylor
Liner Notes
Producer – Peter Asher Engineer – Richard Sanford Orshoff
Art Direction – Ed Thrasher Artwork (Liner) – Laurie Miller Photography By (Cover) – Ethan Russell
Produced For – Marylebone Productions Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman Published By – Country Road Music, Inc. Published By – Blackwood Music Inc. Published By – Screen Gems-Columbia Music, Inc. Published By – Portofino Music Published By – Sho ‘Nuff Music Published By – Walden Music Recorded At – Crystal Sound Mixed At – Crystal Sound Mastered At – Artisan Sound Recorders
Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon is James Taylor’s third studio album. Released in March 1971 as the follow-up to his commercial breakthrough and critical triumph, Sweet Baby James, it almost equaled the acclaim and surpassed the success of its predecessor at the time of its release. It contains Taylor’s biggest hit single in the US, a version of the Carole King standard “You’ve Got a Friend”, which became his only #1 on the Billboard charts on July 31, 1971. The week before, the album itself reached its peak position of #2 in the Billboard album charts. It was held off the top spot by King, then ruling the charts with the blockbuster Tapestry album, which contained her version of “You’ve Got a Friend”. (James Taylor also worked with King on her album and appears on several tracks performing acoustic guitar and backing vocals.)