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 |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
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 |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
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 |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
5 Soldiers
Bass |
Leland Sklar |
Drums |
Russ Kunkel |
Acoustic Guitar |
James Taylor |
Piano |
Carole King |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
6 Mud Slide Slim
Bass |
Leland Sklar |
Drums |
Russ Kunkel |
Guitar |
Danny Kortchmar |
Acoustic Guitar |
James Taylor |
Piano |
Carole King |
Percussion |
Russ Kunkel |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
7 Hey Mister, That’s Me Up On The Jukebox
Bass |
Leland Sklar |
Drums |
Russ Kunkel |
Acoustic Guitar |
James Taylor |
Piano |
Carole King |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
8 You Can Close Your Eyes
Acoustic Guitar |
James Taylor |
Vocals |
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 |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
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 |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
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 |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
12 Highway Song
Bass |
Leland Sklar |
Drums |
Russ Kunkel |
Piano |
Carole King |
Piano |
James Taylor |
Background Vocals |
Kate Taylor |
Background Vocals |
Peter Asher |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
13 Isn’t It Nice To Be Home Again
Acoustic Guitar |
James Taylor |
Vocals |
James Taylor |
Liner Notes
Producer – Peter Asher
Arranged By (Horns) – Andrew Love, The Memphis Horns, Wayne Jackson (Tracks 1, 11)
Engineer – Richard Sanford Orshoff
Art Direction – Ed Thrasher
Artwork – Laurie Miller
Photography – Ethan Russell
Mastered At Artisan Sound Recorders
Mixed At Crystal Sound
Recorded At Crystal Sound