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This Review and 204 More Like It Are Available In My
Amazon e-Book
CAPT. FANTASTIC - 1975
Your All-Genres Guide To
Exceptional CD Reissues & Remasters
All Reviews From The Discs Themselves
(No Cut And Paste Crap)
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"…It Don't Look Like
I'll Ever Stop My Wandering…"
Fans of JT will know that
only 2-tracks from "Gorilla" are available as remasters –
"Mexico" and the cover of Marvin Gaye's 1964 Motown hit "How Sweet It
Is (To Be Loved By You)" (done by Taylor as a duet with Carly Simon) – both of
them on the Warners Brothers/Rhino 'Best Of' compilation "You've Got A
Friend" from 2003. And sweet they sound too…
But this Japan-only SHM-CD
released 7 April 2010 on Warner Brothers WPCD-13823 (Barcode 4943674097364) is
the first time the entire "Gorilla" album has been remastered since its release
on a dull-sounding US/European CD in the mid Eighties - and the audio quality
on this CD reissue is TRULY BEAUTIFUL.
1. Mexico
2. Music
3. How Sweet It Is (To Be
Loved By You)
4. Wandering
5. Gorilla
6. You Make It Easy
7. I Was A Fool To Care [Side
2]
8. Lighthouse
9. Angry Blues
10. Love Songs
11. Sarah Maria
Part of a 6-album campaign
(see list below) - this 2010 remaster was done by ISAO KIKUCHI in Japan - a
non-numbered limited edition on the SHM-CD format (11 tracks, 39:02 minutes).
Super High Materials CDs do not require a specific machine to play them on –
they’re simply a better form of disc created by JVC in 2008 to improve on the
original format (unchanged since it was first put out 30 years ago). The
general idea is that the sound on the SHM-CD is more defined as they play -
they seem to extract more nuances from the transfer - and of the 10 or so that
I own – I've found this to be true.
The 5” mini repro packaging
here apes the May 1975 USA vinyl LP release on Warner Brothers BS 2866 (it was
K 56137 in the UK) with its single card sleeve (lyrics and recording details on
the rear). The outer resealable bag it has to be said is very flimsy, so
extracting and replacing the sleeve has to be done carefully lest you rip it.
The 12-page plain white booklet is very ho-hum too – just the lyrics and an
essay in Japanese that you can’t read. No pictures – nothing new. At least the
rounded white paper inner bag has one of those protective poly-slips inside it
to protect the CD. The disc itself repro’s the Warner Brothers Burbank Trees
label of the original vinyl album too – a nice touch. It’s tastefully done as
always with these releases. But it’s all about the sound here…
Right from the opening bars
of "Mexico” the clarity is incredible - you can suddenly hear all the
instruments. But then you get hit with a gem - his second cover on the album -
the traditional “Wandering” - a lovely acoustic ditty with plaintive accordion
and doubled vocals backing it up. It sounds incredible and for me has always
been a highlight on this forgotten album. A song like “Wandering” is one of the
reasons why Taylor is so admired - when he gets a melody down - its almost
feels effortless and is peaceful on the mind (lyrics from the song title this review).
The album featured a huge
array of talented musicians - Lowell George of Little Feat, Randy Newman on
Keyboards and David Sanborn on Saxophone with quality backing vocals from David
Crosby, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon. Among the self-penned
songs are the lovely “You Make It Easy” and the Stephen Bishop “Careless” feel
of “I Was A Fool To Care”. I love the slightly funky “Angry Blues” (with Lowell
George’s trademark slide guitar so cleverly used) and the flute opening of
“Love Songs” now sounds wonderful. It’s back again to simplicity and romance
for the album finisher “Sarah Maria” - again sounding just fab.
Downsides – it's Japanese
only, a limited edition and a little expensive. And the booklet could have done
with some more pizzazz instead of the rather safe presentation it did get.
Even with punk and new wave
quite rightly snapping at Rock’s bloated ass and ego - the November 2013 issue
of Britain’s RECORD COLLECTOR magazine ran an article arguing that albums from
1975 were among the best ever released in the Rock genre. Not surprisingly
there was Led Zep’s “Physical Graffiti”, Dylan’s “Blood On The Tracks”, Joni’s
“The Hissing of Summer Lawns”. Dr. Feelgood’s “Down By The Jetty”, Jeff Beck’s
“Blow By Blow” and Elton’s “Captain Fantastic” and so on. But no mention of
James Taylor’s soppily romantic “Gorilla”?
Well I’d argue that its time
to add this lovely album to that list...and if you’ve any love for the record
and Seventies singer-songwriters in general - get "Gorilla" on this
fabulous SHM-CD format if you can.
PS: the albums remastered in
Japan in this April 2010 series are:
1. Sweet Baby James (March
1970) on Warner Brothers WPCR-13819
2. Mud Slide Slim And The
Blue Horizon (July 1971) on Warner Brothers WPCR-13820
3. One Man Dog (November
1972) on Warner Brothers WPCR-13821
4. Walking Man (July 1974) on
Warner Brothers WPCR-13822
5. Gorilla (May 1975) on
Warner Brothers WPCR-13823
6. In The Pocket (June 1976)
on Warner Brothers WPCR-13824
See also my review for 1971's "Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon" and the Audio Fidelity 24-KT Audiophile Reissue of "One Man Dog" - Remaster by Steve Hoffman...
