Maps of Music
Live (1993)
Where the lyrics of Live take you, and where it was really made.
Recorded from 14 shows on a single 1992 tour, this double live album peaked only at number 20 on the Billboard 200 yet went on to sell more than one million copies in the US.
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Overview
- Live: first live album by James Taylor
- Released 10 August 1993 by Columbia Records
- Double album presenting selections from 14 shows
- Two discs, 15 tracks each, 30 songs in total
- Recorded during a November 1992 tour
- Taylor sings lead vocals and plays acoustic guitar
Background
- Built from concerts of the November 1992 tour
- Highlights were later issued as a single-album CD titled Best Live
- Best Live exists in a 17-track version (1993) and a 12-track version (21 June 1994)
Recording
- Producers: Don Grolnick and George Massenburg
- Recorded by Nathaniel Kunkel with John Godenzi and Randy Hutson
- House sound engineer: John Godenzi; monitor engineer: Randy Hutson
- Technicians: Gary Epstein and Mark Hughes
- Additional engineers: Rail Rogut and Michael White; assistant engineer: Rail Rogut
- Production coordination: Barbara Moutenot and Ivy Skoff
- Mixed by George Massenburg at Electric Lady Studios (New York) and Record One (Los Angeles)
- Mastered by Doug Sax and Gavin Lurssen at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood)
- Band: Don Grolnick on acoustic piano, Clifford Carter on keyboards, Michael Landau on electric guitars, Jimmy Johnson on bass guitar, Carlos Vega on drums
- Backing vocals: Valerie Carter, David Lasley, Kate Markowitz, Arnold McCuller
Cover
- Art direction: Stephanie Mauer
- Photography: Andrew Brucker
- Liner notes: Peter Asher
- Management: Peter Asher Management
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
Disc 1
| 1 | Sweet Baby James | 4:13 |
| 2 | Traffic Jam | 2:11 |
| 3 | Handy Man | 3:31 |
| 4 | Your Smiling Face | 3:04 |
| 5 | Secret o’ Life | 3:46 |
| 6 | Shed a Little Light | 4:33 |
| 7 | Everybody Has the Blues | 2:35 |
| 8 | Steamroller Blues | 5:29 |
| 9 | Mexico | 3:32 |
| 10 | Millworker | 4:26 |
| 11 | Country Road | 5:44 |
| 12 | Fire and Rain | 4:45 |
| 13 | Shower the People | 4:44 |
| 14 | How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You) | 7:29 |
| 15 | New Hymn | 3:01 |
Disc 2
| 1 | Walking Man | 4:35 |
| 2 | Riding on a Railroad | 2:42 |
| 3 | Something in the Way She Moves | 3:59 |
| 4 | Sun on the Moon | 3:54 |
| 5 | Up on the Roof | 4:11 |
| 6 | Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight | 3:37 |
| 7 | She Thinks I Still Care | 3:29 |
| 8 | Copperline | 4:43 |
| 9 | Slap Leather | 2:12 |
| 10 | Only One | 4:42 |
| 11 | You Make It Easy | 5:06 |
| 12 | Carolina in My Mind | 5:05 |
| 13 | I Will Follow | 4:14 |
| 14 | You’ve Got a Friend | 5:09 |
| 15 | That Lonesome Road | 2:46 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Early years
- Born March 12, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts; raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
- Learned guitar in 1960, influenced by hymns, carols and Woody Guthrie.
- Spent time in a psychiatric hospital and struggled with heroin addiction in his youth.
Career
- Formed the Flying Machine in New York in 1966; the group broke up after a single.
- Signed to Apple Records in 1968 as the first non-British act on the label.
- Breakthrough with Sweet Baby James (1970) and the hit "Fire and Rain", both reaching No. 3.
- First No. 1 hit with "You've Got a Friend" (1971), written by Carole King.
- Greatest Hits (1976) is one of the best-selling albums in US history, certified Diamond.
- Won six Grammy Awards; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
- Reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with Before This World (2015) after a 45-year wait.
- Continues to tour actively as of 2026.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Released 10 August 1993 by Columbia Records
- Double album with 30 songs across two discs
- Selections from 14 shows of a November 1992 tour
- Stylised as (LIVE) in the original title
Records
- US peak at number 20 on the Billboard 200
- More than one million copies sold in the US
- Certified 2× platinum by the RIAA
- Highlights single-album CD titled Best Live released later
- Best Live: 17-track version in 1993, 12-track version on 21 June 1994
- Many verbal introductions from the original CD cut on Spotify and iTunes
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- On digital distributors such as Spotify and iTunes, many verbal introductions from the original CD are cut
- Handy Man is credited to Otis Blackwell and Jimmy Jones
- Best Live is a single-album CD of highlights from this double album
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org