Maps of Music

Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971)

Where the lyrics of Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon take you, and where it was really made.

The album's biggest US hit is a cover of a Carole King song, and King's own album Tapestry kept this record from the No. 1 spot.

Key places

Where the album was recorded and mixed (1971)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The album was recorded and mixed at Crystal Recording Studios in Hollywood between January 3 and February 28, 1971. The point shows only the city-level location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor
• Released in April 1971 by Warner Bros. Records
• Thirteen tracks: six on side one, seven on side two
• Producer: Peter Asher; engineer: Richard Sanford Orshoff

Background

• The album contains Taylor's biggest hit single in the US, a cover version of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend"
• Other songs became standards of Taylor's concert repertoire, particularly "You Can Close Your Eyes"
• "Long Ago and Far Away" generated another Top 40 hit

Recording

• Recorded and mixed January 3 through February 28, 1971, at Crystal Recording Studios, Hollywood
• Recording took place between early January and late February 1971
• Carole King plays piano on several tracks; Russ Kunkel plays drums and Leland Sklar plays bass
• Danny Kortchmar plays guitar; Joni Mitchell and Kate Taylor sing backing vocals

Cover

• Cover photography by Ethan Russell
• Art direction by Ed Thrasher; liner artwork by Laurie Miller

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · ja.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

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

• Rolling Stone's Ben Gerson found the album to be dull listening the first few times, but later heard a subtle tension and a terrible weariness that he treated as part of its artistic statement
• Village Voice critic Robert Christgau was more critical of Taylor's songwriting, calling the album's music intricate and its lyrics more escapist than before

Reappraisal

• In 2000 the album was ranked number 858 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums, by vote

Records

• Peak position number 2 on Billboard's Top LPs chart, reached a week before the No. 1 single
• "You've Got a Friend" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 31, 1971, Taylor's only single to do so
• "Long Ago and Far Away" reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100
• The song earned Grammy Awards for Taylor (Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male) and for King (Song of the Year)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album contains Taylor's biggest hit single in the US, a cover of Carole King's song.
• Carole King's own album Tapestry was ruling the charts and kept this album from the top spot.
• The album reached number 2 on the Billboard 200, according to the Spanish-language article.
• Other songs from the album became standards of Taylor's concert repertoire.
• Larkin's list placed the album at number 858 in 2000 by vote.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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