written by taco on 03/04/2004
Good Points
Great Songwriting
Bad Points
James Taylor's guitarwork is inept.
General Comments
This reviews the Classic release on 180g.
I bought this album because I had 80's release on vinyl. I became one of my favorite albums. King's version of "You Make Me Feel Like Natural Woman" was more on the mark as opposed to the Gospel feel of Franklin's. King's version sounded like a more natural woman singing it. Other incredible songs include "The Earth Moves Under My Feet."
Again I was drawn to the Classic release because the vinyl I owned tended to be muddy. Hoping the Classic release would reveil the recording in a better light, I bought it.
Did it reveil the album? Yes, but it was a bit too reveiling. James Taylor's guitar work is inexplicably out there. You hear him all too well. I tended to think that the muddier mix gave the album a more gritty sound. Paying double the price of a new CD was not worth the money spent. I'll listen to my old vinyl, instead.
This is a great album, but, this is not a great release. The sound stage was too spread out. While this is usually desired. For this album, tighter spacing of instruments and vocal would have improved the sound drastically. In fact a remix to mono might have improved the sound.