Now Streaming: James Taylor, “Fire & Rain”

They called him “Sweet Baby James,” in no small part because he wrote and recorded a song with that very title, but self-provided nickname or not, James Taylor carved himself a musical legacy filled with numerous singles which proved nearly ubiquitous throughout the ‘70s, including “Fire And Rain,” “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” “Walking Man,” “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” “Mexico,” “Shower The People” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend.”

Finally, Taylor’s early catalog is getting the reissue treatment it so richly deserves: on July 19, Rhino will release THE COMPLETE WARNER BROS. ALBUMS: 1970-1976 as a 6-CD set as well as a 6-LP set. The albums have all been remastered under the watchful eye and ear of Peter Asher, who – in addition to producing several of the albums – also signed Taylor to Apple Records in 1968 and worked as his manager for 25 years.

Want a sampling of how the set sounds? We can oblige.

And just in case you’ve forgotten exactly what albums Taylor released between 1970 and 1976, here’s the full track listing for the set:

James Taylor
THE COMPLETE WARNER BROS. ALBUMS: 1970-1976
Track Listing:

SWEET BABY JAMES (1970)
1.    “Sweet Baby James”
2.    “Lo And Behold’
3.    “Sunny Skies”
4.    “Steamroller
5.    “Country Road”
6.    “Oh, Susannah”
7.    “Fire And Rain”
8.    “Blossom”
9.    “Anywhere Like Heaven”
10.  “Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip On Me”
11.  “Suite For 20 G”

MUD SLIDE SLIM AND THE BLUE HORIZON (1971)
1.    “Love Has Brought Me Around”
2.    “You’ve Got A Friend”
3.    “Places In My Past”
4.    “Riding On A Railroad”
5.    “Soldiers”
6.    “Mud Slide Slim”
7.    “Hey Mister, That’s Me Up On The Jukebox”
8.    “You Can Close Your Eyes”
9.    “Machine Gun Kelly”
10.    “Long Ago And Far Away”
11.    “Let Me Ride”
12.    “Highway Song”
13.    “Isn’t It Nice To Be Home Again”

ONE MAN DOG (1972)
1.    “One Man Parade”
2.    “Nobody But You”
3.    “Chili Dog”
4.    “Fool For You”
5.    “Instrumental I”
6.    “New Tune”
7.    “Back On The Street Again”
8.    “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”
9.    “Woh, Don’t You Know”
10.    “One Morning In May”
11.    “Instrumental II”
12.    “Someone”
13.    “Hymn”
14.    “Fanfare”
15.    “Little David”
16.    “Mescalito”
17.    “Dance”
18.    “Jig”

WALKING MAN (1974)
1.    “Walking Man”
2.    “Rock ’n’ Roll Is Music Now”
3.    “Let It All Fall Down”
4.    “Me And My Guitar”
5.    “Daddy's Baby”
6.    “Ain’t No Song”
7.    “Hello Old Friend”
8.    “Migration”
9.    “The Promised Land”
10.  “Fading Away”

GORILLA (1975)
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”
8.    “Lighthouse”
9.    “Angry Blues”
10.  “Love Songs”
11.  “Sarah Maria”

IN THE POCKET (1976)
1.    “Shower The People”
2.    “A Junkie’s Lament”
3.    “Money Machine”
4.    “Slow Burning Love”
5.    “Everybody Has The Blues”
6.    “Daddy's All Gone”
7.    “Woman’s Gotta Have It”
8.    “Captain Jim's Drunken Dream”
9.    “Don’t Be Sad ’Cause Your Sun Is Down”
10.  “Nothing Like A Hundred Miles”
11.   “Family Man”
12.  “Golden Moments”