''Good Friends'' is singer-songwriter
Livingston Taylor's ninth album, released in 1993.
The album is full of skillfully crafted pop songs and classics with a jazzy twist. Taylor includes several cover songs along with his own, self-penned, material. His cover of
Bill Withers' "
Grandma's Hands
"Grandma's Hands" is a song written by Bill Withers about his grandmother. It was included on his first album '' Just as I Am'' (1971), and was released as a single, reaching number 18 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart and 42 on the ''Billb ...
" takes the original's simple arrangement (just a bluesy electric guitar, bass and drums behind Wither's voice) and recreates the song into a gospel-choir backed
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
performance. Based on the lyrics, the Grandma of this song was a religious woman who “clapped in church on Sunday morning” and “played a tambourine so well.” He also tackles the
Wizard of Oz selections, "
If I Only Had a Brain" and "
Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Keeping with the Chesky Records standards,
as the back-cover reads, this album was "recorded with minimalist
miking techniques and without
overdubbing
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
or artificial enhancement to ensure the purest and most natural sound possible."
Track listing
All tracks composed by Livingston Taylor, except where indicated.
#"Out of This World" (Livingston Taylor,
Maggie Taylor
Maggie Taylor (born 1961 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an artist who works with digital images. She won the Santa Fe Center for Photography's Project Competition in 2004. Her work has been widely exhibited in the United States and Europe and is represen ...
) – 2:45
#"Jacques Cousteau" (Andy Paley) – 2:17
#"
Heart and Soul" (Hoagy Charmichael,
Frank Loesser) – 2:42
#"Carolina Day" – 3:43
#"If I Only Had a Brain" (
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...
,
E.Y. Harburg
Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...
) – 4:18
#"Grandma's Hands" (
Bill Withers) – 1:45
#"Blind" – 3:16
#"Good Friends" – 3:54
#"Pajamas" – 2:18
#"Get Out of Bed" (Livingston Taylor, Maggie Taylor) – 2:57
#"
Save Your Heart for Me
"Save Your Heart for Me" is a song written by Gary Geld and Peter Udell. The song was originally written for and recorded by singer Brian Hyland in 1963. Although not released as a single in its own right, it was included as the B-side to Hyland's ...
" (Gary Geld, Peter Udell) – 2:43
#"Fifth and Vine" – 2:46
#"
Bluer Than Blue" (
Randy Goodrum) – 2:55
#"In My Reply" – 3:46
#"Somewhere over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg) – 3:40
#"Thank You Song" – 1:13
Formats
CD (JD097) Chesky Records
180 gram LP (JR97) Chesky Records
References
1993 albums
Livingston Taylor albums
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