''Live'' is the first live album by singer-songwriter

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

released on August 10, 1993 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The double album presents selections from 14 shows during a November 1992 tour. In the US, ''Live'' peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and has sold more than one million copies, being certified 2× platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. A single-album CD of highlights of the double album was also released, titled ''Best Live''. There are two different versions of this album; a 17-track version was released in 1993, and a shorter 12-track version on June 21, 1994. On digital distributors such as ''

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

'' and ''

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

'', many of the verbal introductions that were present in the original CD have been cut.

Track listing

All songs by James Taylor except where noted. ;Disc one #"

Sweet Baby James ''Sweet Baby James'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, released on February 1, 1970, by Warner Bros. Records. The album includes two of Taylor's earliest successful singles: " Fire and Rain", and " Country R ...

" – 4:13 #"Traffic Jam" – 2:10 #" Handy Man" (

Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), "Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerry Le ...

, Jimmy Jones) – 3:31 #"

Your Smiling Face "Your Smiling Face" is a hit single by singer James Taylor. First available on the album '' JT'', and released as the album's sophomore single in September 1977, "Your Smiling Face" peaked at number 11 in '' Cash Box'' magazine and at 20 on the ' ...

" – 3:03 #"

Secret O' Life "Secret O' Life" is a song written by James Taylor that first appeared on his 1977 album '' JT''. It has since appeared on several of his live and compilation albums. It was also included in the Broadway musical '' Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Lif ...

" – 3:45 #"Shed a Little Light" – 4:32 #"Everybody Has the Blues" – 2:33 #"

Steamroller Blues "Steamroller Blues" (a.k.a. "Steamroller"), is a blues parody written by James Taylor, that appeared on his 1970 album ''Sweet Baby James''. It was intended to mock the inauthentic blues bands of the day. The song later appeared on two of Tayl ...

" – 5:30 #"

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

" – 3:32 #"

Millworker "Millworker", or "Millwork", is a song written by James Taylor. It was originally written for the Stephen Schwartz Broadway musical '' Working''. Taylor's own recording was released on his 1979 album ''Flag'' along with "Brother Trucker", which T ...

" – 4:25 #" Country Road" – 5:44 #" Fire and Rain" – 4:44 #"

Shower the People "Shower the People" is the opening track on James Taylor's 1976 album '' In the Pocket''. Reception '' Cash Box'' said that the song is "a meaningful ballad that will pick up a lot of FM airplay" said that it has "a way with melody and phrasing" ...

" – 4:43 #"

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" is a song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye from his fifth studio album of the same name (1965). It was written in 1964 by the Motown songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, and produced ...

" ( Holland, Dozier, Holland) – 7:29 #"New Hymn" (

Reynolds Price Edward Reynolds Price (February 1, 1933 – January 20, 2011) was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in Biblical ...

, Taylor) – 3:00 ;Disc two #"Walking Man" – 4:35 #"Riding on a Railroad" – 2:41 #"

Something in the Way She Moves "Something in the Way She Moves" is a song written by James Taylor that appeared on his 1968 debut album for Apple Records, ''James Taylor''. It has also been covered by other artists, including Tom Rush and Harry Belafonte. The opening line i ...

" – 3:59 #"Sun on the Moon" – 3:54 #" Up on the Roof" (

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

) – 4:10 #"

Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, from his 1972 album '' One Man Dog''. The song has been included on three of Taylor's greatest-hits collection albums: ''Greatest Hits' ...

" – 3:37 #"

She Thinks I Still Care "She Thinks I Still Care" is a country song written by Dickey Lee and Steve Duffy. The song was recorded by multiple artists, including George Jones, Connie Francis, Anne Murray, Elvis Presley and Patty Loveless. George Jones version Accor ...

" (

Dickey Lee Royden Dickey Lipscomb (born September 21, 1936), known professionally as Dickey Lee (sometimes misspelled Dickie or Dicky), is an American pop/country singer and songwriter, best known for the 1960s teenage tragedy songs " Patches" and "Laurie ( ...

) – 3:28 #"Copperline" (R. Price, Taylor) – 4:43 #"Slap Leather" – 2:11 #"Only One" – 4:41 #"You Make It Easy" – 5:05 #"

Carolina in My Mind "Carolina in My Mind" is a song originally written and performed by American singer-songwriter James Taylor. It was Taylor's second single from his 1968 self-titled debut album. Taylor wrote ''Carolina in My Mind'' while overseas recording for ...

" – 5:04 #"I Will Follow" – 4:14 #"

You've Got a Friend "You've Got a Friend" is a 1971 song written by American singer, songwriter, and musician Carole King. It was first recorded by King and included on her second studio album, ''Tapestry'' (1971). Another well-known version is by James Taylor fr ...

" (King) – 5:09 #"That Lonesome Road (

Don Grolnick Don Grolnick (September 23, 1947 – June 1, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and record producer. He was a member of the groups Steps Ahead and Dreams, both with Michael Brecker, and played often with the Brecker Brothers. As a sessi ...

, Taylor) – 2:46

''Best Live'' (17 track)

#"Sweet Baby James" – 4:11 #"Handy Man" (Blackwell, Jones) – 3:34 #"Your Smiling Face" – 2:51 #"Steamroller Blues" – 5:36 #"Mexico" – 3:17 #"Walking Man" – 4:08 #"Country Road" – 5:44 #"Fire and Rain" – 4:33 #"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (Holland, Dozier, Holland) – 6:57 #"Riding on a Railroad" – 2:42 #"Something in the Way She Moves" – 3:59 #"Sun on the Moon" – 3:51 #"Up on the Roof" (Goffin, King) – 4:13 #"Copperline" (Price, Taylor) – 4:40 #"Slap Leather" – 2:14 #"You've Got a Friend" (King) – 5:09 #"That Lonesome Road" (Grolnick, Taylor) – 2:46

''Best Live'' (12 track)

#"Sweet Baby James" – 4:13 #"Handy Man" (Blackwell, Jones) – 3:34 #"Your Smiling Face" – 2:53 #"Shed a Little Light" – 4:17 #"Steamroller Blues" – 5:24 #"Mexico" – 3:15 #"Walking Man" – 4:23 #"Country Road" – 5:38 #"Fire and Rain" – 4:39 #"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (Holland, Dozier, Holland) – 6:58 #"Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" – 3:10 #"Shower the People" – 5:12

Personnel

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

– electric guitars *

– acoustic piano *

Clifford Carter Clifford Carter (born August 10, 1952) is an American keyboardist, musical director, composer and arranger. He has sometimes been credited as "Cliff Carter". Carter is known for his performances with such artists as James Taylor,Bruce Springstee ...

– keyboards * Jimmy Johnson – bass guitar *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

– drums *

Valerie Carter Valerie Gail Zakian Carter (February 5, 1953 – March 4, 2017) was an American singer. Biography Carter began her career singing in coffeehouses as a teenager, and eventually became one-third of the country-folk band Howdy Moon. Though they de ...

– backing vocals *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals *

Kate Markowitz Catherine Judith "Kate" Markowitz (Born 28 April 1956) is an American singer-songwriter known as a backup singer who has recorded and performed with a number of singers, most notably James Taylor but also Willy DeVille, Shawn Colvin, Mylène Farm ...

– backing vocals *

Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back-u ...

– backing vocals

Production

;Studio credits * Producers – Don Grolnick and

George Massenburg George Y. Massenburg (born Baltimore, Maryland c. 1947) is a Grammy award-winning recording engineer and inventor. Working principally in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Macon, Georgia, Massenburg is widely known for submitting a paper to ...

* Production co-ordination – Barbara Moutenot and Ivy Skoff * Recorded by Nathaniel Kunkel * Additional engineers – Rail Rogut and Michael White * Assistant engineer – Rail Rogut * Mixed by

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...

(New York, NY) and

Record One Record One is a recording studio complex in the Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Originally founded in 1979, the studio has been the site of numerous commercially successful and award-winning record ...

(Los Angeles, CA). * Mastered by

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

and Gavin Lurssen at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA). ;Live credits * House sound engineer – John Godenzi * Monitor engineer – Randy Hutson * Technicians – Gary Epstein and Mark Hughes ;Additional credits * Art direction – Stephanie Mauer * Photography – Andrew Brucker * Liner notes –

Peter Asher Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...

* Management – Peter Asher Management

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Live (James Taylor) 1993 live albums James Taylor live albums Columbia Records live albums Albums produced by George Massenburg