James Taylor Playlist
I need a day just for blogging. I have several posts I’m wanting to get out — including a couple book reviews and a couple more posts on reading the Old Testament.
A few miscellaneous things:
I have the Cardinals. (That should come as good news to Steelers fans, given my SuperBowl record.)
- – - -
I am tired of calling businesses or churches where you never actually can reach a living, breathing person. You hear menu after menu after menu . . . .
- – - -
I’ve had lots of great teachers in my life. Today it hits me: none was better than Rick Oster. I’m teaching through Acts in my freshman class, enjoying the thrill of slow Bible reading, and remembering how he turned on some exegetical switches in my life.
- – - -
Poor Paula. She thought “be careful” was a threat (when uttered to her by an American Idol contestant in Kentucky after he was rejected). She needs to read a book entitled Stuff Southern Guys Say to Other People That Means They Care.
- – - -
AND FINALLY THIS: I like James Taylor. Not like CCR . . . or CSNY. But I like him. He holds up over time. However, my JT knowledge is pretty thin. So fill me in, folks. When you get past “The Greatest Hits,” what deserves to be on a playlist? (Starting with you, DU. Thom L. was my CSNY expert. Now I’ll nod to you. Get us going here.)
Mike – don’t short-change your frosh – THEY may be your source for a JT playlist. I’ve never learned more about the Eagles than I have from 20 year olds!
LOVE Oster! He’s an incredible teacher. In my top 5.
I’ve been so blessed: in addition, James Walters and Jeff Childers have been out-of-the-classroom teachers of mine.
And then, of course . . . Eddins, Pryor, Jones, Brown, Hazelip, Muncy . . . .
So you’re saying something good about Harding, right? Just thought we should document the moment in case you get any bad press later.
Ahhh…..don’t get me started!
Like many other artist, some of his best work never was released as singles. I’m thinking of “Wandering” and “Sarah Maria” from his “Gorilla” album. That is a fantastic album……still can’t bring myself to say “cd”. “Mud Slide Slim” was an early album that was unbelieveable. “You Can Close Your Eyes” is a classic that I never get tired of hearing. Also on that album was his version of “You’ve Got A Friend”, and another wonderful ballad “Places In My Past”. From his later work, I think the album “New Moon Shine” is equal with any thing he recorded early on. “Copperline” is on that album, but there are some great songs you may have never heard like his version of Sam Cooke’s “Everybody Loves to Cha-Cha-Cha”. The ole Irish ballad “The Water is Wide” is also included on this album.
I’ll stop there, and somebody else can fill in all the other greats that I have left off!
As John Meyer said about JT: “He’s the blueprint”. For the singer-songwriter genre, no doubt he is!
I agree with you totally about being able to talk to a human being when you call a number for a community of faith. I never understood why they would not take a leap forward in technology, buy a community cell phone that the number could be forwarded to, rotate that phone to individuals on staff with a notebook or even a laptop with all the information they might need, and this way whenever anyone calls (beyond office hours) they will be able to talk to someone who can respond – and hopefully respond appropriately, or even listen.
I believe my best memory of James Taylor, is seeing him at a Red Sox game at Fenway… but that would also include memories of Stephen King.
My Mom used to babysit for Harold Hazelip when he was getting his Ph.D. in Iowa.
I actually HATE those menus too. At the end they use to give you the way to get to an actual person-but not anymore. I actually got in my car recently and drove to my doctors and asked quite loudly, how do I actually get to talk to a person on the phone anymore? I was told between 1 and 2 you cannot. I said then my prescription must just be a suggestion then?
Oster the Toaster, he said with affection. One of the greatest ever. How many Churches of Christ think differently on any number of questions because of his teaching?
DU had my two from the “Mud Slide Slim” album. “Places in my Past” is great. Especially if you are getting old!! The title cut “Mud Slide Slim” is also good.
Mike, I was proud to be your living, breathing person.
As for James Taylor, here’s a Dave Letterman-ism from “Top Ten Signs You Don’t Have Any Friends”:
You’re at a James Taylor concert and he’s singing “You’ve Got a Friend,” but when he see you in the audience, he stops.
“Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone….”
One of my favorite concert memories of all time is going to see JT with DU in memphis. It was as enjoyable to watch DU sing as it was JT. Good thing the speakers were loud, and I could only HEAR one of them.
Don’t forget one of the greatest teachers of all at Harding: Motis B. Totis.
James Taylor playlist…believe or not the old George Jones lament: “She Thinks I Still Care” is a must.
JT’s recent release, “One Man Band,” is just him, his guitar, and a piano accompanist playing through his catalog. (Well, there is a “drum machine” on two of the songs, but it’s a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek addition). Most are familiar hits, but he plays a few more obscure ones as well. It’s absolutely beautiful. I think it comes with a DVD of the concert as well.
I have to echo DU’s recommendation of “New Moon Shine.”
There are few things better in life than an evening at a JT concert.
(Not just by the way: thank you so much for your prayer this weekend, Mike. I’m geared up for “Biblical Interpretation I” and “Gospel of Luke.”)
I read the “yahoo news” article about the “threat” that the AI judges received from a contestant before acutally watching the show. Once I saw it, I was confused…I couldn’t believe that a sweet southern boy’s comment, “Thank you, be careful.” was taken as a threat! I can count on one hand the number of times my dad DIDN’T say that to me when we would say goodbye since leaving home (15 years ago) and I grew up in the midwest! Yikes! Paula (and the other AI judges) need better friends! They seriously looked baffled by his comment….and then Paula said “it’s not normal to tell people that!” I guess it’s good to not be normal!
When my youngest daughter was little we had a cassette of various “lullaby” songs. “You can Close Your Eyes” was one of them. She still likes that song and sings it to her 15 month old nephew.
Another good cut from Mud Slide Slim is “Hey Mister, that’s me up on the Jukebox”.
Ooops…….John MAYER, not “Meyer”. SORRY!
DU
“Home By Another Way” about the Magi is a must…
I’d recommmend anything from his first greatest hits album c.1976 with the exception of ‘Mexico’. Fire and Rain of course must always be on any playlist.
In regards to dps’s thought that somebody should always be available when a church is called, that technology leaps need to be taken by churches…
-In a large church something like what is suggested may be necessary, a community cell phone or whatever. But in a small church such technology may be out of reach financially, especially when funds are being stretched to the breaking point.
-In many other congregations we do it the old-fashioned way, with emergency numbers (like the preacher’s cell #) given on the answering machine. Hopefully most people can understand that.
-Finally, and this is not meant to be disparaging, but evidently this person has never preached for a small church in which the parsonage number is the same as the church number and calls are routinely received in the middle of the night. I can speak from experience, this can get very intrusive on a minister’s family. It would be great if we could do better than your average American multi-billion dollar corporation, but we like to get out sometimes, too.
A must for any playlist….Sweet Baby James and Steamroller.
GO STEELERS!!
Those of us that are 50 something might be heard singing, “My body’s aching and my time is at hand…………….”
always been a JT fan
From JT’s Hourglass album (1997): “Line ‘Em Up.” The opening words probably tanked any chance for radio airplay: “I remember Richard Nixon back in ’74…”, but it’s a great song. JT brought in Stevie Wonder, Yo-Yo Ma, Brandford Marsalis, Sting and various other heavyweights to play on Hourglass.
With JT One Man Band is a must, in the 5.1 sound DVD on the big screen. Then October Road which was a well received album and he says it was because it sounded like his old albums. the new Covers is very weak.
I used to sing “lighthouse” to my boy when he was a toddler and couldn’t sleep at night.
Actually I meant Daddy’s Baby instead of Lighthouse
I love Dr. Oster. Oster the Toaster. We had a fantastic deal (at least for me): I would be his Mac support tech and research all kinds of technology things for him and he would let me pick his brain endlessly on all things theological. He is in the upper echelon of Teachers I Learned From Most. Good choice. ^_^
Come November, I suggest buying “JT at Christmas”. Usually by Dec. 25, I am ready to erase all holiday music from my iPod, but I am always tempted to keep this one on all year long.
JT’s 2-disk “Live” is good–although there are a lot of duplicates with “Greatest Hits.” In terms of singles, I love “Copperline.”
I felt the same way about Paula’s misunderstanding of the Kentucky man’s comment. I think she has been in “the big city” too long to know what NORMAL is.
In addition to CSNY, I’ve been a fan of James Taylor since my early years. I love Home By Another Way, Frozen Man, September Grass, Up On A Roof, the live version of You Are My Only One, Long Ago And Far Away and so many others. You’ve got to hear James Taylor and Allison Krauss duet on Paul Simon’s The Boxer.
I agree that you have to get his Christmas album – I love it!!! One of my favorites on it is “River”.
Oster the Roaster as we called him, indeed infused us with many (healthy) exegetical and textual shifts in thinking. And Mike I’m finally able to say after years of healing that I actually appreciate Carroll Osburn even if it felt like emotional abuse at the time!
Love me some James Taylor, & all of my BIL’s comments are right on since he IS the authority on JT.
“Shed a Little Light” & “Shower The People” would be wonderful (imo) songs to be used in a worship service. Whenever he plays these at concerts, I raise my arms heavenward & one time when our whole family went to see him together, we all put our arms around each other’s shoulders during “Shower The People”. I’ll never forget that memory!
Thanks to my dad, I’m a JT fan…and I, too, love his Christmas album. “River” is fantastic…and he does the mellowest version of “Jingle Bells” I’ve ever heard.
For non-holiday songs I love “Carolina in My Mind,” “Fire and Rain” and “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You.”
It’s ok to have a comment.
Seconded on the above recommendation for “Gorilla.” Also, his new one, “Covers” isn’t bad at all. A little country, but not bad.
Dr. Oster…been there, done that…better because of it.
Rex
Have you ever had wasabi guacamole? I just saw it on the food channel served with seared tuna. Does that sound great or what!
Dr. Oster is not only a blazingly gifted teacher of the Word, but also a serious Christ-follower. His classes were mind-blowing, but going offline with him as a younger brother in the Lord is even better.
Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon never gets old…here’s a few of the best from that 3rd album from JT 1971.
“You’ve Got a Friend” (Carole King)
“Mud Slide Slim”
“Hey Mister, That’s Me up on the Jukebox”
“You Can Close Your Eyes”
“Long Ago and Far Away”