Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon

Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon
Studio album by James Taylor
Released	March 16, 1971
Recorded	January 3 – February 28, 1971
Studio	Crystal Sound Studios, Los Angeles
Genre	Pop rock[1]
Length	37:07
Label	Warner
Producer	Peter Asher
James Taylor chronology
James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine (1971) Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971) One Man Dog (1972)

	"You've Got A Friend" James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend" from Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon
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Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor. Released on March 16, 1971 as the follow-up to his commercial breakthrough and critical triumph, Sweet Baby James, it almost equaled the acclaim and surpassed the success of its predecessor at the time of its release. It contains Taylor's biggest hit single in the US, a version of the Carole King standard "You've Got a Friend", which became his only #1 on the Billboard charts on July 31, 1971. The week before, the album itself reached its peak position of #2 in the Billboard album charts. It was held off the top spot by King, then ruling the charts with the blockbuster Tapestry album, which contained her version of "You've Got a Friend". (Taylor also worked with King on her album and appears on several tracks performing acoustic guitar and backing vocals.)

Months later, the album managed to generate another Top 40 hit, "Long Ago and Far Away", which reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other songs became standards in concert, particularly "You Can Close Your Eyes".

In 1972, "You've Got a Friend" received Grammy Awards both for Taylor (Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male) and King (Song of the Year).

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	C+[3]
MusicHound	3/5[4]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[5]
Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

Track listing

All songs by James Taylor unless otherwise noted.

Side One

1. "Love Has Brought Me Around" – 2:41
2. "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King) – 4:28
3. "Places in My Past" – 2:01
4. "Riding on a Railroad" – 2:41
5. "Soldiers" – 1:13
6. "Mud Slide Slim" – 5:20

Side Two

1. "Hey Mister, That's Me up on the Jukebox" – 3:46
2. "You Can Close Your Eyes" – 2:31
3. "Machine Gun Kelly" (Danny Kortchmar) – 2:37
4. "Long Ago and Far Away" – 2:20
5. "Let Me Ride" – 2:42
6. "Highway Song" – 3:51
7. "Isn't It Nice to Be Home Again" – 0:55

Personnel

• James Taylor - acoustic guitar, piano, vocals
• Peter Asher - tambourine, backing vocals
• Richard Greene - fiddle
• Gail Haness - backing vocals
• John Hartford - banjo
• Wayne Jackson - trumpet
• Kevin Kelly - piano, accordion
• Carole King - piano, backing vocals
• Danny Kortchmar - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, congas
• Russ Kunkel - drums, congas, tambourine, cabasa, cowbell, small cymbals
• Andrew Love - tenor saxophone
• Leland Sklar - bass
• Steven Edney - backing vocals
• Joni Mitchell - backing vocals
• Kate Taylor - backing vocals
• The Memphis Horns - horns

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1971) Position Canadian RPM Albums Chart[7] 4 Norwegian Albums Chart[8] 17 UK Albums Chart[9] 4 U.S. Billboard Top LPs & Tapes[10] 2 Year-end charts Chart (1971) Position U.S. Billboard Pop Albums[11] 27

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales United States (RIAA)[12] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon - James Taylor | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
2. Ruhlmann, William. Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 October 2004.
3. Christgau, Robert. "James Taylor > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 13 April 2006.
4. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 1125. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
5. Gerson, Ben (June 24, 1971). "James Taylor Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon > Album Review". Rolling Stone (85). Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
6. Coleman, Mark; Edmonds, Ben (2004). "James Taylor". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 804–805. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Portions posted at "James Taylor > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
7. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 15, No. 18" (PHP). RPM. 1971-06-19. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
8. "norwegiancharts.com James Taylor – Mud Slide Slim". Archived from the original (ASP) on May 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
9. "James Taylor > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
10. "AllMusic: Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon: Charts & Awards: Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
11. "Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1971". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
12. "American album certifications – James Taylor – Mud Slide Slim". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH