James Taylor - Gorilla (1974)

'Sweet Baby James' (1970) and 'Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon' (1971) were the two James Taylor albums I sunk myself into a lot before I picked up this LP. Compared to those grimly confessional works which contained sentiments I could relate to as a teenager, 'Gorilla' seemed pronouncedly upbeat, sweet and sunny... A bit too sunny, in fact, as Taylor appeared to be basking in the glow of mainstream success rather than creating affecting art out of personal pain like he used to.

Still, this has some fabulous songs whose main strength lies in their sparkling combination of folk sensibility and pop sophistication. While the cute cover of the Motown hit 'How Sweet It Is' (a duet with Taylor's erstwhile wife Carly Simon) is pure ear-candy, alluring originals like 'You Make It Easy' (featuring one of David Sanborn's most inspired sax solos), 'I Was a Fool to Care' and 'Lighthouse' (with terrific harmony support from David Crosby and Graham Nash) give Taylor ample room to show off his formidable chops as a crooner. 'Gorilla' is probably the last great album Taylor made before jumping on the superstar bandwagon.