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1979 studio album by James Taylor
Flag is the ninth
studio album by American singer-songwriter
James Taylor released on May 1, 1979. The album included songs ("Millworker", "Brother Trucker") from Taylor's
music score to
Stephen Schwartz 's
Broadway
musical ,
Working , based on the book by
Studs Terkel .
The album was not well received, but it did provide a hit in Taylor's
cover version of the
Gerry Goffin –
Carole King composition "
Up on the Roof " (Taylor's most recent top 40 hit as a solo artist).
"Rainy Day Man", which first appeared on Taylor's self-titled
debut album , was re-recorded.
The
signal flag that makes up the cover of the album is "O (Oscar)", standing for man overboard.
On the May 12, 1979, episode of
Saturday Night Live , Taylor was the musical guest, and performed three songs from the album, "Up on the Roof", "
Millworker ", and "Johnnie Comes Back".
Critical reception
The New York Times wrote that Taylor's "vulnerable tenor and the glossy production Peter Asher gives his record conspire to court blandness."
[7]
Track listing
All songs by
James Taylor unless otherwise noted.
Side one
"Company Man" – 3:47
"Johnnie Comes Back" – 3:55
"
Day Tripper " (
John Lennon ,
Paul McCartney ) – 4:25
"I Will Not Lie for You" – 3:16
"Brother Trucker" – 4:01
"Is That the Way You Look?" – 1:59
Side two
"B.S.U.R. (S.U.C.S.I.M.I.M.)" – 3:23
"Rainy Day Man" (Taylor, Zach Wiesner) – 3:02
"
Millworker " – 3:52
"
Up on the Roof " (
Gerry Goffin ,
Carole King ) – 4:21
"Chanson Française" – 2:05
"Sleep Come Free Me" – 4:43
Personnel
James Taylor – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (1, 3-6)
Don Grolnick –
clavinet (1-3, 5), electric piano (1, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12),
organ (4, 7, 8, 12),
ARP String Ensemble (5), acoustic piano (9),
harmonium (9), shoe (9)
Ralph Schuckett – organ (2)
Danny Kortchmar – electric guitar (1-5, 7, 8, 10, 12)
Waddy Wachtel – electric guitar (2, 10), acoustic guitar (4)
Dan Dugmore –
pedal steel guitar (5)
Leland Sklar – bass (1-8, 10-12)
Russ Kunkel – drums (1-8, 10-12),
cowbell (3),
timbales (3),
congas (11)
Steve Forman – tambourine (2), timbales (2), Mazda phone (5), cowbell (7), congas (8),
waterphone (8)
Peter Asher – timbales (4),
shaker (5), backing vocals (7)
David Sanborn – saxophone (4)
Jesse Levy – cello (9)
Louise Schulmann – viola (9)
David Spinozza – string arrangements and conductor (3)
Arif Mardin – string arrangements and conductor (10)
Larry Touquet – cell door effects (12)
Graham Nash – backing vocals (1)
Alex Taylor – backing vocals (5)
Carly Simon – backing vocals (7)
David Lasley – backing vocals (8)
Arnold McCuller – backing vocals (8)
Production
Producer – Peter Asher
Engineer –
Val Garay
Assistant Engineers – Lincoln Clapp and George Ybarra
Recorded and Mixed at
The Sound Factory (Hollywood, California).
Mastered by
Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California).
Art Direction and Design –
John Kosh
Photography – Mark Hanauer
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
^ Ruhlmann, William.
"Allmusic review" .
AllMusic . Retrieved 2012-06-30 .
^
Christgau, Robert (1981).
"Consumer Guide '70s: T" .
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies .
Ticknor & Fields .
ISBN
089919026X . Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
^
Larkin, Colin (2007).
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.).
Oxford University Press .
ISBN
978-0195313734 .
^ 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 .
^
"Rolling Stone review" . RollingStone.com. March 29, 2010. Archived from
the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2012 .
^
"James Taylor: Album Guide" .
rollingstone.com . Archived from
the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2015 .
^ Palmer, Robert (23 July 1979). "Pop: Sunny James Taylor". The New York Times . p. C17.
^
Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 305.
ISBN
0-646-11917-6 .
^
"Top RPM Albums: Issue 4500a" .
RPM .
Library and Archives Canada . Retrieved May 6, 2021.
^
"Charts.nz – James Taylor – Flag" . Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
^
"Norwegiancharts.com – James Taylor – Flag" . Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
^
"James Taylor Chart History (Billboard 200)" .
Billboard . Retrieved May 6, 2021.
^
"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1979" . Billboard . Retrieved September 9, 2021 .
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