Sweet Baby James
The album that launched a thousand heavy-hearted singer-songwriters on their not-so-merry way,Sweet Baby Jameswas arguably the first shot in what became the soft revolution of the early '70s. A refugee of the Beatles' Apple label, Taylor struck commercial gold withSweet Baby Jamesby augmenting his acoustic guitar and soothing vocals with laid-back accompaniment (which included equally influential singer-songwriter insurrectionistCarole Kingon piano) and penning a slew of songs that drew upon folk, soul, and rock influences. "Fire and Rain" stands as the quintessential early Taylor tune: musically mellow and lyrically restive, it put Taylor in the Top 10 and set the tone for a popular school of '70s sound.--Steven Stolder