james taylor long ago and far away backing vocals
Joni Mitchell
title: Long Ago and Far Away (James Taylor song) text: Long Ago and Far Away (James Taylor song) "Long Ago and Far Away" is a song written by James Taylor and first released on his 1971 album "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon". It was the follow up single to "You've Got a Friend" and became a Top 40 hit in the U.S. and a Top 20 hit in Canada, and made the Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S. It has also been covered by New York Voices and Johnny Mathis. Taylor wrote "Long Ago and Far Away" in 1970, about a year before it title: Long Ago and Far Away (James Taylor song) text: was recorded for "Mud Slide Slim". Joni Mitchell sings background vocals and Carole King plays piano. It is a sad song that Taylor biographer Timothy White calls "among the most wistful of Taylor's vast catalogue of secular hymns." The theme of the song is how things don't turn out as planned, how dreams don't usually match the ultimate reality and how expectations don't last. The lyrics evoke a motif common in Taylor's songs, that of the sea and sailing away for one reason or another. Other images in the lyrics include "tender dreams" and "broken glass." Towards the end of title: James Taylor text: as "a cowboy Jesus," to which Taylor later replied, "I thought I was trying to look like George Harrison." Released in April, "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon" also gained critical acclaim and contained Taylor's biggest hit single in the US, a version of the Carole King standard "You've Got a Friend" (featuring backing vocals by Joni Mitchell), which reached #1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in late July. The follow-up single, "Long Ago and Far Away," also made the Top 40 and reached #4 on the "Billboard" Adult Contemporary chart. The album itself reached #2 on the album title: Long Ago and Far Away (James Taylor song) text: in Rio". New York Voices covered "Long Ago and Far Away" on the 2001 album "Sketches of James: Selection from the James Taylor Songbook". Johnny Mathis covered the song on his 1971 album "You've Got a Friend". Mathis also released his version as a single. "Billboard Magazine" described Mathis' version, produced by Richard Perry, as a "ballad beauty" delivered "in top form." Long Ago and Far Away (James Taylor song) "Long Ago and Far Away" is a song written by James Taylor and first released on his 1971 album "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon". It was the follow title: Long Ago and Far Away (James Taylor song) text: melody of "Long Ago and Far Away" and that of "Sunny Skies," a song from Taylor's prior album "Sweet Baby James". Journalist Peggy Mulloy Glad regards it as an example of how Taylor can use his vocal and guitar playing to "communicate the pain, melancholy and desires that most people experience but few can express." Author Dave Thompson described the song as "slight." But Rudis considers it a "nice dreamy number." Author Ian Halperin regards it as the most daring song on "Mud Slide Slim". Thirteen years after its initial release, critic Doug Robinson called it a "lesser known gem."