Mobile Fidelity - MFSL 1-354 - 180 Gram Vinyl 

Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich 

Numbered Limited Edition - Pressed at RTI  

1/4" / 15 IPS / Dolby A analog master to DSD 64 to analog console to lathe

Featured in Michael Fremer's Heavy Rotation in the February 2012 Issue of Stereophile & Rated

9/10 Music, 9/10 Sonics in his February 2012  TAS Audiophile Demo Disc!

Taylor's 1977 Columbia Debut Re-Established His Place As Leading Folk-Rock Troubadour. All-Star Cast Assists Taylor In Exploring All Sides of Domestic Issues, Earning Triple-Platinum Album!

James Taylor’s best-selling record since 1970’s hallmark Sweet Baby James, 1977’s JT takes its permanent place as one of the singer’s most enduring albums, an affair that gorges on country, blues, and rock styles and incisive songwriting. As the preeminent singer-songwriter’s Columbia debut, it catapulted him back into the limelight and reestablished his place as the era’s leading-edge folk-rock troubadour.

Half-speed mastered from the original analog master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered limited-edition 180g LP possesses a warmth, immediacy, and intimacy that surpasses that available on any of Taylor’s prior albums. The singer’s comforting voice, breath control, and enchanting guitar lines sound as if they pour right out of the studio control room, and the splendid array of backing instrumentation is balanced, vivid, and dynamic. You’ve never heard Taylor this realistic, warm, or lively.

More than any other of his records, the triple-platinum JT features all sides of Taylor’s lyrical persona. Optimistic, content material fills half of the set while Taylor also reveals a darker, moodier identity on a number of songs that keep the 12-track set alternating between shade and light, shadow and sun. He turns romantic and blissful on the touching ballad “There We Are,” praises the power of love on “Your Smiling Face,” and enchants with the graceful “Secret O’Life.”

In addition to the domestic bliss, Taylor also expresses surprise and cynicism on “Honey Don’t Leave L.A.,” delves into despair on “Another Grey Morning,” and invites sardonic tones on “Bartender’s Blues.” The result is a complete picture of an extraordinary songwriter, and accurate sketches of the mixed emotions so many of us feel. Taylor’s ability to capture deep-seeded feelings, and set them to lyrical and musical poetry, explains why we relate to him on such a meta-level. It’s also why his music, particularly JT, remains timeless.

Taylor doesn’t do it all alone. JT benefits from an all-star support cast. Iconic singers Carly Simon and Linda Ronstadt supply background vocals, saxophone great David Sanborn plays the horn, Russ Kunkel mans the percussion, and legendary arranger David Campbell oversees the strings and woodwinds. It’s no wonder why many fans consider this gorgeous collection of Laurel Canyon pop-rock Taylor’s finest.

Mobile Fidelity is honored to have given this easy listening late-'70s gem the sonic restoration befitting its brilliant musical content. Whether you’ve never heard this record or know it inside and out, this 180g analog reissue will open your ears to previously hidden details ranging from pedal-steel guitar accents to honky-tonk tonalities that add to the overall enjoyment. Taylor’s funky rhythms, too, gain in stature, as does his meticulous command of pace and tempo. Bliss.

"While the production may sound a bit slick, it's such sweet ear candy, you won't care. Val Garay gets the instruments remarkably well separated in space and give you a kick drum and electric bass you can latch onto and ride. All of the instruments receive the same clean, unprocessed treatment and as good as the original Columbia pressing was, Mobile Fidelity does it even better, striking the perfect balance between warmth and clarity. The original's dynamics can't match this edition. There's plenty worth listening in on within these mixes and the mastering and pressing open a transparent, revealing window onto the action." - Michael Fremer, musicangle.com Music 9, Sound 9! 

Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Backing Vocals – James Taylor
Bass – Leland Sklar
Vocals - Carly Simon
Drums, Percussion – Russell Kunkel
Guitar – Danny Kortchmar
Keyboards – Dr. Clarence McDonald

• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Half-Speed Production and Mastering by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
• Specially Plated and Pressed on 180 grams of High Definition Vinyl
• Special Static Free - Dust Free Inner Sleeve
• Heavy Duty Protective Gatefold Packaging
• Mastered from the Original Master Tapes

Selections:
Side A: 
1. Your Smiling Face
2. There We Are
3. Honey Don't Leave L.A.
4. Another Grey Morning
5. Bartender's Blues
6. Secret O' Life
Side B: 
1. Handy Man
2. I Was Only Telling A Lie
3. Looking For Love On Broadway
4. Terra Nova
5. Traffic Jam
6. If I Keep My Heart Out Of Sight

GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of MFSL’s founding fathers – Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL’s most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customized reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, we only utilize first generation original master recordings as source material for our releases. We then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master’s sonic information. Our lacquers are then plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). We further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors’ items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

As you can imagine, all these efforts involve a tremendous amount of time, technology, cost and effort. The introduction of GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ maintains Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s position as the world’s leading audiophile record label, where a passion for music with extraordinary sound quality matters most.