Good Friends (Livingston Taylor album)
Good Friends is singer-songwriter Livingston Taylor's ninth album, released in 1993.
The album is full of skillfully crafted pop songs and classics with a jazzy twist. Taylor includes several cover songs along with his own, self-penned, material. His cover of Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands" takes the original's simple arrangement (just a bluesy electric guitar, bass and drums behind Wither's voice) and recreates the song into a gospel-choir backed a cappella performance.[1] Based on the lyrics, the Grandma of this song was a religious woman who “clapped in church on Sunday morning” and “played a tambourine so well.”[2] He also tackles the Wizard of Oz selections, "If I Only Had a Brain" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Keeping with the Chesky Records standards,[3] as the back-cover reads, this album was "recorded with minimalist miking techniques and without overdubbing or artificial enhancement to ensure the purest and most natural sound possible."
Good Friends | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1993 | |||
Recorded | April 16–17, 1993 | |||
Studio | MasterSound, Queens, NY | |||
Genre | Pop, Folk, Jazz | |||
Length | 46:52 | |||
Label | Chesky Records | |||
Producer | David Chesky, Joel Diamond | |||
Livingston Taylor chronology | ||||
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Track listing
All tracks composed by Livingston Taylor, except where indicated.
- "Out of This World" (Livingston Taylor, Maggie Taylor) – 2:45
- "Jacques Cousteau" (Andy Paley) – 2:17
- "Heart and Soul" (Hoagy Charmichael, Frank Loesser) – 2:42
- "Carolina Day" – 3:43
- "If I Only Had a Brain" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg) – 4:18
- "Grandma's Hands" (Bill Withers) – 1:45
- "Blind" – 3:16
- "Good Friends" – 3:54
- "Pajamas" – 2:18
- "Get Out of Bed" (Livingston Taylor, Maggie Taylor) – 2:57
- "Save Your Heart for Me" (Gary Geld, Peter Udell) – 2:43
- "Fifth and Vine" – 2:46
- "Bluer Than Blue" (Randy Goodrum) – 2:55
- "In My Reply" – 3:46
- "Somewhere over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg) – 3:40
- "Thank You Song" – 1:13
Formats
CD (JD097) Chesky Records
180 gram LP (JR97) Chesky Records
References
- http://somethingelsereviews.com/2007/02/15/livingston-taylor-grandmas-hands-1993/
- http://www.metrolyrics.com/grandmas-hands-lyrics-bill-withers.html
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)