Flag (James Taylor album)

Flag
Studio album by James Taylor
Released	May 1, 1979 (1979-05-01)
Recorded	January 4 – March 25, 1979 (1979-01-04 – 1979-03-25)
Studio	Sound Factory (Hollywood)
Genre	Rock
Length	42:52
Label	Columbia/Legacy
Producer	Peter Asher
James Taylor chronology
JT (1977) Flag (1979) Dad Loves His Work (1981)
Singles from Flag
"Up on the Roof" Released: 1979

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 a modified form of "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

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+ [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
MusicHound Rock	[4]
Rolling Stone	(favorable) [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

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

1. "Company Man" – 3:47
2. "Johnnie Comes Back" – 3:55
3. "Day Tripper" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:25
4. "I Will Not Lie for You" – 3:16
5. "Brother Trucker" – 4:01
6. "Is That the Way You Look?" – 1:59

Side two

1. "B.S.U.R. (S.U.C.S.I.M.I.M.)" – 3:23
2. "Rainy Day Man" (Taylor, Zach Wiesner) – 3:02
3. "Millworker" – 3:52
4. "Up on the Roof" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) – 4:21
5. "Chanson Française" – 2:05
6. "Sleep Come Free Me" – 4:43

Personnel

• James Taylor – lead vocals, acoustic guitars, 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 guitars (1–5, 7, 8, 10, 12)
• Waddy Wachtel – electric guitars (2, 10), acoustic guitars (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 Weekly chart performance for Flag Chart (1979) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [8] 18 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [9] 9 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [10] 50 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [11] 17 US Billboard 200 [12] 10

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Flag Chart (1979) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [13] 67 US Billboard 200 [14] 79

References

1. Ruhlmann, William. "Allmusic review". AllMusic . Retrieved June 30, 2012.
2. 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.
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
4. 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.
5. "Rolling Stone review". RollingStone.com. March 29, 2010. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
6. "James Taylor: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
7. Palmer, Robert (July 23, 1979). "Pop: Sunny James Taylor". The New York Times. p. C17.
8. 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.
9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4500a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
10. "Charts.nz – James Taylor – Flag". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
11. "Norwegiancharts.com – James Taylor – Flag". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
12. "James Taylor Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
13. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6920". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
14. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1979". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2021.