James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine

{{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |Template:Short description|noreplace}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other Template:Category handler Template:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=compilationJames Taylor and the Original Flying MachineJames Taylor - James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine.jpgJames Taylor and the Original Flying MachineTemplate:Start date<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Start date Rock Template:DurationEuphoriaTemplate:Flatlistx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Template:Album ratings James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine is an archival release of 1966 recordings of American singer-songwriter James Taylor's band The Flying Machine (not to be confused with The Flying Machine of "Smile a Little Smile for Me" fame from 1969), first released in February 1971.

HistoryEdit

The songs on the album were recorded with Taylor's band The Flying Machine in a late 1966 three-hour session in New York City's Select Sound Studios.<ref name="white">White, Timothy. James Taylor: Long Ago and Far Away, Omnibus Press, 2002, Template:ISBN. p. 118.</ref> They were produced by Chip Taylor, who had been involved in some recent pop hits, and Al Gorgoni, who also added harpsichord to the band's sound.<ref name="white"/> The group felt the resulting tracks were of only demo quality.<ref name="white"/> After "Night Owl" (b/w "Brighten Your Night with My Day") was released as an unsuccessful single by Jay Gee Records, a subsidiary of Jubilee Records, no work towards an album release went forward.<ref name="white"/>

Taylor subsequently signed with Apple Records, failed commercially again, but then became a huge success with Warner Bros. Records on Sweet Baby James in 1970 and Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon in 1971. Euphoria Records then released the sessions using the name "The Original Flying Machine", to distinguish the group from the UK outfit The Flying Machine who had emerged in 1969 with the hit song "Smile a Little Smile for Me". The released album had modest success capitalizing on Taylor's fame, reaching #74 on the U.S. pop albums chart. Flying Machine member Danny Kortchmar was not pleased, saying "The people involved wouldn't spring for the money for a whole album of James' songs [in 1967]. So it seemed terrible years later when the same people put out the Flying Machine album of those few sessions."

The sessions were re-released by Gadfly Records, with additional short intros and two remixes, in 1996.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>