October Road Songs Ranked
October Road is singer-songwriter James Taylor’s fifteenth studio album. It was released on August 13, 2002 in two versions: a single-disc version and a “limited edition” two-disc version, which contains three extra songs, as well as a video presentation. October Road would be James Taylor’s last album of original material until Before This World in 2015. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 154,000 copies sold in its opening week, which is Taylor’s best sales week performance for an album in the SoundScan era. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on November 21, 2002, and had sold 1,076,000 copies in the US as of May 2015. Here are all of October Road songs ranked.
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8. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
“Enough space will be given over various performing and writing aspects of this new JT CD. Unquestionably all up to the usual high level. But what really impressed me as much as all that was the quality of the recording qua recording. Dazzling work.”
7. Caroline I See You
“Every instrument seems suspended in mid-air, shimmering away all by itself, but ultimately in integrated concert with all the others. You can almost reach out and touch the sound. I love the way musique concrete-y effects are dropped into the mix; random instumental and percussive sounds that crop up to give the overall procedings a very playful “feel.” “
6. Raised Up Family
“I think that is one reason why I treasure this new CD so much. Each listening yields up more of these little aural ambiguities. There is a lot of synth and digital wizardry at play here, but it’s not as if “they” are trying to fool the listener into accepting it as acoustic verissimilitude.”
See more: James Taylor Albums Ranked
5. Mean Old Man
“Lyrically, each successive play of the disc reveals another meaning to each of the songs. But basically, the lyrics “paint” the reflections of Mr. Taylor’s thoughts on the “autumn” of life, falling in love, marriage, and other life experiences. The finished product makes the listener almost believe that James Taylor – and only James Taylor – could meaningfully sing about these topics.”
4. Whenever You’re Ready
“With some musical artists, the old saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. Critics and the general listening audience – myself included – will be harsh on a singer if his or her musical stylings don’t change or don’t venture into experiments with new sounds. With others, though, familiarity is a good thing. The prime example of this is James Taylor. He is one of the rare musicians who can keep basically with the same formula and still be (deservedly so) hailed for the finished product.”
3. October Road
“There is evidence of experimentation and new sounds on “October Road”, but he manages to restrain and blend them into his trademark musical stylings, rather than venturing so far out that he alienates his core audience and ruins his musical integrity.”
2. My Traveling Star
“My Traveling Star” is lyrically the best song on the album but is not given a sympathetic arrangement to match (this was augmented in 2007 for the “One Man Band” show).”
1. Carry Me on My Way
“It is sure to be another classic in the discography of this great musician. James Taylor – like an old friend – proves once again that he is “Mr. Reliable” when it comes to producing great music. And like that old friend, Mr. Taylor’s music, new or old, is welcome at my house anytime.”