''Before This World'' is the nineteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, hav ...

. Released on June 15, 2015, it was Taylor's first new studio album of original material since '' October Road'' (2002) and first studio album of any kind since ''Covers'' in 2008. He recorded the album in a barn on his property in western Massachusetts with

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...

on drums and Jimmy Johnson on bass. In April 2015, he announced a short U.S. tour running from July 2 to August 6 to promote the album, which then continued into 2016 and 2017. ''Before This World'' became Taylor's first album to reach number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album arrived on top of the chart of July 4, 2015, more than 45 years after Taylor arrived on the list with '' Sweet Baby James'' (on the March 14, 1970, list). The album launched atop the ''Billboard'' 200 with 97,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending June 21, 2015. Of its start, pure album sales were 96,000 copies sold, Taylor's best debut week for an album since ''October Road''.

Background

James Taylor's previous original album, '' October Road'', was released in 2002, following which Taylor did not prioritize writing new material for many years. Concerned he might never create another original album, Taylor convinced family, friends, and manager he needed to cut off all communication and lived alone in a waterfront apartment in Newport, Rhode Island while composing the album. Lyrics from a song on Taylor's 1981 album, Dad Loves His Work, appear in the title of the opening track:

Recording

Basic tracks were recorded at The Barn in Massachusetts during ten days in January 2014. This was followed by some dubbing of backup vocals at Ocean Way in Los Angeles during March 2014.

Live performance

On his

2014 All Star Band tour Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

, Taylor performed several tracks from the album prior to its release. "Today Today Today", "You And I Again" and "Stretch of the Highway" were debuted at the May 30, 2014, show and played throughout the tour; the traditional song "Wild Mountain Thyme" also earned a regular place in the shows (it had been previously performed by James Taylor occasionally in concert). At Toronto's show on July 24, 2014, James Taylor performed "SnowTime" specially and explained that the song was written about Toronto. "Angels of Fenway", "Montana" and "Before This World / Jolly Springtime" were all performed during his shows in his spring and summer tour of 2015, to coincide with the album's release.

Commercial performance

''Before This World'' debuted at number one with 97,000 units moved on the week ending June 21, becoming Taylor's first number-one album on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. This made Taylor surpass

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

to become the second-longest waiting artist for a number-one album – 47 years since ''

'' (1968) — behind a 54-year wait by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his bir ...

. Also, he had scored 11 Top 10 albums before achieving his first No. 1, just behind

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

. The following week, the album came in at No. 5, selling 50,000 copies in its second week. On the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, the album started at number 4 with 13,801 copies on sales, became Taylor's fourth top 10 albums. It also tied with '' The Best of James Taylor'' (2003) for his highest-ranking album on chart, while both are peaked at number four.

Track listings

All tracks written by James Taylor, except as noted.

Personnel

All songs feature James Taylor's All Star Band. * Baritone Saxophone – Roger Rosenberg * Bass – Jimmy Johnson * Cello – Emily Brause,

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

, Peter Sachon * Drums –

* Guitar –

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitc ...

, Henry Taylor * Flugelhorn – Tony Kadleck * French Horn – Larry Di Bello, David Peel * Percussion –

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He bega ...

* Piano, Keyboards – Larry Goldings * Trumpet – Walt Fowler, Barry Danielian,

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on N ...

* Saxophone – Lou Marini, Dave Mann * Trombone – Randy Andos, Michael Davis * Viola – Katharine Kresek, Philip Payton * Violin – Jonathan Dinklage, Rachel Golub, Hiroko Taguchi, Entcho Todorov, Orlando Wells,

Andrea Zonn Andrea Elizabeth Zonn (born 1969) is a singer and fiddle player who grew up in Urbana, Illinois. She grew up in an environment surrounded by music. She sings, and plays classical violin, and is fluent in numerous other musical genres. Zonn first ...

* Vocals – James Taylor, Dorian Holley,

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

Kate Markowitz Catherine Judith "Kate" Markowitz (Born 28 April 1956) is an American singer-songwriter known as a backup singer who has recorded and performed with a number of singers, most notably James Taylor but also Willy DeVille, Shawn Colvin, Mylène Farm ...

, Arnold McCuller, Andrea Zonn, Kim Taylor, Henry Taylor * Arrangements (strings, brass, horns) –

Rob Mounsey Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger. Music career Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17, ...

Production

Dave O'Donnell Dave O'Donnell is an American record producer, engineer and mixer, known for his work with James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Bettye LaVette, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, John Mayer, Lyle Lovett, Milton Nascimento, Keb' Mo' and Ray Charles. In 1984, ...

– producer *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' '' Come Away with Me''. Biograp ...

at Sterling Sound, NYC – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control James Taylor albums 2015 albums Albums recorded in a home studio Albums recorded at United Western Recorders