In The Pocket

In the Pocket is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, and his last to be released under Warner Bros. Records before signing with Columbia. Released in June 1976, it was one of his most memorable albums, and it found Taylor recording in the studio with many colleagues and friends, mainly Art Garfunkel (who duetted with him on “A Junkie’s Lament” and also contributed vocals on “Captain Jim’s Drunken Dream”), Carly Simon (Taylor’s wife, who harmonized with him on “Shower the People”), Stevie Wonder (who wrote with Taylor the song “Don’t Be Sad ‘Cause Your Sun Is Down”, a song on which he also played the harmonica) and also David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt, among others.

The result of the sessions, which took place between late 1975 and early ’76, was a very melodic album and one of his most diverse and polished[citation needed], highlighted with the single “Shower the People”, which through the years became a Taylor standard and concert favorite. Released as a single, the track peaked at #22 on the Billboard charts on September 18, 1976 and reached the summit of the Adult Contemporary charts in the US. Despite its success, In the Pocket didn’t match the success of Taylor’s previous album Gorilla, reaching only #16 on the Billboard album charts (it was Taylor’s lowest chart position during the 1970s and also the lowest since his debut album). Nevertheless, it managed to eventually get a Gold certification by the RIAA and became a fan favorite.

In 2008, the album was reissued on Rhino’s budget Flashback label.

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