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James Taylor was unquestionably a familiar musical commodity by the time he released Gorilla in 1975, but he was arguably just as well known by that point for his general celebrity, having married fellow singer-songwriter Carly Simon a few years earlier. In fact, one might even argue that he was more known for the latter by that point, given that his previous album, 1974’s Walking Man, had delivered disappointing commercial returns. Whether you want to attribute it to a change in material or a change in the musical climate, Gorilla ended up enchanting considerably more listeners, with the first single, “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)". It’s also worth mentioning that the level of musical talent performing on the album was pretty solid, too, with the character of characters including – in alphabetical order – David Crosby, Lowell George, David Grisman, Jim Keltner, Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, Graham Nash, Randy Newman, David Sanborn, and the aforementioned Ms. Simon. This 2019 remaster from Rhino Entertainment was overseen by Peter Asher, who signed Taylor to the Beatles’ Apple Records label in 1968, worked as his manager for 25 years, and originally produced several of these albums. In the collection’s liner notes Asher writes: “Revisiting these albums several decades later has been revelatory, nostalgic, and exciting. I have heard bits and pieces frequently over the years, of course, but listening with concentration and in detail to each of the original tapes without interruption has been a thrilling luxury.”