Walking Man

For other uses, see Walking Man (disambiguation).
Walking Man
Studio album by
James Taylor
ReleasedJune 1974 (1974-06)
RecordedJanuary – April 1974
StudioHit Factory, New York City
Genre
Length33:34
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerDavid Spinozza
James Taylor chronology
One Man Dog
(1972) 		Walking Man
(1974) 		Gorilla
(1975)
Singles from Walking Man
  1. "Let It All Fall Down"
    Released: 1974
  2. "Walking Man"
    Released: 1974

Walking Man is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter James Taylor. Released in June 1974, it was not as successful as his previous efforts, reaching only No. 13 on the Billboard Album Chart and selling 300,000 copies in the United States. Until 2008's Covers, it was Taylor's only studio album not to receive a gold or platinum certification from the RIAA.

The title track reached number 26 on the Easy Listening chart in October 1974.[1]

Record World called the title track a "tall, proud mansong" that could be Taylor's biggest hit since "Fire and Rain."[2]

Cash Box said of the single "Let It All Fall Down" that it's a "tender, highly lyrical tune, very reminiscent of the artist's powerful beginning.."[3] Record World called it a "nihilistic hymn of anarchy [that] gets the hauntingly up musical treatment."[4]

"Hello Old Friend" was used in the intro for ABC's Game 3 coverage of the 1989 World Series, just before the pre-game broadcast was interrupted by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
MusicHound2/5[7]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 237.
  2. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. September 14, 1974. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  3. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 17, 1974. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  4. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. August 17, 1974. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  5. ^ link
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  7. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 1125. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  8. ^ link
  9. ^ "James Taylor: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2015.