released February 17, 2013

Joel Bishop O'Brien - Drums
Danny Kortchmar - Guitar
James Taylor - Guitar
Zach Weisner - Bass

Songs by James Taylor except 'Rainy Day Man' (Taylor/Wiesner) and 'Kootch's Song' (Kortchmar)

Recorded at Select Sound Studio, NYC, Winter 1966/'67
Engineers: Wally Sheffrey, Eddie Youngblood

Formed in 1966 by four friends in their teens and early 20s, The Flying Machine were a hard working band in the thriving mid 60's Greenwich Village rock and roll scene. They practiced in the basement of the Hotel Albert and played 3 sets a night, 6 nights a week at the famed Night Owl Cafe as well as fitting in gigs at various other dives around town. They shared the stage with bands like, The Mothers Of Invention, The Buffalo Springfield, Lothar and the Hand People and The Velvet Underground. They lasted less than a year and broke up in 1967, having managed to garner a bit of a following in the city and record a few rough demos. If that were the end of the story they'd be even less of a footnote than they are today. A faded memory rattling around in the minds of a few aging hipsters and a name on a few dusty old handbills. But as we know, that wasn't the end of the story.

Fast forward to 1971: Bishop is in Los Angeles working as a session drummer, most notably playing on Carol Kings masterpiece 'Tapestry'. Danny is also in L.A., well on his way to cementing himself as the most in demand session guitarist of his generation. Zach is living in Stockbridge Ma. and James, as we all know, has become an international superstar. His 1970 album 'Sweet Baby James' selling millions of copies worldwide and forming the blueprint for the singer/songwriter dominated 1970's. In the middle of the year, against the bands wishes, the "Producers" of The Flying Machine demos decided to cash in on James' fame. Changing the name of the group to 'James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine', they released the few rough tapes that the band had recorded. There was so little material that in order to make it a full length record they padded the album with false starts, studio banter, the guys tuning up, a drum solo, some sort of harpsichord thing, an instrumental and the same song twice with a different vocal performance! They spared every expense on the artwork and packaging and despite it's crude nature and mixed reviews, the album charted and sold well. Some people even thought they were buying the follow up to 'Sweet Baby James'. Needless to say, James' fans, as well as the members of the band, were disappointed. These were demos, never finished or fully realized. The band would have blocked the release if they could have and after a few small royalty checks they never saw another dime.

The album has gone on to be re-released worldwide on every format imaginable (still have that old 8 track player, groovy guy?), with various titles, artwork and liner notes. If these songs hadn't seen the light of day in 1971, a few of them would fit nicely on a JT rarities box set, showing off his young, raw talent. Making music with childhood friends. As it is though, the whole thing came out and is now a staple of used record store bins everywhere.

With this version, we have left off the album filling banter. The tuning up and false starts are gone. There's no stupid harpsichord bit. We also have not included the second version of 'Knockin Round The Zoo' with the alternate vocal. What we're left with is a bit of a time capsule. six songs from a young, hungry, mid 60's New York City band. If James and Danny had hung it up in 1967 and hadn't gone on to literally define the sound of their generation, The Flying Machine recordings might be looked at as somewhat of a lost cult classic from a vibrant and historically important music scene.

Also of note, for the first time ever, all the proceeds from this release will actually be going to the band members.