James Taylor

Metro's 2001 compilation Espionage: The Very Best of the James Taylor Quartet collects much of the best of the James Taylor Quartet's recordings from the early '90s, capturing their stylishly funky acid jazz quite well. There are two covers of Booker T. & the MG's -- "Green Onions" and "Be My Girl" -- some '60s and '70s film and TV covers ("Mission Impossible," "Blow Up," "Theme from Dirty Harry," "Starsky and Hutch") and those two extremes pretty much capture what the quartet sounds like: funky soul given a cinematic spin. This well-chosen, well-annotated collection provides a good introduction to their world. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide