Jim Croce
You Don’t Mess Around With Jim

This ABC Records album may not feature “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” but it is certainly one of those albums that fits the cliche of what I intended the point of this project to be. This album makes a great listen from start to finish, well thought out with a variety of dynamics on each side; it’s not a cherry picker album.

One awesome thing I first noticed about this album is that it folds out and has all the lyrics to the songs – in a font that is readable! Yea, CD’s have been known to enclose lyrics, but real estate is such a prime with them that you need a magnifying glass to read the lyrics and notes – not so on this album!

I think my top favorites on the album are mostly on the flip side, “Box #10,” “A Long Time Ago,” and “Hey Tomorrow.” The other favorite (on the front) being the title track, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” Funny thing is, when I looked up the airplay charts and compared them to my list, only one made the cut. The top hits of album from back in the day are, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim,” “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels),” and “Time in a Bottle.”

Although, the one song that deserves a special mentioning is, “Time in a Bottle.” With the help of ABC’s movie, “She Lives!” Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” topped the charts at number one three months after his untimely death.

Tracklisting:

Side 1:

1. You Don’t Mess Around with Jim
2. Tomorrow’s Gonna Be A Brighter Day
3. New York’s Not My Home
4. Hard TIme Losin’ My Man
5. Photographs and Memories
6. Walking Back To Georgia

Side 2:

1. Operator (That’s Not The Way It Feels)
2. Time in a Bottle
3. Rapid Boy (The Stock Car Boy)
4. Box #10
5. A Long Time Ago
6. Hey Tomorrow

This album features:

• Jim Croce, Rhythm Guitar
  (Also wrote all the songs.)
• Maury Muehleisen, Lead Acoustic Guitar
• Gary Chester, Drums
• Tommy West, Key Boards
• Joe Macho, Bass
• Jim Ryan, Bass – “Box #10″
• Tommy West, Bass – “Walkin’ Back to Georgia,” “Photographs and Memories,” “Time In A Bottle”
• H.J Boyle, Electric Guitar – “Hey Tomorrow”
• Ellie Greenwich, Tasha Thomas, Tommy West, Briggs, Digs, Slim: Background Vocals – “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Hard Time Losin’ Man,” “Time In A Bottle,” “Hey Tomorrow”
• Maury Muehleisen, Terry Cashman, Tommy West: Background Vocals – “Operator (That’s Not The Way It Feels)”
• Pete Dino, String Arrangements
• Bruce Tergersen, Recording Engineer
• Paul Wilson, Album Photography

“You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” on youtube.

Links:
Jim Corce – The Official Site, Wikipedia
You Don’t Mess Around With Jim – Wikipedia