Maps of Music

Carly Simon (1971)

Where the lyrics of Carly Simon take you, and where it was really made.

The debut album's first Top 10 hit is a somber ballad about marriage, and the album itself won the Grammy for Best New Artist at the same ceremony where its song was nominated.

Key places

Recorded at Electric Lady Studios (1971)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — The album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Eddie Kramer and Dave Palmer engineered and mixed the recordings there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Carly Simon is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon
• Released by Elektra Records on February 9, 1971
• Produced by Eddie Kramer for Jerry Brandt/Brandtworks Records Inc.
• Includes Simon's first Top 10 hit, "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be"
• Side A runs 18:47 and side B runs 19:39
• Material written by Simon, with additional writing by Brackman, Kramer, and Fred Gardner
• Includes covers of songs by Mark Klingman and Buzzy Linhart

Background

• Kramer had previously worked with Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix
• "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" was written by Simon and frequent collaborator Jacob Brackman
• The song is a somber ballad about a woman pondering marriage, with a sense of both inevitability and entrapment

Recording

• Recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City
• Engineered and mixed by Eddie Kramer and Dave Palmer
• Tony Levin plays bass on the album

Cover

• Cover photography by Peter Simon
• Back cover photography by Joel Brodsky
• Art direction and design by Robert L. Heimall

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born June 25, 1943 in New York City; American singer-songwriter and author.
• In 1963 began performing as the Simon Sisters with sister Lucy Simon; released Meet the Simon Sisters, which produced the minor hit "Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod".
• Signed to Elektra Records in 1970 and went solo.

Career

• Debut album (1971) won the Grammy for Best New Artist; "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" was her first top 10 single.
• No Secrets (1972) topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks; "You're So Vain" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Recorded "Nobody Does It Better" for the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.
• Won an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy for "Let the River Run" from Working Girl (1988).
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone: Timothy Crouse wrote that Simon's voice perfectly matches her material
• Rolling Stone: Crouse described her superbly controlled voice as complemented by deft arrangements
• The Village Voice: Robert Christgau was less impressed
• The album was mostly well received by music critics upon release

Reappraisal

• AllMusic: William Ruhlmann rated the album 3.5 stars out of 5
• AllMusic: Ruhlmann listed "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" and "Dan, My Fling" as stand-outs
• Music scholar Kim Simpson deemed "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" an early soft rock masterpiece

Records

• "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" earned Simon a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1972
• The album earned Simon the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the same ceremony

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album's lead hit was co-written by Simon and Jacob Brackman, and it is a ballad about a woman weighing marriage.
• Kramer, who produced the album, had earlier worked with Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix.
• On the Ask Carly section of her website, Simon said "Reunions" was her mother's favorite song of hers.
• Simon's mother was Andrea Simon, named as the listener who favored "Reunions".

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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