Maps of Music

Have You Seen Me Lately? (1990)

Where the lyrics of Have You Seen Me Lately? take you, and where it was really made.

The title track was written for a film, but the producers cut the whole title sequence, song included, although much of Simon's score stayed in the movie.

Key places

Recording place of the album (1990)

Recording site MSR Studios — The album's release credits list Right Track Recording in New York City as the recording place. The point is set at city-center precision. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Have You Seen Me Lately?: 15th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon
• Released 25 September 1990 by Arista Records
• Spent 32 weeks on the US Billboard 200, peaking at No. 60
• "Better Not Tell Her" became Simon's biggest hit of the 1990s on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart
• "Better Not Tell Her" charted for 21 weeks there, peaking at No. 4
• "Holding Me Tonight" followed as the second single, peaking at No. 36 on the same chart

Background

• The title track was written for the Mike Nichols film Postcards from the Edge (1990)
• The producers deleted the entire title sequence, including the song
• Much of Simon's underscore and thematic interludes remain in the film
• This film work eventually earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Film Score in 1991
• "Fisherman's Song" features backing vocals by Judy Collins and Simon's sister, Lucy Simon
• Simon released a children's book based on "Fisherman's Song" the following year

Recording

• Recording location listed as Right Track Recording, New York City

Sources: en.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

• Stephen Holden, writing in The New York Times, called the album "superb" and the title track the album's most stunning moment
• Greg Sandow, writing for Entertainment Weekly, graded the album B
• Sandow said "Life Is Eternal" breathes an air of genuine uplift

Reappraisal

• In a retrospective review from AllMusic, William Ruhlmann rated the album three stars out of five
• Ruhlmann wrote that Simon has always written songs for her age group, here the fortysomethings of the 1990s
• Ruhlmann singled out "Better Not Tell Her" and "Fisherman's Song"

Records

• US Billboard 200: 32 weeks on the chart, peak No. 60
• "Better Not Tell Her": 21 weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, peak No. 4
• "Holding Me Tonight": five weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, peak No. 36

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• "Better Not Tell Her" music video was shot on a beach on Martha's Vineyard in July 1990, at the estate of Jackie Onassis
• Simon performed "Holding Me Tonight" on Late Night with David Letterman in 1990
• In 1991 Simon performed "Happy Birthday" and "Life Is Eternal" on The Phil Donahue Show
• Simon released a children's book based on "Fisherman's Song" the year after the album came out

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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