Maps of Music

Hotcakes (1974)

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

The cover shows Simon in a maternity dress, pregnant with her first child, on an album about happy domestic life.

Key places

The Hit Factory, New York City (1974)

Recording site The Hit Factory — Sessions for Hotcakes were held at this studio in October and November 1973. The release credits list it as the recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Producers Workshop, Los Angeles (1974)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Sessions for Hotcakes were held here in September 1973. This point marks the Los Angeles city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Hotcakes: fourth studio album by Carly Simon
• Released 11 January 1974 on Elektra Records
• Features the hits "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" and "Mockingbird", the latter a duet with her then-husband James Taylor
• Became one of Simon's biggest selling albums
• Her first concept album, built from autobiographical songs
• Songs portray Simon happily married and beginning a family

Background

• Produced by Richard Perry, who had previously helmed No Secrets
• Simon plays piano on the album, including the final track "Haven't Got Time for the Pain"
• "Mockingbird" is a cover of a song that Inez and Charlie Foxx made a hit in 1963
• Simon wrote "Forever My Love" together with Taylor
• Elektra released Hotcakes at the same time as Bob Dylan's Planet Waves and Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark

Recording

• Sessions held at Producers Workshop in Los Angeles, September 1973
• Further sessions at The Hit Factory in New York City, October and November 1973
• Engineering by Harry Maslin and Bill Schnee; assistant engineer Blasie Castellano
• Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles
• Remixed at Sound Labs, Hollywood
• String-and-percussion outro composed by cellist Paul Buckmaster and drummer Ralph MacDonald

Cover

• Photo by Ed Caraeff, taken in late 1973
• Simon sits in a maternity dress, pregnant with her first child, Sally
• Art direction and design by Vincent Cesi at Push Pin Studios

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

• Jon Landau in Rolling Stone described the album as playful-sounding with some serious overtones, a balance that suited Simon for the time being
• Landau called "Think I'm Gonna Have a Baby", "Forever My Love" and especially "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" substantial songs and performances, superior to almost everything else she had recorded so far
• Robert Christgau in Creem called "Mockingbird" startling and said the album's most interesting moment comes when Simon whistles
• Christgau also said "You're So Vain" left a nice afterglow

Reappraisal

• William Ruhlmann's later AllMusic review rated the album 4 out of 5 stars
• Ruhlmann called it an autobiographical concept album that defined domestic bliss at a time when Simon's listeners were turning inward

Records

• Certified Gold by the RIAA shortly after release
• Peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200
• Planet Waves hit No. 1 and Court and Spark hit No. 2 on the same chart
• Stayed on the chart much longer than Planet Waves and sold many more copies
• Simon was angry with Elektra over the timing of the release

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Simon said "Just Not True" is about herself, describing a dark side of her own nature that she tried to hide
• Simon was angry with Elektra after the label released two other prominent albums in the same period
• "Mockingbird" was a cover of a 1963 hit by Inez and Charlie Foxx, with Taylor rewriting the lyrics and singing alongside Simon
• Robbie Robertson played lead guitar, Michael Brecker played the tenor sax solo, and Dr. John played piano and organ on "Mockingbird"
• Simon whistles in the album, which Christgau singled out as its most interesting moment

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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