Maps of Music

Into White (2007)

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

Carly Simon's Into White is a covers album built around lullaby-like standards, and its best-known moment is a song written by her ex-husband and sung with her own children.

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Album story

Overview

• Into White: 21st studio album by Carly Simon
• Released 2 January 2007 by Columbia Records
• Her final release with the label before she left the same year
• Fifth album of standards, after Torch (1981), My Romance (1990), Film Noir (1997) and Moonlight Serenade (2005)
• Produced by Martha's Vineyard producer Jimmy Parr
• Simon's children Sally Taylor and Ben Taylor appear on the album

Background

• Simon worked extensively with Parr because his studio is close to her Tisbury farm
• The album followed Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits (2004) and Moonlight Serenade (2005)
• Simon's chart profile had recently been revived by those releases
• Columbia rejected Simon's rock 'n' roll plan and proposed a lullaby album instead
• Simon said the lullaby concept was not what she wanted, but she had always sung lullabies to her children

Recording

• Sally Taylor and Ben Taylor sing with Simon in a choral trio on "You Can Close Your Eyes"
• The song is a cover of James Taylor's 1971 song, which was written by her ex-husband and the children's father
• The album includes "I'll Just Remember You", first released on this album
• The album includes "Quiet Evening", first released on this album
• "Love of My Life" is a remake of Simon's song written for the 1992 film This Is My Life, with some lyrics changed here

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

• PopMatters: 8 out of 10 stars, called it "the first musical gift to grace 2007"
• PopMatters singled out "You Can Close Your Eyes" and concluded that the album serves Simon's legacy very well
• People: called it "a tranquil collection of covers that play like lullabies for grown-ups"
• People: called "You Can Close Your Eyes" "the best moment on the album"
• Entertainment Weekly: graded the album B, describing it as a "richly personal disc"
• AllMusic: 3 out of 5 stars, said it may be Simon's best record since The Bedroom Tapes
• The New York Times: said the album sustains a deep, dreamy calm over 14 songs, opening with a Cat Stevens song

Reappraisal

• Sheila Weller's 2008 book Girls Like Us describes the version of "You Can Close Your Eyes" as "slow, spectral" and "achingly beautiful"

Records

• US Billboard 200 debut at number 15, peaking at number 13 in its second week
• Stayed on the charts for 10 weeks
• Reached number 1 on the Top Internet Albums chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Columbia opposed Simon's plan for a rock 'n' roll album and proposed a lullaby-themed record instead.
• A special copy released by Barnes & Noble included a bonus track, "Hush Little Baby/My Bonnie".
• Simon's children sing on the track "You Can Close Your Eyes", a James Taylor song written by their father.
• The album's first chart week was the Billboard Hot Shot Debut position at number 15.

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org

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