Maps of Music

Never Been Gone (2009)

Where the lyrics of Never Been Gone take you, and where it was really made.

A Carly Simon album of re-recorded hits was given away free with a Sunday newspaper, and it peaked at No. 134 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Key places

Recorded at Simon's home on Martha's Vineyard (2009)

Recording site Martha's Vineyard — The album was recorded at Carly Simon's home on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. The point marks the island area, not the exact house. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Never Been Gone: 23rd studio album by Carly Simon
• Released on October 27, 2009 by Iris Records
• New acoustic versions of many of Simon's past hits
• Two previously unreleased songs: "No Freedom" and "Songbird"
• Peaked at No. 134 on the U.S. Billboard 200
• International version peaked at No. 45 on the UK Albums Chart in 2010
• Given away free with The Mail on Sunday on March 28, 2010

Background

• Conceived in summer 2008
• Simon had trouble promoting her previous album, This Kind of Love
• That album was released through Starbucks' Hear Music label
• Simon claimed the company failed to promote it properly
• Her son Ben Taylor urged her to put her energy into a new album
• "No Freedom": written years earlier with Ben Taylor and singer-songwriter David Saw
• "Songbird": demo written in 1970, finished for this album

Recording

• Recorded at Simon's home on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

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

• Overall mixed reviews
• Entertainment Weekly: rated the album B+ and praised the underproduced performances
• Entertainment Weekly credited Simon's son Ben Taylor as producer
• Los Angeles Times: rated the album 3 out of 4 stars
• Los Angeles Times: said Simon's tour through her catalog works best when she mixes things up the most
• Los Angeles Times: found the opening reading of "The Right Thing to Do" pleasant
• Los Angeles Times: praised the vintage R&B groove of "It Happens Everyday" and the sophisticated treatment of "Boys in the Trees"
• Los Angeles Times: described "You Belong to Me" as given a sultry Latin jazz arrangement
• PopMatters: rated the album 3 out of 10 stars, less positive than the other reviews
• PopMatters: asked why a legendary artist would re-record her best-loved hits
• PopMatters: said the classic singles did not need reworking
• PopMatters: praised the softer, slower acoustic reading of "Anticipation"
• PopMatters: found "The Right Thing to Do" and "Coming Around Again" straightforward readings that were not improvements

Records

• U.S. Billboard 200: peaked at No. 134
• International version: peaked at No. 45 on the UK Albums Chart in 2010

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was given away free with The Mail on Sunday newspaper on March 28, 2010.
• The new song "Songbird" is a demo written in 1970 and finished for this album.
• "No Freedom" was written years earlier with Simon's son Ben Taylor and singer-songwriter David Saw.
• Ben Taylor, Simon's son, encouraged her to make the album after her promotion of the previous record stalled.
• Simon claimed Starbucks' Hear Music label failed to promote This Kind of Love properly.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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