Great Rendition Of Carly's Greatest Hits!

Singer and songwriter Carly Simon magically walked the tightrope between what was commonly referred to as folk and pop music in the early 1970s and gradually emerged from the shadow of other folk titans to become a pop singer of verve and moment, earning herself a place in the pantheon of very successful singers like Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, and a number of others like Carol King who were on the pop charts and in the folk clubs earlier in their career. This album is a wonderful summary of the best of her efforts throughout her career, including those early years. From her breakthrough hits like -That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be- and -Anticipation- to later smash singles like -Loving You Is the Right Thing To Do- and -You're So Vain- (rumored to be written about everyone from James Taylor to Mick Jagger, but more likely a joke aimed at actor Warren Beatty) is all here.



This collection successfully gathers the best of those early years in one place, and then adds to it those superb follow-on efforts with a second CD that reprises her second stage efforts with another collection of more adult-centered pop hits. Even though I usually prefer to sample an artist in context in their early albums, even I have to admit this is a great comprehensive overview of the collective efforts from Carly Simon. There are a lot of good songs here, like the terrific -Legend In Your Own Time- about then beau James Taylor, and the rocking -Mockingbird-, a duet done with Taylor.



Indeed, there are other interesting, provocative, and beautiful selections here, including my own personal favorite, -I Haven't Got Time For The Pain-. This is a great look at a fascinating artist who later made a terrific comeback album called -Coming Around Again-, with hits such as the title cut, as well as superb numbers like -The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of- to regain her audience and popularity, which she used to great advantage in the years since, with a number of hits included here from -Better Not Tell Her- to -All I Want Is You-, and from -It Happens Every Day- to -Like A River-. It is one of her best and most representative greatest hits albums yet, and it gives us an interesting vantage point with which to understand her better. This is a terrific greatest hits album by an artist who is often under-appreciated. This is one I heartily recommend. Enjoy!

Still 5+++ stars, but read updated review for more choices

This is an updated review as although the original still holds, but there are is one and soon will be another that were not available when I bought this in late 2001, and I wanted to share the news with you guys as you have helped me for so many years.

This was the very first 1 CD release of Carly's work that had almost every song of hers that I wanted to hear. Even the 3 CD box set did not include her Arista hits and was a must for all fans when I originally bought it. I overlooked the import steep price as it was worth more than worth it. I finally got to hear "Let The River Run" from the soundtrack to "Working Girl" next to all my favorites.

At the time I said that I wished that more companies would cooperate with one another to produce greatest hits collections that reflect the career of artists who may have had more than one home during their career. If it's about money, they can split it on a hit by hit basis, and in the end more products will sell. Well, I guess that I was not the only one to see the advantages of putting together ALL of Carly's better known work as in 2002 Rhino release the magnificent 2 CD release titled "Anthology," which is even better than this one as it is obviously more comprehensive and BMG Heritage will be releasing a remastered 1 CD release in early May, 2004 so based on the play lists I would recommend these two domestic releases over this one, which still warrants 5 stars and was the first release to shoot for more than just a part of Carly's career.

Carly's Elektra and BMG material in one CD

Carly's so vain...she probably thinks this review's about her. And she's right, but not vain. Rather than go the Elektra-years compilation, I chose this import because it included the singles from both her that era and her later BMG years, plus included my favourite song by her and an Oscar winner for best song. But Carly Simon played an important role in the emergence of the soft rock and singer/songwriters following the radicalism of the 60's. In its place were songs of a more personal, vulnerable, and introspective nature, putting her in the same league as her husband from 72-83, James Taylor, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell. Here are highlights from the 19 songs here.

Her signature tune, "You're So Vain," from her third album, and the famed refrain, "you probably think this song is about you, don't you?" targeted either her earlier squeeze Warren Beatty or Mick Jagger, who sang backup vocals-I'm not sure what the jury's decided. Hardly surprising that a line from this song, "clouds in my coffee" was used as the title of her box set. Yet, a pleading sensitive song like "You Belong To Me" penned with Michael McDonald, with its "you don't have to prove your love to strangers" could be a less caustic way of preventing a sig. other from becoming an ex-sig. other.

The 70's was also a period of feminism, and its influence can be felt in the haunting and questioning piano and strings "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" from her self-titled Elektra debut. The deadlock and misery of "silent noons, tearful nights, angry dawns" in her friends' marriage caused her to question the effectiveness of marriage, an institution where one "moved in together, and raised a family of our own/you and me."

Speaking of marriage, the cover of Inez and Charlie Foxx's "Mockingbird" was a #5 duet with her husband James Taylor, and it's clear that he benefitted more, as his previous albums never went beyond gold.

"Anticipation" is another early classic hit, but it rankles me that it was used in a ketchup commercial. Thank goodness for plastic squeeze bottles!

Carly's film songs numbered quite a bit, and they include the string-arranged slow-dancing ballad from The Spy Who Loved Me, the Carole Bayer Sager/Marvin Hamlisch-penned "Nobody Does It Better." I'll bet 007 got an ego trip from hearing "you're the best" from her #2 hit. Her piano and synth-oriented song "Why" was used in Jonathan Kaufer's Soup For One and was a UK hit in 1982. It asks that question "Why does your love hurt so much?"

Two of her film songs were for Mike Nichols films. The first one is my favourite song by her, from Heartburn and the title track of her first Arista album, Coming Around Again. "I know nothing stays the same/but if you're willing to play the game/it's coming around again/so don't mind if i fall apart/there's no room in a broken heart." One of the producers was the person she found comfort in following her divorce from James Taylor, drummer Russ Kunkel. And the other songs from that album, such as "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" and "All I Want Is You" showed she had lost none of her touch, although songs like "Give Me All Night" showed 80's-stylings in her music.

Finally, the Oscar winner, "Let The River Run" from Working Girl, featuring rock guitar, gospelish choirs, religious references ("the new Jerusalem") and soaring vocals.

"Like A River" is a 1994 song showing that her talent hasn't exhausted. The aftermath of a mother's death and the fighting over the inheritance, a "metaphor for what's wrong with us," leads to her asking her mother what's she doing now, and being reminded of past memories, but most of all, she accepts that while their time together on Earth is over, there's always the afterlife.

A worthwhile retrospective to a woman who conveyed her inner spotlight into poetry, verse, and then song.