Sunday, March 4, 2012

CD Review: CAROLE KING FOUR CLASSIC ALBUMS

CaroleKing3

    Pearls: Songs of Goffin & King, Simple Things, Welcome Home, Touch the Sky

Most people will know Carole King for the album Tapestry which topped the album charts in 1971 for 15 weeks. Tapestry cleaned up at the Grammy Awards in 1972 winning Album Of The Year, Song of the Year - Carole King (songwriter) for "You've Got a Friend", and Record of the Year - Lou Adler (producer) & Carole King for "It's Too Late". She still holds the record for the longest time for an album by a solo female to remain on the charts for Tapestry at 306 weeks.

What’s more, she launched the “singer – songwriter” era of rock n roll which saw stars such as Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Carly Simon (who won Best New Artist in ‘72),  Jim Croce and many others rule the charts for the next decade.

What many fans don’t realize is that Carole King had by 1972 cemented her place in rock history, along side former husband and songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin, as part of one of the most successful songwriting teams in history. She had her first No. 1 hit as a songwriter in 1961 at age 18, with Will You Love Me Tomorrow, recorded by The Shirelles. The song was notable as being the first #1 hit for a girl group. During her career she has  written or co-written 118 pop hits according to the Billboard Hot 100 and in 2000 Billboard Magazine named her the most successful female songwriter of 1955–99.

Carole King “Wasn’t Born To Follow”

Here, King reissues four classic albums,    Pearls: Songs of Goffin & King (1980),, Touch the Sky(1979), Welcome Home(1978),, Simple Things(1977). This is the first U.S. CD release for Touch the Sky, Welcome Home and Simple Things. And Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King is considered one of her finest recordings. It's a retrospective of classic songs written by the powerhouse creative team of King and former husband Gerry Goffin. Included among the ten tracks are many of the songs that put other artists on the map before King launched her solo career: "The
Loco-Motion" (Little Eva, Grand Funk Railroad), "One Fine Day" (The Chiffons, Rita Coolidge), "Chains" (The Beatles), "Hey Girl" (Bobby Vee, The Righteous Brothers, Donnie Osmond, George Benson), and more.

These albums, released in the eight years after Tapestry, simply over flow with unprecedented honesty and intimacy and helped solidify her status as one of the most successful and revered female songwriters in pop music history. Simple Things & Welcome Home are especially touching as she teamed up with her then husband Rick Evers, who died between the end of the recording of Welcome Home and it’s release.

Carole King “new Years Day”

If you are an aspiring songwriter, then these albums are like Graduate level texts, if you are a fan of the ‘60s & ‘70s, then these are must-have albums, and if you are just a fan of marvelous music, then you can’t go wrong. It’s been a long wait, but well worth it.

The Dirty Lowdown

Copyright © 2012 Robert Carraher All Rights Reserved

1 comment:

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