The Best of Carly Simon (Vinyl record album review)

Album name: The Best of Carly Simon

Artist name: Carly Simon

Year: 1975

Number of discs: one

Label: Elektra Records

Collection: Selman

Distinguishing characteristics:

Sticker on front of album: PROMOTIONAL COPY NOT FOR SALE

Printed on both sides of LP: RADIO STATION COPY

Scratched into side one of LP: 7E 1048 ARE 2CP

Scratched into side two of LP: 7E 1048 BRE 1CP

Buy it on Amazon: $9.98

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I previously reviewed No Secrets (1972), but did not like it very much; several of the songs on this compilation appear to come from that record.

What I expected

More easy listening with a slight country sound.

What it was actually like

When I reviewed No Secrets, I wrote:

You’re So Vain was catchy, and had maybe a bit more of a country sound than I remembered it having, but I think it was probably too clever by half.

And also:

Night Owl, a bluesy cover of a James Taylor song, was about ten thousand times better than his version, which was awful.

All of that was still true today, though I might add that Night Owl had a terrible saxophone solo.

The record’s most interesting song was Mockingbird, a cover of this Inez and Charlie Foxx song, that’s based on the lullaby Hush, Little Baby. This version had a country and blues sound and was a duet with James Taylor[1], and it was decent until its saxophone solo.

Attitude Dancing, a disco song, was the worst on the record.

Grade

2/5: bad, but I was able to listen to the whole thing

References[+]

References

↑1 | How bad does a record have to be overall for its most interesting song to be a duet with James Taylor?