Notes for April 4, 2025.

April 4, 2025. Day .

One of the reasons I have so many records (about one thousand, not that many to some, but if you have to move them, you'sd say ti was a lot) is that mainstream things are not enough, though I do love listening to the reruns of 1970s vintage American Top 40 shows, with Casey Kasem introducing the "foreign" acts like David Bowie. But in general what's handed to us on comerical radio is like cheap candy or government cheese. You can't turn it down but it's shameful. But then I get out a record that is a bonafide it and it gives me a feelig of satisfaction and pride in Americ and the generl record-buying public. They are forced to make do with junk like Tony Orlando (and, yes, Dawn) because most of the time there's nothing they can get behin and say THIS is excellent.

But I just put on an album everybody has a a copy of: Carole King's Tapestry. And the first three songs are such a one-two punch, plus a third punch, I can't not be knocked out by it.

"I Feel The Earth Move" might have been intiially intened as a demo for selling the song to Aretha Franklin or Dusty Springfield. But the band is too good! Carol is too good too!

"So Far Away"

FLute is not wimpy; it's just a small instrument and it's difficulyt to play if you are also trying to express some kind of feeling with your body movements. The name Curtis Amy is one I've come accustomed ton nodding at when I see it on a list of personnel. Is his amily name really Any>

Like that bass player on Jim Croce named Macho----

"It's Too Late"

We've all heard "You've Got A Friend" a million times, so we're over it, even though a decent little upstart duo called Roberta Flack an Donny Hathaway thought it was good enough to put on an album, which sould indicate there's some songwriting talent there. And I think we've kinda had it with James Taylor's version, which really pushes the melodiousness of it until it's all sweetness, But Carole sings it and plays the piano so beautifully that you really feel the importance of having a friend. I don't know what it is about her piano playing, it jut gets me. It's like Linus describing how you attract the Great Pumpkin: by having the sincerect pumpkin patch. Did you even know a pumpkin patch could be sincere?

"But if you want to live in New York City, you know I will!"" (Where You Lead)

We've all heard the lovely version of WYSLMT? and ignored what it really says for years. Carole and her gang of friends (including James Taylor) sing it slowly and seriously, like they're explaining how to listen to it/ She doesn't put on a persona, which most singers of this song probably should do. But she makes it obvious that this is a song for a young girl to sing, and it's about how the whole damn world works. (Will You Love Me Tomorrow?)

The most "filler" song here is "Smackwater Jack" but I guess it was good enough for Quincy Jones to put on one of ghis albums. (Bassist Charles Larkey is doing so much work here, you could probably just let the other musicans take five.)

The song "Tapestry" despite it's titularness, isn't so great. So you're like, ok, this album is fron-loaded, no problem.

But then you get her version of YMMFLANW. And you have to compare it to Aretha, because Aretha (and the Sweet Inspirations) makes everything sound better, but this is a great version. Carole doesn't have a crack bunch of background singers, in fact she sings the backups herself, like you might on a demo. But these unfussy arrangements, and the flawless, really peerless performances

Carole King Tapestry