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The Bedroom Tapes Carly Simon Arista, 2000
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Reviewed by Sienna Powers
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I have to admit that, until The Bedroom Tapes crossed my desk a little while ago, I hadn't even thought about Carly Simon for a long, long time. When I started to play her career over in my mind, it was a little startling. 35 albums -- including compilations, best ofs (and very best ofs) and box sets. Her record as a songwriter is just as impressive. Simon has been covered by Anita Baker, Peter Cetera, The Doobie Brothers, Amy Grant, Liza Minnelli and many others. It's an almost overwhelming body of work for a performer who has kept a fairly low profile in recent years. Most people -- non-die-hard fans, at any rate -- have a tendency to write Simon off. Simon is, after all, the original queen of WASP pop. It's easy to imagine Martha Stewart spinning the latest Simon disk while she flambés the canapés. Or maybe Hilary while she flambés whatever the hell is handy. Now in her mid-50s, Simon was the daughter of someone who, in his day, was one of the most influential people in American book publishing: the venerable Simon (Richard) in Simon and Schuster. While the identity of the subject of one of her biggest hits, "You're So Vain," has been hotly debated -- with everyone from Warren Beatty to Mick Jagger (who actually sang backup on the song) being possible suspects, I've always thought it must be about James Taylor, the poppy folksinger that Simon married in 1972, the same year the song came out. The album was her third: the Richard Perry-produced No Secrets, that fans often consider to be one of the best in the towering pile of albums this artist has recorded throughout her lengthy career. Perry was around for some of the making of The Bedroom Tapes, an album Simon recorded largely -- and not surprisingly, considering the name -- in a converted bedroom in Simon's Martha's Vineyard home. Perry, however, doesn't get a production credit this time. Rather, in her liner notes, Simon mentions that Perry, "was there." Perhaps just lending his presence and moral support while Simon controlled and created what is her most Simon-like album in many years. Don't look for evolution on The Bedroom Tapes: this album is classic Carly. The singer/songwriter is in good form. With the exception of the reworked Gershwin "In Honor of You (George)" for which Simon takes only a co-writing credit, all of the tracks on The Bedroom Tapes were written by Simon. In addition, Simon sings all of the songs and plays a whole lot of instruments on the album. On the slightly campy "Our Affair," Simon plays electric and acoustic guitars as well as keyboards, percussion and background vocals. On "Big Dumb Guy," Simon takes a kick at the era of high tech (while programming drums, playing the conga and working with various percussion). In solid bluesy style, Simon sings: So many tech-heads Ultimately, it seems, a lament for losses of sunsets, it's a silly little song but well performed and the meter works very well. Simon fans will rejoice in The Bedroom Tapes, the performer's first all original album since Letters Never Sent in 1994. | August 2000
Sienna Powers is a writer, editor and visual artist. |
While the identity of the subject of one of her biggest hits, "You're So Vain," has been hotly debated -- with everyone from Warren Beatty to Mick Jagger (who actually sung backup on the song) being possible suspects, I've always thought it must be about James Taylor, the poppy folksinger that Simon married in 1972. |
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