In 1971, Carole King had a gigantic hit album, Tapestry. It sold 14 million copies, got 4 Grammy awards, and had two No. 1 singles (“It’s Too Late” and “So Far Away”). It has continued to sell and is #25 on Rolling Stone’s list of the all-time greatest albums.
This year was its 50th anniversary. I bought the album when I was about 13 and played it a lot. I added songs from it and from other Carole King albums to my mix tapes and I tried playing some of them on my guitar (and wished I had taken up the piano) but I never bought her followup album.
I came across an article on the PBS website asking “Why doesn’t anyone talk about Carole King’s other No. 1 album (including her)?” I wouldn’t have guessed what album was being referenced when it said that it was another 1971 album. Her followup to Tapestry was Music which was released at the end of the year and probably aimed at holiday gifting. It went to #1 the next month but apparently doesn’t have the attention that the previous album achieved.
I don’t own Music so I checked it out online to see what I had missed. I recognized one song right away – “It’s Going to Take Some Time” – though I realized that I probably had heard the Carpenters hit cover version more often. The cover is a pretty close copy of Carole’s simple arrangement.
Carole’s album was simple and largely unadorned – like its simple title – but as a some interesting oddities. The PBS article points out that she plays a solo on a celeste rather than her piano on “It’s Going to Take Some Time.” Some tracks don’t have percussion. There is a long sax solo on one. But is still feels a lot like the previous album, including having James Taylor do some backing vocals and guitar.
I saw the Broadway musical about Carole’s life, Beautiful, (with Vanessa Carlton) and none of these songs made it into the show. According to the article, PBS had an American Masters’ biographical film, “Carole King: Natural Woman” and it wasn’t covered there or even in King’s own memoir, A Natural Woman, even though she writes about “the Tapestry tour.”
The article doesn’t really explain why the album seems to have no story. Her focus at the end of 1971 and into 1972 was the end of her tour and happily returning to home and her two young daughters. Carole was pregnant with her third child in the cover photo of her behind her piano on Music.
It’s an album worth knowing if you’re a fan. If it’s going to take some time before the album gets recognition, I’d say that 50 years is more than enough time. Listen to some songs from long ago..
Milneville 