Customer Reviews

Come Upstairs

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Carly's "punk rock album"? PLEASE. Maybe too much time has gone by for casual music fans to make the distinction between new wave and punk influences, but one listen to "Come Upstairs" ought to set the record straight. Though I will admit that this album has some of her rawest lyrics/performances as well as a self-conciously trendy production, this is not the kind of stylistic contradiction that Linda Ronstadt's "Mad Love" album was.

Producer/keyboardist Mike Mainieri may have been borrowing too many Top 40 ideas to suit Carly's established cult, but his direction gave "Come Upstairs" a solid, tight musical foundation. And though I wouldn't label "Come Upstairs" as a new wave record, there's at least one fundamental thematic similarity: it doesn't pander to those who have pre-existing expectations. I'd be the last person to blame Carly for wanting to ditch the kind of El Lay/Noo Yawk formula soft rock that dominated radio in the 70s...her own hits included.

In any case, the strength of her writing and performances are similar to past efforts. The enhanced percussion and synthesized trappings can't hide the fact that this is the same sensitive, observant and thoughtful Carly Simon who recorded "Anticipation." Several tracks ("Jesse," "James," "The Desert") are reminiscent of earlier songs, and could well have appeared on previous albums with slightly different arrangements. The hard-rocking edge of "Stardust" and "In Pain" is a bit of an eye-opener, though. Unfortunately, the latter track is too big a vocal stretch, and Carly hasn't sounded this 'squawky' since "Playing Possum."

Some highlights: the unrelenting melodic hooks of "Come Upstairs," the romantic dilemma of "The Three Of Us In The Dark," and the pedal-to-the-metal emotional joyride of "Take Me As I Am." Even the tongue in cheek paranoia of "Them" is an enjoyable listen.

Though "Come Upstairs" may look like a one-off novelty on the surface, you don't have to dig far to find Carly...hard at work and enjoying a new fashion in the process.

-Mic

Length:: 1:56 Mins

I've had this CD for awhile but have been waiting to comment on it for a few reasons, mainly I was hoping I would end up liking it the more I hear it. Luckily, for me, it has grown on me quite a bit, so here we are to talk about Carly's toe dip into the new wave circa 1980.

Everyone who was everyone was making a pseudo new wave album in the early 80s; Billy Joel had Glass Houses, Linda Ronstadt had Mad Love and Carly had Come Upstairs. They all scored top ten hits with both the singles and the albums released; Carly found her way back to the charts after a lenghty absence with "Jesse" pulled from this album which was always one of my favorite songs from when I was a wee tyke.

The album opens with the title cut, a guitar riffing keyboard laden song which has Carly at her usual sexual shenanigans not really wanting to be with the guy but figuring what the hell, she'll give him some fire and she'll give him some wood; that is probably my favorite part of the song.

There's a strange little foray into the new wave with "Them" - I get the impression she is singing about men but you can't be sure, we just know she doesn't know what to about them and hopes to get help from the people she's singing to. I thought it was totally ridiculous but as is usually the case, it's now one of my favorite tracks on the album. I

n fact, that seems to be my whole Carly thing, I'll get an album full of high expectations only to be intially let down and then have it turn around and bite me on the tuchus a few weeks later.

Perhaps she's not everyone's cup of tea, but the more I hear Carly's idosyncracies the more I fall in love with her. Perhaps she'll read this and invite me to Martha's Vineyard for the summer. Or get me a job working with her family at Simon & Shuster... or maybe she'll just sick "Them" on me.

This is a great album from a great artist. I was blown away by the star power. This one is a clear five. Some of Carly's best lyrics reside on this album. Jesse, Stardust, In Pain, Take Me As I Am are masterpiece rock classics, that are way underrated. This is a must, must have for Carly's followers.

I was so excited in the summer of 1980 when this was released. There was no warning, one hot summer afternoon I heard this great dance song, and to my amazement it was Carly singing "Come Upstairs"! I thought it was the greatest song ever. Later, radio started playing "Jesse" and it was a huge hit. It made it to the top 5 over here on the west coast. "Jesse" was considered a "Carly" song, "James" too. I was so proud of her for trying something different, and watched the charts that summer, the album stuck around in Rolling Stones LP chart for about 6 months. "In Pain" was a favorite at the beginning, but she really sounded "in pain" while she screamed the title. Was "The Three of Us In the Dark" really about her, John Travolta, & James? It sounded like a Dire Straits song (COOL!) "Take Me As I Am" was the second single, but it didn't go anywhere, it was a good song too. "The Desert" is still one of my favorite songs. She deserves a LOT of credit, and this album is really good.

A pop precurser to Sinead O'Connor and PJ Harvey, this is one of my favorite albums of all time. I love the music, a great, cheesy, early 80's disco/new wave/pop mixture, but the strength for me is in the lyrics. The music is a populist vehicle for a very private expression, a document wrested from the heart of a woman struggling with contradictory desires. I first heard as a 5 year old - driving up to the country past feilds rushing by - and my newly divorced mom put this album in the Volkswagon rabbit's cassette deck. The songs became interwoven with the way I see my mother and the struggles and complexity of that whole generation of women coming into their newfound independance. "Come Upstairs" is an unabashed come-on popsong still unmatched in its expression of real female desire, not prancing around like a teenager in your underwear, but full-on adult desire. "Them" is a intense growl from deep within the reptilian soul of women's fear, hatred and confusion over men (how many times has a pop singer broached that topic?) "James" is one of the most beautiful love a songs a woman has ever written to man, objectifying her lover while mantaining intimacy with him - wrapping a sinewous melody around the paradox of their differences and similarities. "Pain", "Take me as I am" and "Jesse" are rokcin and heartbreaking songs of a woman's need to be accepted and loved for her inner self, struggling with lovers who discount them. All of the songs are rare gems of universal narratives, filled with raw energy and passion.

I love Carly Simon. I needed to replace the cassette so I got this. I like the range of voice she has.

...to "Come Upstairs"....we've had several incrnations of Carly over the past 35 years...the folk singer...the rocker...the Great American songstress...various mixtures. This album is squarely in the middle of her "Rock" period, and it's probably the best of the lot. Carly has always shared her pain with us; that really turns some people off, but others of us don't mind a bit. She made this in the midst of some really big problems, and her fans got to be part of her catharsis.

A couple of the numbers here may push some people's envelopes: the messages of "Come Upstairs" and "Three Of Us In The Dark" are rather apparent. Before you get too upset about that...this isn't rap, and it's FAR from obscenity. Hey Opera fans...[that's me, too]...have you ever checked out English translations of some of the gold standards like "La Boheme" or "La Traviata"? No stone casting, please. Of course, "Jesse" is the big hit here, and it flat-out rocks.

As I said, this is possibly Carly's best pure Rock album. It's rather tough to find at a good price, so grab it when you can....

1980 saw several changes for Carly Simon: a new record label (Warner Brothers), a new producer (Mike Mainieri), and a new album called 'Come Upstairs' with a very different sound than her previous works. Even the cover featured photos by photographer Mick Rock, who photographed several pop icons including David Bowie and Debbie Harry.

It was with this album that Carly embraced New Wave, which gave her voice and songs even more of a modern edge. "Take Me As I Am," "Stardust," "Them," and the title track are pure early 80s music, addictive and danceable.

"In Pain" is a harrowing epic filled with rage, and no one could but Carly could sing this song in quite way she does. One is reminded of John Lennon's (primal scream) 'Plastic Ono Band' album from ten years before.

"The Desert" and "The Three of us in the Dark," are both haunting and moody, while "Jesse" is pure Top 40 material.

And of course, the standout track is the quiet and poignant "James," which is one of the most beautiful songs she's ever penned. It's a hidden gem, and one that deserves to be included on a retrospective collection.

Highly recommended for Carly Simon fans who might have missed it the first time around.

I'd been a fan of Carly's music for about 8 years when COME UPSTAIRS was released. While I loved everything she put out up to that point, I'd always been a little frustrated by the fact that she just didn't seem to want to really belt out a fast, rocking song. "Vengeance" and "You're So Vain" were like teasers, little rocking islands in a sea of ballads. COME UPSTAIRS then, was the answer to my prayers. Carly rocked! And not just on one or two songs, mind you! The title song opens the album on a great note. It races along, with Carly not hiding the sexuality in innuendos this time. "Stardust" is another rocker, a good song, but not one of my favorites. "Them" brings the album back up, a new- wavish scathe against men. "Jesse", the big hit first single. Carly doesn't just belt out "In Pain", she screams the song. "The Three Of Us In The Dark", "James" and "The Desert" are all fine, but then there is "Take Me As I Am", in my opinion, one of Carly's all-time best songs. THIS is the song I'd been waiting 8 years for! It goes at a gallop, a song about thinking the grass is greener on the other side. It even has a "twist" ending. This song alone is worth the price of the album. It was released as the second single I believe, but for some reason went nowhere. Warners just didn't push it. After the huge hit "Jesse" was, God only knows why. COME UPSTAIRS remains probably my favorite of all Carly's albums. It should have been a much bigger hit that it was. It shows that she is not always the maudlin balladeer that detractors would like to pigeonhole her as, or that some fans would like her to always remain.