Customer Reviews

Music

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Carole King's "Music" is not an overlooked masterpiece (it sold over four million copies upon its release), but certainly one which has been forgotten over the years. Perhaps too closely released on the heels of "Tapestry", "Music" has certainly been overshadowed by that previous trademark, landmark work.

With "Music", King experiments with some new sounds and styles, such as the R & B track "Brother, Brother" which opens the album with a sound reminiscent of the tune "What's Going On?" The title track is a truly uplifting jazz waltz with an incredible sax improvisation as a centerpiece.

The simplicity and honesty of "It's Going To Take Some Time" is stunning and certainly surpasses The Carpenter's more orchestrated version of the tune during the same year. Throughout "Music", she effectively utilizes a pair of strong female backup vocalists who strengthen King's own delivery of her material and who bring a richness and soulfulness to tunes such as "Growing Away From Me" and the Goffin/King standard "Some Kind of Wonderful."

If this album had received as much press and airplay through the years as "Tapestry" did, tunes like "Song of Long Ago" (with background vocals courtesy of James Taylor) and "Carry Your Load" would now be instant classics. As it is "Sweet Seasons" is the only top-10 single from the album and the only one most people would be likely to recall.

Over all, "Music" does not have the musical cohesiveness of her next two projects "Rhymes & Reasons" and "Fantasy", but song for song it certainly contains some of the best material she has ever recorded. Like Tapestry....a classic!

Carole King pours her passion into her music. The first time I heard this collection on LP I felt the magic. It is my favorite album because it was the first one to introduce me to this rare song writer. I must have worn out that LP and graduated to cassette. I wore that out too. Thanks to CD, I can play it on and on without a worry.

Music followed her landmark album Tapestry both released in 1971. While it did not receive the recognition of the former album, these songs continue in the same soulful path. Carole's genius shines throughout.

The list of Pop and R & B singers who have recorded her songs seems endless. Carole's lyrics are timeless and inspirational for all generatons.

Carole King's "Music" remains one of the most underrated seventies singer/songwriter albums. Tapestry was an almost impossible act to follow, but Music is an outstanding collection of more great songs and winning performances. While it may not hit the peaks that Tapestry did, it is solid and consistent, with, to my ears, no filler. "Sweet Seasons" was a hit, and deservedly so; "Brother, Brother," "Song of Long Ago," "Music," and "Carry Your Load" are other highlights. The whole album projects the combination of warmth and intelligence that is the hallmark of Carole's best music. Confession: I play it more than Tapestry. It never disappoints me.

One of the problems with having the best selling record of all time at any given moment in the history of the musical universe is that you have to follow it up, which is what happened when Carole King put out "Music" at the end of 1971. Once you acknowledge that coming up with another "Tapestry" was going to be impossible, "Music" is actually one King's better albums. King, of course, was a veteran songwriter, who had forged a memorable partnership with Gerry Goffin (her eventual husband). Working in the Brill Building in the early 1960s they had written such hits as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" for the Shirelles, "Take Good Care of My Baby" for Bobby Vee, and "The Locomotion" for Little Eva (who just happened to be their babysitter). Everybody from the Beatles to the Monkees to Aretha Franklin recorded songs written by King & Goffin. But after a decade of being just a songwriter, King proved with "Tapestry" she could sing her own songs just fine.

The biggest difference between "Tapestry" and "Music" was that with this next effort King was singing mostly new songs this time around, several of which were written with her new collaborator Toni Stern. The tradeoff ends up being that the melodies are a stronger but that the lyrics are not as sublime as what we heard on "Tapestry." A few of the songs, most notably the opening song "Brother, Brother" and "Carry Your Load," are much more political than what we had heard prior to this from the singer-songwriter. The great irony was that most of King's best songs always sound better performed by somebody else. "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin is the classic example, but on "Music" we have "It's Gonna Take Some Time," which was successfully covered by the Carpenters. Still, there is something to be said for hearing King sing the songs she wrote that were made famous by others, such as "Some King of Wonderful" which was recorded by the Drifters. My choice for best song on the album would be "Song of Long Ago," on which King's friend James Taylor shows up to sing backing vocals.

Most music fans can get bye with "Tapestry" and a Carole King hits collection in their music library, but for those who consider themselves King aficionados "Music" is her third best album with 1975's "Really Rosie" coming in second; guess what is in first place. Besides, "Music" also hit #1 on the Billboard albums chart, so what more can you really ask a follow-up to an all-time great album do? Plus, King is still around, showing up again on "Gilmore Girls" as Lane finds out the lady running the Stars Hollow music store was once part of a group that recorded an album. King should know something about that.

Before my review, don't listen to the person who said "Growing Away From Me," is lousy, because it is NOT! She's just trying. Anyways, I love this album. It is beatiful. Esepecially, "Some Kind Of Wonderful," is well done. You should get this album because, it has great songs, and Carole King's voice comes through beautiful.I;d say the best songs are,"Some Kind Of Wonderful," "It's Going To Take Some Time," and, "Brother Brother." Buy this album, you probably won't regret it.

In the early-to-mid 70's, Carole King set the standard for the mellow singer-songwriter genre. She released 4 albums in a row that were achievements anyone would be proud of, and then 2 more that weren't bad at all. This album, her second, was pretty much overshadowed by the giant "Tapestry", her first. But the passage of time allows us to see that it is a valid artistic accomplishment in its own right, not a pale follow-up to "Tapestry". Carole's trademark piano and soft percussion are applied to a variety of impressive songs. "Brother, Brother" is a good strong opener, with its tremolo effect and bongos backing up Carole's vocal about keeping a caring eye on someone she is fond of. "It's Going To Take Some Time" is softer, but still serious, about someone picking up the pieces after a hard fall. "Sweet Seasons" brings us back into the sun again, with its terrific piano hook and lyrics describing the joys of "...a life in the open, a life in the country..." "Surely" is my favorite on the album. It is slow and deliberate and shows quiet power as Carole tries to convince her lover of her loyalty. I especially like the lyric "How does the turtle go? Slowly, surely. That's how my love grows..." The title cut to some extent echoes the jazzy feel of "It's Too Late", but it makes a more positive statement and, accordingly, it is more upbeat. "Song Of Long Ago" is a compact, delicate, folklike song with added vocals by James Taylor. The message of this song is that no matter what's happening to you, the important thing is to FEEL. "Too Much Rain" is slow and deliberate like "Surely", with a less happy ending. And just in case all this mellowness has lulled you to sleep, the final cut, "Back To California", will wake you up. It is very reminiscent of The Beatles' "Get Back", with its thumping bass, constant drumming, keyboard solos and even similar chord changes.

Because of its variety, this album is difficult to sum up in a few words. While it looks back to "Tapestry" for inspiration, it also predicts the growth that occurred in "Rhymes & Reasons" and "Fantasy", the 2 albums that followed it.

"Music" was Carole King's follow-up to the fantastic, ever-popular "Tapestry". Like "Tapestry", "Music" is filled with deceptively simple-sounding songs with warmth and compassion and humanity as their hallmarks. "Music" is a fine successor to the behemoth that is "Tapestry"; it lives up to any expectations one might have while still charting its own course.

The original vinyl packaging is absolutely stunning and is the only thing about this album which, obviously, given the nature of the beast, could not be translated to a CD jewel-box format. Unfortunate, yes, but fortunately the songs on this terrific album stand the test of time every bit as well as those on "Tapestry".

Carole's keyboard playing is precise and once again forms the backbone of the musical direction here. Some of the songs are further fully musically presented with some snappy rhythm sections. I particularly like the percussion playing that drives "Brother, Brother" and "Sweet Seasons" (a great Top 10 hit single for her). The title track is a jazzy number atop which Carole's uplifting vocals soar. "Brighter" derives a lot of its power from a pumping piano riff and accompaning bass line.

There are some fantastic ballads here, too: "It's Going To Take Some Time" is a wonderful piece, uplifting in its acknowledgement and optimism; "Carry Your Load" is so user-friendly; "Some Kind Of Wonderful" is a beautiful love song; "Too Much Rain" goes against the grain, really, being as it is a sad song (somewhat rare in the happy oeuvre of Carole King), but Carole's vocals and piano playing are, again, so uplifting.

One of the truest highlights of this recording is "Song Of Long Ago". It's impossible to listen to this song and not think of family and friends, times shared and memories.

If you're a fan of "Tapestry" (and who isn't?), give "Music" a try. It is a really great companion piece to "Tapestry" and a fine example of the majesty that is Carole King.

A must for King fans...I listened to it growing up and just bought the newly released CD....Love it even more as an adult! Her voice is everything you'd expect with a few surprises...she is sorely underatted as a songwriter and singer. Her voice on this album soothes the soul...esp. on "Surely"! A must for the collection for this type of venue...

I'm twenty eight years old and listening to Carole King's music makes me wish I'd been born a generation earlier. It's a shame she keeps such a low profile recording career now; like so many of the great singers of the seventies, the fact that Carole King no longer records is a great loss for anyone who appreciates intricately beautiful music

If you liked Tapestry, I can't see any reason for you not liking this, either. I mean, come on, they're more or less the same albums, even though this most certainly was not a smash hit on the level of that one. But really, what do I have to complain about? I love Tapestry, and while this isn't in the same league as it, it's still a respectable album full of melodic, mellow keyboard-heavy pop, occasionally with a horn section, as on "Sweet Seasons" and the listenable filler "Carry Your Load". "Brother, Brother" and "It's Gonna Take Some Time" efficiently recast the Tapestry sound, and though they're clear rip-offs they're great ones; her voice, clear and lovely, is fantastic on the remake of "Some Kind of Wonderful", originally a hit for the Drifters, though here it's remade as a pleasant folk-pop song with prominent acoustic guitar and piano, and just a little touch of the pedal steel. Her piano playing was never perfect, but it's effective on the swaying ballad "Surely". She only lifts the tempo on the gospel-ish "Brighter", which is a great song, and one of the only times she really breaks from the formula. If it wasn't a hit (and with the allmusic guide temporarily dead I've got no way of finding out), it should've been. Another time is the agreeable country-folk track "Growing Away from Me". The third formula-breaking, "Back to California", has the same basic thrust as Joni Mitchell's "California" (released during the same year), and it's the closest thing to unbridled fun you'll ever find in King's catalog. A few tracks are lesser - I already mentioned "Carry Your Load", and I don't really like the title track, which sounds like a song from a bad musical. "Song of Long Ago" gets spoiled by poor male backup vocals, and even if you take those out it's still a generic song. If you gotta rip yourself off, you might as well do so in style, and that's exactly what Carole does here. Oh, via the amazing power of Wikipedia I found out what the big hit here was after all: "Sweet Seasons", which went to #2.