Customer Reviews

Rhymes & Reasons

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album plays out as the soundtrack of my life right now, for the past 7 months or so. Times of confusion have been alleviated by knowing that Carole King could write about the same confusions, times of longing, times of friendship, pride, stepping back. All of these are in this album, remarkable when its length is considered!
This album hit me much harder than tapestry has. And that being said, i am a 24 y/o in 2002 i'll be 25, and i never listened to carole king (well besides songs i couldn't have avoided-- but i didn't know they were hers) previous to saying, hmm i will try her out, and picking up tapestry and rhymes & reasons simultaneously on vinyl from the salvation army.
This one just one me over in sheer emotional force, on so many levels.
heck it made my girlfriend at the time want to give it another shot cause i was listening to this in the background. that says something. hope i could help.

"Rhymes & Reasons" is the next installment in a string of brilliant songwriting and recording projects by Carole King following her phenominally successful "Tapestry" album. The songs here are highly personal, introspective, spiritual at times. Musically, one song weaves into the next so effortlessly...each song so thoughtfully arranged with the same soft, accoustical, textural sound. It is such a carefully crafted album project in fact, that when King's boxed set "A Natural Woman" was released a few years back, one could immediately identify the two songs excerpted from "Rhymes & Reasons" and could recognize that the two tracks belonged originally on this album. King is quite simply at her most prolific here. It doesn't get much better than "Rhymes & Reasons". A brilliant project.

I really love all Carole's music but this album is so special. She sings about our lives, feelings, problems and it is so real. The music is moving. "Been to Canaan" is the most familiar song on the album for most people but once you hear the rest you will realize that each one is a treasure. Just sit back and listen- it's incredible. The piano in "My, My She Cries" is wonderful. The medody is sweet and beautiful. In the middle of the song Carole sings the melody with the piano it makes me smile!
"The First Day in August" is another great song with Carole playing that wonderful piano. It also has a great string arrangement. It is a sweet love song. "Bitter with the Sweet" is really upbeat. I think Charlie Larkey is playing bass on this one and it is really good and sounds great with Carole on piano. The horns come in the middle with Carole singing the medody. You just gotta hear it. You will love it. I just love hearing Carole play piano and on this album you can hear her very clearly. It's great. Do yourself a favor and buy it.

"Rhymes & Reasons" is another chapter in a string of songwriting and recording successes by Carole King following her phenominal "Tapestry" album. The songs here are highly confessional, introspective, spiritual at times. Musically, one song weaves into the next so effortlessly (each song so thoughtfully arranged with the same soft, accoustical, textural sound.) It is such a carefully-crafted album project in fact that when King's boxed set "A Natural Woman" was released in the early 90s, one could immediately identify the two songs excerpted from "Rhymes & Reasons" and could recognize that the two tracks belonged originally on this album. King is quite simply at her most prolific here. It doesn't get much better than "Rhymes & Reasons". A brilliant project.

People always compare this album unfavorably to Tapestry and Music. This album is not Tapestry and its not Music but I love it. Carole King is a genius of a talent who doesn't need to top her previous work to make great music. Oh my god all I have to do is close my eyes and put this CD on and its 1972 or 73 all over again. Something about her mellow, easy, beautiful singing makes a man feel innocent again. Something about "Got to Get Through" really moves me. This is a piece of work not to be missed.

This piece is very close of being as good as Tapestry.Highly recomended.
When this smooth voice and melodic piano are joined great songs appaear.
That's what this album is about. Carole was on her ups.
The vocals here are always soft, very few high notes.
Some lyrics talk about weakening problems in life, others about things to
be done with a lover.(No sex,polluted minds!)

Near perfection; track 6 is the weakest compared to the rest, but still good.
Most beautiful parts:
-Carole singing "Oooh, I'm counting on you" in Feeling sad tonight.
- The melody in the lines "She's gone, gone, she's gone, she's flown away"
in My, my , she cries
-Been to Canaan entirely, we all need a promised land, she says.
-The piano in The first day in August
-The piano solo in the middle of I think I can hear you.

Rhymes and reasons only deserves praises.

In one of the songs on this album, Carole King sings that "...peace in the valley just don't come." Well, I'm not sure why she doesn't achieve peace in her song, but I certainly feel peaceful when I listen to this album. The songs are imbued with a sort of vague spirituality. It's nothing to do with religion, but rather a simple goodness and optimism that causes listeners to recognize the negative energy all around them, and to rise above it for a while. In her role as spiritual guru, Carole passes on sage advice, meant to comfort and instill confidence. In "Bitter With The Sweet" she tells us that even though our lives can't be enjoyable all the time, when we are doing unpleasant things we are laying the foundation for good times to come. Likewise, in "Gotta Get Through Another Day", the reason for it is that hopefully today will bring wisdom, and tomorrow will be the GOOD day. And in "Ferguson Road", she finds herself ending a failing relationship, hoping to reach the point in the healing process where she just doesn't "...give a damn." In "Been To Canaan", the point is simple: she has experienced happiness, and she is determined to get there again. In general, the music consists of gentle, singable melodies complemented by Carole's trademark piano (frequent strong chords combined with meandering, cascading melodies), and mild percussion. The standout song is "The First Day In August". On this track Carole's voice, her piano and the strings interact to form something seriously joyful and achingly beautiful. Even so, this album did not generate any big chart hits, but that works in its favor. The equality of the tracks contributes to making the album the peaceful ride that it is.

I agree with the other reviews of this CD. Carole King has a gift for making her music both memorable and meaningful. Every song is terrific. By the time you get to the 12th track, you will want to start again!

there is a song on this cd that gives goosebumps called " I think I can hear you" It may even make you cry - makes you feel your God's love. I have had the cassette for 28 years. love to share this particular song with people. well worth it.

"Rhymes & Reasons" was the second album Carole King released after the monumentally great "Tapestry." This time only sues one of the songs she co-wrote with Gerry Goffin when they established themselves as one of the premier songwriting teams in music, with songs like "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman." Without almost exclusivley new songs, several of which were written with a new partner, Toni Stern, the result is less than satisfying. But, to be fair, we are talking about a singer-songwriter who put out one of the best selling albums of all time. If there had never been "Tapestry" I do not think that my rating would have changed, but the change in perspective would probably allow me to enjoy the album more. "Been to Canaan" was the biggest success on the album, making it to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart but only #24 overall. The album made it to #2 on the charts, although this was undoubtedly due more to the large residue of affection from the success of "Tapestry" (when you sell that many albums you can do one-tenth as well and still have a "hit"). Still the Carole King albums before and after this one both hit the top spot. That being said, the key thing is how big of a fan you are of Carole King's work, because while it is not a great album it is still a pretty good one.