Spy

Carly Simon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra/Asylum
• ASIN: B000002GWW
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,249 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: SIMON,CARLY
Title: SPY
Street Release Date: 05/27/1997
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anais Nin should be proud of Carly, June 22, 2000

By 

J. Collins "Paradise Bar & Grill" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spy (Audio CD)

Many of Amazon's reviewers don't seem to know what to make of "Spy," and one has to wonder if they've ever read the album's liner notes. "I am an international spy in the House of Love," reads the album's epigram (a quote from Anais Nin), and therein lies the answer to all these questions about the musical variation and "inner meanings" of the songs themselves. I regard "Spy" as Carly's most creative "concept" album, as well as one of the most musically compelling titles in her catalog.

Secrecy, adultery, sincerity, lies, fantasy, sympathy, proprietary emotions and desperate freedom...these themes are all represented as Carly traverses a spectrum of intellectual idealism to spiritual hedonism. Granted, it takes a lot of reading between the lines to find all these subjects, but they are there...just as Carly intended. Following the traditional romanticism and sweet reminiscinces of "Boys In The Trees," "Spy" represents an emotional progression that is surprising in it's clarity; in other words, if "Boys..." was a statement of marital solidarity, "Spy" is a reflection of her dissatisfaction with her role as wife and mother. "Spy" seeks to circumvent the limitations of marital convention, and experiments with various fantasy roles and predicaments.

Though Carly has written songs that tap into a number of the themes used in "Spy," never has she put together such a potent statement, lyrically speaking. The music of "Spy" is pure late-70s Pop, with elements of mainstream rock and lite jazz, often laid over a disco-friendly rhythm track. The combination of her words and music is remarkably fitting...the snarling guitars paired with her assertive sentiments on "Vengeance," the sexual whimsy of "Pure Sin"'s words paired with the song's airy synthesizer and ticking cowbell, etc.

Amid all the conflicting desires (confident monogamy, one night stands and afternoon delights) that pop up on "Spy," the single most potent craving would seem to be contentment. In "Never Been Gone," Carly discards her fantasies and "would-be's" for the security and warmth of home. Though the song would have made a logical closing sentiment, she wisely places it in the middle, and thus avoids a predictable "no place like home" moral to this musical adventure.

Despite a couple of clinkers (the over-wrought "Coming To Get You" and the overlong "Memorial Day"), "Spy" is one of Carly's most captivating and enduring musical accomplishments. It's a shame that few people appreciate it for the classic it truly is.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The End Of An Era, February 18, 2003

By 

Eric Something (Seattle, Wa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spy (Audio CD)

I brought this album shortly after I saw
Carly perform "Vengeance" and "We're So Close"
on the Midnight Special when I was 12. It was
my first contemporary rock album i bought and I wore it
out, invented harmonies to sing along with her
to every track I could. Definitely an exciting
time for my musical developing ear. Before this
Streisand was my only musical muse. This album opened me
to an idea I still have to this day. Good music
is universally able to transcend boundaries of race,
class, and age. Looking back at her catalog "Memorial
Day" is still an epic of mystery to me-a road Carly
went down artistically that she arguably hasn't been
to since.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simon Says, July 13, 2000

By 

Michael Butts (Berkeley Springs, WV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spy (Audio CD)

When this first came out, it was one of my favorite albums from Carly. Now, 20 years later, I see many flaws my youthful exuberance didn't notice. While the disc certainly has some great tunes, there are some that just manage to irritate me now. For instance, I used to really like "Memorial Day", but on listening to it now, it seems to make little lyrical sense, and it is just too long. Even the drum solo at the end now seems so pedestrian and ostentatious. I never did care much for "Coming to Get You" with its feminist bravado and irritating melody line. Carly seems like she's screaming on this one. I dislike it even more now. However, thank God, the other tracks still stand tall. "Vengeance" uses a feminist motif too, but it is quite different. The vocals are earthy and the metaphors work so well. "Love You By Heart", "We're So Close," and "Spy" are also still top-notch Carly. Definitely a must for Carly fans, just not as good as some of her other releases.