Tapestry

Carole King | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: September 26, 2000
• Label: Ode/Epic/Legacy
• Copyright: Originally Recorded 1971, Originally Released 1971, (P) 1999 Ode Records
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 50:47
• Genres:
  • Rock
• ASIN: B0014KFV6I
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (414 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)
  • #4 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Albums > Rock

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

143 of 149 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic that has passed the test of time March 18, 2004

By Leonard Fleisig TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

This was a beautiful album when I first heard it in 1971. It is a beautiful CD when I listen to it today. Tapestry marked Carole King's transition from remarkable "Tin-Pan Alley' pop song-writer for the likes of Neil Sedaka, the Shirelles (who I think originally recorded Will You Love Me Tomorrow) and others to a singer/performer of the first rank. The album exploded in 1971, no small feat when you consider that 1971 may have seen the culmination in the evolution of the album from a compilation of inidvidual hits into a set-piece that was best served whole. The evolution began with Sgt. Pepper and Pet Sounds and went on from there. The growth of FM radio was fueled in part by the ability of those stations to play entire albums at a time. Similarly, the fact that FM stations would play whole sides of album encouraged musicians to create albums that were more than just a series of unrelated songs. But I digress . . .

There is a two-fold beauty gained from listening to Tapestry today. The first is the nostalgic pleasure gained from listening again to beautiful words set perfectly to music. This pleasure is probably limited to those of us, of a certain age, who cut their musical teeth on the music of the 60s and early 70s. The second is the pleasure anyone, no matter their age, can get from listening to the combination of lyrics and music that is Tapestry.

If the definition of a classic is a piece of work that survives and propsers over time, then Tapestry is a classic.

128 of 135 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Why, oh why can't the record companies do it right? April 25, 2008

By DVD buff

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'll admit -- I'm one of those people who feel that TAPESTRY is one of the greatest albums of all time. So my review of this new 2-CD edition is colored by that view.

TAPESTRY is one of only a handful of albums ever released that contains only total winners (in terms of songs). Many artists produce great albums, but there are always a couple of songs that I don't like as much as the others. Not so with TAPESTRY. Every song on the album deserves five stars.

This 2-CD set contains the complete original album, along with a second disc of previously-unreleased live recordings of (most of) the songs from the album. These live versions were chosen because they strip the songs down to their pure essence -- Carole at the keyboard and on vocals, with nothing else. This is a fantastic thing to have paired with the original album. Sound quality is excellent, performances are inspired and passionate.

The set loses a star, though, because it's just not as good as it COULD have been. TAPESTRY has already been issued in a remastered, expanded edition. (This version appears to be the same mastering as the previous one.) However, the first expanded edition included two bonus tracks (one a previously-unreleased studio track, the other a live recording), and neither of those bonus tracks were included in this new edition. So if you want to have a "complete" TAPESTRY, you have to own both versions of the album. To me, this smacks of record company greed -- let's see how many times we can get these suckers to buy the same album. Sony has done this same thing recently with Michael Jackson's THRILLER. And Elvis Costello fans know all about this sort of thing...

If you're a Carole King fan, you will definitely want this set. If you don't care about live versions of the songs, you can stick with the single-disc remastered version from a few years back. But if, like me, you're a die-hard aficionado, you'll have to have both. It's only shelf space!

106 of 114 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars As superb as the day it was recorded: a masterwork May 31, 2002

By Joel L. Gandelman VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Why has Carol King's 1971 recording Tapestry stood the test of time?
Two words: sincerity and emotion.

The CD I bought from Amazon came with a sticker announcing: "4X Grammy Winner! Over 11 Million Sold! Every song's a classic!" But that really doesn't explain why, whether you're an "old timer" who got the original on vinyl or a young person experiencing King for the first time, Tapestry is so fresh, vital and appealing from start to finish.

It's not just King's superb white-soul sing-along melodies, or her music's wonderful rhythms, or the incredible variety of songs on this beautifully remastered CD. King wrote for a LOT of other artists who recorded her music and became very famous doing so doing the songs on this CD.

Indeed, when she recorded this in 1971 she was not as well-known to the general public as her music -- but that quickly changed when this became one of the great-selling
LPs of all time.

The secret is in her unpretentious, 100-per-cent post-liberated woman singing. She means EVERY word, every phrase and it comes across. Each jaunty song is a tasteful, at times playful, mini-drama. People often say that "so and so" (fill in the blank here) is the female equivalent of Frank Sinatra, considered the King of singing lyrics with supreme sincerity. But the REAL queen is definitely King. Her lyrics (happy and sad) don't just come alive, they're bursting with life-force as much as her music is bursting with worldclass melodies and rhythms.

Example: James Taylor grew increasingly famous (and rich) with his smash recording of You've Got a Friend. But his does not contain one-millionth the sincerity of King's rendition. Anyone who's ever "down" should listen to her sing the song -- and you'll feel like you do have a friend. And gift this to a beloved friend or relative and tell them THAT SONG is for them and when they listen they will completely get the message, a message King delivers right from the heart.

When the concert-challenged (she did not like to perform in public) King sings her songs the more famous versions of her music performed by more famous artists seem like
elevator music in comparison. Her "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" is laced with vulnerability unmatched by any other singer. `It's Too Late" takes on a near-defiant tone due to her phrasing.

She also does unparalleled work with the more upbeat songs such as "Where You Lead' and (my favorite) `I Feel the Earth Move" (our unofficial theme song here in California).

If you've heard King, get, listen to and savor this remastered CD. If you love someone, gift it. If you're a young musician or singer listen to and EMULATE a master writer and
performer. King's lyrics, music, rhythms and sincerity haunted and moved me in 1971 and they do today since this CD is every milligram good as it was when it was first recorded.

According to the liner notes, Tapestry was #1 for 15 weeks, on the charts for more than six years, and earned four Grammies including Record of the Year (for It's Too Late) and
Song of the Year (You've Got a Friend." This CD also contains two wonderful previously unreleased bonus tracks.