Thoroughbred

Carole King | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 16, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Epic
• ASIN: B0000025BI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,061 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Thoroughbred - Carole King

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughbred is one of the finest romantic albums of the 70s, October 27, 1999

By 

Mark Hickman (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thoroughbred (Audio CD)

"Thoroughbred" is one of the finest romantic albums of the mid-1970s, joyful and sometimes painful in its directness and honesty. King wears her heart on her sleeve and puts everything on the table emotionally with "Thoroughbred." The album is the listener's first hint that change was in the air for King. (Following "Thoroughbred" she signed with Capitol Records and the themes of her songs and the emphasis of her writing changed from strictly romantic to increasingly pastoral.) With "Thoroughbred" there is a raw and urgent directness in King's voice, which was missing from a few earlier Carole King albums. She utilizes a new group of musicans here, including Waddy Wachtel on electric guitar and Lee Sklar on bass (in addition to old friend James Taylor on acoustic guitar and vocals). "Thoroughbred" has a rolling acoustical sound, almost western at times on cuts like "We All Have To Be Alone" and "Ambrosia." Guitars play a heavier role on this album, beautifully accentuating King's two-fisted piano style. "Thoroughbred" is a beautiful gem, hopefully not soon to be forgotten now that many can hear it on CD.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all: Carole King's a thoroughbred!, February 12, 2002

By 

Rod Labbe (Waterville, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thoroughbred (Audio CD)

I've been a fan of Carole King's since 1971 and the single release of "It's Too Late." That led me to "Tapestry" and it's great follow-up, "Music." Then, 1972 happened, and all we got from Carole was "Rhymes and Reasons," her most sparse and least exciting album. In 1973, she tried an interesting experiment with "Fantasy," which basically chronicled inner-city life, via words and music. It was both a critical failure and hurt Carole's sales (though the album still went gold, continuing her streak). She came back with a vengeance in 1974 with "Wrap Around Joy," my absolute favorite King work--and two singles from the album hit Billboard's top ten: "Jazzman" and "Nightingale." "Wrap Around Joy" was a return to the more melodic King, albeit more pop-oriented. She kicked up the volume in 1975 with the unleashing of "Thoroughbred," my third favorite King masterpiece (my second favorite is her newest, "Love Makes the World." My fourth is "Speeding Time")! "Thoroughbred" saw Carole reuniting with Gerry Goffin, her ex-husband and prolific writing partner, and they showed us what good music is all about. Each song is a gem: "So Many Ways," "Daughter of Light," the heartbreaking "There's a Space Between Us" (with backups by James Taylor), and "High out of Time," among so many others. Once again, Carole does her own back-up vocals on most of the tracks, plays piano, and sings her plaintive heart out. It's a startling performance and one of Carole's best. I still have my original album from early 1976, and it's in perfect condition. Carole, you're one in a million--keep on making music, babe! You were born for it!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THOROUGHBRED...A ROMANTIC TRIUMPH!, September 14, 2002

By 

"earthvolunteer" (Atlanta, Ga. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thoroughbred (Audio CD)

"Thoroughbred" is one of the finest romantic albums of the mid-1970s, simultaneously joyful and painful in its sincerity and directness. Carole King wears her heart on her sleeve and places everything on the table emotionally with this collection of songs.

With "Thoroughbred" there is a raw urgency in King's voice, which was missing from a few earlier Carole King albums. She utilizes a new group of musicians here, including Waddy Wachtel on electric guitar and Lee Sklar on bass (in addition to old friend James Taylor on accoustic guitar and vocals.) "Thoroughbred" has a rolling accoustical sound, almost western at times on cuts like "We All Have To Be Alone" and "Ambrosia". Guitars play a heaver role on this album, beautifully accentuating King's two-fisted piano style. The melodies too on "Thoroughbred" are more complex than on earlier albums, even prompting long-time King producer Lou Adler to comment: "To tell you the truth, as a producer, I didn't have a real fix on all of the songs..."

"Thoroughbred" is also the listener's first hint that change was in the air for King. (Following "Thoroughbred" she signed with Capitol Records and the themes of her songs and the emphasis of her writing for many years changed from strictly romantic to increasingly pastoral and even environmental.) The album has a certain quality of wanderlust about it. "Thoroughbred" is a beautiful gem, hopefully not soon to be forgotten now that many can hear it on CD.