The Best of Carly Simon

Carly Simon

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: November 1975
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002GVZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Mini-Disc  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,888 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Almost any way you look at it, the Carly Simon of the '70s was pretty cool. Her acerbic wit and nasally expressive voice had people comparing her to Carole King, but there was also a weary androgyny to her that wouldn't be seen again until the arrival of Chrissy Hynde. Her songs rocked without quite being rock songs, and were folk-evocative without falling into the singer-songwriter bins. She scored multiple singles hits yet pulled off albums with the best of her contemporaries. This is an early collection, so it misses "Nobody Does It Better" and other later hits. Regardless, nearly all the songs here are worth having. Flavorful and nourishing--and a good package, besides. --Gavin McNett

Product Description
Import pressing features 'Why' as an additional bonus track over the US version. The first and still the best of the many Carly Simon compilations available, 1975's THE BEST OF CARLY SIMON is an all-meat, no-filler collection of most of the folk-pop singer/songwriter's best and biggest songs. Looking over the track listing, one is reminded of just how many classic songs Simon was responsible for in the early '70s. "That's the Way I've Always Heard it Should Be", "The Right Thing to Do", "Haven't Got Time For the Pain", "Anticipation", and of course "You're So Vain" still sound remarkably solid. This is particularly impressive considering the amount of radio time they've all gotten in the intervening decades. Simon's husky voice and smart, piano-based arrangements don't sound nearly as dated as those of many of her contemporaries, and while THE BEST OF CARLY SIMON may qualify as a guilty pleasure in some minds, it's a pleasure nonetheless. 11 tracks. Warner. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made me a fan of Carly's, I wasn't sorry for buying this CD, March 10, 2000

By	John Nelson (North Fond du Lac, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While working at my job during the summer, we periodically would play Carly's hit song "YOUR SO VAIN" on the store's background music. I often found myself humming the song while I worked. I later purchased THE BEST OF CARLY SIMON CD with some extra money I had, just for the purpose of getting a hold of YOUR SO VAIN. I took it home, played it all the way through, and all I can say is that I quickly had a new favorite CD on my shelf. All of the songs on the CD, (especially YOUR SO VAIN, HAVEN'T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN, and in my humble opinion, NIGHT OWL,) were magnificent pieces of music. I very quickly found myself getting ahold of as many of Ms. Simon's CD's that I could. Do yourself a big favor, if you like music, or like even just one song of Carly Simon's, pick up this CD. You won't be sorry.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You Probably Think This Song Is About You, April 23, 2001

By	David Bradley "David Bradley" (Sterling, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Carly Simon was famous before her songs were done to death in cracker commercials and soundtracks to chick flicks. She was, in fact, tough as nails on pop, top-40 radio. White suburbia's Laura Nyro, if you will.

If you think you aren't familiar with her best stuff, check out the samples here. You'll recognize most of them. Along with Carol King, Simon dominated radio play for a couple of years, putting out a series of sparkling piano-based singles that told stories from a side of the coin pop hadn't heard in a while.

She could do anything for a while. I mean, who would have said "Mockingbird" would be a hit?

While I think this is a great album--the first 6 titles are all minor classics of American pop--it's "You're So Vain" that will always make Carly Simons reputation.

What a perfect, perfect single. Mixed like a Lennon record, with those throaty Carly vocals and a nasty lyric ("You gave away the things you loved and one of them was me,") that sent everybody on edge when it was released. For a time, there was a real debate about the focus of the title: Warren Beatty? James Taylor? Mick Jagger? I think the final consensus was Beatty; Jagger sings backing vocals on the track.

That's how big she was: Mick Jagger was a hired backup singer on her records.

"You're So Vain" sits in my alltime top-10, and the rest of this album is a study in Pop. Get it.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Ten of Carly's Best" is a better title, June 23, 2000

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

This hits sampler is typical of record label greed...though Carly stayed with Elektra Records for another five years after this package came out, apparently Elektra wanted to milk her fans rather than wait for hits to come. As such, it is falsely titled, since a lot of her "best" was yet to come.

As hits go, this album is full of them, and what hits they are! Some of these tunes may be best remembered for their use in advertising: "Anticipation" was 'the ketchup song,' "Haven't Got Time For the Pain" was used to shill Anacin or some other headache remedy. A third song used in TV ads, "Julie Through The Glass" (from "Anticipation", used in a clip for the Church of Latter Day Saints) would have been a great addition to this album, but was passed over in favor of material from the more commercial "No Secrets" lp. "Mockingbird" and "Night Owl" (also from "No Secrets") are probably the weakest tracks in this collection, and could easily have been overlooked in favor of songs from "Playing Possum" or even "Hot Cakes."

If you consider yourself a fan of Carly Simon, this collection is entirely un-essential...you're better off collecting her first five Elektra lps in their entirety. Music fans who have a fondness for some of the hits here have a harder choice between this release and Carly's "Greatest Hits Live" album for Arista. The latter lp has some wonderful live readings of songs from this "Best of," and includes latter-day classics like "Nobody Does It Better" and "Coming Around Again." Of course, if you're curious and you have the cash, by all means buy the "Clouds In My Coffee" anthology, which stands as the definitive Carly collection to date.

-Mic