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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anais Nin should be proud of Carly, June 22, 2000
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.
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is Carly Simon's 
