Tapestry
Carole King
Ode 77009
Released: March 1971
Chart Peak: #1
Weeks Charted: 302
Certified Gold: 6/7/71
Tapestry
Carole King
Ode 77009
Released: March 1971
Chart Peak: #1
Weeks Charted: 302
Certified Gold: 6/7/71
Pacific rock, to be sure, but with a sharpness worthy of a Brooklyn girl -- if there's a truer song about breaking up than "It's Too Late," the world (or at least AM radio) isn't ready for it. Not that lyrics are the point on an album whose title cut compares life to a you-know-what -- the point is a woman singing. King has done for the female voice what countless singer-composers achieved years ago for the male: liberated it from techical decorum. She insists on being heard as she is -- not raunchy and hot-to-trot or sweeet and be-yoo-ti-ful, just human, with all the cracks and imperfections that implies. And for the first time she has found the music -- not just the melodies, but the studio support -- to put her point across as cleanly and subtly as it deserves. A+
- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.
Bonus Reviews!
Miss King's coming has been forecast since her Writer LP; initial response to this beautifully produced and performed album predicts wide acceptance. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Natural Woman" are updated oldies, while new material like "Smackwater Jack," "You've Got A Friend," "Where You Lead," and the title song are outstanding new songs. Naturally, she wrote or cowrote all the material.
- Billboard, 1971.
The most successful female songwriter in the history of the US and UK singles charts wrote and recorded the best-selling album by a woman. It seems justice, yet before Tapestry was released it also seemed very unlikely. Carole first registered as a singer in 1962 with "It Might As Well Rain Until September," but this had merely been a demo for Bobby Vee that publisher Don Kirshner thought good enough to release in single form. King did not attempt to become an artist herself until the late sixties.
An LP with a trio named The City sold about five thousand copies and her 1970 solo debut Writer was undistinguished. Nothing prepared the world for Tapestry, a recital that has long passed the thirteen million mark in sales.
Among the tunes played by pianist King were "It's Too Late," an American number one, "So Far Away," a Top 20 tune, and "I Feel The Earth Move," the flip of "It's Too Late" that enjoyed much airplay in its own right. King revisited her hits for the Shirelles ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow") and Aretha Franklin ("[You Make Me Feel Like] A Natural Woman"). She wrote a classic in "You've Got A Friend," which became a US number one for James Taylor. King introduced what became a Grammy winner for Quincy Jones, "Smackwater Jack," She herself won Album of the Year for Tapestry, Single of the Year for "It's Too Late," Female Vocal Performance of the Year for Tapestry, and Song of the Year for "You've Got A Friend."
In 1987, Tapestry was chosen by a panel of rock critics and music broadcasters as the #30 rock album of all time. Appropriately enough, King's unparalleled achievement was the highest-placed disc by a female soloist in the survey.
- Paul Gambaccini, The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time, Harmony Books, 1987.
Having started life in the music business as a songwriter, Carole King turned performer for her debut album Writer which set the scene for her massive selling album Tapestry. These classic songs are no longer mellowed by dated LP mastering and come up bright and scrubbed on CD.
The new-found clarity, however, reveals the absolutely flat miking of Carole King's voice, devoid of reverberation (the song "It's Too Late" apart). With a lesser talent this "over-exposure" could reveal shortcomings of vocal technique, but King's purity of voice and simplicity of line pull her through. Vocals tend to be segmented and do not blend well with the studio acoustic obviously audible around piano, drums and guitars. Hiss levels are quite high but the clarity of these sixteen-year old tapes transferred for this Japanese produced Compact Disc is remarkable.
Any one of these songs could have been the centrepiece of a succession of albums for a lesser artist.
- David Prakel, Rock 'n' Roll on Compact Disc, 1987.
In the world of popular music, the word "classic" gets bandied about like the word "improved" on ad campaigns, ceasing to mean anything after a while. Tapestry, however, is a classic, no two ways about it. King (already a very successful songwriter) assembled a collection of her best-known songs, plus some new ones, and gave them intimate heartfelt readings. King's voice had a warm earthy quality, with just the right amount of urgency. Listing highlights is fairly pointless, as the whole album is stunning. * * * * *
- Rick Clark, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.
 Further reading on Super Seventies RockSite!: |
- Patrick McCarty, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.
The sleeve is unprepossessing: a be-denimed Carole King clutching some fabric, her cat in the foreground. It is also a bold statement about the place of women in rock music. The imagery, the songs themselves and the huge success of Tapestry marked out a territory for intelligent, sensitive women who didn't have to exploit their sexuality in an obvious manner. With Tapestry, King married her gift for the concise pop statement (finely honed as co-author with husband Gerry Goffin of countless pop classics in the 50s and 60s) to a reflective lyricism, to create one of the defining singer-songwriter albums of the 70s. "I Feel The Earth Move" opens up with strident piano and funky bass. King's soulful vocal teases out the song's sexual theme, while the U.S. #1 single, "It's Too Late," features piercingly honest lyrics. "You've Got a Friend" is a touching pledge of support and King's solo version of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" makes for a sharp contrast to the bright 60s hit version. King's beautifully phrased vocals and versatile piano playing mark her out as a consummate artist. Tapestry is sheer crafted class.
- Collins Gem Classic Albums, 1999.
An almost flawless representation of all that's good about the singer-songwriter movement, this much-beloved Grammy-winning masterpiece from the Brill Building graduate is indelibly printed on the pop culture conciousness of the '70s and has a permanent seat on the all-time-greatest dais. Expect no bells and whistles, just powerful love-lorn balladry that transcends sap and feels like a conversation with an old friend. This beautifully woven collection resonates today -- King is still the queen. * * * * *
- Zagat Survey Music Guide - 1,000 Top Albums of All Time, 2003.
For a decade, King wrote pop songs with her then-husband, Gerry Goffin: hits such as Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion" (Eva Boyd was the couple's baby-sitter) and the Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sunday." Then King's friend James Taylor encouraged her to sing her own tunes. "We would record my songs, and then we would go to another studio where James was recording his album," King said of making Tapestry. She slowed down "Will You Love Me Tommorrow?" (originally a hit for the Shirelles in 1961), heightening the melancholy inside, while her warm, earnest singing brought out the sadness in "It's Too Late" and the earthy joy on "I Feel the Earth Move." On Tapestry, King remade herself as an artist and created the reigning model for the 1970s female singer-songwriter.
Tapestry was chosen as the 36th greatest album of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in Dec. 2003.
- Rolling Stone, 12/11/03.
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