Carly Simon The Best of Carly Simon Genres:Folk, Pop, Rock 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 o... more »ver 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.« less
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.
"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."
Made me a fan of Carly's, I wasn't sorry for buying this CD
John Nelson | North Fond du Lac, WI | 03/10/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
"Ten of Carly's Best" is a better title
J. Collins | 06/23/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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"
Peaks of Pop
Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 06/14/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Carly Simon has a VOICE. So many singers rely on noise from the instruments to cover up the fact that they sing pretty much like you and I do in the shower, except some how they've conned us to pay them to do it. Carly Simon, on the other hand, has one of the greatest voices to ever sing a pop-rock song. She could sing these songs without the backup instruments and carry it off. How many singers have that ability?This CD contains a few cuts that show off that wonderful voice, though regretfully not all of her "greatest" songs, notably "Nobody Does it Better" is missing, and as other reviewers have noted, several other hits that came out after this album. You have to wonder why this album was released as a CD given that a longer revised version was possible and should have been done that covered all of her hits, not just those from the early 70s. There is an import titled "The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better" that includes the missing hits and covers her career to 1989. If you are looking for a more "true" greatest hits, you would be better served to buy that CD than this one.This CD gets 4 stars instead of 5 for two major flaws. First, it is not truly Carly's greatest hits. Second, given that she had so many more hits available, and given that CD's will hold nearly 80 minutes of music, an updated "Greatest Hits" could be way longer.Having pointed out the flaws in this CD, it's only fair to point out that this CD has several of her greatest. I know that many people equate Carly Simon with "You're So Vain", which is great pop-rock, but my personal favorite is "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be", a song about a woman giving up her needs and wants to marry. Her awesome voice is an amazing instrument that forces you to focus on her voice and what she is saying."Anticipation", the classic tv commercial song, is also on this CD. Overplayed yes, but still a truly great song, and once again it's Carly's voice that helps to make the song what it is.I think "(We Have) No Secrets" is another wonderful song. I guess I'm a sucker for songs about relationships that are sung with such feeling. Carly has a way of putting emotion into her music with her voice that is rarely equaled in pop or rock music.There are a host of other songs of varying stature on this CD. "The Right Thing to Do", "Mockingbird", "Legend in Your Own Time" and "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" all received air play to varying degrees, and thus are truly hits. I'm not a super fan of "Mockingbird" because it just doesn't seem to fit with the theme and tone of her other songs."Night Owl" and "Attitude Dancing" are fair songs that don't seem to reach quite to the level of the other songs on this CD.If you are a big fan of Carly's and you already have all or much of her early music, pass this one by. If you have the money to afford the greatest hits import you may want to get it for its greater coverage of her music. If you are looking for a sampler and can afford to pass by her later music for now, which includes the awesome song "Nobody Does It Better", then buy this one."
What a Face.Look at the Cover
David Bradley | 06/30/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First of all,look at the Album cover,What a face. Then,open the CD,and play the first four years of Carly's recording career. From the first hit,"That's the way I've always heard it should be," Carly wrote the Music,not the words for this one. Jacob Brackman,Carly's songwriting partner for years wrote the words. "Anticipation," the greatest line ever writen is in this song."These are the good old days." Today is the good old Days for most of us. "We have no Secrets," Vintage Carly,telling us more about her life. "Night Owl," with Paul and Linda McCarntney singing background. This is one of Carly's biggest Albums,along with "Boys in the Tree's," and "Comming around Again," But its just the start .Carly goes on ,and we haven't seen the last of her."