Sunday, November 01, 2009

10 thoughts of Carly Simon's Never Been Gone

Kat's "Kat's Korner: Carly Simon's warm benediction" went up this morning about Carly Simon's latest album Never Been Gone. We won't top that (and we does include Kat) but we wanted to add a few thoughts.



Never Been Gone



1) Many of us downloaded the album. That means no notes. While you can [PDF format warning] download the Carly's notes here, is there a place you can go online to get credits for the tracks including who is playing on which one? (Yes, we can find that information out very easily -- we didn't all download the album. But it is an issue, and the primary one for this age of downloads, when it comes to albums.)



2) There is no one favorite track. We all tossed out our favorites and not one track got left out. We have no idea what will be your favorite track but, if you're a Carly fan, not only will you quickly have a favorite, you'll have a lot of fun figuring out what that track is.



3) Fun. This is really a fun album. It's dealing with a lot of weighty issues but it's got a lot of joy and fun as well.



4) This is also a repeat-listen album. There's so much here, you don't just need multiple listens, you want them and, despite non-stop play, the album still feels fresh.



5) "Let The River Run" is an anthem like Patti Smith's "People Have The Power" which lives up to anthem. The re-imagining on Never Been Gone only underscores that fact. (As opposed to the bloated, pig hollering sessions that our former Ireland boys U2 are so fond of churning out.)



6) The vocal mix throughout the CD is a pleasant surprise. We're referring to all the people providing wonderful backing vocals. Call them The Carly Choir but don't overlook them. Their touches add so much texture. (And 'they' includes Carly who does a lot of backing vocals on the album.)



7) "Clouds in my coffee" is a vocal powerhouse and a nice addition to "You're So Vain."



8) "Anticipation" really does sum up the album.



9) A lot of time and imagination went into this album.



10) The heartbeat went out of our house

The rhythm went out of our romance

But in life that happens

And you just have to remember to breathe