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Pif Magazine
ISSN: 1094-2726
Published by:
Pif, LLC
PMB 248
4820 Yelm Hwy SE
Suite B
Lacey, WA 98503-4903
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Los Angeles, Spring, 1971: Page 1, 2, 3, 4
Carole King was a renowned songwriter well before she ever made it as a performer. I guarantee you know at least five of her songs. Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," the Shirelle's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," the Monkee's "Pleasant Valley Sunday," James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend," the Shiffon's "One Fine Day (You're Gonna Want me for Your Girl)," and Little Eva's classic roller rink hit, "The Locomotion." Insane, no? The same woman who wrote "You just call out my name/ And you know wherever I am" also wrote "I know you're gonna like it if you give it a chance now/ Come on baby, do the locomotion." That's not to mention the songs Carole popularized herself on Tapestry – "I Feel the Earth Move," "So Far Away," and "It's Too Late (baby, now it's too late)." |
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Most of Carole's early songs were collaborative efforts where she wrote the tunes and someone else wrote the lyrics. But on Tapestry, six of the lyrics are Carole's own, and they're the most confessional of the lot. No longer having to craft made-to-order tunes and free to write her own words, the songs on Tapestry are more complex musically and less bubblegum lyrically. Even so, Mrs. King still seems incapable of writing an un-catchy tune. Years of pop music are hard to shake (witness Sting's awkward forays into jazz as proof).
The production on Tapestry is cool because it is so thin and sloppy. Carole drives all the songs with her own piano playing, and there are no real instrumental arrangements. All the musicians (bassist, drummer, the occasional soloist) are so good, they just jam along. Carole does not have a dynamite voice, but it is pleasant – full of empathy and joy. She sings like a woman who has finally been released to vocally interpret her own songs. Carole's performance of "A Natural Woman" is less like a performance and more like a personal celebration. It's just her voice, her piano, and her husband's bass guitar. As Carole pours out her heart, we finally get to glimpse the woman behind the curtain of the song. And since I'm not much for Aretha's soul vocal wizardry, I much prefer Carole's simple version. OK, I more than prefer it. It freaking rocks. I wish I were a woman, so I could belt it out with all the stanky oomph it demands.
Other standouts include "I Feel the Earth Move," which is as funky as a Brooklyn honky is likely to get this side of the Beastie Boys. "So Far Away" has a melancholy jazz feel to it, artfully folked-out by J.T.'s acoustic picking. "It's Too Late" is actually a tasty funk/jazz/lounge amalgam. If it reappeared anew on the scene today, it would be lauded as the best single the ultra-lounge French retro movement has yet produced. As it is, you occasionally hear it as Muzak in the frozen foods section. We've come a long way, baby.
Lyrically, I love Carole's "Beautiful." It articulates the realistic optimism that makes Tapestry such an underdog favorite. And finally, the doo-woppy ballad, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," recently inspired an impromptu slow dance with my wife in the kitchen, complete with Wedding Singer-style hand placement, so you've got to love that! There is no better tune writer than Carole King, period. Her only real peer is Paul McCartney, and that's saying something.
