''Carly Simon'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

, released by Elektra Records, on February 9, 1971. The album was produced by

Eddie Kramer Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a British recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin ...

, who had previously worked with

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, and included Simon's first Top 10 hit, "

That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" is a song performed by Carly Simon, and the lead single from her self-titled debut album '' Carly Simon'' (1971). Her friend and frequent collaborator Jacob Brackman wrote the lyrics and Simon wrote ...

", which earned her a nomination for the

Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. A somber ballad centered on a woman pondering marriage with a sense of both inevitability and entrapment; the song was written by Simon and frequent collaborator

Jacob Brackman Jacob Brackman (born 1943) is an American writer, journalist, and musical lyricist. After graduating from Harvard University in 1965, he went to work for ''Newsweek'' as a journalist. He remained there for six months and was then hired by ''The ...

. The album also earned Simon the

Grammy Award for Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

at the same ceremony. The album features material written by Simon, with additional writing by Brackman, Kramer, and

Freddy Gardner Frederick James Gardner (23 December 1910 – 26 July 1950) was a British jazz and dance band saxophonist during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life His father sold artist's materials, while his mother was a dressmaker. He took up the saxophone at 1 ...

, as well as covers of songs by

Mark Klingman Mark "Moogy" Klingman (September 7, 1950 – November 15, 2011)
– accessed November 17, 2011 was an American musici ...

and

Buzzy Linhart William Charles "Buzzy" Linhart (March 3, 1943 – February 13, 2020) was an American rock performer, composer, multi-instrumentalist musician and actor. Early life Linhart was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio ...

Reception

The album was mostly well received by music critics upon release.

Timothy Crouse Timothy Crouse (born 1947) is an American journalist and writer. Family Crouse is the son of Anna (née Erskine) and Russel Crouse. His maternal grandparents were Pauline (Ives) and author, educator, and former Columbia professor John Erskine. T ...

, writing in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', stated "Carly's voice perfectly matches her material" and her "superbly controlled voice is complemented by deft arrangements."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

, writing for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', was less impressed; "I suppose it makes sense not only for the privileged to inflict their sensibilities on us, but for many of us to dig it." In more recent years, William Ruhlmann, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, rated the album 3-stars-out-of-5, and listed the tracks "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" and "Dan, My Fling" as stand-outs. In a retrospective assessment, music scholar Kim Simpson deemed "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" an "early soft rock masterpiece." Simon stated in the Ask Carly section on her website that "Reunions" was her mother's— Andrea Simon—favorite song of hers.

Awards

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

Personnel

Musicians

Production

* Producer – Eddie Kramer * Engineered and Mixed by Eddie Kramer and Dave Palmer * Art Direction and Design – Robert L. Heimall * Cover Photography and Poster – Peter Simon * Back Cover Photography –

Joel Brodsky Joel Lee Brodsky (October 7, 1939 – March 1, 2007) was an American photographer, best known for his photography of musicians, particularly his iconic "Young Lion" photographs of Jim Morrison. In his lifetime, he is credited with photographing o ...

Charts

Album – ''Billboard'' (United States) Album – International Singles – ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

External links

Carly Simon's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carly Simon (Album) 1971 debut albums Carly Simon albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Eddie Kramer Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios Albums with cover art by Joel Brodsky