''Spy'' is the eighth 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 Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

, on June 30, 1979. The title of the album is a tribute to

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

, whose quote ''"I am an international spy in the house of love"'', is written across the top on the inside jacket. Simon dedicated the album to producer

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

, in which she wrote in the liner notes, ''"Dedicated to Arif who is himself fantastic."'' It is also Simon's last album for Elektra Records, she signed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

and released ''

Come Upstairs ''Come Upstairs'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Warner Bros. Records, on June 16, 1980. It was the first of her three albums for Warner Bros. and it has a harder, more rock-oriented sound than ...

'' the following year.

Reception

Debra Rae Cohen, 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 "Here, Simon’s rough, bold voice — powerful and affecting as ever — seizes center stage with husky promise and, like a dormitory storyteller after lights out, threatens revelations. But even discounting the mediating layers of studio polish, she winds up sounding strangely distanced from her material." She also singled out the track "We're So Close", calling it "the record’s gem". Although ''Spy'' did not yield any major hit singles, " Vengeance" (which features actor

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

on backing vocals) earned Simon a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...

in early 1980, the first year to feature this new category. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that it has "an urban rock feeling, with ominous guitar chording and touches of syndrums," saying that "Simon's vocals are...sharp and bold" but "less restrained than usual." The song peaked at No. 48 on the ''Billboard'' Pop singles chart, and No. 52 on the ''Cash Box'' top singles chart. She included the track on her two-disc career compilation set ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'' (2002), as well as the three-disc special edition compilation ''

Carly Simon Collector's Edition ''Carly Simon Collector's Edition'' is a special edition compilation of Carly Simon songs on three discs in an attractive tin box, released by Madacy Entertainment, on March 31, 2009. The thirty songs are selections from Simon's first eleven s ...

'' (2009). Simon made a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song, and she became the second female solo artist to be featured on MTV's first day of the air.

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

later used a clip from the video in a commercial to entice viewers to get stereo sound on their

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

sets. The promotional clip was also chosen by

Pioneer Electronics commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto in January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair ...

to be part of their first demo disc for its then-new

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

player. The title song was released as the second single from the album, and it reached No. 34 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart. The album also features the songs "Never Been Gone" and "We're So Close", which have become fan favorites and stand among Simon's personal favorites of her own songs. In 2009, Simon released ''

Never Been Gone ''Never Been Gone'' is the 23rd and final studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Iris Records, on October 27, 2009. Featuring acoustic versions of many of Simon's past hits along with two new songs, "No Freedom" and ...

''; an album which includes a newly recorded version of the song, along with some of her other greatest hits.

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

Charts

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

References

External links

Carly Simon's Official Website
{{Authority control 1979 albums Carly Simon albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Arif Mardin