''The Best of Carly Simon'' is 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 ...

's first

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album, 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 November 24, 1975. Covering the first five years of her career, the compilation includes eight top 20 hit singles from her first five albums, as well as two album cuts from '' No Secrets'' (1972): "Night Owl" and "

We Have No Secrets "The Right Thing to Do" is a song written and performed by Carly Simon that first appeared on her 1972 album '' No Secrets''. The song was recorded at Trident Studios in London's Soho. It was released as the second single to the album, following " ...

", the latter of which was released as the B-side to the single "

The Right Thing to Do "The Right Thing to Do" is a song written and performed by Carly Simon that first appeared on her 1972 album '' No Secrets''. The song was recorded at Trident Studios in London's Soho. It was released as the second single to the album, following ...

". For many years, this was Simon's only greatest hits collection, and as a result, it became her best selling album. In the late 1990s, sales in the United States alone stood at over three million copies. However, in later years the collection could not be considered a complete or definitive representation of Simon's best or most popular work because it did not include her major hits from the mid-1970s onward, such as "

Nobody Does It Better "Nobody Does It Better" is a power ballad and the theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequenc ...

", " You Belong to Me", "

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' (a ...

", " Coming Around Again", "

Let the River Run "Let the River Run" is a song written, composed, and performed by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, and the theme to the 1988 Mike Nichols film ''Working Girl.'' The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award ...

", and "

Better Not Tell Her "Better Not Tell Her" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, and produced by Frank Filipetti and Paul Samwell-Smith. The opening track from Simon's 15th studio album, ''Have You Seen Me Lately'' (1990), the song ...

". The fact that Simon had changed record labels several times (moving from Elektra to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

Arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

) made a more wide-ranging collection a difficult proposition. A live album, ''

Greatest Hits Live ''Greatest Hits Live'' may refer to: Music albums * ''Greatest Hits Live'' (2 Plus 1 album) * ''Greatest Hits Live'' (April Wine album) *'' Greatest Hits Live 2003'', by April Wine * ''Greatest Hits Live'' (Diana Ross album) * ''Greatest Hits Live' ...

'' (1988), went some way to rectifying this issue, but the original recorded versions were eventually collected on the three-disc box set ''

Clouds in My Coffee ''Clouds in My Coffee: 1965-1995'' is a three-disc box set by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on November 7, 1995. A full career retrospective at the time of its release, it contains 58 songs spanning Simon's ...

'' (1995), the two-disc 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), and the single-disc collections '' The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better'' (1998) and '' Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits'' (2004). ''Reflections'' went on to become a great critical and commercial success, and was certified Gold by both the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on March 2, 2007, and the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

on July 22, 2013.

Reception

In a retrospective review 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 ...

, Jim Newsom rated the album 4-stars-out-of-5, and wrote "Opening with the powerful "

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 th ...

", and including four tunes from the classic ''No Secrets'' album, Simon's insightful lyrics and evocative voice remain fresh years later. This album is a good starting point for those interested in discovering why." A contemporary review from

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 ...

stated "Given her self-knowledge and her fans' taste, a compilation isn't going to get her at her best, though this does collect some of her more attractive melodies."

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 ...

. Notes * signifies a writer by additional lyrics

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's

Musicians

Credits

Charts

Album – ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' (North America) Album – International

Certifications

References

External links

Carly Simon's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Of Carly Simon 1975 greatest hits albums Carly Simon compilation albums Elektra Records compilation albums Albums produced by Richard Perry Albums produced by Paul Samwell-Smith Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster