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It's astonishing how quickly Carole King slipped into relative obscurity.
Tapestry has sold in excess of 22 million copies and was the biggest selling album of all time until
Frampton Comes Alive surpassed it in 1977, yet while the latter remains at the very least an archetypal cultural kitsch,
Tapestry has become a troublesome trivial question: "What's the bestselling album by a woman?" Part of the problem is that the singer-songwriter era she (and James Taylor and Carly Simon) came to represent hasn't aroused a whole lot of critical favor. Still, the restrained soul of King's best stuff (for instance,
Tapestry, which is included here in its entirety) has it's own appeal, as do a few of the preblockbuster inclusions.
--Steve Stolder
CD Description
The two-disc set A NATURAL WOMAN collects the highlights ofCarole King's eight-year tenure at Lou Adler's Ode Records.Of course, of the several albums she released between 1968 and 1976, one stands out above all others; TAPESTRY is an all-time classic, the definitive '70s singer/songwriter album and the epitome of piano rock. A NATURAL WOMAN treats the album with the respect it deserves, including it in its entirety.
What's remarkable about this 36-track collection is that as brilliant as songs like "It's Too Late", "Where You Lead" and "So Far Away" are, the rest of the set is nearly upto their level. In fact, listening to the songs from the follow-up RHYMES AND REASONS, it's remarkable that this album didn't match the stratospheric commercial success of its predecessor. The set also includes rarities like the 1972 moviesong "Pocket Money" and four unreleased tracks, two live takes including a duet with James Taylor on "You're Got A Friend" and two surprisingly fine outtakes from RHYMES AND REASONS.