No Secrets (Carly Simon album)
| No Secrets | ||||
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| Studio album by Carly Simon | ||||
| Released | November 1972 | |||
| Recorded | September–October, 1972 at Trident Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Pop, Vocal | |||
| Length | 37:23 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Richard Perry, Frank Filipetti, Robin Hurley | |||
| Carly Simon chronology | ||||
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No Secrets is pop/folk singer-songwriter Carly Simon's third studio album, released in 1972.
No Secrets was Simon's commercial breakthrough album. The album spent five weeks at number 1 on the Billboard charts and quickly went Gold,[1] as did its leadoff single, "You're So Vain", which remained at number 1 on the Pop charts for three weeks, and at number 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts for two weeks.[2] 25 years after its initial release, the album was officially certified Platinum on December 12, 1997.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Robert Christgau | B− [4] |
| Rolling Stone | (positive) [5] |
The album was well received by critics; A retrospective review from Allmusic's William Ruhlmann was very positive. Ruhlmann rated the album 3 and a half stars, out of a possible 4, calling it "Simon's best album". He noted that "You're So Vain" "set the album's saucy tone, with its air of sexually frank autobiography and its reflections on the jet-set lifestyle." He also stated that "now that she felt she had found true love, she was as willing to acknowledge her own mistakes and regrets as she was to point fingers." He concluded on the note that "Richard Perry" paid particular attention to Simon's vocals in a way that made her more engaging (or at least less grating) to listen to."[3]
In his review for Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden writes,
Carly Simon's third album comes handsomely dressed by super-producer Richard Perry and boasts many illustrious helpers. In the degree of its intelligence and forthrightness it is the equal of its predecessors. Regardless of the quality of her songs — they range from fair to excellent — everything Carly does is likable for her radiant vocal personality. She has the whitest of white voices and uses it well, singing full throat with faultless enunciation. Her almost literal note-for-note phrasing of songs is uniquely ingenuous.
The obvious highlight of No Secrets is the hit single, "You're So Vain," an affectionately high-spirited putdown of a male chauvinist glamour boy: "Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won/Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia/To see the total eclipse of the sun/You're where you should be all the time and when you're not/You're with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend...." A medium-paced rocker with a good tune, it climaxes with a sardonic chorus, which has Mick Jagger singing unison backup: "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you." Though the idea of Carly and Mick singing together sounds incongruous, the combination turns out to be inspired alchemy, especially bracing if heard through headphones.
James Taylor's "Night Owl" is the album's second-best cut. Among the guests sitting in on this hard bluesy rocker are Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voorman and Bobby Keys, with background vocals by Bonnie Bramlett, Doris Troy and the McCartneys. Of the album's eight other cuts, five take up the subject of time — lovers' time versus childhood time — playing variations on Carly's favorite theme. The implicit assumption behind these songs is the difficulty of being happy, especially when in love, without over-analyzing one's happiness so as to dissipate its intensity. The realization that emotion and rationalization are often irreconcilable is most painfully expressed in Carly's ballad, "We Have No Secrets":
We tell each other everything About the lovers in our past And why they didn't last We share a cast of characters from A to Z We know each other's fantasies And though we know each other better when we explore Sometimes I wish Often I wish I never knew Some of those secrets of yours.
Just as direct and personal is Carly's childhood fantasy of her father, "Embrace Me, You Child": "At night in bed I heard God whisper lullabies/While Daddy next door whistled whiskey tunes/And sometimes when I wanted they would harmonize/There was nothing that those two couldn't do." Two songs with lyrics by Jacob Brackman — "The Carter Family" and "It Was So Easy" — also look back nostalgically toward youthful innocence. With the exception of "You're So Vain," Carly's lyrics are stronger than her tunes. But what finally makes No Secrets so refreshing is her singing, which conveys the finest spirit of patrician generosity. Stephen Holden. January 4, 1973
[edit] Awards
- 1973 Grammy (Nominated) Best Pop Female Vocalist: You're So Vain
- 1973 Grammy (Nominated) Record Of The Year (Single): You're So Vain
- 2004 Grammy Hall Of Fame (Inducted) You're So Vain - Pop Single
[edit] Track listing
All songs by Carly Simon unless otherwise noted.
Side one
- "The Right Thing to Do" – 2:57
- "The Carter Family" (Simon, Jacob Brackman) – 3:29
- "You're So Vain" – 4:17
- "His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin" – 3:00
- "We Have No Secrets" – 3:57
Side two
- "Embrace Me, You Child" – 4:06
- "Waited So Long" – 4:14
- "It Was So Easy" (Simon, Brackman) – 3:06
- "Night Owl" (James Taylor) – 3:47
- "When You Close Your Eyes" (Simon, Bill Mernit) – 3:05
[edit] Personnel
- Carly Simon – acoustic guitar on 5 6 7 8, piano on 1 2 3 4 10, vocals, backing vocals on 1 7, string arrangements on 3, ARP synthesizer arrangements on 4
- Andy Newmark – drums on 1 2 6 8 10
- Jimmy Ryan – acoustic guitar on 2 3 4 5 10, bass on 1 10, electric guitar on 3 6 7 8 9
- Klaus Voormann – bass on 2 3 5 6 7 8 9
[edit] Additional personnel
- Paul Buckmaster – string arrangements on 10, woodwind arrangements on 10, synthesizer arrangements on 6 10, choir arrangement on 6, orchestration on 3 6
- Kirby Johnson – string arrangements on 2 5, woodwind arrangements on 2, electric piano on 5
- Ray Cooper – congas on 1 9
- Jim Gordon – drums on 3 5
- Nicky Hopkins – piano on 7 9
- Jim Keltner – drums on 7 9
- Paul Keough – acoustic guitar on 5 8
- Vicki Brown – backing vocals on 1
- Liza Strike – backing vocals on 1
- Richard Perry – percussion on 3
- David Hentschel – ARP synthesizer on 4
- Peter Robinson – piano on 6
- Lowell George – slide guitar on 7
- Bill Payne – organ on 7
- James Taylor – backing vocals on 7
- Bonnie Bramlett – backing vocals on 9
- Bobby Keys – tenor saxophone on 9
- Linda McCartney – backing vocals on 9
- Paul McCartney – backing vocals on 9
- Doris Troy – backing vocals on 9
- Mick Jagger – backing vocals (uncredited) on 3
[edit] Production
- Produced By Richard Perry, Frank Filipetti & Robin Hurley
- Engineers: Mark Berry, Robin Geoffrey Cable, Frank Filipetti, Bill Schnee
- Remixing: Robin Geoffrey Cable, Frank Filipetti & Bill Schnee
- Mastering: Ted Jensen
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Pop Albums | 1 |
Album - Kent Music Report (Australia)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 1 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "You're So Vain" | Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| 1973 | "You're So Vain" | Pop Singles | 1 |
| 1973 | "The Right Thing to Do" | Adult Contemporary | 4 |
| 1973 | "The Right Thing to Do" | Pop Singles | 17 |
[edit] Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – USA | Gold | December 8, 1972[1] |
| RIAA – USA | Platinum | December 12, 1997[1] |
| BPI - UK | Gold | November 25, 2011 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d RIAA (2010-02-28). "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - February 28, 2010". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Carly%20Simon&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50. Retrieved 2010-02-28. (table of RIAA certifications for artist Carly Simon in format ALBUM)
- ^ RIAA (2010-02-28). "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - February 28, 2010". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Carly%20Simon&format=SINGLE&go=Search&perPage=50. Retrieved 2010-02-28. (table of RIAA certifications for artist Carly Simon in format SINGLE)
- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. No Secrets (Carly Simon album) at Allmusic. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (April 1973). "The Christgau Consumer Guide: Carly Simon: No Secrets". Creem. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/crm7304.php. Retrieved 7 November 2011. Also included in "Carly Simon > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Carly+Simon. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (January 4, 1973). "Carly Simon No Secrets > Album Review". Rolling Stone (125). http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/no-secrets-19730104. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
| Preceded by Seventh Sojourn by The Moody Blues |
Billboard 200 number-one album January 13 - February 16, 1973 |
Succeeded by The World Is a Ghetto by War |
| Preceded by Slayed? by Slade |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one album March 19 - April 29, 1973 |
Succeeded by Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player by Elton John |
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