Carly Simon (album)


Carly Simon is the debut studio album by singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released in February 1971 by Elektra Records. The album was produced by Eddie Kramer, who had previously worked with Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix.
The album included her first Top 10 hit, "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be", a somber ballad centered on a woman pondering marriage with a sense of both inevitability and entrapment; the song was written by Simon and collaborator Jacob Brackman. The album features material written by Simon, with additional writing by Brackman, Kramer, and Freddy Gardner. The album also features covers of songs by Mark Klingman and Buzzy Linhart.

Critical reception

Carly Simon was mostly well received by critics when released. Timothy Crouse, writing in Rolling Stone, stated "Carly's voice perfectly matches her material" and her "...superbly controlled voice is complemented by deft arrangements." Robert Christgau was less impressed in The Village Voice: "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, gave the album a three and a half star rating out of a possible five, and stated "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" and "Dan, My Fling", were the stand-out tracks.
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

14th Annual Grammy Awards

Track listing

Personnel

Technical personnel
Album - Billboard
Album - International
Singles - Billboard