After the 2008 commercial disaster that was Carly Simon's This Kind of Love, issued on the now-defunct Starbucks' Hear Music imprint, this collection of rearranged and re-recorded versions of her hits seems like a logical step backward in order to move forwards. Released on the Iris imprint and produced by "Paphiopedillium" (a group effort comprised of Simon, her son Benjamin Taylor, Larry Ciancia, Peter Cato, and David Saw, the band of players on this set), Simon's on acoustic guitar with her voice right up front. The arrangements are considerably starker than their original versions (she doesn't have the same kind of recording budget as she did when she was with the major labels, but perhaps she would have chosen this manner of delivering these songs even if she had), and her voice is considerably lower, dictating that she transpose keys on many of these selections. That said, hearing songs such as"Boys in the Trees," with its faux-Brazilian rhythms and her ever-so-slightly more raspy delivery is, in some ways, preferable to its original single version, simply because it is more believable. Also included are a lightly funky "You Belong to Me," with its rubbery bassline and accented backing chorus. The notorious "You're So Vain" sounds here like it comes out of time and space; as if she is singing the song from the place of painful memory and reminiscence, rather than as a song that relates the importance of the learning experience it originally provided for her. It's more fragile, less militant, less angry, and is far lower in pitch than its original version. "Anticipation" is so utterly tender and wispy, it feels like a brand new song -- and yes, that's a good thing. The melody is there, the arrangement is beautifully supportive, but the song is sung from the palace of wisdom here; and while it cannot replace the original, it does become a righteous addendum to it. The melancholy and darkness in "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" is utterly present in this version, which is all the mores striking given when it was written; it comes off as a song of surrender. This kind of "redo-the-hits" project is very common from veteran artists in the 21st century.
Carly Simon deserves a strong comeback, but this oddball project of re-recorded hits and misses isn't it.The obvious question is, "Why?" That is, why would a legendary artist go back into the studio and re-cut her best-loved hits for a new release? What makes Carly Simon's new project especially confusing is that no one thinks her classic singles need the least bit of tinkering with; those mell...
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CARLY SIMON - NEVER BEEN GONE New Album + Good Morning America, The Today ShowNEW CARLY SIMON CD NEVER BEEN GONE(release October 27th on IRIS RECORDS)“Never Been Gone” includes ten acoustic versions of her biggest hits, plus two brand new tracksCarly Simon performs “Let The Riverrun” on Good Morning America Oct 26th and “You [...]
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Carly Simon was huge in the Seventies and the Eighties - a singer who could sing nasty lyrics over a lush mainstream pop backing. You're So Vain is one of the all time great put-down songs and Nobody Does It Better is pretty near the top of memorable James Bond songs. She fell off the radar in the Nineties, writing occasional film scores and came back to the spostlight when she wrote the theme ...
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Academy Award-winning songstress Carly Simon shares with RockOm a unique look into her new album Never Been Gone and opens up on her thoughts on the healing qualities of music, chant, meditation, the beauty of the human voice, prayer in its various forms and much more.
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In this week's podcast episode (#66, "Stripping Away"), musicians Carly Simon and Heather Maloney share interviews with RockOm. Carly talks about stripping down her hits for the new album Never Been Gone and singer-songwriter Heather Maloney shares about the stripping away process that occurs in meditation.CLICK HERE to visit our Podcast page to download this [...]
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Carly Simon deserves a strong comeback, but this oddball project of re-recorded hits and misses isn't it.The obvious question is, "Why?" That is, why would a legendary artist go back into the studio and re-cut her best-loved hits for a new release? What makes Carly Simon's new project especially confusing is that no one thinks her classic singles need the least bit of tinkering with; those mell...
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The new album Never Been Gone revisits songs originally written throughout Carly Simon’s extensively long and productive career. The CD was recorded at home and consists of new largely acoustic versions of Carly’s biggest hits and two brand new tracks. Carly’s son, Benjamin Taylor was the originator of the idea ...
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 "Never Been Gone")
