Singer-songwriter Carly Simon, who has won just about every prestigious music award imaginable (along with an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), has performed live infrequently throughout her career. Simon has admittedly suffered on occasion from stage fright. This is surprising given her many gifts as an artist. Simon is an engaging performer with one of the most commanding vocal styles in pop music history.
Regardless of her bouts with stage fright, she does like to ham it up a little when she does perform, but in a playful way. She is also a performer that you simply can’t take your eyes off of when she sings, with her wide, disarming smile and statuesque countenance. It helps that she has such a vast catalog of her own remarkable timeless songs to draw from and the ability to interpret everything from rock, folk, and pop, to soul, jazz, and classical. When Simon does perform, it’s quite a treat and thankfully she has released several live albums and videos.
For fans of Simon and for the many who may not have had the opportunity to see her perform live, she has done two HBO specials of live concerts: Live From Martha’s Vineyard in 1987 and Carly in Concert: My Romance from 1990, which has never been released on DVD or Blu-ray. There is a companion album to the Martha’s Vineyard concert: Greatest Hits Live, released in 1988.
In 2005, Simon released the live A Moonlight Serenade on the Queen Mary 2 on DVD. Prior to that live project, Simon did a Lifetime Special, Carly Simon: Live at Grand Central, which is now finally available on Blu-ray, CD, and as a double album, gatefold vinyl release. These new packages have a slightly different running order than the original DVD and add one more song (“Like A River”). There are no extras and the audio is only available in two-channel stereo.
“Touched by the Sun” and “Let the River Run” frame the beginning and end of the concert and thematically reflect the unique venue for the concert—Grand Central Station, with its bustle of commuters from Manhattan to suburban communities and even more far-flung places. There are many of Simon’s best-loved songs included here, such as “Haven’t Got Time for the Pain,” “Anticipation,” “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” and “Coming Around Again.” She doesn’t include “You’re So Vain” on this release, but that song was included on her prior concert releases.
She uses a few lines and musical phrases from “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” to intro a Bossa Nova take on “We Have No Secrets,” and with “Legend in Your Own Time” there’s an almost Flamenco/Spanish feel. These reworkings reflect what all great singers do, which is to listen closely to the drummer, or the rhythms, when they sing. Simon has often written and recorded songs with odd time signatures and complex rhythms deepening the emotional palette of her music and making her more than just a singer-songwriter. She has outstanding support here with the signature drumming of Rick Marotta, bassist Doug Wimbish, Eric Bazilian from The Hooters, singer Marc Cohn, the late Mindy Jostyn and many others.
Although Simon has not released a studio album since 2009, hopefully this project is a sign that more archival, vinyl and Blu-ray releases are coming from her. Simon has an impressive and deep catalog. There was one major archival reissue release, Clouds In My Coffee 1965-1995, a three-CD box set released in 1995 from Arista, which is long out of print. It featured an entire disc of “Miscellaneous and Rare” material. It would be wonderful to see that material and more come out on vinyl, along with a major reissue campaign, starting with her eight Elektra studio albums, that cover 1971 through 1979. Anticipation indeed.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
