This will seem like a weird comparison, but I look at Carole King’s 1971 Tapestry as the female Graceland. If the latter is the best album ever recorded by a solo male artist, this is the best album ever recorded by a solo woman. I guess you could say those two albums are the king and queen of my musical kingdom.
It feels odd to write that because it’s not as if I play Tapestry constantly. It’s probably been more than a year since I’ve given it a full listen. But if somebody stops going to church for awhile, that doesn’t mean they stop believing in God. And considering that music and movies are my only religion, maybe that’s as apt a metaphor as any.
The sheer number of classic songs on this one album is a bit ridiculous. Consider that ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow?’ and ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ both show up in the back third of the album, the traditional dumping ground. ‘So Far Away,’ ‘It’s Too Late,’ ‘You’ve Got a Friend,’ ‘Where You Lead’ — I defy you to read any of those titles and not hear the songs’ indelible choruses immediately in your head.
‘I Feel the Earth Move’ is the album’s kick-off track, and I imagine singer-songwriters the world over felt the earth move when they heard Tapestry. Here was a celebrated songwriter who churned out hits in the 60s but never entered the spotlight herself finally doing exactly that. And defying conventional wisdom, she recorded an album that rewrote the record books.
Tapestry remains the longest charting album ever by a female artist, and it took Michael Jackson’s Thriller to unseat it as the top solo record, period (it has since fallen behind albums by Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, but what can you do?).
I’ve never owned another Carole King album, though she released another five or six well-received albums in the 70s. If any of those have a fraction of the impact of Tapestry, I’m missing out.
The album’s gentle production and King’s raspy voice, so rich with character, never fail to put me at ease. These songs are soul balming. Perhaps none so much as ‘Home Again,’ an ode to the forlorn and displaced.
It’s so far and out of sight
I really need someone to talk to, and nobody else
Knows how to comfort me tonight
Snow is cold, rain is wet
Chills my soul right to the marrow
I won’t be happy till I see you alone again
Till I’m home again and feeling right
Snow is cold, rain is wet
Chills my soul right to the marrow
I won’t be happy till I see you alone again
Till I’m home again and feeling right
Till I’m home again and feeling right
I wanna be home again and feeling right
Meet Me In Montauk 
I can’t add much more then what you’ve said about this album. I think we first had it on reel to reel all those years ago, it’s certainly has endured all these years later. I’m sorry I didn’t see her when she toured this summer with James Taylor. I agree that this is the best album by a solo woman.
Not sure I’m on board with the Paul Simon comparison, but this is undoubtedly a great album. Best solo album by a female ever? hard to really argue that.
Your satisfaction with this one album is a sensation I’ve shared often on this blog. I do own other Carole King albums (or at least I have owned them; currently, I believe I own two of her albums), but I don’t need to. Tapestry is more than enough.
I’m not sure that I “get” your Paul Simon Graceland comparison. I think I’d feel an easier match with Van Morrison’s Moondance, as those two albums seem more like kindred spirits somehow. Still, I do understand why you hold this album is such high esteem.
Watching James Taylor and Carole King in concert last year was an amazing experience. The fact that Hillary Clinton was there singing along made it all the more surreal. Of course, fan though she clearly is, Hillary might argue that Joni Mitchell (who penned “Chelsea Morning,” which inspired her daughter’s name) has a fair claim on the title you’re handing to Carole King. I’d suggest Carly Simon also has a claim. Regardless, this album is one for the ages.
I wonder if it felt like you were listening to a “greatest hits” when the album was first released. I remember playing Taylor Swift’s Fearless for Dana last year, and he was amazed how one song after another was a hit. Listening to Tapestry must have felt an awful lot like that. And I’d have to agree with my daughter that Taylor Swift is probably one of the most current singer songwriters to have a shot at taking that crown.
My Graceland comparison has nothing to do with the sound of the albums, but rather the fact that they both sit atop a hill and look down on the competition.
It will be interesting to see what sort of songwriter Taylor Swift matures into. She certainly has a gift for hooks and melodies, but her age shows. She’s got a great head start, though, and maybe she has a Tapestry in her someday.
One of the reasons this album appeals to me so much is that it’s my favorite thing: melancholy. Most of these songs are sad, and King sings them wearily.
And thanks for the international traffic… it lends some real cachet to the blog! 🙂