by Garrett Sawyer
We all know the hits Carly Simon has had. But you'd be pleasantly surprised by all the gorgeous songs she's produced that never made the charts or received much airplay, if they got any at all. I've been listening to these songs for ages.
So here's my list of the best Carly Simon songs you probably never heard about.
1) The Best Thing
When Simon gets personal the results are so intimate you'd swear you were reading her secret diary. She wrote this song after seeing a picture of herself blowing the candles out at her own fifth birthday party.
In case you haven't seen the picture I can report to you that the five-year old Carly was one adorable little girl (although given her height and physique it's safe to say she didn't stay little for very long afterward).
The result was this tender little ballad from her first album where she reminisces about an affair, now lost, and juxtaposes it to her own innocent, early childhood, asking, "How was I to know it was the best thing to come along for a long time?"
2) Another Door
I include this on the list because even though it wasn't her most memorable lyrically it was musically one of her most underrated songs. Simon once told an interviewer that she likes to use unusual chord changes and she does so here in the introduction/refrain.
Actually, the lyrics aren't half bad, describing the futility of searching for answers to life and love only to find that each question answered inevitably leads to another unanswered question (Sample lyric: But all I find is that behind each new door is another door").
3) Reunions
Here's another song that could have come straight out of a diary, this one co-written with Eddie Kramer and Bill Mernit (who had once been a camper where Simon taught guitar).
This gentle tune captures the mood and feel of a heartwarming winter reunion among old friends: The girls are happily chatting; there's a crackling fire; people are sharing photographs, wine and memories.
But amongst the joy of seeing old friends again there's a quiet sorrow because someone special to the singer didn't come, someone the singer was looking forward to seeing. Her friends raise a toast to the absent friend but it's just not the same without him.
The song ends with friends tearfully parting, each one noting how all of them have changed (Sample lyric: First one in the city wearin' all those grass stained jeans. Nothing is forgotten, everyone is pleased).
4) The Love's Still Growing
Simon didn't write this one. It was written by Buzzy Linhart. I included this one for the same reason as above, because musically it was the kind of tune that lingers long after the song is over.
Folky in flavor and simple in statement this guitar laced ballad is highlighted by gorgeous harmony vocals on the refrain.
All of these were from Simon's first album, 1971's eponymously titled "Carly Simon", which yielded the familiar hit "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be."
But you'd be cheating yourself if you listened to it and stopped there because the rest of the album contained pearls like the ones above.
If you like Carly Simon then you'll like a song inspired by the story of a young soldier who returned from Iraq. For a limited time only you can download that song for FREE by clicking HERE.
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