As I considered what album this week's post would be, I realized that I had only written about British musicians who, in my humble opinion, have contributed more substantially to modern music than Americans. Nevertheless, there are many extraordinary Americans, and this week's recommendation is dedicated to one of the most prolific songwriters and interpreters of all time, Carole King.
I was introduced to this album by the mother of one of my best high school friends, Memo. His parents were cool because they knew enough about music to have engaged in conversations with us about what we were avidly exploring. I also remember a fantastic night in their kitchen watching Simon And Garfunkel's concert in Central Park. When Memo's mother talked about this album, I was unsure if I wanted to like it, it felt more like "grown-up" music; how ignorant.
Tapestry is an album that everybody should listen to at least once. Carole King was close to 30 when it came out in 1971, and by then, she had already had a successful career writing songs for other artists, some of them very successful like "You Make me Feel" by Aretha Franklin. She was encouraged by her friend James Taylor to start singing her songs, it was then that she decided to move to Laurel Canyon, where she mingled with the likes of Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Joni Mitchel, and many others.
Tapestry is without question one of the best albums of all time. It is music that connects with the soul and with your emotions. This album is the purest expression of how an artist can allow us to see what we are unable to see but somehow already know.