WRITER : CAROLE KING AMLS 996 (-70) UK

Her next album "Tapestry" would sell 25+ million copies world wide and lead to a serie of block buster LP:s and singles. However this debute LP wasn't a success initially. Sales started to pick up first after the "Tapestry" triumph and never reached the commercial hights of her other albums. One can only speculate why. There's twelve very strong songs written by her and then husband Gerry Goffin. The backing is good throughout, vocals nice and melodies memorable - everything that constitutes a hit LP. Bad things can happen to good albums because the labels don't push enough or the timing is wrong, but in this case it may be related to the studio work. What I hear from "Tapestry" and on is the smooth and appealing Lou Adler production, making the cuts more even and as it seems targeted for radio. This was produced by John Fischbach who otherwise was a musician, engineer and arranger. It's not bad in any way, but more direct and not so much easy listening. In a way I prefer this over her later big sellers. Sometimes directed production can filter the recognition and create a distance between artist and listener. That's certainly not the case here and I'm feeling close. Premiere US on Ode Records (SP-77006). First UK had label as shown here, thick unflexible vinyl and laminated cover. (FÄV*)(SYSÖ*)