Carole King Music CD

Personnel: Carole King (vocals, keyboards); James Taylor (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Danny Kootch (guitar); William Green, William Collete, Ernie Watts, Plas Johnson, Mike Altschul (flute, woodwinds, saxophone); Curtis Amy (flute, tenor saxophone); Oscar Brashear (flugelhorn); Ralph Schuckett (keyboards); Charles Larkey (bass); Joel O'Brien, Russ Kunkel (drums); Abigale Harness, Merry Clayton (background vocals).
After years as one of the most prolific and successful songwriters in pop music, Carole King emerged in the '70s with Tapestry, an album that catapulted her to the forefront of the singer/songwriter movement. While she had mined her back catalog for that album, she relied more heavily on songs written with new collaborator Toni Stern for Music. Coming out on the heels of the classic Tapestry, it's hard not to feel like this album was a bit of a letdown. However, time has shown this album to be one of her finest. While these songs lyrically lack the simplistic beauty of Gerry Goffin-penned tunes, the melodies are very strong and Carole King adds some nice texture to her piano-based tunes with the tasteful percussion of Bobbye Hall. When King goes for grand statements, however, it doesn't always work. Her call for peace and brotherhood works on songs like the opening track, "Brother, Brother," but her voice is not strong enough and does not convey enough emotion to prevent uplifting tunes like "Carry Your Load" from sounding a bit hollow and preachy. But her songwriting is still in peak form, and there are many highlights including "It's Gonna Take Some Time" (also made into a hit by the Carpenters) and "Song of Long Ago" (with backing vocals by James Taylor). ~ Vik Iyengar
In an era where it's not uncommon for a superstar act to wait three or four years between releases, it's astonishing to realize that Carole King wrote and recorded a strong follow-up to 1971's bazillion-selling TAPESTRY that was released before the year was up! MUSIC was a big commercial success, but anything would pale next to the ecstatic commercial response to TAPESTRY, which was still high in the charts when this follow-up was released. The generically-titled MUSIC didn't spawn any hits as big as "It's Too Late" or "So Far Away," but with several decades' hindsight, it's clear that TAPESTRY was no fluke; in its more low-key way, MUSIC is every bit as fine an album. Highlights include two jazz-tinged tracks, "Brother Brother" and the waltz-time title track, which features a remarkable saxophone solo by Curtis Amy. "Growing Away From Me" and the mournful "It's Going To Take Some Time" are closer to TAPESTRY's introspective tunes. As on that album, King includes an old Goffin-King classic, a thoroughly reworked "Some Kind of Wonderful."Rolling Stone (1/20/72, p.50) - "..The spirit of her music remains warm and strong, her lyrics still carry personal messages of friendship and loyalty...rich in both emotion and melody...Carole King continues to be one of the major individual talents in pop music.."
Q (10/94, p.146) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...proving King to be a respected commercial songwriter who could perform her material as ably as others did..."