Tapestry  – Carole King – 1971

Claimed Sales: 25m

First listen?: Yes, I think.

Format Listened?: Apple Music

I was so certain that I had listened to Tapestry before, but I have absolutely no memory of most of the tracks. Carole King’s effortless delivery is just so easy to enjoy. Opener I Feel The Earth Move could become a totally different kind of song with a powerhouse vocalist, but instead it remains grounded and joyous. The way she punches the vocal on the hook feels percussive and it’s obvious across Tapestry that King is more of a musician than a singer. This is most obvious on her own versions of songs she wrote for artists in the 60s, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman is much softer here but remains as soulful as the Aretha Franklin interpretation. I love the strings heard on You’ve Got A Friend which soar through the middle of the song and Tapestry is full of intricate details like this. As an album Tapestry is just so smooth, it sounds like the sort of record that was really easy to record, no one really had to try to sound as good as they do here. Even obvious outlier Smackwater Jack, which is less emotive and personal than most of the album has a swinging 60s vibe that’s hard to dislike. It’s obvious to see why Tapestry made so much impact over 45 years ago and why it turned Carole King into the legendary songwriter she is now. Also bonus points go to Carole for having a cat on the cover, that’s always a good thing.

Rating: 7/10

Will I listen again?: Yes, I imagine I’ll listen to it with my mum at some point.

Best Track: I was expecting to say You’ve Got A Friend here, but I Feel The Earth Move is just infectiously funky. You can just picture Carole King jamming her way through on the piano; an excellent opener.