Time to Chat About Speeding Time?
bob...@my-deja.com
effort, "Speeding Time," the album that held the promise of a
King/Adler reunion. What are your thoughts?
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
slapp...@my-deja.com
style, but I have to confess that I liked it...a lot in fact. More so
than anything else that came after it. It wasn't necessarily the music
or production that I cared for...I just plain liked the songs.
Daphne
regin...@my-deja.com
> I know it was really "weird" and quite a departure from typical Carole
> style, but I have to confess that I liked it...a lot in fact. More so
> than anything else that came after it. It wasn't necessarily the
music
> or production that I cared for...I just plain liked the songs.
>
> Daphne
Hehe, i also got a little shock, when i first listened to "speeding
time":o) ...and that was just a few months ago. as i am still 17,i
don't have the possibility to listen to carole's albums in the right
order. quite a chaos sometimes :). but now i really like the album,
or at lest 3/4 of it :) ..and i can't get the song "speeding time"
out of my mind!
Regina from Kleinhaslach (nearby Nuremberg)
Mike C.
More than two decades of pop music expertise come out full force
on "Speeding Time" . . .and falls flat on its face?
Last month I went and saw Joan Armatrading's show and was once again
struck at how similar Carole and Joan are. Both write very straight
forward hummable/singable melodies strung together with very forthright
language. Both possess an ability to convey their messages of hope and
love in a deep, dark, haunting manner. Both possess voices that sound
like no other. But when I go back and listen to the changes in the
musical settings that both of these ladies have placed their
compositions in through the years, I find that Joan's early 80's work
holds up very well. Caroles to me sinks to the very bottom of the
well. Joan cries out.....I'm the one you need...physical,
spiritual....I'm the one you need.....A desperate plea atop a melody
that won't quit, despite the synthezied '80's' sound that she is
singing with. Carole droans on about having to find another computer
eyes to lie to, despite the synthezied '80's' sound she is singing
with. Find another computer eyes? Huh? Or better yet, HUH? Oh, I
get it...hang in, hold on, it's just Goffin and King adding music and
motion and triple tempo changes. HUH? To what? Muck! At the bottom
of the well. Someone should have said "NO SIR" to THEM.
Goffin certainly handed Carole his best material for this
project. "Sacred Heart Of Stone": I used to love you, now I think I
hate you....Well..well..the songwriters almost have me pegged with this
sentiment. Almost.
And can't you just feel the fireworks in the classic "Standin' On The
Boderline"? Umm hmmm. I feel it. Just like touching the end of your
burnt out sparkler. Ouch!! Here. Take two of these.....hang in-hold
on---there will be relief.
Or maybe relief came by way of not taking two, but hiring two Robs.
Rob Meurer and Robbie Kondor, who programmed the synthsizers that
Carole KIng played. What a dense, texured, layered sound they
created. Her mulitple, overdubbed keyboard work on "My My SHe Cries"
or "In My Simple Humble Neighborhood" is far more thrilling than
anything here.
This Carole album for me is the worst she has ever done, the low point
of her recorded output. Certainly don't need an easy section in the
old piano songbook for these songs. Anemic melodies a plenty, but
passing off "rounds" as pop song structure is so lame.
Mike C.
In article <8neu41$m22$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
bob...@my-deja.com wrote:
> I think our group is ready to post their thoughts on Carole's 1983
> effort, "Speeding Time," the album that held the promise of a
> King/Adler reunion. What are your thoughts?
>
CKHeadMary
here, brother trucker.
a few weeks ago, i was making a trip back from the mtns. as i drove, i
was playing a cassette. it must have been around the time we were
weighing in on one to one, as i have that on one side of a tape and
speeding time on the other. at any rate, after listening to one to
one, which, engh . . . is okay, the cassette flipped to speeding time.
i rarely listen to this one, so at first it was like catching up with
an old friend. i was kind of thrilled. however, as i drove the windy
road, taking in the summer sun coming through the trees, sensing and
smelling the heat pulling that sensual scent from the pines, and
marveling that a sky could be so blue and bold, it occurred to me that
maybe some of the melodies came to ck as she was driving this very same
road. i then let my mind go back to when i was driving that same very
raod at the time of this album's release, and i was amazed at how far
removed from place and time the album was/is. i tried to like it then,
but i didn't, not really. to me, this and one to one, and later city
streets as well, have a desperate feel to them. i hear them as pleas
from one mad to be paid attention to, and as efforts to demonstrate
some sense of contemporariness and relevance. hearing them that way--
and i've tried not to--i then find them really too painful to ingest
very often. to be less cryptic, they seem to be songs written by
someone displaced. i hate to psychoanalyze, but in the body of ck's
work as we know it, these songs do not stand any test of time
whatsoever. the music is simply unmemorable. there's no carole king
in here and, damn it! by then she had the right to be carole king. i
can't tell who she was imagining as she wrote these, but it doesn't
seem to be herself or anyone else. so what was the point? who was the
target?
i think after the avitar releases and the slam she was taking from the
press, for essentially, writing for carole king and not for others, i
wonder if she was just shell-shocked. in other words, was she
thinking, "ok, i write about my life, its simplicity, my gurumatic
thoughts, the peace i've earned, and what happens? the critics beat
the shit out of me and no one seems to care." so what's a pop writer
to do? what can one do who has made her living not really writing for
herself but for the psyche of the times? return to basics, just write
pop songs. good answer. but these 1980s albums have, to me, an eerie
neither place feel. they aren't really songs for other artists and
they aren't ck songs either; not songs written to express the ck point
of view.
what excites me now is that the songs i've heard of king's that she's
written since, say, colours, are that they are tremendously strong
songs. i don't know what goes on in this woman's head, but what they
feel like when i listen to them, is a sense they are written by someone
at the peak of her craft, and they bring me great joy to hear.
these albums: one to one, speeding time and city streets sound like
expressions of someone who lacks confidence in herself. ck is one of
the best we have, but our thinking that, musicians thinking that--that
doesn't matter--she had to come to think that again about herself. on
these records, she seems full of self-doubt, hurt for being dismissed,
and too fragile to say, "fuck you." what i hear now is that strength
again, that: "i'm digging the shit out of writing. i know what i'm
doing, and i can write what i want regardless of whether the songs are
contemporary or timely or hip." now what we seem to be getting are the
solid songs of a woman who knows her shit as a writer and who is at
ease with her own bad self as a writer. and damn, the songs are good,
unlike those compiled on speeding time.
best song? so ready for love. this is actually, to contradict
everything i just said, a really good song. i want to hear diana krall
do this or rosemary clooney. yum. the arrangement is weak on the
record, but it is a good, good song. it still has legs.
the worst? oh! computer eyes, clearly. didn't get it either, mr.
mike. it's just too weird that she's raging against the machine but
then fills her album with bad programmed music. if this was some stab
at irony, it failed on me. what the hell? computerize? never again,
sister, you are too warm a piano player. stay away from trendy
instruments. didn't you're the one who knows prove that?
the 80s . . . the worst decade of everyone's life. i suppose we ought
not be surprised that ck didn't weather it so well either.
Mike C.
Hi Mary:
I do agree with you about "So Ready For Love". It is a good, strong
song. Tricky as hell actually. Dare ya to try and sing it without any
music. It's not so easy. For me, this song is in the wrong setting and
wa-a-a-y to slow. It sounds so labored here. One of those that she
should re-record. Or Rosemary Clooney? I'll give ya that, with a
little swing. I like it. I like it!
bob...@my-deja.com
it was released in 11/83. Even at the time, "Computer Eyes" did seem
out of place as the opener. While "One Small Voice," "Challice
Borealis," and "Speeding Time" veered in the direction of her late 70s
pastoral meditations, somehow their musical arrangements saved them, in
my opinion from the excess of that era's output.
My favorite at the time: "Standing on the Borderline," "Dancing"
My lesat favorite: "Computer Eyes"
I remember being disappointed that Adler watered down the
impact "Alabaster Lady" had when Carole first debuted the song on
the '76 "Thoroughbred" tour.
Mary's comment about the 80s not being kind to Carole is interesting,
but, I would have to rate "Love for the Last Time" as one of the best
King songs of any decade. Unfortunately, it never made it to commercial
release, but, it remains a lost treasure much sought after by King fans
to this day.
Mattburg
sounded better live on David Letterman. Carole's keyboard and Paul
Schafer's guitarist's fleshed it out more - though they did an
abbreviated version of the song. (Probably what ended up being the 45
rpm version--I hate when they do that.)
I agree with Mike about "So Ready for Love." Definitely could stand to
be re-recorded. It has great potential, it's all there, but it lingers
when it should move! Brian Setzer? OK, maybe that'd be way too
swingin'. (but i am a setzer fan - hmmm, it could work...)
Oh yes, Bob ---> "Challis Borealis." I'd forgotten about that one.
But again this song sounded sooo much better as arranged when she did it
live at Farmaid. It was Carole and piano, simple, unaffected by
synthesizers and tribal percussion. And it worked; better, that is.
The lyrics are a bit too far out into the ether for this listener. (I
think this was co-written with Rick Sorensen?)
And I agree 100% with you Bob on "Alabaster Lady." I too, heard Carole
perform it live during the "Thoroughbred" tour. Those cascading piano
chords were right on, direct and to the point. On "Time," the voice and
piano are too buried in a filtery sound. I gotta say, I still like it,
though. Anybody else? (I've a feelin' that I'm one of the few here
that likes "God Only Knows" from "Simple Things." I don't think any of
you mentioned it when discussing that LP.)
I enjoyed and was enlightened by everyone's comments, particularly the
ones pertaining to Carole's trying to work her way into a more
contemporary sound, to paraphrase some of you. She did say on
Letterman that she tries to "avoid jumping on the latest bandwagon," but
I would say she was trying to jump on some wagon with these outings.
If that is indeed the case, I am glad she didn't stay on any of them.
Carole's so much better being Carole. Then again (jeeez, I can argue
with myself better than I can with anyone else!) she was probably
experimenting, trying out new things, to progress....
The stuff from "Murphy's Romance" proved she still had it in 1986,and
later with her songs written for others and, of course, "Anyone at All"
and "You Can Do Anything." Even the kids' tune "You are the
Best," written for the movie that was almost a musical (with albert
brooks - what the heck was the title?) was a treat, and uplifting.
OK Carole, so when is that new CD coming out?
true_friend
experience. I have never liked synthesizer pop. Never have, never will.
That sound is nothing but artificial and cold. For me a real human
being will always be superior to a machine. (Sociology!:)
Music - along with art - doesn't need technical perfection for being
"perfect" in the way I like to define creativity and its realization. A
certain touch of imperfection adds warmth, charm and personality. And I
will never understand people who go to concerts and then count the
mistakes they hear.
Guess I should be glad that I didn't stumble over this album by chance
back in the eighties, and that it wasn't my first encounter with the
music of Carole King. Otherwise it would have been my last as well.
Lyrically it is King's worst album ever. Even the Goffin/King
collaborations lack their usual magic. "Sacred heart of stone/ even the
sword of love cannot penetrate you....." ........oh boy..........
Favorites: Alabaster Lady and Chalice Borealis (hey, at least she
tried)
Least favorites? the remaining ones.....
Ulla
ricky_t...@my-deja.com
speeding time's is hazy and strange, the opposite of one to one's, which
was clear, centred and frank. she seems to be underwater in a glass
tank, fading back into the distance. plastic geometric objects cast
irregular shadows at the borders; her eyes are underlined by a smeared
disc, her neck cut into by a violet wedge. on the back are some other
meaningless coloured objects, punctuated by a sinister black rectangle
in the centre.
so, what's the meaning here? is the cover a metaphor for ck being
wedged into the background by plastic synthesizers, gamely trying to
grin and bear it while fading back into the synthetic morass?
well.... i have a confession to make. i like this album more than most
of yiz do. it's not a motherfucker by any means, but some of it was
refreshing.
i kind of like synthesizers on occasion. and i very much appreciated the
calibre of musicianship on this album, which is better than on any album
since thoroughbred. the album's clean, melodic, and pleasant to listen
to, especially (and now ONLY) as background music. in this respect it's
like wrap around joy.
even though production/arrangement-wise this album is the antithesis of
one to one, it overlaps quite a bit songwise with its predecessor:
half-a-dozen standard-issue love songs, a few "conscience" songs (with
ck as either neighbourhood activist voicing righteous indignation
against social injustice, or as coach/counsellor exhorting people to be
true to themselves), and a pastoral song here or there.
side one goes by without a single song jumping out and caressing me...
"crying in the rain" was obviously supposed to have the same impact as
"one fine day," but somehow it doesn't. "computer eyes" and "sacred
heart of stone" must have been written in the same afternoon, since
they're almost completely synonymous. "speeding time" is good, but -
sadly - it's anything but speedy. still, on this song, i LIKE the
synthesizers 'cuz they're used to complement rather than replace her
piano.
"standin' on the borderline" is pure pop and undeniably catchy; but,
like "crying in the rain" it stops short of being compelling.
"so ready for love" is wonderful. i love everything about it, all its
musical textures.
"dancing" and "alabaster lady" - especially 'a.l." - close the album
effectively.
for me, this is a feel-good album. i've long since stopped listening to
the words. it's her voice, the melodies, and yes the synthesizers, that
soothe.
jazzma...@my-deja.com
If my memory serves correct, Speeding Time was released in December
1983, and I was about to pick it up right after one of my finals at
Western Michigan University. I had to have it as soon as the doors
opened to the now defunct DISCount Records, and because I was so
focused on it, I passed on brunch with some of my classmates.
My opinion of the record is not as harsh as some of you heads, but it's
no Thoroughbred. For that matter, it's no Welcome Home. I could have
had pancakes and bacon (back when metabolism was a friend) and bought
the album around noon.
(Isn't it amazing how some of us have such vivid memories of certain
Carole events?)
What I like about Speeding Time: The title song. I like the lyrics
still, but found them especially prolific when I was younger. I have
some trouble understanding the significance of the calls behind the
stone walls (someone help me with that, please), but what stands out
for me most is Carole being my friend, encouraging me, and even today
when I play the song, it's as if a friend is patting me on the back or
hugging me, and saying, "chin up." The song does plod, I admit, but
unlike other songs on other albums I've criticized for the same
offense, I overlook it here. I'll dance to Locomotion. (Actually, as
of yesterday, I have crutches because of a broken toe. No dancing.)
Have I mentioned in prior posts that I'm a "hooky guy?" Well, I am, and
this version of "Crying In the Rain" hooks me, and I love the sax of
Plas Johnson. But no, it's not quite One Fine Day.
I love Ricky's description of the cover. I like it a lot, and in my
mind, it's always represented a person comfortable, self-actualized,
the ultimate state of being (or is that to be found within circle
magic?) I like the look of Carole on the cover.
The rest? Well, I liked the "Chalis" arrangement much better at the
Farm Aid concert. I like "Alibaster" a bit better than "Golden Man,"
but it's like points on a graph. It's a nice idea of a lyric, but it
doesn't stir me, and it bores me, frankly. So, aside from Speeding Time
and Crying In The Rain, the rest of the cuts have a few moments, but on
balance, this really is a background album.
Around this time, moving into mid-1984, I remember seeing Carole on the
news performing in concert at various Iowa sites on behalf of Gary
Hart. Somewhere in the house, I have Carole on tape from 1984 when she
was on "Good Morning America." She didn't reveal much of anything, and
too much of the segment was wasted on the interviewer gushing over how
youthful Carole still looked. Regarding Hart, Carole said something to
the effect that she respected his integrity. Later during that campaign
year, I remember seeing Carole at a California Hart benefit singing I
Feel The Earth Move with Kenny Loggins.
Favorites: Speeding Time, Crying In The Rain, the cover
Least Favorite: So Ready For Love ("May-be I've been cuh-meeeeeeeng
oooooon toooooooo heavvyyyyyyy for youuuuuuuuu" yub.)
Steve
In article <8nuo8p$bpi$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
true_friend
its invention is but there is definitely one good reason for disliking
computer music: the increased use of music programs has killed jobs.
maybe it has helped to secure jobs in silicon valley but it has killed
jobs in the music business itself. just a couple of years ago you
needed at least 4 guys when you had an arrangement that included
strings. plus a piano player, a guitarist, a drummer, a bass player,
maybe a sax. makes at least 8 or 9 people but this could easily go up
to 30 or more when you think of a full orchestra.
i have always appreciated that carole king has named every single
musician in the credits of her albums. in fact, it is very rare that
someone lists every violinist who has contributed to the "end product".
i like the impression that she seemed to value and acknowledge every
creative input people have brought into her work.
so, you had to engage 8 - 40 creative and talented people for recording
a song in the past and now you need only one or two guys because the
computer does all the work? no string quartet or orchestra but a
synthesizer with programmed violins?
okay, of course you need someone who writes the computer program and
makes this damned machine work, but it nevertheless destroys the
possibilities for studio musicians to make a living.
i don't like it a lot when i see that we try hard to diminish
creativity. how can you encourage someone to become a (serious)
musician these days when it's getting harder and harder to find a job
in this field?
damn, i know that financial aspects dominate everything these days and
that probably most producers get the order to save as much money as
they can when it comes to recording a song, but i can't help, i believe
that this is a step to the wrong direction.
ulla
ricky_t...@my-deja.com
true_friend <true_...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> guess you can argue about the sound of a synthesizer and how effective
> its invention is but there is definitely one good reason for disliking
> computer music: the increased use of music programs has killed jobs.
I like synthesizers when they complement rather than replace real
guitars, pianos and drums. For instance, the synthesizers on the title
track of Speeding Time are very effective, almost as beautiful (in my
opinion) as the string quartet on You've Got a Friend or First Day in
August.
Speeding Time used at least as many musicians as Thoroughbred, Really
Rosie, Simple Things, Welcome Home, Touch the Sky, etc. True, a string
quartet lost a gig on Speeding Time, but I doubt if the demand for
violinists, cellists, violists, etc., will ever dry up: their use in pop
music ebbs and flows, but they'll always be needed in classical venues.
I hate "synth-pop" or "techno-pop" - that shit they play in discos,
where EVERYTHING is synthesized. But Speeding Time is nothing like that.
I don't find the synthesizers on that album to be cold and alienating.
But synth-pop, where one person programs and plays everything, reminds
me very much of a folksinger with his/her acoustic guitar. One person
does everything. Back in the early '60s, all a poor guy/girl had to do
was save up to buy a guitar and (s)he was set. Nowadays, all a poor
guy/girl has to do is get a synthesizer (or a MIDI, or whatever they
are... I have no idea how these things are programmed) and they're good
to go. Howard Jones, the Pet Shop Boys, rap artists...
You could say that synths are the acoustic guitars of today - the poor
man's instrument.
'r'
true_friend
synthesizer. yeah, you don't even have to know those unimportant
technical basics like how to write a lead sheet. why wasting your
energy with learning how to build a melody and how to arrange a song
when you just have to push the right button on your computer and it's
all done in a minute.
of course, you can be quite creative when experimenting with sounds, do
you know Kraftwerk? "Autobahn" is 22 minutes long and it's from the
mid-seventies. that was inventive synth-pop back then. i don't mean
that you should never use technology. but i know for sure that the
invention of computer programs - especially when they are written to
make recordings easier, read: cheaper - has let to the fact that
producers don't employ as many classical musicians as before for pop
arrangements. my younger sister is a professional violinist.
and ricky tee: you do know nina hagen, don't you? have you ever heard
her 2 versions of "take a giant step"? she has recorded it in german in
95 and in english in 96. wow, no comparison to the monkees - nina is
the queen of punk rock :)
ricky_t...@my-deja.com
true_friend <true_...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> i surely agree that you can be your own one-man band with your
> synthesizer. yeah, you don't even have to know those unimportant
> technical basics like how to write a lead sheet. why wasting your
> energy with learning how to build a melody and how to arrange a song
> when you just have to push the right button on your computer and it's
> all done in a minute.
the funny thing is that rock 'n' roll and folk music began with total
simplicity. rock 'n' roll began with a drum, a guitar and a bass. folk
music began with a single acoustic guitar and, for variety, a harmonica.
countless rnr records were churned out with these basic instruments.
dylan's earliest albums (as i recall) had a guitar and harmonica. an
outcry erupted when he *gasp* went ELECTRIC. yikes, that meant a whole
3-piece rhythm section. who had to learn how to build melody? the
melodies were interchangeable. rock used three chords, folk used - what
- two? four or five at most?
things evolved in the mid '60s. as i recall, one of the first uses of
strings on a pop record was on the beatles' "revolver" - the song "for
no one." thanks to george martin, the beatles' classically trained
producer. things got fancier on "sgt. pepper" with the orchestral
extravaganza at the end of that song "i read the news today oh boy... /
woke up, gotta outta bed... / i'd love to turn you on..." that closes
the album.
in the history of post-r'n'r pop music, string sections and orchestras
probably had their heyday between 1967 and, what, the mid '70s,
before people used string-sounding synths?
ck has used string sections on a song or two on four or five albums,
right? they're not exactly a staple on her albums, and neither are
synths. which is fine with me, as I enjoy them both but in moderation.
> of course, you can be quite creative when experimenting with sounds,
do
> you know Kraftwerk? "Autobahn" is 22 minutes long and it's from the
> mid-seventies. that was inventive synth-pop back then.
yeah, i enjoyed them, but it's just not the kind of music i can really
get into.
> i don't mean
> that you should never use technology. but i know for sure that the
> invention of computer programs - especially when they are written to
> make recordings easier, read: cheaper - has let to the fact that
> producers don't employ as many classical musicians as before for pop
> arrangements. my younger sister is a professional violinist.
right. pop music seems to be returning to its original simplicity, but
with a different set of instrumental ingredients.
> and ricky tee: you do know nina hagen, don't you? have you ever heard
> her 2 versions of "take a giant step"? she has recorded it in german
in
> 95 and in english in 96. wow, no comparison to the monkees - nina is
> the queen of punk rock :)
no, but it would be cool to hear it!
by the way, gerry goffin's first album - long ago promised to you - is
being put on cd by a mutual friend of ours. you'll soon be getting it.
'r'
ricky_t...@my-deja.com
> things evolved in the mid '60s. as i recall, one of the first uses of
> strings on a pop record was on the beatles' "revolver" - the song "for
> no one."
OOPS - BIG correction in order here:
Strings galore were used in the Brill Building era. How could I have
forgotten "It Must As Well Rain Until September" and loads of other
songs? I guess I should have said, "The first use of strings on a
BEATLES record was on 'revolver'" - and I even forgot "Eleanor Rigby."
king...@my-deja.com
Hi Folks,
Gosh (or "Fuck!" as Carole might say), what more can I add to this
chorus of commentary? However, I'll throw in my own humble two cents (I
posted a couple of times recently and they were somehow lost in
deja.world, so I hope this sticks).
Like Bob, I thrilled at the first listening of "Speeding Time." It's
Carole after all and, at the time, her albums sold so poorly I expected
that they would just stop coming. So I was happy when this arrived (Bob
might know this, I believe this was the first of her post-Tapestry
albums to miss the charts entirely).
I was still fairly young, perhaps not as sophisticated musically, or
perhaps just blinded by love. I remember playing the ENTIRE album for
my sister and her (then) husband, both professional musicians, and
watching them shift uncomfortably in their seats as the bumb-bump-bump
of synth drum blared through the speakers.
I am somewhere in-between the Mary/Mike/Ulla camp and the Ricky/Steve
camp. I don't really hear desperation here, maybe more frustration. In
her "Welcome Home" liner notes, Carole said something to the effect of
"(people's interpretations of my songs) are always gratifying because
someone's listening."
Well, they had stopped listening! Radio turned her off; her passionate
fans had all but forgotten her. I remember one of my friends at the
time (as she teased and moussed her hair and slipped on her Spandex to
attend a Duran Duran show), when I mentioned Carole, said "oh wasn't she
that country singer?".
So Carole tapped Lou Adler, despite whatever fallout they may have had
earlier; threw together a batch of (mostly undistinguished) tunes,
prominently featuring Gerry Goffin to try to rekindle some interest;
jammed with Sherry Goffin's new husband to create a new '80s sound for
herself (most of which sounds like pre-programmed rhythms someone
purchased at a drug store in the K-Tel bin); and wrapped it in a
colorful, "new wave" packaging with Carole hazily peering out amidst the
colorful prisms and little whirly things on the cover.
Damn it! Carole is a writer and I think the worst thing for a writer
would be to not be heard! Was she desperate? I don't know. Was she
anxious to be heard, to be seen in a more contemporary light, rather
than as the dinosaur she appeared to be to so many? Perhaps.
This is probably my least favorite Carole album. I rushed to buy the
Japanese import CD last year and upon listening, remembered how dull it
really is. But it's Carole, so there are always some redeeming moments.
Even at her worst, it's still like being with an old, dear friend who
speaks to me in language I can relate to.
In this case, it's a botched message, but perhaps no less heartfelt.
Laurence
In article <8o26qg$bgn$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
bob...@my-deja.com
Yes, I'm a chart queen when it comes to Carole. I was living in NYC's
East Village in '83 and I remember treking over to Tower Records every
Monday to not only check Billboard's chart ("Surely, Speeding Time
would debut sooner or later on the Top 200," or so I thought/hoped.)
but also to take a physical inventory of whether copies of "ST" and/or
the single "Cyring in the Rain." were selling.
Even back in'74 when Carole needed no help getting airplay, my best
friend Glenn and I used to barrage record stores, radio stations, etc.
with phone requests to get them to play "Jazzman" when it was first
release. It was sort of like the Lucy/Ethel "No Ricky Ricardo"
routine...
I think JazzmanSteve is even more of a chart trivia expert... I seem to
recall him rattling off chart positions of "One Fine Day" recently.
Bob
jazzma...@my-deja.com
You bring back some memories for me. Back in the day, I too called the
local radio stations, and even the program directors thinking that "one
small voice" could change the world. it didn't. back then, so much of
my free time was devoted to carole and tennis, tennis and carole.
and, ahem, yes, back then I routinely trudged down to the Michigan News
Agency, one of a few spots in the area that carried Billboard, and was
just CERTAIN there would be chart action for Speeding Time.
I don't recall Speeding Time hitting the top 200. I've glanced at
several chart listings in books over the years and I don't recall
seeing it there either. A friend of mine in Flordia promised me at the
time that "Crying In The Rain" got some airplay, but I don't recall
that "hit single," as promised on the album sticker getting any chart
action either, even on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Oh, heads, I am soooooooo embarrassed to know this, really. Weird stuff
sticks in my mind from time gone by, but short-term stuff is a
different story.
Jazzman Steve
(#2, losing the top spot to BTO, as I recall)
In article <8o3ll2$1j8$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
bob...@my-deja.com
Billboard, the one that really counts!
Bob
In article <8o46rd$lv9$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
king...@my-deja.com
Yes! Yes! I guess there a few of us "chart queens" in here. Actually, I
subscribed to Billboard for seven years during the '70s, ostensibly to
track Carole, but was obsessed with them for a while. I still have an
old box somewhere with many of the old Billboards.
I was furious that "Jazzman" hit number one on the lowly, secondary
record charts, but not on Billboard. You may also recall that "Wrap
Around Joy" had only one week at Number One on Billboard, then fell to
Number Twelve!
Like Steve, I can remember stupid details like this, but can't remember
what I had for dinner last night!
Oh, Carole, I am such a fool!
Laurence
In article <8o4mi3$7r2$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
ck...@my-deja.com
young person interested in Carole and her work! I can't help
remembering my own teenage (I started liking her at 12 only!)! Welcome
to the extensive legion of Carole fans around the world! I'm from
Brasil myself, and have always wanted a way such as this to be able to
talk to other fans. Thank God we can enjoy it now! Now, as for the
Speeding Time thing, I consider it a real good record, and I especially
like Alabaster Lady, what do you think? Also, don't worry if you
haven't found your way around Carole discography yet. Takes time,
kid! If you need any help, send me an e-mail...
Bye for now! See ya soon!!!
ck...@my-deja.com
Well, perhaps Mary's comment about the 80's thing has its root in
Carole's personal and musical hardships at the end of the
70's/beginning of the 80's, but I'll have to confess that all the talk
is much ado about nothing! Carole is first and foremost a human being,
and as such, subject to all the constraints and hard times one can
possibly have. Should we blame it on the decade's air? She might be
going through the same hell today too! Thank God she isn't!!! Of
course Speeding Time was a commercial failure, but comparing it to One
To One, and even worse, to City Streets, is kind of "well, folks, get
real" thing! City Streets is incomparably better than Speeding Time!
Lyrics much denser, arrangements much more elaborate, guests much more
special. In other words, all ingredients added to make it a big hit.
Why it hasn't become one? Well, leave it up to the critics to decide!
Aren't we all Carole fans?
ck...@my-deja.com
Knows"! It's been in my list of Carole favorites since I first heard
it back in 1980, when it had already been off airplay for, say, 3
years. I loved it then, and I still do, although I haven't played it
for quite a long time now. But that was just to say that you are not
alone! The only thing I feel sorry for is that I've only been able to
see Carole live in 1990 when she was touring in Rio de Janeiro, which
is where I come from and live. I really "envy" you, guys, who've seen
her live tons of times, and reading your comments about the tours I've
heard happened but never had the chance of going really makes me wish I
had been there too! But I was just a kid then, and in Brasil!!!
Bye for now!
ck...@my-deja.com
Time, and the only one so far, to my opinion!!! But I must say that I
quite don't agree with you about "Wrap Around Joy". You simply can't
compare both albums! The latter is one of her masterpieces and will
stand like that for good, while Speeding Time sounds dated nowadays,
although the songs you've mentioned are the ones I like too, esp.
Alabaster Lady and So Ready For Love... But I haven't seen any of you
guys talk about One Small Voice! Well, who could anyway, for it's one
of those gosh-what-is-that type songs! It's really irrelevant!
bob...@my-deja.com
I think we chatted way back when I first started my CArole King
website? Anyhow, was wondering if you could tell us about Carole's 1990
performance in Rio. What kind of a theatre was it held at? How many
people? Was the crowd receptive?
I have friends in Brazil who also like CK alot, but, they REALLY love
James Taylor. He is VERY popular in Brazil --right?
Bob
ck...@my-deja.com
This is 5:10 AM, Rio, Brasil!!!
I've been going back and forth through the new messages in the
discussions, and I had thought you had taken me for Regina, then
thought I was wrong, but now I got the confirmation: You're taking me
for Regina!!! I'm not Regina, I'm Alex, 33, male.
As for Carole's performance in Rio, 1990, I must say it was 1 of the
most rewarding experiences in my life. In my wildest wildest dreams I
could never ever ever have imagined she'd be singing in my city!!! And
all that after so many years, when fans were so difficult to find,
especially outside the U.S. I feel in love for her when I was 12 and I
played my sister's worn out "Tapestry" LP. That was 1980, and soon
after she released "Pearls", which I bought and started my collection.
Carole's Rio Tour was fantastic, if only for 1 night only!!! (I still
keep the ticket, of course!). She really brought down the overcrowded
house (a small one at that, something like 2,500 only, but still, warm
audience!). The theater is a small one, it's called Canecão (which
stands for "big mug", of beer!) and is the one most top Brazilian and
international artists perform at. We got bigger theaters, but not so
traditional as Canecão.
She was great, and guess what? She delivered the whole concert in
Portuguese!!!!!!! Wonderful, isn't it?
She set on stage greeting the crowd, and sat down at the piano and
delivered "Home Again", most appropriate for the moment. She then gave
us Sweet Seasons, Hard Rock Cafe, and many other classics (I'd have to
stop for a while to try and remember the order of the other songs!).
There are many more details of the event, which I think I'll tell you
some other time, or I'll be too long here.
The only "flaw" of the night was that she didn't receive us in the
dressing room (I remember bumping into Ted Andreadis in the hall and
asking, almost begging him, if she would let us in!)
Funny, isn't it?
Bye for now!
P.S.: Yes, James Taylor is more famous here, but my heart belongs to
Carole!!! LOL LOL LOL
Snap
think it must be on a different album. I kind of put it in the same
category as "Little Prince". It's a song I enjoy listening to, but
have no idea what the relevance is. It is actually one of my favorites
on the album.
I must agree with most everyone else in my analysis of this album.
Probably my least favorite because the sound is so dated today and the
most dated of all her albums.
My Fav: Speeding Time, So Ready For Love, 1SV
Least Fav: Computer Eyes; Sacred Heart of Stone
My $.02
Don H.
In article <8o59j0$t5j$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
Alex
Well, buddy, I got the slightest impression you misinterpreted my
lines. Actually, I don't like the song as such, it's one of my least
favorites. My number one is "Alabaster Lady", followed closely by "So
Ready For Love", then by the title track, and finally by "Standin' On
The Borderline". The rest is the rest!!!
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