Speeding Time

by

Carole King

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Lou Adler managed Carole King and had previously managed The Mamas & the Papas and Jan & Dean. His production mixes King's songs with synthesizers in an attempt to update Carole's sound. It doesn't work overly well since King excels on her own merits. That said, the songs themselves are good and King's vocal performances are consistently strong. She teams with former husband Gerry Goffin on 4 of the tracks. Carole dusts off "Crying In the Rain" that was recorded in 1961 by the Everly Brothers and peaked @ #6 on the charts. The pulsing synth version boasts Danny Kootch on guitar and a blazing sax solo by Plas Johnson. "Sacred Heart of Stone" has Carole on synth with a great vocal, "I think it's time for me to turn away, You invented the world we're living in today; When you inherit the earth and all its gold, it's not my hand you will get to hold." The title track is a pretty melody with a rousing chorus, "But hang in, hold on, There will be relief, Y'gotta try to keep your love alive." "So Ready for Love" puts Carole back on acoustic piano with one of her stunning but lesser-known melodies in a delightful performance, "How many people get the chance to love again?" "Dancing" is a rousing upbeat track that puts a smile on your face as your foot taps uncontrollably. "Alabaster Lady" has Carole's intricate piano and her soaring melody, "You're so very young, Your life is just beginning; Your consciousness begun like a sleepy child awakening." The Goffin/King opener "Computer Eyes" percolates with syth effervescence. "One Small Voice" is another excellent classic King composition that references the children's story "The Emperor's New Clothes." Lou Adler's production experiments with Carole King's sound and does not payoff, but her songs continue to be excellent, her vocals moving and the musicianship first rate. While maybe not her strongest set, this is an overall satisfying listening experience. I have both the import German Atlantic release and the new 2004 Wounded Bird release. Wounded Bird has condensed the booklet into a two-page foldout and updates the engineering a tad. Technically, both CD version releases are on a par. Enjoy!

Speeding Time was thought of as worse than it actually is. It is true that there are about 3 or 4 tracks that could have been scrapped. The opener, "Computer Eyes," is a brazenly misguided and self-conscious attempt to master early 80s synth-pop. The results are pretty disastrous. It is an aimless, awkward failure. Perhaps opening with this clunker doomed the LP's stronger cuts which never really saw the light of day.

Crying in the Rain, Sacred Heart of Stone, the title track, One Small Voice, and Chalice Borealis all add up to a respectable "modernized" Carole King circa 1983. Alabaster Lady, the LP's closer, finally cuts free from the albatross of synthesizers her producers saddled her with. Classic Carole King.

King's mistake was that she let herself be convinced to completely - and with barren effect - replace rather than enhance her warm story teller songwriting and performing. The lyrical themes explored on Speeding Time nudge her more closely to politics than perhaps she usually displays. But any effect is forced to compete with the desperate synthesizers.

With that said, the songs mentioned that do work make Speeding Time a worthy addition to anyone's King collection. Standout cuts are the title track and Chalice Borealis.