Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King

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Various Artists

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One of the best albums of the ‘70s, redone by some of the best talents in the business. It’s pretty darn hard to improve on a classic, but Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Amy Grant, Richard Marx, Celine Dion, the Bee Gees and Bebe and Cece Winans, among others certainly give it their best shot.

Rod Stewart singing “So Far Away” is a classic by itself, but also look for Richard Marx’ version of “Beautiful”; Bebe and Cece Winans (with Aretha Franklin) putting a world of soul into “You've Got A Friend”; Faith Hill’s “Where You Lead” and the Bee Gees’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”. The Manhattan Transfer also perform a great “Smackwater Jack”.

Not quite the original, but a very reasonable facsimile thereof

Amanda Richards, March 4, 2006

I've got it on now, and I've been listening to the original "Tapestry" re-release recently (fantastic!), so here's my streaming thoughts.

(Some explanation of my grading. I believe that if you're going to do a cover, you have to bring something to the party to make it an interesting version and in some way better than the original. Note for note copies are worthless. Did you ever hear Poison's cover of Loggins and Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance"? This to me is the worst cover of all time. They do nothing new, except smooth over any actual articulation of the lyrics, and they don't even bring the high heat. Frankly, if you can't rock harder than Kenny Loggins, then for God's sake, DO NOT COVER HIS SONGS! Please. This is not a high bar. Bottom line... three stars on my scale means "worth listening to" and five means "You just have to hear this.")

I Feel the Earth Move - OK. At least stylistically different than the original. Finishes strong with a gospel rave up. Three stars.

So Far Away - Exactly what you'd expect from Rod Stewart at this point. I don't mean that as good or bad... just setting your expectations. Nothing special added, I guess that's my point. Two stars for my taste.

It's Too Late - I don't mind Amy Grant's basic voice. But I think of it as plain vanilla and conspicuous phrasing choices. The little baby growl on soft lines is Britney Spears' only trick. The way she sings "It's Too Late Baby" is so very Amy. Another predictable rendition. Ahh, just two stars.

Home Again - OK, clearly my familiarity with the artists colors my opinions of "worth hearing" on this album. I don't know who Curtis Stigers is, and so I think this version is three stars. But if I was unimpressed over time, I'd think the sax and guitar lines are fairly cliche'.

Beautiful - Well then again, I'm no Richard Marx fan, but the slow opening before the power schmaltz isn't so bad. Since the original is sounding a little dated stylistically at this point, I'll give this one three stars. Band and production are solid. Feels uplifting as it should.

Way Over Yonder - Familiarity thing. If this sounds like every one of Blessid Union of Souls' records, then it's nothing special. But I like the singing, and the harmonica. And the pacing helps the soulfulness. Three stars.

You've Got a Friend - Boy, it's nice to have some beautiful big black voices doing this song. Aretha's "thing" doesn't get old or shlocky, it's something to be treasured. Style of this song has changed substantially. Very tasteful instrumentation with the keys and some light percussion. Harmonies worth replaying on the bridge. Ooh, now they're doing it on the next verse! Me likey. Four stars.

Where You Lead - Nice band, Faith. Guitar leads in nice, and the bass drives the band. Nothing too over the top, just right on the money. Faith's got a nice voice. Three stars. Maybe a three plus, if I gave those.

Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Heavily-produced Bee Gees, but that's OK. It works for them. This is what covers are for... focusing on the cover band's strengths and getting away from the trademarks of the original. It's only weak when the band doesn't have much in the way of strength to lean on. Three stars.

Smackwater Jack - Nice! Soulful groove added... nice harmonies, fine driving bass. You believe the line "shut down the congregation" with this band a little more than Carole herself. Well remember this was the breakout album of a woman who had previously written for others. When did the Manhattan Transfer get so much less white? Love the "Shotgun" outro. Four stars.

Tapestry - Boy, I'm liking the bass on this one too. I think this must be a commentary on how often I've been listening to Harmon Kardon PC speakers instead of my big Polk Audio 10's recently. But I think this is a tasty, full version too. CK's version had a certain melancholy imbued in the melody, and it's not lost here, just maybe a little different. Four stars.

Natural Woman - All Celine, right down to that French Canadian prounounciation of "you." Oh joy, here comes the screaming. Protect the dogs. Would you rather have Aretha or Celine singing this to you? No contest. Sit down Celine, and tap into those chill pills. Two stars.

Overall, the album is fine if you don't want much more than these people doing what they do on these songs. There isn't much "can't miss" on it, and only a handful of fours I would bother to burn to the iPod.