•
Rating:
Here is one of the best-selling albums of all time, a true classic of American music.
Despite being a debut, the New York singer made her debut at Queens College, initially recording demos with a young Paul Simon and then with Gerry Goffrin. Together they would become one of the most prolific songwriting duos America has ever had, second only to Leiber & Stoller. During the '60s, their collaboration would become prolific, composing songs that became timeless classics such as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "Up On The Roof", "The Locomotion", just to name a few, songs that would be performed by artists of the caliber of Animals, Blood Sweat & Tears, Bobby Vee, Moonkees, Righteous Brothers. Over the years, she handling the music and he the lyrics, their harmonic and elegant style would take shape, captivating even the Fab Four and surviving the advent of new musical forms closer to blues and subsequent psychedelia.
After the breakup of the artistic and sentimental partnership with Goffin, the girl found herself having to bear alone among the various burdens a musicality that had become mature and well-established, but the habit of working behind the scenes would make it difficult for the artist to step into the spotlight. It would be her friend James Taylor who convinced her, and in 1971, "Tapestry" was released.
But let's discover the greatness of this album together. It starts with "I Feel The Earth Move" and what a start! An excellent groove testifies to a good feeling between King and the musicians, trusty Danny Kortchmar on guitar and Charles Larkey on bass. The song soars especially in the interplay between piano and guitar, while Larkey's bass remains always alive and pulsating, the singing and melody add a precious touch to the result. "So Far Away", another example of melodic refinement, benefits from James Taylor's guitar and Curtis Amy's magical flute. It continues with another hit, "It's Too Late", hints of jazz/blues at your fingertips and a chorus that opens like a flower in spring. Among the other tracks, worth mentioning are "Way Over Yonder", a true example of white gospel, same emphasis, same vibrations, the black community would surely appreciate, and again "You've Got a Friend", another classic that itself became a classic in Taylor's repertoire, the already mentioned "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" written with Goffin ten years earlier, the engaging rhythm of "Smackwater Jack".
The album closes with one of the all-time classics rendered famous by Aretha Franklin's voice "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", also written years earlier by the Goffin/King duo, and who knows what the author felt reclaiming this great song, capable of bringing hidden emotions to the surface with a harmonic progression that borders on perfection.
Ultimately, "Tapestry" is a timeless classic, still capable of captivating with its refined style, but also with a black soul that provides a backdrop and makes this album still alive and pulsating.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 I Feel the Earth Move (03:00)
I feel the earth move
Under my feet.
I feel the sky tumblin' down.
I feel my heart start
To tremblin' whenever you're around.
Ooh, baby, when I see your face,
Mellow as the month of may,
Oh, darlin', I can't stand it
When you look at me that way.
Hey, I feel the earth move
Under my feet.
I feel the sky tumblin' down.
I feel my heart start to tremble
whenever you're around.
Ooh, darlin', when you're near me
And you tenderly call my name,
I know that my emotions
Are somethin' I just can't tame.
I just got to have ya, baby.
Uh, uh, uh.
Uh, uh, uh, yeah.
I feel the earth move
Under my feet.
I feel the sky tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down.
I feel the earth move
Under my feet.
I feel the sky tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down.
I just a-lose control
Down to my very soul.
I get hot and cold
All over, all over, all over, all over.
I feel the earth move
Under my feet.
I feel the sky tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down.
I feel the earth move
Under my feet.
I feel the sky tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down,
A-tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down,
A-tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down,
Tumblin' down.
02 So Far Away (03:55)
So far away, doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore?
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn't help to know you're just time away
Long ago I reached for you and there you stood
Holding you again could only do me good
How I wish I could, but you're so far away
One more song about movin' along the highway
Can't say much of anything that's new
If I could only work this life out my way
I'd rather spend it bein' close to you.
But you're so far away, doesn't anybody stay in one place any more
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn't help to know you're so far away
Travelin' around sure gets me down and lonely
Nothin' else to do but close my mind
I sure do hope the road don't come to own me
There's so many dreams
I've yet to find
But your so far away
Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
And it doesn't help to know you're so far away...
03 It's Too Late (03:54)
Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time
There's something wrong here there can be no denying
One of us is changing or maybe we've just stopped trying
And it's too late, baby, now it's too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can't hide
And I just can't fake it
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
It used to be so easy living here with you
You were light and breezy and I knew just what to do
Now you look so unhappy and I feel like a fool
And it's too late, baby, now it's too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can't hide
And I just can't fake it
There'll be good times again for me and you
But we just can't stay together don't you feel it too
Still I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you
But it's too late, baby, now it's too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can't hide
And I just can't fake it
Oh, it's too late, baby
It's too late, now darling
It's too late
05 Beautiful (03:08)
You've got to get up every morning With a smile on your face
And show the world all the love in your heart
The people gonna treat you better
You're gonna find, yes you will
That you're beatiful as you feel
Waiting at the station with a workday wind a-blowing
I've got nothing to do but watch the passers-by
Mirrored in their faces I see frustration growing
And they don't see it showing, why do I?
You've got to get up every morning With a smile on your face
And show the world all the love in your heart
The people gonna treat you better
You're gonna find, yes you will
That you're beatiful as you feel
I have often asked myself for reason for sadness
In a world where tears are just a lullabye
If there's any answer, maybe love can end the madness
Maybe not, oh, but we can only try
You've got to get up every morning With a smile in your face
And show the world all the love in your heart
The people gonna treat you better
You're gonna find, yes you will
That you're beatiful as you feel
06 Way Over Yonder (04:49)
way over yonder
is a place that i know
where i can find shelter
from a hunger and a cold
and the sweet tastin' good life
is so easily found
a way over yonder, that's where i'm bound
i know when i get there
the first thing i'll see
is the sun shining golden
shining right down on me
then trouble's gonna lose me
worry leave me behind
and i'll stand up proudly
in true peace of mind
talkin' about
talkin' about
a way over yonder
is a place i have seen
in a garden of wisdom
from some long ago dream
oh yeah
maybe tomorrow
i'll find find my way
to the land where the honey runs
in rivers each day
and the sweet tastin' good life
is so easily found
a way over yonder
that's where i'm bound
oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
a way over yonder
that's where i'm bound
07 You've Got a Friend (05:09)
When you're down and troubled and you need some love and care,
and nothing, nothing is going right,
close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest night.
You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am,
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call
and I'll be there
You've got a friend.
If the sky above you grows dark and full of clouds,
And that old north wind schould begin to blow,
Keep your head together and call my name out loud.
Soon you'll hear me knockin' at your door.
You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am,
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call
and I'll be there, yes, I will.
Now ain't it good to know that you've got a
friend
when people can be so cold. They'll hurt you, yes, and desert you.
And, take your soul if you let them.
Oh, but don't you let them.
You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am,
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call
and I'll be there, yes, I will.
You've got a friend.
You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend
08 Where You Lead (03:20)
Wanting you the way I do
I only wanna be with you
And I would go to the ends of the earth
Cause darling to me that's what you're worth
Chorus
Where you lead
I will follow
Anywhere, that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow
Where you lead
If you're out on the road
Feeling lonely and so cold
All you have to do is call my name
And I'll be there
On the next train
Chorus
I always wanted a real home
With flowers on the windowsill
But if you wanna live in New York City
Honey, you know I will
(yes I will, yes I will)
I never thought I could get satisfaction
From just one man
But if anyone could keep me happy
You're the one who can
Chorus (x2)
Oh baby, oh, I'm gonna follow where you lead
I'm gonna follow where you lead
(I'm gonna follow where you lead) (x4)
10 Smackwater Jack (03:42)
Now, Smackwater Jack,
He bought a shotgun
'Cause he was in the mood
For a little confrontation.
He just a-let it all hang loose;
He didn't think about the noose.
He couldn't take no more abuse
So he shot down the congregation.
You can't talk to a man
With a shotgun in his hand.
Now, Big Jim the chief
Stood for law and order.
He called for the guard to come
And surround the border.
Now, from his bulldog mouth,
As he led the posse south,
Came the cry, "We got to ride
To clean up the streets
For our wives and our daughters!"
You can't talk to a man
When he don't wanna understand.
No, no, no, no, no.
The account of the capture
Wasn't in the papers,
But you know, they hanged ol' Smack right then
Instead of later.
You know, the people were quite pleased
'Cause the outlaw had been seized
And on the whole, it was a very good year
For the undertaker.
You know, you know, you can't talk to a man
With a shotgun in his hand.
A shotgun in his hand.
Smackwater Jack bought a shotgun.
Yeah, Smackwater Jack bought a shotgun.
Oh, Smackwater Jack, yeah.
Talkin' 'bout Smackwater Jack, yeah.
Talkin' 'bout a-Smackwater Jack, now.
Talkin' 'bout Smack.
Talkin' 'bout Jack.
Smackwater Jack, yeah.
11 Tapestry (03:15)
My life has been a tapestry
Of rich and royal hue;
An everlasting vision
Of the ever-changing view;
A wond'rous woven magic
In bits of blue and gold;
A tapestry to feel and see;
Impossible to hold.
Once amid the soft silver
Sadness in the sky,
There came a man of fortune;
A drifter passing by.
He wore a torn and tattered cloth
Around his leathered hide
And a coat of many colors;
Yellow, green, on either side.
He moved with some uncertainty
As if he didn't know
Just what he was there for
Or where he ought to go.
Once he reached for something
Golden hanging from a tree
And his hand came down emp-ty.
Soon within my tapestry,
Along the rutted road,
He sat down on a river rock
And turned into a toad.
It seemed that he had fallen
Into someone's wicked spell
And I wept to see him suffer,
Though I didn't know him well.
As I watched in sorrow,
There suddenly appeared
A figure gray and ghostly
Beneath a flowing beard.
In times of deepest darkness
I've seen him dressed in black.
Now my tapestry's unraveling;
He's come to take me back.
He's come to take me back.
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By Davide1990
Tapestry is something so refined and delightful that it feels like touching the sky with a finger.
Carole King's warm and sincere voice, accompanied by a piano played with great precision, created a new model for singer-songwriters in the '70s.
