No Secrets

Carly Simon

Elektra, 1972

http://www.carlysimon.com

REVIEW BY: Jason Warburg

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/12/2006

I was nine years old when No Secrets came out, making me an unlikely candidate to have been a fan the first time around.  My older brothers were a different story, though, and on those occasions when little brother was allowed into their teenaged sanctum back in ’72-’73, this LP was often on the turntable.  I might not have understood what half the songs were about at that point in my life, but the sound and feel of this album – warm, honest, intimate – left a lasting impression.

Of course, the cover photo also made a lasting impression on my brothers… but that’s to be expected.

Carly Simon had gotten her feet wet in the New York music scene in the mid-60s, but it wasn’t until decade’s end that an Elektra exec heard a batch of her demos and, over the objections of his own A&R staff, signed her as a solo artist.  Her self-titled debut spawned the surprise hit “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” and was followed just eight months later by Anticipation, whose title track she wrote while waiting for Cat Stevens to pick her up for a date.

Her third album, No Secrets, was the one that fully crystallized Simon’s emerging sound -- revealing, deeply personal songs brought to vivid life by her powerful vocals -- and thrust her to the forefront of the female singer-songwriter scene that had been rapidly coalescing around pioneering talents like Carole King and Joni Mitchell.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

The rocket engine that propelled this album into the stratosphere was the international #1 hit “You’re So Vain,” a brilliantly rendered portrait of an ex-lover whose charisma is matched only by his ego.  “You had me several years ago / When I was still quite naïve” sings Carly, pushing towards the instantly memorable chorus, which features Mick Jagger -- along with Warren Beatty, often hypothesized as the song’s subject -- singing harmony on the classic line “You’re so vain / You probably think this song is about you.” 

“The Right Thing To Do,” the album opener and another top ten hit, is among Simon’s more optimistic numbers, a song about overcoming doubt and affirming the healing powers of love.  Here and in tracks like “The Carter Family” and “Waited So Long,” Simon personalizes her lyrics to the point where every word she sings feels autobiographical, whether it actually is or not.  And isn’t that the definition of good storytelling? 

The title tune is another of Simon’s very best, capturing both the perils of intimacy and the consequences of getting what you want and not liking the results.  “You always answer my questions / But they don’t always answer my prayers” goes the key line here.  In its own way, the cover image subtly portrays and reinforces this theme – there is a raw sensuality in the shot, yes, but also a disarming openness and vulnerability to the world’s pains and joys.

This distinctly female meshing of vulnerable innocence and earthy maturity has a way of making the oddest juxtapositions feel natural, as when the gently lilting childhood nostalgia ditty “It Was So Easy” segues right into the steamy r&b romp “Night Owl,” where Carly’s growling, playful lead vocals match wits with boogie-woogie piano, sassy sax and a chorus of girl-group background vocals.

To put a fine point on it, there are some aspects of the tones and arrangements on this disc that feel a bit dated today, and anyone with an aversion to assertive string sections backing pop vocals is going have a problem, but such quibbles can’t obscure the timeless essence of this album.  It’s a knowing, artful look at life and love through the eyes of a young woman at the vanguard of a new era, making art that asked and answered questions that were simultaneously intimate and universal.  As a result, No Secrets deservedly became one of the milestone discs of the singer-songwriter movement.

Rating: A-

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© 2006 Jason Warburg and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Elektra, and is used for informational purposes only.