No Secrets (Carly Simon album) explained

No Secrets
Type:Studio
Artist:Carly Simon
Cover:csns.jpg
Released:November 28, 1972
Recorded:September–October 1972
Studio:Trident Studios, London, U.K.
Genre:
Length:35:58
Label:Elektra
Producer:Richard Perry
Prev Title:Anticipation
Prev Year:1971
Next Title:Hotcakes
Next Year:1974

No Secrets is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records on November 28, 1972.[1] [2]

Simon's major commercial breakthrough, No Secrets spent five weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart and quickly went Gold, as did its lead single, "You're So Vain", which remained at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks and the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks.[3] The second single, "The Right Thing to Do", reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album was officially certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 12, 1997. It was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on November 11, 2011.

In 2000 No Secrets was ranked No. 997 in Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[4] The making of the album, including commentary from many of the main musicians and production staff, was examined in the 2017 documentary Carly Simon: No Secrets, directed by Guy Evans for Eagle Rock Film Productions and broadcast on BBC Four.[5]

Recording and packaging

"Angel from Montgomery" was recorded by Carly Simon in her first session for the No Secrets album which was produced by Paul Buckmaster and featured James Taylor's vocals and Danny Kortchmar on guitar. Simon recalls: "Elektra rejected [the tracks from that session] and...asked me to work with Richard Perry. [Elektra] didn't think Buckmaster would produce a hit record for me".[6] Carly's sister, Joanna Simon, sang background vocals for the album.[7]

At the invitation of producer Richard Perry, Simon recorded the album at Trident Studios in London, where Perry was keen for Simon to work with engineer Robin Cable. Trident Studios had previously been the venue for the recording of notable albums including The Beatles' White Album, David Bowie's Space Oddity and Elton John's second album.

The photograph for the cover, taken by Ed Caraeff, was shot in front of the Portobello Hotel, on Stanley Gardens in London's Notting Hill.[8]

Reception

Initial reviews for No Secrets were mixed to positive. Robert Christgau, writing in Creem, said, "if a horse could sing in a monotone, the horse would sound like Carly Simon, only a horse wouldn't rhyme 'yacht', 'apricot', and 'gavotte'. Is that some kind of joke?"[9] Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone concluded that "what finally makes No Secrets so refreshing is her singing, which conveys the finest spirit of patrician generosity."[10]

More recent reviews have been much more positive. For example, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann gave the album four-and-a-half stars (out of five). Ruhlmann noted that "You're So Vain", "set the album's saucy tone, with its air of sexually frank autobiography and its reflections on the jet-set lifestyle." He also stated that "now that she felt she had found true love, she was as willing to acknowledge her own mistakes and regrets as she was to point fingers." He concluded that "Perry paid particular attention to Simon's vocals and gave her music a new pop/rock 'buoyancy that previous albums lacked'."

"You're So Vain" was also voted No. 216 in RIAA's Songs of the Century.[11] It remains Simon's biggest hit and is considered her signature song.

Awards

YearAwardCategoryWorkRecipient(s)ResultRef.
1974Grammy AwardsRecord of the Year"You're So Vain"Carly Simon[12]
Song of the Year
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female
Best Engineered Recording – Non-ClassicalNo SecretsRobin Geoffrey Cable and Bill Schnee[13]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[14]

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1973)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[15] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 19
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[17] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)7
US Billboard 200[18] 4

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Happy 45th: Carly Simon, NO SECRETS . . November 28, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221116201024/https://www.rhino.com/article/happy-45th-carly-simon-no-secrets . November 16, 2022 . live.
  2. Web site: Carly Simon - No Secrets . . November 28, 1972 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230227165656/https://www.discogs.com/release/4271203-Carly-Simon-No-Secrets . February 27, 2023 . live.
  3. Web site: American certifications – Carly Simon . . January 25, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220524000545/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Carly+Simon&ti=&format=&type= . May 24, 2022 . live.
  4. Web site: The Virgin All-Time Album Top 1000 List - 2000 . Rocklist . July 22, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322174440/https://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/virgin_1000_v3.htm . March 22, 2023 . live.
  5. Web site: . BBC Four - Classic Albums, Carly Simon: No Secrets . October 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211001081419/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08pg5tq . October 1, 2021 . live.
  6. Web site: Ask Carly - Angel from Montgomery . Carlysimon.com . July 4, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080704124903/http://www.carlysimon.com/askcarly/archives/archive-062002.htm . July 4, 2008 . dead.
  7. News: Joanna Simon, Renowned Mezzo Soprano, Dies At 85 . . Margaret Hall . October 21, 2022 . October 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230530213657/https://playbill.com/article/joanna-simon-renowned-mezzo-soprano-dies-at-85 . May 30, 2023 . live.
  8. Web site: Carly Simon – Album Covers: No Secrets (1972) . Walter Neff . April 5, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202184712/https://carlysimonalbumcovers.blogspot.com/2011/05/no-secrets-1972.html . February 2, 2023 . live.
  9. Creem . April 1973 . Robert . Christgau . The Christgau Consumer Guide: Carly Simon: No Secrets . November 7, 2011. Also included in Web site: . Carly Simon > Consumer Guide Reviews . March 14, 2006.
  10. Web site: Holden . Stephen . No Secrets review . . January 4, 1973 . November 7, 2011 . May 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220516151915/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/no-secrets-122169/ . live.
  11. Web site: Songs of the Century . . March 9, 2013 . March 7, 2001 . February 11, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240211082620/https://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/ . live.
  12. Web site: Carly Simon . . October 19, 2018 . Mar 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220320142232/https://www.grammy.com/artists/carly-simon/6577 . live.
  13. Web site: Bill Schnee . . October 30, 2021 . March 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220320163459/https://www.grammy.com/artists/bill-schnee/16013 . live.
  14. Carly Simon . No Secrets . 1972 . booklet . Elektra.
  15. Book: Kent, David . Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . David Kent (historian) . Australian Chart Book . St Ives, N.S.W. . 1993 . 0-646-11917-6.
  16. Book: Pennanen, Timo . Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . fi . 1st . Helsinki . . 2006 . 978-951-1-21053-5.
  17. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 . . Roppongi, Tokyo . 2006 . 4-87131-077-9.
  18. Top Pop Albums of 1973 . . December 31, 1973 . July 2, 2012 . https://archive.today/20121204135943/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855834?imw=Y . December 4, 2012.

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