Boys in the Trees
Boys in the Trees is the seventh studio album (eighth overall) by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released in 1978.
| Boys in the Trees | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1978 | |||
| Recorded | Atlantic Studios and A&R Studios, NYC. | |||
| Genre | Rock • pop • blue-eyed soul • disco | |||
| Length | 35:46 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Arif Mardin | |||
| Carly Simon chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Boys in the Trees | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C+[4] |
The album included "You Belong to Me", which reached No. 6 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and became Simon's fifth Top 10 pop hit. Another track, a remake of The Everly Brothers' 1958 hit "Devoted to You", sung as a duet with then-husband James Taylor, also made the Top 40 at No. 36.[5] The singles also hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at No. 4 and No. 2, respectively.
The photo featured on the front cover of the album was expertly airbrushed to paint a Danskin top on what was a topless photo of Simon. The album won a Grammy for Best Album Package, the Grammy went to Johnny Lee and Tony Lane.[6]
Reception
Janet Maslin, writing in Rolling Stone, stated "Boys in the Trees is Carly Simon's most serene accomplishment to date, but its moods vary dramatically enough to indicate that peace of mind comes at a high price." When praising the single "You Belong to Me", Maslin went on to write, "It's a number that could easily have been belted out or growled à la "You're So Vain", but this time Simon prefers to sound more like a cat who's been dining on canary. Somehow, she's a lot more compelling using a gently chiding tone than she is striking a come-hither-or-else pose."[7]
Allmusic's William Ruhlmann rated the album retrospectively a three out of five, writing "...what really made the album a winner was that Simon had had a couple of years to write some strong songs in her unflinching, reflective style, and she continued to explore the loves and mores of her age and class movingly." Boys in the Trees has been certified Platinum by the RIAA, for sales of over 1,000,000 copies in the United States alone.[8]
Cover versions
- "You Belong to Me" was covered by Anita Baker for the 1990 compilation album Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary (later included on Baker's Rhythm of Love album). Jennifer Lopez covered the song on her 2002 album This Is Me... Then. More recently, Chaka Khan remade the song as a duet with its co-writer Michael McDonald on her Grammy Award-winning 2007 album Funk This from which it was also released as a radio single.
- "Boys in the Trees" is often played live by Tori Amos.
Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | "You Belong to Me" | Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | Nominated |
| Boys in the Trees | Best Album Package | Won |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Carly Simon, except where indicated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You Belong to Me" | Simon, Michael McDonald | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Boys in the Trees" | 3:13 | |
| 3. | "Back Down to Earth" | 3:08 | |
| 4. | "Devoted to You" | Boudleaux Bryant | 2:29 |
| 5. | "De Bat (Fly in Me Face)" | 2:28 | |
| 6. | "Haunting" | 2:28 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tranquillo (Melt My Heart)" | Simon, James Taylor, Arif Mardin | 4:02 |
| 2. | "You're the One" | 3:38 | |
| 3. | "In a Small Moment" | 3:08 | |
| 4. | "One Man Woman" | James Taylor | 3:39 |
| 5. | "For Old Times Sake" | Simon, Jacob Brackman | 3:41 |
| Total length: | 35:46 | ||
Personnel
- Carly Simon – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 7, 8, 11), acoustic guitar (2, 3, 11)
- Richard Tee – Fender Rhodes, (1, 4), acoustic piano (3, 8, 10)
- Ken Bichel – acoustic piano (6), Fender Rhodes (9), ARP synthesizer (9)
- Don Grolnick – Fender Rhodes (7), ARP String Ensemble (7)
- Cornell Dupree – electric guitar (1, 8, 10)
- Eric Gale – electric guitar (1)
- Jeff Mironov – acoustic guitar (2), electric guitar (3)
- John Hall – electric guitar (3), backing vocals (5)
- Hugh McCracken – electric guitar solo (4)
- Hamish Stuart – guitar (7), backing vocals (7, 8)
- Onnie McIntyre – guitar (7)
- Stuart Scharf – electric guitar (9), acoustic guitar (11), autoharp (11)
- Gordon Edwards – bass guitar (1, 8, 10)
- Will Lee – bass guitar (3, 4)
- Tony Levin – bass guitar (7, 8, 9)
- Steve Gadd – drums (1-4, 6-10)
- David Carey – marimba (2)
- Rubens Bassini – percussion (5)
- Errol "Crusher" Bennett – bass drum (5), congas (5), percussion (10)
- David Sanborn – alto saxophone (1)
- Harvey Estrin – soprano and tenor recorders (2)
- George Marge – soprano and tenor recorders (2)
- Phil Bodner – oboe (6)
- Gloria Agostini – harp (6)
- Margaret Ross – harp (6)
- Joe Farrell – flute (9)
- Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone (10)
- Arif Mardin – horn and string arrangements, conductor, glass harmonica (11)
- Gene Orloff – concertmaster
- James Taylor – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 7), acoustic guitar (2-5), vocal arrangement (5), horn arrangements (7)
- Harvey Estrin – alto saxophone
- George Young – alto saxophone
- Ronnie Cuber – baritone saxophone
- Jaroslav Jakubovič – baritone saxophone
- Eddie Bert – trombone
- Barry Rogers – trombone
- Randy Brecker – trumpet
- James Buffington – French horn
- Brooks Tillotson – French horn
- Roderick George – backing vocals (5)
- Luther Vandross – backing vocals (5)
- Ken Williams – backing vocals (5)
- Steven Dickson – backing vocals (6)
- Marc Embree – backing vocals (6)
- Alyia Orme – backing vocals (6)
- Joanna Simon – backing vocals (6)
- Lucy Simon – backing vocals (6)
- Cissy Houston – backing vocals (7)
- Alex Ligertwood – backing vocals (8)
- Strings – Jonathan Abramowitz, Lamar Alsop, Julien Barber, Alfred Brown, Fredrick Buldrini, Paul Gershman, Ted Hoyle, Theodore Israel, Harold Kohon, Jesse Levy, Charles Libove, Guy Lumia, Joe Malin, Yoko Matsuo, Homer Mensch, Kermit Moore, Marvin Morgenstern, Alan Shulman, Mitsue Takayama and Gerald Tarack
Production
- Producer – Arif Mardin
- Recorded and Mixed by Lew Hahn
- Engineer – Bobby Warner
- Assistant Engineers – Ollie Cotton, Bill Dooley, Tom Heid and Mike O'Reilly.
- Mastered by George Piros at Atlantic Studios (New York, NY).
- Art Direction – Tony Lane and Johnny Lee
- Photography – Deborah Turbeville
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Pop Albums | 10 |
Album - International
| Year | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Australia | 27[9] |
| 1978 | Canada | 4[10] |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Devoted to You" | Adult Contemporary | 2 |
| 1978 | "Devoted to You" | Country Singles | 33 |
| 1978 | "Devoted to You" | Pop Singles | 36 |
| 1978 | "You Belong to Me" | Adult Contemporary | 4 |
| 1978 | "You Belong to Me" | Pop Singles | 6 |
References
- http://www.45cat.com/record/recordus231
- http://www.45cat.com/record/e45506
- http://www.45cat.com/record/e45544
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- AllMusic. "Carly Simon Awards". Retrieved September 6, 2014.
- "Carly Simon Official Website - Awards". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
- Maslin, Janet (June 15, 1978). "Album review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- "Carly Simon certifications". RIAA.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "CAN Charts > Carly Simon". RPM. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
