Coming Around Again (album)
Coming Around Again is American singer-songwriter Carly Simon's 14th album, and 13th studio album, released in 1987. It is the first of many albums Simon recorded for Arista Records. The title track, along with "Itsy Bitsy Spider", was written for and featured in the 1986 film Heartburn.
| Coming Around Again | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 13, 1987 | |||
| Recorded | 1986–1987 | |||
| Studio | Right Track Recording, The Power Station, Pin Wheel Studio, Unique Recording Studios and Flying Monkey (New York City); Cliffhanger Studio (Vancouver). | |||
| Genre | Rock • soft rock | |||
| Length | 47:22 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer | Bryan Adams, John Boylan, Frank Filipetti, Russ Kunkel, George Massenburg, Rob Mounsey, Bill Payne, Richard Perry and Paul Samwell-Smith. Clive Davis: Executive Producer | |||
| Carly Simon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Coming Around Again | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
The title song peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Simon's twelfth Top 40 hit in the United States. Additionally, it was a top 10 hit in the UK. The album itself reached #25 in both the US and the UK. It was certified Silver by the BPI in September 1987, and Platinum by the RIAA in early 1988.[2] It has since sold nearly two million copies in the US.
Shortly after the album's release, a live outdoor concert also entitled "Carly Simon – Coming Around Again" was recorded in June 1987 on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts for HBO, and later released on video. On a pier in front of an invited audience, Simon and her band performed most of the songs from the album as well some of her older hits. The concert was also released as a live album in 1988 entitled Greatest Hits Live, and has also since been released on DVD as Live From Martha's Vineyard.[3]
On October 27th, 2017, Hot Shot Records released a 30th Anniversary deluxe edition of the album. The two disc set includes six bonus tracks, including a 12" extended remix of the single "Give Me All Night", and the Oscar winning "Let the River Run", along with a second disc consisting of Simon's aforementioned Greatest Hits Live album, retitled for this set as Carly in Concert – Coming Around Again. An in-depth interview with Simon is also included in the albums booklet.[4]
Critical reception
Writing for Rolling Stone, Rob Hoerburger gave a positive review of the album and wrote, "Coming Around Again is a strong reminder of how refreshing a diversion Carly Simon can be".[5]
People was also positive, "Simon remains, even after all this emotional turmoil, perhaps the most interesting of women pop singers. This album, proves she is still captivating."[6]
Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times, stated, "Coming Around Again, the latest and one of the strongest chapters in a growing catalogue, embodies everything that the 41-year-old singer-songwriter does best. Of all the confessional singer-songwriters who emerged out of the 60's counterculture to confide their personal feelings in recorded pop song cycles, she has been one of only a handful to sustain a major label recording career of such duration. And of that handful, she has stayed the closest to the personal confessional mode."[7]
Awards
Grammy Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "Itsy Bitsy Spider" | Best Recording for Children[8] | Nominated |
| 1988 | Coming Around Again | Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female[9] | Nominated |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Coming Around Again" | Carly Simon | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Give Me All Night" | Carly Simon, Gerard McMahon | 4:20 |
| 3. | "As Time Goes By" | Herman Hupfeld | 5:06 |
| 4. | "Do the Walls Come Down" | Carly Simon, Paul Samwell-Smith | 3:48 |
| 5. | "It Should Have Been Me" | Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance | 4:20 |
| 6. | "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" | Carly Simon | 5:01 |
| 7. | "Two Hot Girls (On a Hot Summer Night)" | Carly Simon | 4:51 |
| 8. | "You Have to Hurt" | Frank Musker, Dominic King | 4:04 |
| 9. | "All I Want Is You" | Carly Simon, Andy Goldmark, Jacob Brackman | 3:58 |
| 10. | "Hold On to What You've Got" | Carly Simon, Joe Tex | 3:40 |
| 11. | "Itsy Bitsy Spider" | Carly Simon | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 46:26 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Raining" | 3:12 |
| 13. | "The Wives Are in Connecticut" | 4:30 |
| 14. | "If it Wasn't Love" | 4:17 |
| 15. | "Let the River Run" | 3:43 |
| 16. | "Sleight of Hand" | 3:28 |
| 17. | "Give Me All Night (12" Extended Remix)" | 5:43 |
| Total length: | 71:19 | |
Personnel
- Carly Simon – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 7, 10), keyboards (1, 11), arrangements (3, 11), piano (4), Yamaha DX7 (6)
- Scott Martin – keyboards (1), backing vocals (1)
- Bill Payne – keyboards (1, 11)
- Peter-John Vettese – keyboards (2, 7), backing vocals (4)
- Rob Mounsey – MIDI piano (3), programming (3), drum programming (3), string arrangements and conductor (3, 6, 9), acoustic piano (6), keyboards (6)
- Dave Pickell – keyboards (5)
- Robbie Kilgore – keyboards (8, 9), programming (8, 9), synthesizer (9)
- Chuck Kentis – additional keyboards (8), string synthesizer (8)
- Andy Goldmark – keyboards (9), drum machine (9)
- Leon Pendarvis – synthesizer (10), arrangements (10)
- Barbara Markay – synthesizer, programming (10)
- Hugh McCracken – guitar (2, 7), tiple (8)
- Jimmy Ryan – guitar (3, 6, 8), backing vocals (4, 7, 8)
- Keith Scott – guitar (5)
- John McCurry – acoustic guitar (9)
- T-Bone Wolk – guitar (10)
- Tony Levin – bass guitar (2, 7)
- Dave Taylor – bass guitar (5)
- Neil Jason – bass guitar (8)
- Russ Kunkel – drums (1-4, 6, 10, 11), drum machine (6)
- Frank Filipetti – LinnDrum (2, 7), drum machine programming (8)
- Mickey Curry – drums (5)
- Jimmy Bralower – percussion (2, 4), drum machine programming (8)
- Jimmy Maelen – percussion (9)
- Stevie Wonder – harmonica (3)
- Michael Brecker – EWI (4), saxophone (7)
- David Nadien – concertmaster (3, 6, 9)
- Terri Homberg – backing vocals (1)
- Paul Samwell-Smith – backing vocals (1, 4, 8), E-mu Emulator (4), LinnDrum (4)
- Lucy Simon – backing vocals (4, 7)
- Marc LaFrance – backing vocals (5)
- Timothy Wright Concert Choir – choir (6)
- Caz Lee – backing vocals (8)
- Will Lee – backing vocals (8)
- Roberta Flack – backing vocals (9)
- Gordon Grody – backing vocals (10)
- Lani Groves – backing vocals (10)
- Janice Pendarvis – backing vocals (10)
- Alexandra Taylor – backing vocals (11)
- Ben Taylor – backing vocals (11)
- Isaac Taylor – backing vocals (11)
- Sally Taylor – backing vocals (11)
- Strings (3, 6, 9)
- Cello – Warren Lash, Beverly Lauridsen, Richard Locker, Carol McCracken and Charles McCracken.
- Violin – Marin Alsop, Lewis Eley, Barry Finclair, Regis Iandiorio, Harry Lookofsky, Jan Mullen, John Pintavalle, Matthew Raimondi, Richard Sortomme, Marti Sweet and Gerald Tarack.
- Viola – Lamar Alsop, Julien Barber, Theodore Israel, Carol Landon and Sue Pray.
Production
- Producers – Russ Kunkel (Tracks 1, 6 & 11); George Massenburg (Tracks 1 & 11); Bill Payne (Tracks 1 & 11); Paul Samwell-Smith (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 7 & 8); Rob Mounsey (Track 3); Bryan Adams (Track 5); John Boylan (Tracks 6 & 9); Richard Perry (Track 10).
- Associate Producers on Tracks 1-5 & 7-11 – Carly Simon and Frank Filipetti
- Executive Producer – Clive Davis
- Production Coordinator – Gina Silvester
- Engineers – George Massenburg (Tracks 1 & 11); Frank Filipetti (Tracks 1-4 & 6-10); Richard Alderson (Track 3); Bryan Adams (Track 5); Tim Crich (Track 5); Neil Dorfsman (Track 5); Chris Lord-Alge (Tracks 8 & 9); Ed Stasium (Track 8); Bill Miranda (Track 9); Leon Pendarvis (Track 10).
- Assistant Engineers – Scott Mabuchi (all tracks); Bill Miranda (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 7 & 11); Noah Baron (Tracks 1 & 11); Michael Christopher (Track 5); Debra Cornish (Track 6); Jeff Lord-Alge (Track 9).
- Mixing – Frank Filipetti (Tracks 1-4, 6, 8, 10 & 11); Bob Clearmountain (Track 5); Chris Lord-Alge (Track 9).
- Mastering by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
- Creative Direction – Steven Shmerler
- Art Direction – Howard Fritzson
- Design – Margery Greenspan
- Photography – Lynn Goldsmith
- Management – Tommy Mottola
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Billboard 200 | 25 |
Album - International
| Year | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Austria | 17[10] |
| 1987 | Germany | 32[10] |
| 1987 | Switzerland | 21[10] |
| 1987 | United Kingdom | 25[11] |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Coming Around Again" | Hot 100 | 18 |
| 1986 | "Coming Around Again" | Adult Contemporary | 5 |
| 1987 | "All I Want Is You" | Hot 100 | 54 |
| 1987 | "All I Want Is You" | Adult Contemporary | 7 |
| 1987 | "Give Me All Night" | Hot 100 | 61 |
| 1987 | "Give Me All Night" | Adult Contemporary | 5 |
| 1987 | "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" | Adult Contemporary | 8 |
References
- Ruhlmann, William. "AllMusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- "Carly Simon certifications". RIAA.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- "Carly Simon Official Website - Live From Martha's Vineyard DVD". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on June 15, 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
- "Coming Around Again: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". Cherry Red Records.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- Hoerburger, Rob (June 18, 1987). "Album review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- "Album review". People. April 27, 1987. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- Holden, Stephen (May 3, 1987). "Carly Simon's Emotion-Laden Self-Portrait". The New York Times. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- "Grammy Awards 1987". Awards&Shows.com. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- "Carly Simon Official Website - Awards". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- "Carly Simon - Coming Around Again". Hitparade. Hitparade. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
- "CARLY SIMON - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
External links
- Carly Simon's Official Website
- "Coming Around Again" video on YouTube.
