While working at my job during the summer, we periodically would play Carly's hit song "YOUR SO VAIN" on the store's background music. I often found myself humming the song while I worked. I later purchased THE BEST OF CARLY SIMON CD with some extra money I had, just for the purpose of getting a hold of YOUR SO VAIN. I took it home, played it all the way through, and all I can say is that I quickly had a new favorite CD on my shelf. All of the songs on the CD, (especially YOUR SO VAIN, HAVEN'T GOT TIME FOR THE PAIN, and in my humble opinion, NIGHT OWL,) were magnificent pieces of music. I very quickly found myself getting ahold of as many of Ms. Simon's CD's that I could. Do yourself a big favor, if you like music, or like even just one song of Carly Simon's, pick up this CD. You won't be sorry.

If you believe that Carly Simon produced her best work in the early 70s, then this "Best of" compilation should satisfy all but the most hardened fans and completists. All the hits extracted from her first 5 albums including the smash "You're So Vain" are here and they still sound terrific today, the exception being Carly's duet with James Taylor on "Mockingbird" which unfortunately hasn't aged well. Compared to Charles & Inez Foxx's original soul version or even Dusty Springfield's amazing cover from her 1964 debut album, this 70s remake has all the elements of commercialism and little else. Pity too that Carly's later singles successes like "Nobody Does It Better" and the UK hit "Why" are omitted (the European release of this same collection starts off with the latter track). But for these minor deficiencies, "Best Of" would have had a 5 star rating from me.

This hits sampler is typical of record label greed...though Carly stayed with Elektra Records for another five years after this package came out, apparently Elektra wanted to milk her fans rather than wait for hits to come. As such, it is falsely titled, since a lot of her "best" was yet to come.

As hits go, this album is full of them, and what hits they are! Some of these tunes may be best remembered for their use in advertising: "Anticipation" was 'the ketchup song,' "Haven't Got Time For the Pain" was used to shill Anacin or some other headache remedy. A third song used in TV ads, "Julie Through The Glass" (from "Anticipation", used in a clip for the Church of Latter Day Saints) would have been a great addition to this album, but was passed over in favor of material from the more commercial "No Secrets" lp. "Mockingbird" and "Night Owl" (also from "No Secrets") are probably the weakest tracks in this collection, and could easily have been overlooked in favor of songs from "Playing Possum" or even "Hot Cakes."

If you consider yourself a fan of Carly Simon, this collection is entirely un-essential...you're better off collecting her first five Elektra lps in their entirety. Music fans who have a fondness for some of the hits here have a harder choice between this release and Carly's "Greatest Hits Live" album for Arista. The latter lp has some wonderful live readings of songs from this "Best of," and includes latter-day classics like "Nobody Does It Better" and "Coming Around Again." Of course, if you're curious and you have the cash, by all means buy the "Clouds In My Coffee" anthology, which stands as the definitive Carly collection to date.

-Mic

You're So Vain is such a funny song! I really think that SOMEONE made her mad and boy did they get told! That is the reason I bought the CD...I thought that was a better anthem for jilted women then You Outta Know. But when I got the CD home, I was pleasently surprised. I thought that the best song was That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be...and I still do on some days! This CD is a classic...it will never get old. The songs on this CD go straight to your heart.

The Best Of Carly Simon is a landmark collection of works documenting the first stage of the career of this gifted singer/songwriter. Almost every song on this album received a Grammy Award nomination. One of the things that I've always loved about Carly Simon is the way her songs tell life affirming stories about childhood,loneliness,relationships and matters of the heart. Every song on this LP is a Carly Simon classic and it should be on the music library of every serious music lover. Unfortunately the Carly of today is nowhere near as the Carly of the 70's. I can't seem to get into the music that she's been doing for the last few years, it just doesn't have the spark and creativity that her songs of the seventies had. I'm still a big fan but I would like to see her do more of the music that she did in the seventies. She recorded so many wonderful albums like "Anticipation" (1971) "No Secrets" (1972) "Hotcakes" (1974) and this excellent collection of hits in 1975. Another album that I love is "Boys In The Trees" (1978) I think that was the last great album that she released, although a more recent album "Letters Never Sent" was pretty good. "The Best Of Carly Simon" is one of my favorite albums of all times. I have it on CD and cassette and I never get tired of listening to it. It's a great LP by one of the greatest voices and fantastic songwriters of the 1970's.