This Kind of Love by Carly Simon is her latest album and her voice is as strong as ever! The sound quality is very good and that artwork is nicely done. The one thing I like most about this album is that Carly Simon demonstrates her fine ability to flawlessly perform several different types of songs; this combined with all the personal work Carly put into this CD makes this CD one of her very best yet!

"This Kind Of Love" has a beautiful melody and the guitar work really enhances the natural beauty of this ballad. Carly sings this so sweetly and I'm very impressed. In no way is this boring or silly; Carly truly showcases her emotions here on "This Kind Of Love" and it makes a terrific, strong beginning to this album. "Hold Out Your Heart" has a sensitive melody and Carly Simon delivers this with the panache and charm of the champ she always was! "People Say A Lot" has a hip-hop/rap type of beat that I really like; this song sends a clear message about people who feed off celebrities for their own personal gain. "People Say A Lot" fits in well on this album even though at first blush it stands out against the "This Kind Of Love" and "Hold Out Your Heart."

"How Can You Ever Forget" gives us Carly at her best; the keys are awesome and the strings are used to great advantage. Carly's poignant song is the result of her singing with David Saw, Ben Taylor, Frank Filipetti & Jill Dell'Abate. "Hola Soleil" jumps back from a relatively pensive, slower tune to a peppy, upbeat and catchy tune that is impossible to resist--and how about those drums, too? This is way more than just muzak.

"When We're Together" has a distinctly bossa nova flavor that takes flight when Carly sings this so smoothly; Carly sings this with great sensitivity and the guitars work wonders for this number. "So Many People To Love" sounds more like today's pop music than anything else; Carly's voice is as clear as a bell and she handles this tune flawlessly. "So Many People To Love" is a very well done number that has Carly Simon shining brightly!

"The Last Samba" has a stunning Latin beat with great percussion, woodwind instruments and more--and it all fits in so well with Carly's vocals. "The Last Samba" moves me with its beauty and this is a major highlight of this album. "Sangre Dolce (Sweet Blood)" again has something of a Latin beat but it's mixed in with a few other musical effects to create a sound I rarely hear and enjoy so much. The CD also ends very strong with Carly Simon singing a song to remember a good old friend of hers who died, Art Buchwald. "Too Soon To Say Goodbye" is a beautiful waltz-type ballad with great key modulations that enhance the beauty of this ballad. "Too Soon To Say Goodbye" tugs at my heartstrings and I know this is one song I won't forget anytime soon!

Carly Simon remains one of the best female vocalists of the twentieth century; and with this album we have proof that she's here to stay for quite some while to come. Carly's fans will love this album; and people new to Carly will be amazed at the diversity of songs she delivers so masterfully on this CD.

Carly Simon's "This Kind of Love" is a good return to original music. Her

CD had some amazing covers, Paul Simon's "Scarborough Fair" being one that was among my favorite tracks last year. This CD has its charms. Her son Ben Taylor's "Island" that opened his CD

is gorgeous in Carly's hands with its lovely melody, "I would rather bet my life against the rising of the sun; I would rather fall from grace completely than let you change my mind." The samba "Hola Soleil" is an exquisite track penned by Simon, son Ben and long-time collaborator Jacob Brackman, "Baking sand, shining sea, Turning world, dissolving shadows." "So Many People to Love" penned with Carole Bayer Sager is a lovely swaying melody, "They're praying on bended knees in their beds & on the dirty streets, Lights are out on all the Christmas trees, feels like everyone's about to freeze." Jimmy Webb's "The Last Samba" sways like a soft breeze which Carly's voice picks up like a sail, "So take me here on this sand in the midst of these stars, swaying in thrall to the fading guitars." "Sangre Dolce" builds with incredible drama, "She cries when underneath the crystal moon." Other tracks like "They Just Want You to Be There" & her daughter Sally's "When We're Together" are also strong. Simon's voice appears a bit thin in places. The rap track "People Say A Lot" doesn't resonate with me. However, while not perfect, this is a strong CD well worth repeated listenings. Enjoy!

I originally had rated this album four stars, but changed it to five after not listening to it for two days, suffering album withdrawal, and returning to it to realize I absolutely HAD to hear it again.

This album is a return to form for Carly Simon--original material sung with passion, integrity and good phrasing. This is a richly produced album brimming with melodies that stay in one's ear in a very satisfying way. Ms. Simon is once again singing more like a musician and less like a celebrity, which is very pleasing. Her voice is not "perfect" but it has a unique sound and a vulnerable quality that reaches into you emotionally.

Ms. Simon's voice has become deeper over the years, with a wider vibrato, and the material here suits it well. That said, it's surprisingly great to hear her using those high notes again ("Hold Out your Heart" and "People Say a Lot"). They tune beautifully--I hope she continues to sing up there. On "Sangre Dolce" she seems to defy time by reaching back to find that heart-rending mid-range belt that wakes up all your emotions. How did she do that? Some will find the rapping in "People Say a Lot" hard to take, but it grows on you and the All About Eve sound clip is incisive! You'll notice the vocal on "Too Soon to Say Goodbye" sounds strange and raspy. Apparently it is the original demo vocal she recorded the day she wrote the song for her friend, the late Art Buchwald. On that day she was quite sick and very hoarse, but she wanted to keep the demo vocal on the CD as a tribute to him (he had been listening to and loving that recording shortly before his death). Welcome back, Carly.

Dec. 13, 2011 ADDENDUM: I had wondered how Carly "reached back to find ... that mid-range belt" on "Sangre Dolce," but now it seems obvious to my ear that this track, and at least one other on this collection, were recorded years ago when her voice was in better shape, and only got full production and release in 2008. So much for that mystery. I still love the songs though.

Carly is back giving us original songs, and is at her best! ---and we are the lucky ones!!

I couldn't wait, after all I had read about this new album, to have a listen.... I loaded it on my IPod and brewed some coffee.... I am sitting on my deck on this sunny California morning with a beautiful cup of coffee, a crusty sourdough roll (this is not on my diet) and "This Kind of Love".

I must admit that I had goosebumps when I heard the first notes---Carly's voice is beautiful and clear. The album is wonderful--rythmic and richly melodic--you want to listen and listen--swaying to the music or dancing--all by myself this morning!

This album will provide hours and hours of great listening. 13 fantastic songs--she once again has the best in musicians, and along with Carly's singing and songwriting, it is pure musical pleasure! An exicitng, well put together album with the songs honed to perfection!

The video of this song is also wonderful--Carly seems relaxed and enjoying it as much as we arel. The ending of the song is incredible--I also love watching Ben Taylor and Peter Calo on guitar--

Enjoy Everyone!

The love described on This Kind of Love is all about nuance, suggestion, and the hints of sadness that make the stumbling on love that much more intense. After three detours to standards (again!), children's songs, and the demo-quality The Bedroom Tapes (recorded during her recovery from breast cancer), Simon is definitively back in her singer-songwriter form, having authored or co-authored 10 of these 13 songs that explore love therough the eyes, hands, and heart of a woman wizened but never whipped. With Jimmy Webb's seductive arrangements, Simon beckons the listener into a world of sunny celebration, moonlit beaches, fluttering curtains, and island dreams. And just when you're willing to follow her contralto anywhere, Simon reminds us of the ephemeral nature of it all, as she closes the album with a poignant essay on an immigrant child-care worker ("Sangre Dolce"), and her touching tribute to her late friend and writer Art Buchwald ("Too Soon to Say Goodbye"). From her no-secrets start some three dozen years ago, Simon remains one of America's finest purveyors of pop romance. And that's the way I've always heard it should be.