Carole King is one of our most prolific songwriters. She has written an ocean of excellent popular songs, music that moves beyond any genre, music that makes life richer. On this splendid album she not only shines as a songwriter but also as a performer, collaborator and arranger. Frequently, when commenting on Carole King's work, reviewers hark back to Tapestry and the 6 records that followed that fine recording. "Love Makes a World" stands on its own as one of the best popular music releases of this year. Her voice sounds rich. Her phrasing - the way she sings certains words and lines - creates a setting where the songs sound as if they are letters from best friends. In addition, King's voice layers these songs with rich harmonies. The layers of voice create the sense that the songs take place in relationship with another; as if the songs are addressed to us the listener, or at the very least, to someone else. Her songs almost always are about relationships, the spaces and places between people. The songs aren't statements as much as they - again to use the letter analogy - sound like something one would receive in the mail (or email) from a close friend. Most of the songs feature her piano playing as the main rhythm instrument. She creates full chords that don't overshadow the songs, but provide a sturdy underneath. What do the songs sound like? To me they sound like popular music framed with R and B, which is what much of her best work has always sounded like. Highlights? The upbeat title cut that sets the vocal richness of the entire album, her interpretation of "The Reason" that sounds like a follow-up to "Natural Woman," the string arrangement that supports the duet with K.D. Lang on "An Uncommon Love," The piano and subtle bass on "Oh No Not My Baby," and the final, finest song on the album "This Time," that resonates with this listener as deeply as any song she has written. There is no filler on this album; all the songs fit together well; both by subject and by sound. Once in awhile a top writer/performer like Paul Simon, or Dylan, or McCartney, releases a work that not only stands with their best but stands out among their best. This album is one of those releases.

I love this cd! The songs are beautiful, and Carole King's voice sounds as good as ever. This special edition with the dvd is amazing. It has a video of Carole singing at the piano, an interview and additional five songs, one of them in spanish, with the argentinian composer and singer Alejandro Lerner. The song "The Reason" has singer Celine Dion in the backgrounds, spectacular! There are songs co-written by David Foster and Carole Bayer Sawyer. I highly recommend this cd. You will love it to!

Need I say that Carole King is a pop music giant? Singer/songwriter/entrepeneur/actress/social conscience for an entire generation of hopeless dreamers, Carole continues to break new ground. Ah, but it's in music, self-penned and sung, where she really, truly, breathtakingly shines. Her latest cd, "Love Makes the World," is her best album since 1976's "Thoroughbred," without a doubt. Carole went through a strange period after "Tapestry," in 1971. Her follow-up albums seemed to meander, without any clear focus. And really, how could she possibly follow-up such a creative force as "Tapestry?" Still, Carole made inroads, and it wasn't until 1974 and "Wrap Around Joy" that she finally hit her musical stride. That great album, my absolute King favorite, was quickly followed by "Thoroughbred," which has always been (up till now, that is) my second favorite King masterpiece. In 2001, 26 years later, something has taken "Thoroughbred's" place--"Love Makes the World." Here, Carole completely outdoes herself. From the distinctive King vocals, to sparkling arrangements, instruments, and original, thought-provoking compositions, "Love Makes the World" is Carole King at her ultimate best. I purchased the cd earlier this week and have been playing it every day and night since. King--at 59--is still so vital, so awesomely talented, and obviously at the height of her abilities, it's amazing. She's produced a quality work that can compete with anything "out there" in the pop/rock market. If you're a King fan, this belongs in your collection. If you're too "young" to know Carole King, well, "Love Makes the World" is a great introduction to a superlative artist! Five stars, most definitely!

Six years ago Carole King's released her last new studio CD "Love Makes the World." Now, she's re-released the same album, but in a two-CD format that includes a bonus CD with videos of the title track & "Safe Again" along with a video interview. Several bonus songs were added to the disc including "Birthday Song" that was at the time only released on discs sold in one particular large chain. Added to this disc is also the only released Christmas song that King has recorded, "Love for Christmas," a romantic holiday ballad, "There is so much that you wish for that I wish that I could buy; If only I could be the one to fill your stocking high; I want to give you everything, but all that I can do is give you love for Christmas to last the whole year through." Carole also publishes a duet written and sung with Graham Nash that was originally recorded in 1998 titled "Two Hearts." It's a good track with Nash & King's voices blending delightfully. Nash opens, "Getting off the freeway, going to shake a bad day, Gotta change the feeling & it doesn't matter how." King responds, "Suddenly I see you pulling in the driveway. I can't wait to hold you & it doesn't matter now." Then their voices blend and let you float onto a sonic highway.

"Love Makes the World" is still worth hearing! Carole King is the greatest woman songwriter of the 20th century. This CD is a wonderful addition to her work. It is heartwarming to hear positive songs in an era where negativity too often masquerades as depth of meaning. "Love Makes the World" starts with an updated rap sound and opens into a beautiful pop tune, "Can't stop believing love makes the world go round & round." "You Can Do Anything" starts with discouragement, but then breaks into a Back Street Boys-type chorus filled with positive affirmation. The most powerful production on the CD is Carole's version of "The Reason." Celine Dion returns the favor for having previously recorded the song and does backup vocals for Carole while Michael Landau and Greg Wells wail on electric guitar that slices and electrifies the arrangement. "You are the reason I wake up every day, sleep through the night." This is classic King you will not want to miss. Wynton Marsalis' trumpet and Carole's wall-of-sound background vocals flavor "I Wasn't Gonna Fall in Love." My favorite track on the CD is Carole's rocking "I Don't Know," "I don't know if it's hot in Texas & I don't know if it's cold in hell..." With Paul Brady on background vocals and Rudy Guess on guitar, this track pops and rocks to a joyful noise, required listening for all King fans. With bass and piano, Carole places her hit "Oh No, Not My Baby" in a new setting; and this diamond shines well in that light. Carole's full-bodied vocals are like droplets of sweetness on "It Could Have Been Anyone," a song that reads stronger for me each time I listen. Rusty Anderson's electric guitar rips through the harder-edged "Monday Without You," a driving rock ballad. After having listened to Joan Osborne on the Largo CD for several years with Carole relegated to background vocals, what a delight to hear Carole up front where she should be on "An Uncommon Love" written with the Hooters' Rob Hyman. Carole's shared vocals with K.D. Lang send this wonderful love song into the stratosphere. For me, the melody on "You Will Find Me There" seems generic, but Carole's passion as a singer carries the track to excellence. The piano-driven ballad "Safe Again" is a wistful slow song, meaningful to me in light of the recent World Trade Towers tragedy. This is a wonderful track. The CD ends with a wispy vocal wash on a pretty ballad about returning home after being on the road, "Soon I'll be on my way." Carole is in great form on this CD.

Carole King--the most distinctive voice of our generation--returns after nearly a decade with a gift to her fans: Love Makes the World. A polished gem of an album with a variety of sounds and styles but with a red thread of familiar themes: New love, lost love, loyalty, friendship and committment. She sounds a new note here though that has been missing on her recent efforts. She speaks here about the vulnerability one feels as one moves into and through midlife. In "You Can Do Anything" she recalls a time earlier in her life when she "could do no wrong", a time in contrast to the inevitable doubts and confusions that life has brought. In the masterful suite of four songs that end the album she sings of the crucial realization that it is in committment to others and the recognition of our own "Uncommon Loves" that we can overcome the sense of loss and vulnerability that threaten our lives. Carole holds up these two visions in the last two songs of the album. In "Safe Again"--a song whose lyrics take on a new and haunting meaning in the wake of 9/11--she gives voice to midlife fears of loss and yearnings for the carefree safety and invulnerability of youth (sung with some of the best piano in popular music). In "This Time"--in my opinion, one of Carole's most beautiful songs--she sings of the realization that it is in committing to another that she can feel "safe again." And when she whispers "this time" in your ear at the song's conclusion it strikes deep to the heart. This has always been the beauty of Carole King's music--music that goes right to the heart.

It's all here--her gorgeous piano, her warm and beautiful voice and her unmistakable vision of people and love. As always, love and optimism prevail. And in these difficult days we need our artists to remind us that indeed "love makes the world."