SECRET SERVICE – Carly Simon & ‘NO SECRETS’

[email protected] March 23, 2021

Whether perceived as a reaction to the excesses of psychedelia or antidote to heavy rock, trends that had or were dominating popular music as the 60s came to a close, with the unfolding of the 1970s there was no doubting the artistic and commercial impact being made by a slew of folk-based, Bob Dylan-affected singer-songwriters.

By 1971, James Taylor, Neil Young, Carole King, Randy Newman and Joni Mitchell had already pitched in with work of current and soon to be lasting resonance – their often-introspective lyrical balladry about to be joined by the auspicious debut album of Jackson Browne.

If differing in individual perspectives, Mitchell and Taylor as earnestly personal as Newman was politically acerbic, they were collectively recognised not just for their word wizardry but tendency to record in Los Angeles – thus the city became identified with soft-rock flecked by country overtones, a sound soon to be streamlined to chart-topping degree by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles.

Indeed, if Dylan has founding-father status of the movement, then Paul Simon ranks as the eldest son. Following his split with Art Garfunkel in 1970, he released a brilliant self-titled solo album, but due mainly to recording in New York – close to his New Jersey birthplace – Simon was distanced geographically and to an extent stylistically (drawing on a broader perspective than even Newman) from his California-based counterparts.

The difference in songwriting and performance sensibilities between east and west coast was also apparent on the early recordings of New Yorker Carly Simon, whose first two albums, while generating respectable sales, paled beside those of Mitchell and particularly King – their work boasting a sense of nuance and purpose that so far had eluded Simon. 

In many ways, therefore ‘Carly Simon‘ and ‘Anticipation‘ (both 1971) can be seen as rangefinders for the record that would land her worldwide acclaim – the exquisite 1972 collection ‘NO SECRETS.’ 

Born into an affluent New York family on June 25, 1945, while teenagers she and elder sister Lucy performed in a duet called the Simon Sisters in folk clubs around the city. Carly came to the attention of Bob Dylan manager Albert Grossman, who organised studio time overseen by noted producer Bob Johnston (Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds), only for the sessions to flounder. Undeterred Simon continued to write and perform, resurfacing in 1970 when offered a recording contract by Jac Holzman, head of Elektra Records.

Her first outing, despite suffering from a strangely sterile production from Eddie Kramer (who would earn kudos for his engineering contributions to the first five Led Zeppelin albums), comes with the salvation of ‘That’s the Way I Always Heard It Should Be‘ a minor masterpiece and early expression of feminism within a pop song context.

Established as an affecting singer, her strong, distinctive vocals are the redeeming feature of ‘Anticipation‘ although ‘Legend In Your Own Time,’ ‘Share The End‘ (both written in conjunction with long-term collaborator Jacob Brackman) and the radio friendly title-track also help keep the album afloat.

Recorded in London during the summer of 1971 with Paul Samwell-Smith at the controls, ‘Anticipation‘ fared no better than its predecessor in terms of sales, but twelve months later Simon went back across the Atlantic to record, this time at Trident Studios where Elektra had lined up master hit-crafter Richard Perry.

His trademark polish and precision had recently been evident on hugely successful albums by Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand and Nilsson, whose multi-million selling ‘Schmilsson‘ LP had also been recorded at Trident – Perry bringing all his commercial instincts to bear as Simon came up with a wealth of engaging, largely autobiographical material.

Continuing with her established themes of family dramas and ambivalent love songs, the folk overtones of her previous albums are cast off in favour of a sound with far more buoyancy, Perry showing his customary deft touch no matter the mood or tempo of the track.

The change in emphasis from where say Joan Baez and Judy Collins had been to where Linda Ronstadt was heading is evident in opening number ‘The Right Thing To Do.’ Built on a warm piano melody the first few words ‘There’s nothing you can do,’ immediately evokes ‘My Guy‘ by Mary Wells. With pristine background vocals and a breezy string arrangement it has the feel of classic mid-60s Motown – in other words, superbly crafted pop.

But that is not to overlook a tender, touching lyric (‘Hold me in your arms like a bunch of flowers/Move me with your sweetest song‘), her muse fired by onset of a romance with James Taylor, who despite being in faraway Los Angeles receives reassurance in the form of ‘Even though you’re ten thousand miles away/I’ll love you tomorrow as I love you today.’

Piano is also to the fore on ‘The Carter Family‘ (the first of two co-writes with Brackman), Simon drawing on past experience in rebuking herself for not showing more appreciation to Gwen, a childhood friend of the aforementioned family who lived next door, her deceased Grandmother and a lover now consigned to history. The input from an unobtrusive string section adds to the poignancy of an impressive piece, Simon inducing sympathy for those she once maligned without ever sounding sentimental.

Neither is there any sentimentality on show in ‘You’re So Vain‘ – soon to become her signature hit, the person (or persons) in question described in the most sarcastic terms yet heard within a rock song.

From the cascading bass lines of Beatle-acolyte Klaus Voorman, through the stinging verses, sneering chorus, distinctive Jimmy Ryan guitar solo and expressive strings, ‘You’re So Vain‘ like ‘Alright Now‘ and ‘Maggie May‘ is a quintessential track of the era – only with Simon turning the tables on behalf of wronged women as opposed to Free and Rod Stewart who lamented, like many male songwriters before them, their treatment at the hands of femme fatales.

Whether or not the ‘yacht,’ ‘apricot‘ and ‘gavotte‘ couplets of the first verse are to your taste (they were not to the liking of esteemed rock critic Robert Christgau who called them a ‘joke‘ in being dismissive of the whole album), there is no shortage of speculation in and between the lines of a suggestive, highly charged lyric. Giving rise to rumours this sultry tale was based on her love affairs with either Kris Kristofferson, Cat Stevens or, most probably, actor and renowned Lothario Warren Beatty, the intrigue further increased with the appearance of Mick Jagger on backing vocals.

With the passing of time Simon has revealed verse two is about Beatty, although some of the imagery in the last verse (‘You’re where you should be all the time and when you’re not you’re with/An underworld spy or the wife of a close friend‘) appears Beatty-directed – and although she has strenuously denied Mick providing inspiration, the figure walking onto a yacht in the first line could not be more Jaggeresque.

If anything, ‘His Friends Are More Than Fond Of Robin‘ is even more ambiguous, Simon hard to pin down with regard to meaning, Perry keeping a tight rein on the keyboards and strings as if aware the lyric provides more than enough complexity.

Similar in structure, ‘Embrace Me, You Child‘ boasts a superb Paul Buckmaster string arrangement (his name made on David Bowie and Elton John albums of the time), the song incorporates some unorthodox melodic shifts of a sort not found on a Joni Mitchell or Carole King song from this era – Simon showcasing an astonishing vocal range on a piece she has described as ‘ a scream of anguish and pleading for my father’s love, which I didn’t have.’

Effectively the title-track ‘We Have No Secrets‘ is immensely likeable, Simon setting out over intertwining piano and acoustic guitar how she and Taylor are now an open book to each other – only for the spectre of (his) previous romantic entanglements to occasionally cloud her mind, Carly revealing in the bridge:

‘In the name of honesty, in the name of what is fair/You always answer my questions, but they don’t always answer my prayers.’

This delightful cut, another fine example of the fusion between Simon and producer Perry, receives added illumination with more atmospheric electric guitar work from Ryan – the case for honesty in regard of past liaisons being made right up to the point she inserts ‘most‘ into the closing line of ‘telling each other everything now.’

With ‘Waited So Long‘ and ‘It Was So Easy‘ there is clear evidence of Perry being attuned to prevailing trends, the former flavoured with the country-rock Stephen Stills was currently purveying.

The group with whom he was best known are then heard in the margins of ‘It Was So Easy‘ – Brackman penning a genial, free-spirited lyric (‘I remember a time when our fears could be named and courage meant not refusing dares‘) for a beautifully delivered, around-the-campfire ballad in the vein of ‘Teach Your Children.’

The sole cover version, somewhat naturally, is an energetic reading of Taylor’s ‘Night Owl,’ the hand claps, piano and sax breaks giving it the feel of something King might have kept up her sleeve for a follow-up to ‘Tapestry,’ while ‘When You Close Your Eyes‘ not only serves as a sweet lullaby to finish on, it also forges another connection with Taylor – no coincidence surely there was a song entitled ‘You Can Close Your Eyes‘ on his most recent album.

On the strength of ‘You’re So Vain‘ taking singles charts around the world by storm, ‘No Secrets‘ became an immediate best-seller, spending five weeks at number one on the US albums chart in the early weeks of 1973. While critical reaction was approving rather than ecstatic, few disputed it was her most accomplished work (status it still holds), although in a somewhat bizarre poll of their top forty albums of 1972, Rolling Stone magazine placed ‘No Secrets‘ at 27 – above ‘Ziggy Stardust‘ but below ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz,’ the most wildly erratic LP thus far released by The Kinks.

Often perceived as the third great female album of the time, ‘No Secrets‘ while remaining highly respected has never been afforded the hallowed status of ‘Blue‘ or ‘Tapestry‘ – yet due to its iconic cover, could be the most resonant.

With marriage to James soon to follow, turning them into the Burton & Taylor of rock, Carly is photographed in Notting Hill Gate, London, resplendent in floppy hat, pastoral colours and in a display, perhaps, of feminist solidarity is also bra-less.

Every inch an early-70s female style icon, but with the words and music to match, just a few years later Diane Keaton became the cinematic embodiment of Carly Simon and her ‘No Secrets‘ persona with an Oscar winning performance in the title role of ‘Annie Hall.’

CARLY SIMON – ‘NO SECRETS‘ (Released November 28 1972):

The Right Thing To Do/The Carter Family/You’re So Vain/His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin/We Have No Secrets/Embrace Me, You Child/Waited So Long/It Was So Easy/Night Owl/When You Close Your Eyes;

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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as Amazon Kindle book.