First things first, Bob...congrats on becoming a Grandpa! That's gotta be pretty
exciting, I suppose you already have the junior clubs bought and on the way! ;~)
I don't know specifically any of the answers to your questions about the
incestuousness of the King-Mitchell-Taylor-Kortchmar etc. stuff, I just always assumed
they always shared a mutual respect for each other's work.
I will give a shot at this one:
<<Q5. Do an album's songs really have to have such hooks that they can be liked on the
first listen in order to sell ?>>
Ironically, the album that broke King's "Tapestry" record for consecutive weeks on
Billboard's Top 200 was Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" which was WAY different.
I would not describe it as a "hook-laden poppy" effort like Tapestry, which of course
is also a masterwork in itself.
I think for a record to have this kind of massive success, either it gets LOTS of
press & hype (Peter Frampton, Ricky Martin) or it has broad appeal to many different
people (The Eagles, Garth Brooks).
EVERYBODY liked Tapestry; kids, parents, conservatives, radicals, black, white, and
all in between. It's the kind of record you would buy as a gift for someone with no
reservation. It's the kind of record you'd replace because you wore it out.
If I had a dollar for everytime I heard "It's Too Late" the summer it was a hit, I
wouldn't have to be in this cubicle right now! ;~)
Bob
NP: Smashing Pumpkins, "disarm"
