SC Joni Guy replied:
"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 also noticed that Carole King played piano on the Sweet Baby James album in
1970. So, they had been working together for over a year, at least, it seems.
Quite a scene back then, that Laurel Canyon !
Bob M also replied:
"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 ?>>
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."
Yes, I agree with your focus there - one does not have to think an album is
the greatest to buy it, one must simply think it is worth buying. Clearly, in
Tapestry's case, just about everyone thought so. And equally clearly in
Blue's case, not everyone did. As I have said before, the average American is
a scary thing (not to excuse the average Canadian, Brit, Aussie, etc.) :-)
