If you like: Joni Mitchell and Carole King or mellow yacht rock and ‘70s AOR, Another Passenger will be a splendid addition to your collection.
About: During the front half of the 1970s, Carly Simon emerged as one of the most popular stars of the American singer/songwriter movement with an impressive string of hits that included “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” “Anticipation,” and the international chart-topper “You’re So Vain”. The emotional honesty of her songs disarmed listeners and her voice was powerful enough to convey quiet vulnerability and pop swagger in equal measure. After the huge success of 1972’s No Secrets, Simon kept up a remarkably consistent chart presence, sending albums like Hotcakes (1974) and Boys in the Trees (1978) into the Top Ten while lodging another worldwide hit with her James Bond theme “Nobody Does It Better,” from The Spy Who Loved Me. Throughout the ‘80s, she increasingly mixed in soundtrack work between her albums; “Let the River Run,” Simon’s 1988 theme for the film Working Girl, made history by taking home top honors at the Academy Awards, the Grammys, and the Golden Globes. By the start of the 21st century Simon had launched a parallel career as a children’s author and, in between original outings, found continued success with a series of jazz and pop standards albums including 2005’s Top Ten Moonlight Serenade. Her 2009 release, Never Been Gone, featured acoustic reworkings of previously released material, after which she devoted the bulk of her attention to writing two memoirs Boys in the Trees: A Memoir (2015) and Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie (2019).*^{via Timothy Monger}
Why it’s worth your time: Earnestess is a roseate virtue often absent in that which topped the pop charts of the oft-commercialized mid to late ‘70s. But if there should be a single word to describe Another Passenger it would be just that–earnest. Perhaps this is the reason why Simon’s 1976 effort was less regarded by the general public and her own fans; it’s not that her previous albums weren’t honest, but that Another Passenger particularly beamed with honesty–from the rather gutsy “Fairweather Father” to the stripped-back and uncomplicated “Be With Me”. While it may not always be commercially attractive, this very quality is what provokes timelessness and where a mystifying draw to certain albums must originate–it’s why Joni Mitchell is immortalized as a hero, why Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” is so beloved decades later, and it’s certainly why this album has retained its brilliance throughout the years.
A favorite track: He Likes to Roll