I’m not a big fan of tribute albums (because most of them are mediocre) but Tapestry Revisited is an exception. I grew up listening to dozens of songs written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin during the Sixties. Then, King and Goffin divorced and Carole King released a solo album, Tapestry in 1971. Tapestry would go on to become a classic.
Tapestry Revisited came in 1995 and features a curious mix of performers who sing all the songs–with slightly different arrangements–included on the original Tapestry album.
Rod Stewart had a hit with “So Far Away.” Celine Dion performed “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” when Diane and I saw her in concert. Amy Grant performed “It’s Too Late” when we saw her in concert.
If you’re a Carole King fan, you will enjoy this CD. If you love Tapestry, you’ll find a lot to like on this tribute CD. Are you a Carole King fan? Did you buy a copy of Tapestry when it first came out? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
| 1. | “I Feel the Earth Move“ | Carole King | Eternal | 4:59 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | “So Far Away“ | Carole King | Rod Stewart | 4:25 |
| 3. | “It’s Too Late“ | Carole King; Toni Stern | Amy Grant | 3:59 |
| 4. | “Home Again” | Carole King | Curtis Stigers | 3:41 |
| 5. | “Beautiful“ | Carole King | Richard Marx | 3:46 |
| 6. | “Way Over Yonder” | Carole King | Blessid Union of Souls | 3:54 |
| 7. | “You’ve Got a Friend“ | Carole King | BeBe & CeCe Winans featuring Aretha Franklin | 6:03 |
| 8. | “Where You Lead“ | Carole King; Toni Stern | Faith Hill | 3:32 |
| 9. | “Will You Love Me Tomorrow“ | Carole King; Gerry Goffin | Bee Gees | 5:02 |
| 10. | “Smackwater Jack“ | Carole King; Gerry Goffin | The Manhattan Transfer | 4:37 |
| 11. | “Tapestry” | Carole King | All-4-One | 3:12 |
| 12. | “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman“ | Carole King; Gerry Goffin; Jerry Wexler | Celine Dion | 3:43 |
With the exceptions of Rod Stewart, Aretha and Bee Gees there isn’t anyone here I like . I especially dislike The Manhattan Transfer, Celine Dion and Curtis Stigers. And Richard Marx and Amy Grant are pretty lightweight. And who the hell are Eternal and All-4-1? I would pass this one up for sure.
Steve, I don’t know who Eternal and All-4-1 are. They sound okay. I’m lukewarm on The Manhattan Transfer, too.
I love the Manhattan Transfer, it’s a jazz thing, I think, saw them live a couple of times, had all the albums on…cassette.
Rick, Diane and I have seen The Manhattan Transfer in concert. Very lively and audience friendly. I do have some of their CDs.
In every case, I prefer King’s version to the version on this album. Of course, no one did “Natural Woman” like Aretha; and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” was a Shirelles’ hit long back when King was known primarily as a writer. I’ll stick with the original Tapestry album.
Deb, I’m with you on the quality of the songs on the original TAPESTRY album. The original is superior to this tribute CD, but it was fun hearing these covers.
Yes, I loved “Tapestry” and still do, but I wouldn’t have this thing if somebody gave it to me.
Michael, I think Rod Stewart does a nice job covering “So Far Away.”
Strikes me as a really great Valentine Gift for women “of a certain age.”
Dan, I guessing that’s who the producers of this album were aiming at when they put this CD together. Marketing is everything.
No, TALENT is everything.
Rick, I’m with you on Talent. Some people have it, most people don’t.
Played Tapestry to death. She was not always the best interpreter of her songs but she could write.
Patti, I agree with you on Carole King’s “interpretations” of her songs. Others did them better. Carol King and Gerry Goffin wrote many of my favorite songs from the Sixties.
Most people don’t realize that King wrote the music and Goffin wrote the lyrics when they wrote together.
Steve, I love Goffin’s lyrics, but you can sense despair and darkness behind many of them.
Of course I like Carole’s songs and bought Tapestry as soon as it was available in Germany!
From 1970 I had a real job and could afford buying LPs – which were relatively expensive.
And I also had the advantage of doing business trips all over Germany so I could look for the latest stuff everywhere – from Munich and Frankfurt to Düsseldorf and Hamburg.
Those were the days!
Don’t know if the following is is an Urban Legend:
Carole had written a new song in the Brill Building and wanted to discuss with her boss who should sing this. She did a demonstration, singing and accompanying herself on the piano and then her boss said something like:
This is it, let’s record it!
Wolf, love those Brill Building stories! I played TAPESTRY constantly. And, when CDs became available in the 1980s, TAPESTRY was one of the first ones I bought!
I liked Tapestry, and bought the LP Don’t think I’d appreciate this one, especially without Aretha singing Natural Woman (why Celine Dion???? Why???)
Maggie, I’m sure the choices of singers had a lot to do with marketing this CD at the time.
Yes, we bought TAPESTRY and still play it. We saw Carole in concert in the round at Madison Square Garden with James Taylor, who, of course, had the #1 hit version of “You’ve Got a Friend.” Taylor also did a nice version of her “Up on the Roof.” I love Aretha’s version of “Natural Woman” and I am not a fan of Celine Dion. The one song I’ve never cared for on the album (even Carole’s own version) is “Smackwater Jack.” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” is a classic no matter who does it. We saw BEAUTIFUL on Broadway and enjoyed the songs all over again.
Jeff, we loved BEAUTIFUL, too. Great music, sad life.
I bought Tapestry on LP and played it lots, but when I sold all my vinyl (in one massive deal to one guy, every album, pop, rock, classical, jazz, comedy, ALL of it) I didn’t replace King’s albums with CDs.
Rick, we also sold all of our vinyl to a local record dealer in 1986. But, I slowly bought CD replacements for our favorites as well as buying current CDs.
Yes, got rid of the vinyl and we did replace TAPESTRY and other favorites.
“Tapestry” was not only a great album, it appeared in a sweet spot in time before musical tastes had undergone the extreme fragmentation that would come in the next decade, and it became one of those rare albums that everybody loved.
Never rid myself of vinyl (why would I?–a fair amount hasn’t been released on CD). Any more than I’ve rid myself of CDs when most music went online (stress Most).
I generally like Manhattan Transfer, but I do dislike the Bee Gees intensely. Ever hear the Willie Nelson tribute album TWISTED WILLIE? Among my favorites of this sort of thing. A few so-so tracks but most good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLi21kvZoCw
Todd, both Patrick and Katie urge me to get rid of all my CDs–because everything is available online–but I can’t bring myself to do it. I love the CD artwork/photos. I like the liner notes. I like the sound of CDs playing on my stereo system that Art Scott put together for me. But, I am looking into donating my thousands of CDs to SUNY at Buffalo’s Music Library.