No Secrets (Carly Simon album)

No Secrets is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released on November 28, 1972, by Elektra Records.

No Secrets
Studio album by
Carly Simon
ReleasedNovember 28, 1972
RecordedSeptember–October 1972
StudioTrident Studios
(London, England)
GenrePop rock[1]
Length35:58
LabelElektra
ProducerRichard Perry
Carly Simon chronology
Anticipation
(1971)		 No Secrets
(1972)		 Hotcakes
(1974)
Singles from No Secrets
  1. "You're So Vain"
    Released: November 1972
  2. "The Right Thing to Do"
    Released: March 1973

The album was Simon's major commercial breakthrough; it spent five weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart and quickly went Gold,[2] as did its lead single, "You're So Vain", which remained at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks, and the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks.[3] Twenty-five years after its initial release, No Secrets was officially certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 12, 1997.[2] The album is ranked No. 997 in All-Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd. edition, 2000).[4]

Recording and packaging

"Angel from Montgomery" was recorded by Carly Simon in her first session for the No Secrets album which was produced by Paul Buckmaster and featured James Taylor's vocals and Danny Kortchmar on guitar. Simon recalls: "Elektra rejected [the tracks from that session] and...asked me to work with Richard Perry. [Elektra] didn't think Buckmaster would produce a hit record for me".[5]

At the invitation of producer Richard Perry, Simon recorded the album at Trident Studios in London, where Perry was keen for Simon to work with engineer Robin Cable. Trident Studios had previously been the venue for the recording of notable albums including The Beatles' White Album, David Bowie's Space Oddity and Elton John's second album.

The photograph for the cover, taken by Ed Caraeff, was shot in front of the Portobello Hotel, on Stanley Gardens in London's Notting Hill.[6]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB–[7]

Initial reviews for No Secrets were mixed to positive. Robert Christgau, writing in Creem, said, "if a horse could sing in a monotone, the horse would sound like Carly Simon, only a horse wouldn't rhyme 'yacht', 'apricot', and 'gavotte'. Is that some kind of joke?"[8] Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone concluded that "what finally makes No Secrets so refreshing is her singing, which conveys the finest spirit of patrician generosity."[9]

More recent reviews have been much more positive. For example, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann gave the album four-and-a-half stars (out of five). Ruhlmann noted that "You're So Vain", "set the album's saucy tone, with its air of sexually frank autobiography and its reflections on the jet-set lifestyle." He also stated that "now that she felt she had found true love, she was as willing to acknowledge her own mistakes and regrets as she was to point fingers." He concluded that "Perry paid particular attention to Simon's vocals and gave her music a new pop/rock 'buoyancy that previous albums lacked'."[1]

"You're So Vain" is ranked at No. 72 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All-Time.[10] The song was also voted No. 216 in RIAA's Songs of the Century. It remains Simon's biggest hit and is considered her signature song.

The making of the album, including commentary from many of the main musicians and production staff, was examined in the 2017 documentary Carly Simon: No Secrets directed by Guy Evans for Eagle Rock Film Productions.[11]

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee/work Award Recipient Result
1974 "You're So Vain" Record of the Year Carly Simon[12] Nominated
Song of the Year Nominated
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female Nominated
No Secrets Best Engineered Recording Robin Geoffrey Cable and Bill Schnee[13] Nominated
2004 "You're So Vain" Grammy Hall of Fame Award Carly Simon[12] Inducted

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[14]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Right Thing to Do"Carly Simon2:57
2."The Carter Family"
3:29
3."You're So Vain"Simon4:17
4."His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin"Simon3:00
5."We Have No Secrets"Simon3:57
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Embrace Me, You Child"Simon4:06
2."Waited So Long"Simon4:14
3."It Was So Easy"
  • Simon
  • Brackman
3:06
4."Night Owl"James Taylor3:47
5."When You Close Your Eyes"
  • Simon
  • Bill Mernit
3:05
Total length:35:58

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[14]

Production

  • Richard Perry – producer
  • Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer, recording, remixing
  • Mark Berry – recording
  • Bill Schnee – engineer, remixing
  • Doug Sax – disc cutting
  • Robert L. Heimall – art direction, design
  • Ed Caraeff – cover photography
  • Peter Simon – inner sleeve photography
  • David Katz – musicians contractor

Charts and certifications

References
  1. Ruhlmann, William. No Secrets at AllMusic. Retrieved March 14, 2006.
  2. RIAA (February 2, 2010). "RIAA – Gold & Platinum – February 28, 2010". RIAA. Retrieved February 28, 2010. (table of RIAA certifications for artist Carly Simon in format ALBUM)
  3. RIAA (February 2, 2010). "RIAA – Gold & Platinum – February 28, 2010". RIAA. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2010. (table of RIAA certifications for artist Carly Simon in format SINGLE)
  4. "Rocklist". Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  5. Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Walter Neff. "Carly Simon – Album Covers: No Secrets (1972)". carlysimonalbumcovers. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  7. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  8. Christgau, Robert (April 1973). "The Christgau Consumer Guide: Carly Simon: No Secrets". Creem. Retrieved November 7, 2011. Also included in "Carly Simon > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 14, 2006.
  9. Holden, Stephen (January 4, 1973). "Carly Simon No Secrets > Album Review". Rolling Stone (125). Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  10. "Billboard Hot 100 Chart 50th Anniversary". Billboard.com. May 2, 1994. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  11. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08pg5tq
  12. "Carly Simon". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  13. "Grammy Awards 1974". Awards&Shows.com. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  14. No Secrets (booklet). Carly Simon. Elektra. 1972.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. Library and Archives Canada. Archived March 14, 2016[Date mismatch], at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 20, 2013
  17. "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  18. "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1973" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  19. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  20. "norwegiancharts.com Carly Simon – No Secrets" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  21. "The Official Charts Company – Carly Simon – No Secrets (original soundtrack)" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  22. "allmusic ((( No Secrets > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  23. "Album Search: Carly Simon – No Secrets" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  24. "Les Albums (CD) de 1973 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on October 27, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  25. "Top Pop Albums of 1973". Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  26. "British album certifications – Carly Simon – No Secrets". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 20, 2013. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type No Secrets in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  27. "American album certifications – Carly Simon – No Secrets". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 20, 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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