The career of Carole King now spans 50 years. She began her career in the late 1950s as part of the great Goffin-King songwriting team. During the 1970s she produced a series of critically acclaimed and platinum selling albums, including Tapestry.
However over the course of the last quarter century, King has released a series of albums that have suffered from a musical sameness, resulting in decreasing appeal and sales. So it was with some trepidation I approached this disc, but it turns out to be by far the best Carole King album of the last 25 years.
The album begins slowly. “Love Makes The World” and “You Can Do Anything” are both uptempo pop songs in the traditional King mode. Her laid back vocals are out front of restrained guitar, piano and drums with some sax thrown in for good measure. Nothing brilliant here, but pleasant.
“The Reason” begins as a slow ballad and builds to a surprising rocking conclusion. Carole King stretches vocally more here than she has in years and it’s good to hear her music actually rock. I Wasn’t Gonna Fall In Love With You” is a nice counterpoint song with a mellow sax, while “I Don’t Know” is a rocking love song with a stop/start tempo.
The old warhorse “Oh No Not My Baby” is slowed down and features King’s voice over just piano and acoustic bass. “It Could Have Been Anyone” is a great mid tempo love song, while “Monday With You” is another great rocking song that builds vocally upon itself. “An Uncommon Love” is a strong love ballad, coming near the end of what turns out to be a rather satisfying effort.
Recently re-released as a two-disc deluxe edition, Love Makes The World‘s bonus disc includes five songs and four video tracks. “Birthday Song,” “Love For Christmas” and “Where You Lead I Will Follow” are average but “Two Hearts” is excellent. The video tracks are two live performances plus the making of the album stuff and an interview with King. This fare is mostly forgettable.
Love Makes The World is a wonderful album that ages well with each playing. It shows that Carole King can still produce interesting and relevant music after almost 50 years in the business.
