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Rock/pop

Carole King: The Legendary Demos

The Legendary Demos
Carole King: The Legendary Demos
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  • Sonics
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Any boomer who ever fell in or out of love listening to Carole King’s many contributions to the American Pop Songbook will enjoy these 13 previously unreleased demos of songs made popular by Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, the Monkees, the Everly Brothers, the Righteous Brothers, Bobby Vee, and the Knickerbockers—as well as King herself on her blockbuster 1971 solo album Tapestry. These standards-in-the rough, several co-written with ex-husband Gerry Goffin, include “(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “It’s Too Late,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” She can go off key at times, but her emotionally raw take on “Way Over Yonder” alone is worth the price of admission. There also are obscure gems, especially the wistful “So Goes Love,” recorded by the Turtles in 1967 (but only released on their Repertoire Records re- issue of Happy Together). Sonically, these bare-bone recordings vary in quality, though a couple, like the unplugged “Pleasant Valley Sunshine” and “So Goes Love,” are arranged for a small band (it’s intriguing to realize that King could have released these demos commercially in the mid-60s and become a sunshine-pop star in her own right). 

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