Clouds In My Coffee 1965-1995

I love Carly Simon, but I couldn’t stand, “Coming Around Again.” THEN, I saw Baryshnikov in “Man in a Case.” That scene alone made me fall in love with the song. I had to buy it. If you get to see the play, GO. If you love that song, you’re going to love it even more!

I've been a fan of Carly's since I started listening to radio in the 70's. All of my favorite songs are here remastered utilizing 24-bit technology that enhanced the sonics and latter compilations just can't duplicate the sound here. In the liner notes Cary stated she had to bargain hard with former label Warner Brothers, who owns Electra, to obtain licensing to get the bulk of this material and she apologized for the glaring ommissions. After being dropped from Warner Carly did a one-off with Sony, later to become part of BMG, to release "Spoiled Girl" and the album is represented by it's biggest hit "My New Boyfriend" and while I wish "Tired Of Being Blonde" from that same lp was here I'm happy with it's lone reprensentation. Like most boxed sets Carly features outtakes and unfinished recordings, "Raining" is an outtake from "Have You Seen Me Lately" and "Angel From Montgomery" featuring a raw, young Carly was finished for this set and backing vocals were supplied from her son Ben, who by the way produced Carly's upcoming new album, stripped down versions of previous recordings. I like how this set was divided into three seperate cd's with their own titles, "The Hits," "Rare And Unreleased," and "Try Not To Cry." The cd's are generous in material and while the hit "Vengence" is missing there wouldn't be room for it, this set is totally stuffed.

The comments by the iTunes reviewer seem somewhat confused. While I agree with the assessment that Ms. Simon has been misjudged as an artist, the songs featured in this retrospective are well-chosen and really do make a solid case for a critical reassessment. It's reasonable to expect that every fan has their own playlist of favorite selections, and opinions will differ as to what an optimal selection might be. But there's so much solid, under-the-radar material gathered here that I'd recommend this collection to anyone with a love of intelligent, tuneful popular music.

I believe this was Carly Simon's original 'boxed set' in compact disc format and it holds tracks that are very difficult to find. Like 'Raining' isn't on any other LP release. 'Dink's Blues' is the original track when she was just starting with her sister Lucy Simon as the Simon Sisters and her voice is very very strong and full bodied in this solo. It wasn't until the later "Anthology" set featuring her favorite picks that you'll find a goodie like this. Worth it; recommend.