Torch (Carly Simon album)
1981 studio album by Carly Simon
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Torch is the 10th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Warner Bros. Records, in August 1981.
| Torch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1981 | |||
| Studios | Power Station, New York City | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop | |||
| Length | 35:02 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Mike Mainieri | |||
| Carly Simon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Torch | ||||
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It was Simon's first album devoted to standards, namely torch songs, relating unrequited love or rejection. The album also features one Simon original, "From the Heart".[1] The album was recorded during her marriage breakup to James Taylor, which was announced shortly after the release of the album.
Background
Simon listened to and learned the standards while growing up in her parents house. While working on her previous album, Come Upstairs, she would jam on older songs between takes along with producer Mike Mainieri and pianist Warren Bernhardt. Her lyrical knowledge of those classic songs surprised Mainieri and Bernhardt, and the experience inspired Simon to make an album containing that type of material.[2]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
Writing in Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden called the album "a gorgeous throwback", stating Simon's "magnificent alto, with its rough-and-tumble lows and wistful highs, has never sounded better." He singled out the track "Not a Day Goes By" as "Torch's moment of truth", a "big, direct ballad", and "Simon's vocal makes you feel each stab of pain." He concluded "though Torch may be too sophisticated to storm the charts, it's nevertheless a superb example of modern mood music, performed with grace, gusto, sensuality, and intelligence."[4]
In a retrospective review from AllMusic, William Ruhlmann similarly singled out the track "Not a Day Goes By", stating that Simon delivers it "with heartbreaking conviction."[3] Simon later included the track on her two-disc career spanning collection Anthology (2002).[5]
"Hurt" was released as the albums lead single; it just missed the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 106 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
"From the Heart" was included on Simon's 2015 career retrospective Songs from the Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection).[6]
Cover artwork
The man whose arm Simon is tugging on the cover is American actor Al Corley, known for playing Steven Carrington on the 1980s soap opera Dynasty. The photographer was Lynn Goldsmith.[7]
Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[8]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blue of Blue" |
| 3:38 |
| 2. | "I'll Be Around" | Alec Wilder | 2:30 |
| 3. | "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" | 3:46 | |
| 4. | "I Get Along Without You Very Well" | Hoagy Carmichael | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Body and Soul" | 4:12 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hurt" | 3:21 | |
| 2. | "From the Heart" | Simon | 2:47 |
| 3. | "Spring Is Here" | 3:02 | |
| 4. | "Pretty Strange" | 2:59 | |
| 5. | "What Shall We Do with the Child" |
| 2:44 |
| 6. | "Not a Day Goes By (from the Broadway show Merrily We Roll Along)" | Stephen Sondheim | 2:40 |
| Total length: | 35:02 | ||
Notes
- ^a signifies a writer by additional lyrics
Personnel
Musicians
- Carly Simon – vocals
- Warren Bernhardt – acoustic piano (1, 3, 5–9, 11), synthesizers (4)
- Mike Mainieri – acoustic piano (4), vibraphone (5), marimba (10), bass marimba (10)
- Hugh McCracken – guitars (1, 2, 6), acoustic guitar (7)
- Lee Ritenour – guitars (2, 3, 9)
- Jay Berliner – classical guitar (10), folk guitar (10)
- Anthony Jackson – bass guitar (1, 3, 6, 9)
- Eddie Gomez – acoustic bass (5)
- Rick Marotta – drums (1, 3, 9)
- Grady Tate – drums (5)
- Jerry Marotta – drums (6)
- David Sanborn – alto sax solo (1, 3)
- Phil Woods – alto sax solo (5)
- Michael Brecker – tenor sax solo (6)
- Randy Brecker – trumpet solo (9)
- David Nadien – violin solo (8)
Music arrangements
- Mike Mainieri – arrangements (1–7, 9–11)
- Don Sebesky – orchestration arrangements (1, 9, 11)
- Robert L. Freedman – orchestration arrangements (2)
- Marty Paich – orchestration arrangements (3–5, 8)
- Warren Bernhardt – arrangements (8)
Production
- Mike Mainieri – producer
- Scott Litt – recording, mixing (1–7, 9–11)
- Tony Bongiovi – mixing (6)
- Garry Rindfuss – second engineer
- Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York, NY)
- Christine Martin – production coordinator
- Bill Gerber – art direction, design
- Simon Levy – art direction, design
- Lynn Goldsmith – photography
- Arlyne Rothberg – management