Carly Simon - Anticipation

Carly Simon Anticipation on numbered limited edition Hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity

Carly Simon's gold-selling Anticipation steeped in romantic yearning: Largely biographical record boldly addresses longing, love, and vulnerability

Mastered from the original master tapes: SACD lays bare personal emotions, rich acoustic arrangements, and vocal nuances on Carly Simon's sophomore album

Quietly intense songs informed by Simon's personal experiences and romantic relationships: Top 20 title track and "Legend In Your Own Time" inspired by Cat Stevens

Carly Simon's Carly Simon, No Secrets, and Hotcakes also available on Mobile Fidelity SACD

Carly Simon's quietly intense sophomore album comes across like an assertive notice nailed to a door for all to see. Bold, personal, and openly biographical, Anticipation announces the arrival of an artist that won't back down for anything. While Simon clearly stands her ground on her eponymous debut, she elevates her passion and persona to heightened levels throughout this gold-selling record, dealing in private matters related to love, relationships, and desire. At times, Simon is nothing short of primal, reflecting on the difficulties of retaining your own identity while also giving yourself to a partner. Musically, Simon's connection to her folk roots would never be stronger.

Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's numbered limited edition hybrid SACD lays bare the rich acoustic tapestries afforded by the spare blend of soft guitars, mellow orchestration, and dreamy melodies. Simon's attachment to and investment in each lyric is made evident by way of the intimate, hushed atmospherics and expanded dynamic range. The rhythmic framework supplied by session pro Andy Newmark's drumming is also vastly improved, with songs showcasing a better-defined midrange and low-end. And just as Simon's vocals sound more transparent and direct, so, too, do the supporting choral arrangements.

Released during a time before the 1970s singer-songwriter movement reached full bloom, Anticipation is remarkable not only for the consistently high quality of songwriting but for Simon's gutsy stance. The arresting album cover-depicting the artist holding the gates at Queen Mary's Garden in Regent's Park and seemingly defying anyone to take her on-serves as a metaphor for the content within. Beginning a now-famous string of high-profile relationships with fellow celebrities, Simon was heavily involved with Cat Stevens leading up to the recording of Anticipation, and drew from her experiences to craft tunes that continue to resonate because of their honesty, realism, and strength.

Of course, none are more widely recognized than the Top 20-charting title track, which Simon composed in just 15 minutes as she waited for Stevens to pick her up for a date. Imbued with the nervousness, tension, and excitement that accompany the moments when a romance could go either way, the Grammy-nominated "Anticipation" presages the feminist-minded vulnerability and burning longing that informs a majority of the record. On the soulful "Legend In Your Own Time," also inspired by Stevens, Simon harnesses yearning as a conduit to feel-good paradise. Deemed by Rolling Stone an "absolute clincher, an awesome description of the psychic ravages of gone-nuts, know-nothing love," her cover of Kris Kristofferson's "I've Got to Have You" moans with no-holds-barred desire and breathtaking sensuality.

 

 

1. Anticipation

2. Legend In Your Own Time

3. Our First Day Together

4. The Girl You Think You See

5. Summer’s Coming Around Again

6. Share the End

7. The Garden

8. Three Days

9. Julie Through the Glass

10. I’ve Got to Have You

Customer Reviews (4.00 Stars) 1 person(s) rated this product.

A good, but not great SACD release posted on 04/20/2018 4 Stars I purchased this title after being really impressed with the Mobile Fidelity SACD release of Carly Simon's "No Secrets," which sounds great. Actually, I purchased "Carly Simon" (released in 1971), Anticipation (released in later 1971), and No Secrets (released in 1972) all on SACD. I mention this because the SACD of Carly Simon sounds decent, this SACD (Anticipation) sounds better, and then "No Secrets" sounds the best. This SACD sounds notably better than a good sounding CD release, just not great. It is somewhat veiled - lacking some of the clarity and depth of a great SACD release. It very well could be the original recording or degradation of the master tape over time. The music itself contains several classics. If you already like the album this SACD is probably as good as it gets.

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