No Secrets - CARLY SIMON***

The Right Thing To Do/The Carter Family/You're So Vain/His Friends Are More Than Fond Of Robin/We Have No Secrets/Embrace Me You Child/Waited So Long/It Was So Easy/Night Owl/When You Close Your Eyes

No Secrets was the major commercial breakthrough for singer songwriter Carly Simon. On the more introspective end of the spectrum, it is mostly rather bland. The exception is the US No. 1 and UK No. 3 You’re So Vain. (US:1 UK:3)

“She set a bad example for singer-songwriters. You're So Vain is good, but the rest of the record is introspective, yet superficial and bland.”

“Aside from two big hits, this is fairly saccharine singer-songwriter pap that really wishes it was Joni Mitchell's Blue but comes up far short of that rather lofty perch.”

“Carly Simon's No Secrets is an extraordinarily intimate confessional whose slick production values in no way insulates you from the secrets she offers up. This is the album featuring the brilliant You're So Vain, but it would be wrong to think that this pop-rock stab in the gut is the only reason for the album's success.”

“In No Secrets, she unleashes her classic hit. It's pretty much perfect and it has aged beautifully. With that rumble of a bassline which opens it to the edgy vocals and hot chorus. The rest do not touch that blistering pop tune, but it is still a solid album of literate and accessible soft rock, with glimpses of Carly's way with a melody.”

“Something about listening to this type of music really makes me feel fuzzy inside, even though it was mostly thirty years before my time. These songs remain timeless, ageless and completely enthralling despite their years. This is a classic 70s album and probably Carly Simon’s best known one. All the songs are pleasant, and sometimes poetic, rock/folk numbers.”

“Her first class vocals were pitched exactly between Carole King and Karen Carpenter. Arrangements are slick, formulaic AOR with slowish tempos, a big mistake also made by some other talented solo artists. With more exciting musicians and more urgency she was capable of cutting classic albums.”

“There is no other singer like Carly on the planet. She is truly unique and her material was so perfect for her voice and for the time period of the 70s. If only the music industry could have held steady with quality singers like her, instead of drifting into the shock value era, our culture would be better off today.”