Editor’s Note: From Albumism’s inception back in 2016, we’ve remained unabashedly and unequivocally passionate about our mission of celebrating the world's love affairs with albums past, present and future.
But while our devotion to the album as an art form has remained steadfast, as evidenced by our deepening repository of individual album tributes and reviews, we’ve admittedly seldom taken the opportunity to explicitly articulate our reverence for the virtues of artists’ complete album repertoires as a whole.
Hence why we’ve decided to showcase what we believe to be the most dynamic discographies of all time in this recurring series. In doing so, we hope to better understand the broader creative context within which our most beloved individual albums exist, while acknowledging the full breadth of their creators’ artistry, career arcs, and overall contributions to the ever-evolving musical landscape.
We hope you enjoy this series and be sure to check here periodically for the latest installments.
CARLY SIMON
Studio Albums: Carly Simon (1971) | Anticipation (1971) | No Secrets (1972) | Hotcakes (1974) | Playing Possum (1975) | Another Passenger (1976) | Boys in the Trees (1978) | Spy (1979) | Come Upstairs (1980) | Torch (1981) | Hello Big Man (1983) | Spoiled Girl (1985) | Coming Around Again (1987) | My Romance (1990) | Have You Seen Me Lately (1990) | Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera (1993) | Letters Never Sent (1994) | Film Noir (1997) | The Bedroom Tapes (2000) | Christmas Is Almost Here (2002) | Moonlight Serenade (2005) | Into White (2007) | This Kind of Love (2008) | Never Been Gone (2009) | Readers’ Poll Results
For all the hit charters that Carly Simon has yielded throughout her career, they’re only outnumbered by an even more robust assortment of studio albums that those singles call home. Kicking off her solo career in 1971 with her eponymous debut, Simon’s erudite lyricism and expansive pop style were triumphantly established with the record buying public. Carly Simon not only produced an era-defining smash with “That’s the Way I Always Heard It Should Be”—and garnered a GRAMMY Award for “Best New Artist” in 1972—it set Simon’s soon-to-be unparalleled balancing act between strong singles fare and compelling album cuts.
Throughout the remainder of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, Simon produced a wealth of diverse, evocative and creatively inventive long players which kept that cited balancing act front and center in her work. For me, Simon’s discography has played a seminal role in firming up my interest in “catalog artists” and I keep discovering new things within Simon’s output almost seventeen years after I dove headfirst into her canon.
Quentin’s 3 Favorite Carly Simon Albums of All Time:
1. Spy (1979)
2. Another Passenger (1976)
3. Film Noir (1997)
VISIT Carly Simon’s Official Store
LISTEN & WATCH: