Happy 45th Anniversary to Carly Simon’s sixth studio album Another Passenger, originally released June 5, 1976.
In 1975, it was Carly Simon’s world—everyone else was just living in it.
After signing to Elektra Records in 1970, a string of smash hit albums directly ensued with Carly Simon (1971), Anticipation (1971), No Secrets (1972) and Hotcakes (1974). Her courtship with fellow singer-songwriter James Taylor only served to heighten the collective interest in Simon shared by record-buyers and the music press alike—the couple wed on November 3, 1972.
Unveiled on April 21, 1975, Simon’s fifth studio set Playing Possum was an even more soulful and sensual affair than what had come before. What should have been a commercial and critical slam dunk instead was met with soft sales and lukewarm notices. Though Simon’s capital as a popular culture fixture remained undiminished, the New York born writer, singer and musician was not content to let her celebrity outpace her art.
Mixed reception aside, Playing Possum was a milestone for Simon, and she was determined to see its experimental ethos carried over onto her sixth LP, Another Passenger. The first step toward its creation came with the decision of who would supervise its production. Simon and Richard Perry were politely parting after an impressive three-album run with No Secrets, Hotcakes and Playing Possum—she elected Ted Templeman to fill the void Perry left behind.
Prior to his tenure in superintending Simon’s long player, Templeman had guided projects for Van Morrison, Captain Beefheart, Montrose and the Doobie Brothers; it was the latter act’s sixth effort, Takin’ It to the Streets (released March 19, 1976), that Templeman tasked over in tandem alongside Another Passenger.
While Simon wasn’t unfamiliar with the inside of recording studios in the Golden State, this would be her first time making an entire album out on the West Coast. Because of that—and her instant creative rapport with Templeman—a discernible touch of that early-to-mid-1970s “California rock” vibe could be heard on certain parts of Another Passenger; however, Simon did not lose her progressive aestheticism. She absorbed the sinewy guitar-oriented sound of that epoch and cast it in her sonic image via “Half a Chance,” “It Keeps You Runnin’” and “One Love Stand.” On these selections (and throughout the whole of Another Passenger) the rhythm section is dually flavorful and robust thanks to Templeman.
And yet, for all the remarkable bass, drum and percussion work here, Simon never relinquishes her usage of melody. Possessed of an ever-adventurous spirit, Simon steers Templeman’s smithing abilities to have him render eclectic stock in Latin jazz fusion (“He Likes to Roll”), ornate symphonic pop (“Darkness ‘Til Dawn”) and cinematic AOR (“Libby”) shapes.
Simon’s familiar folk approach still packs an effective punch per “Fairweather Father” and “Be with Me”—vocally speaking, they beautifully showcase the unique grain and texture of Simon’s instrument. These entries had to have yielded comfort to those listeners specifically looking for material on Another Passenger that recalled her pre-Playing Possum albums. But her continued engagement with the folk genre wasn’t down to a desire to echo her past for her fans, it was because Simon found something of artistic value in refining that space for herself.
The vibrancy of the music on Another Passenger is only matched by the intensity of its scripts. Barring “It Keeps You Runnin’” and “One Love Stand,” written respectively by Michael McDonald and the gentlemen of Little Feat, the remaining ten tracks on Another Passenger sprang from Simon’s pen; on five of those ten cuts she invited songwriter Zach Wiesner and longtime friend/collaborator Jacob Brackman to partner with her in a co-writing capacity—they did not obstruct her narrative voice.
By now, Simon was well known for material that moved between gripping character studies and song stories often inspired by events in her life. Regarding the former category, pieces such as “Cow Town,” “Riverboat Gambler” and “Dishonest Modesty” have her cleverly exploring a host of romantic/social conventions that are as relevant today as they were decades ago. With the latter aspect, Simon investigates her marriage to James Taylor unflinchingly, capturing its simple pleasures (“Be with Me”) and darker complexities (“In Times When My Head”).
Upon its completion, Simon and the upper management at Elektra Records decided to introduce Another Passenger with “It Keeps You Runnin’”—this decision made sense given that the pop-rock persuasion of the track was ideally suited for the radio and retail outlets of the period, but set in Simon’s own proven style simultaneously. Further, the single featured the Doobie Brothers operating behind Simon which pointed to the other talent she corralled for backing vox and session player purposes on select sides for Another Passenger. Some of those guests included Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, the previously cited Little Feat and Simon’s husband.
The Doobie Brothers had designed their own version of “It Keeps You Runnin’” first; it was a deep cut on Takin’ It to the Streets prior to being chosen as its third single in the fall of 1976. Simon sent her take of the song out earlier that spring, but its modest impact in the lower regions of the U.S. Top 40 did not bode well for Another Passenger only weeks out from its early June release.
Reviews were warmer for Another Passenger, yet the collection performed diminutively on the charts in America; “Half a Chance,” its second (and final) single, got the go-ahead in August 1976. Simon’s second pregnancy—coquettishly disguised by photographer Mary Ellen Mark on the back album jacket artwork—with son Ben Taylor meant limited promotion for Another Passenger.
A return to commercial prominence was just around the bend for Simon, however. “Nobody Does It Better”—the James Bond theme for The Spy Who Loved Me as conceived by Carole Bayer Sager and the late Marvin Hamlisch—was issued in the summer of 1977. It became Simon’s best showing for a single since “Attitude Dancing” back in 1975. Her seventh long player, Boys in the Trees (1978), wound up as one of her strongest sellers and kept up the innovative momentum initiated with its two anterior records.
Circumstances seemingly aligned to prevent Another Passenger from finding the larger audience it deserved, but it has gone on to gain an ardent following with Simon loyalists. A closer examination of her output reveals Another Passenger as an essential feature of Simon’s most adventurous album strata that spans from 1975 to 1983—its depth and prowess make it a vital listening experience forty-five years later.
This retrospective is dedicated to the memory of Jack Mauro.
Read more about Quentin Harrison’s perspective on Carly Simon in his book Record Redux: Carly Simon, available physically and digitally now. Other entries currently available in his ‘Record Redux Series’ include Donna Summer, Madonna and Kylie Minogue. His forthcoming book is a large-scale overhaul of his first book Record Redux: Spice Girls due out in the summer of 2021.
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