Elektra 75049
Producer: Richard Perry
Track listing: The Right Thing to Do / The Carter Family / You’re So Vain / His Friends Are More Than Found of Robin / We Have No Secrets / Embrace Me, You Child / Waited So Long / It Was So Easy / Night Owl / When You Close Your Eyes
January 13, 1973
5 weeks
Even before Carly Simon released her debut album, she was surrounded by good company. In 1966, Bob Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman arranged recording sessions with the Band’s Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel. Dylan even rewrote the lyrics to “Baby Let Me Follow You Down” specifically for Simon. However, the sessions were aborted after Simon and Grossman had a disagreement.
It took several years for Simon to resurface, but it turned out to be worth the wait. Her self-titled 1971 debut, featuring the top 10 hit “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” reached number 30. Her follow-up, Anticipation, included the title track, which reached number 13, while that album also clocked in at number 30. In March 1972, Simon picked up a Grammy for best new artist and was poised to record the best album of her career.
It happened at Trident Studios in London during September and October of 1982.. Richard Perry was enlisted to produce No Secrets by Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman. “Since her first album came out, I had always wanted to produce her,” says Perry. “So, when Jac called me, it was kind of like fate.” Initially, Simon began working on an album with Paul Buckmaster, known for his string arrangements on Elton John’s albums, but project was shelved at Holzman’s insistence and Perry was hired on. At first, Simon was hesitant to work with Perry. She feared that the producer, known primarily for his work with Barbra Streisand and Nilsson, would make her record sound too slick. Perry, however, did just the opposite, giving Simon more of a rock edge.
The album featured several noted session players, including Beatles associate Klaus Voorman, who played bass on every track. “Everyone was very upbeat,” says Perry. “We had a very homogeneous group of musicians and Carly was in great form and happy to be there. We all had the feeling that we were in the middle of making a record that had enormous potential and lasting significance.”
“You’re So Vain,” which would turn out to be the album’s best-known song, was also the most difficult to complete. “We had to cut that on three separate occasions until we got it right, each time with a different drummer” says Perry. “It’s a very unique piece of material, because it starts out very quietly and slowly builds leading up to the chorus. It was a little tricky to achieve that.”
The uncredited backing vocalist on the song is Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. Originally, Harry Nilsson was also featured, but he had a change of heart. “Harry just said, ‘I don’t think the two of you need me,’ so he backed out,” Simon says. Adds Perry, “Carly suggested that Mick sing backing vocals on it, but after we had the track complete, we temporarily abandoned the idea, because we all felt it was a hit the way it was. But then, one afternoon he just showed up in the studio. After Carly and Mick did the backing vocals together, Carly went out and re-cut her lead vocal again. She had already sung it, but she was so inspired by the backing vocal session, she just went out and did it in one or two takes and surpassed her original.”
Even today, the question of who Simon is addressing in the song remains a mystery, although actor Warren Beatty and Jagger are often mentioned as possible subjects. “It’s kind of funny and it proves the point that if you leave a question unanswered, people stay much more interested,” Simon says. “I’m perfectly aware that it would be anticlimactic to tell.”
No Secrets also included a song written by James Taylor, who Simon married on November 3, 1972. “Carly wanted to record one of James’s songs and I suggested ‘Night Owl,’ because I knew it was a funkier, bluesier tune than his more folk-oriented material,” says Perry. “It turned out to be a great track.” The song features the McCartneys on backing vocals, who were credited merely as “Paul and Linda” on the album’s sleeve. “They had been recording the title song for Live and Let Die in the room next door,” he adds.
On January 6, 1973, “You’re So Vain hit the top of the Hot 100. The following week, No Secrets topped the album chart, while he single was still locked in at Number One.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of January 13, 1973
1. No Secrets, Carly Simon
2. Seventh Sojourn, Moody Blues
3. Rhymes & Reasons, Carole King
4. One Man Dog, James Taylor
5. Living in the Past, Jethro Tull