Tapestry - Carole King

I've always believed that one of the great things about meeting someone new, other than the boring clap-trap of getting to know their football allegiances, politics, beliefs etc is taking a peep at their music collection. Not only is this a lot of fun, but it also reveals a great deal about their personality. Probably a lot more than listening to them go on and on about their family holidays to Skegness or the time that they got lost in Tesco when they were shopping with their mam......

Yes a music collection can be very revealing. Do they have a penchant for 70s disco? If so they probably like a good night out. Are there a couple of folk albums in the mix? They probably have a fondness for pubs and the outdoors. Spot any Phil Collins? RUN!

Then there are things that can be discerned from the absences; gaps reveal a great deal. No Beatles, Stones, Dylan or Grateful Dead? Obviously not interested in the classics or mining the past for musical kicks. A forward looking individual with no time for nostalgia? What about blues, jazz or trip-hop. All these give of essential clues to their psychological make up.

Then there is the compatibility test. Do they have any of the albums that you would consider to be the life blood of your musical tastes? The albums that you would rather give up an appendage or internal organ than be without; The Stone Roses debut, Revolver by The Beatles, Green by R.E.M. or Now That's What I Call Music 46. If you really like them then maybe you can settle for one or two tracks from such classics. Maybe.

So when I started looking through Sarah's huge collection of music I started to understand a lot more; nodding sagely when I came across albums that I owned, chuckling at those that I thought were 'silly' and investigating those that I had not heard of. Surely not! Too many of the latter category can make you feel rather inadequate. And that is where this album comes in. I'm ashamed to say that I'd never heard of it. I know. Well it never really came onto my radar. After all it's only one of the best selling album of all time. But when I picked it up my curiosity was piqued. So it went into Sarah's CD played whilst we chatted.

I was gobsmacked. Firstly due to the sheer quality of the songwriting - almost all of the tracks on there have been huge hits for other artists. Pop standards. And there was me thinking that the definitive version of  'I Feel The Earth Move' was by Martika! How wrong I was. Secondly because I approached the reconnaissance mission with an air of superiority and never expected to find anything truly enlightening. To understand the effect it had let's take a moment to look at the track listing;



'I Feel the Earth Move'
'So Far Away'
'It's Too Late'
'Home Again'
'Beautiful'
'Way Over Yonder'
'You've Got a Friend'
'Where You Lead'
'Will You Love Me Tomorrow?'
'Smackwater Jack'
'Tapestry'
'(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman'


At least five of the tracks are stonewall pop classics and the rest aren't far behind. It is no exaggeration to say that I was humbled. It doesn't happen often. I thought I had the higher musical moral ground but this brought me tumbling off the hill. And it taught me a lesson; that there's more to music than Beatles, indie pop and rock. And that there's more to female singer-songwriters than Kate Bush. Two facts that I thought to be indisputable and true along with gravity, air and the speed of light. Scientifically provable universal truths.


So if you ever find yourself browsing through someone else's collection. Take a moment. Hold in those sniggers. Don't be judgmental. You might be surprised and you might just learn something about yourself.