Coming Around Again (album)

1987 studio album by Carly Simon

Coming Around Again

Studio album by

Carly Simon

Released

April 13, 1987

Recorded

1986–1987

Studio

Right Track Recording, The Power Station, Pin Wheel Studio, Unique Recording Studios and Flying Monkey (New York City); Cliffhanger Studio (Vancouver)

Genre

Rock
soft rock

Length

47:22

Label

Arista

Producer

Clive Davis (exec.)
Bryan Adams
John Boylan
Frank Filipetti
Russ Kunkel
George Massenburg
Rob Mounsey
Bill Payne
Richard Perry
Paul Samwell-Smith

Carly Simon chronology

Spoiled Girl
(1985)

Coming Around Again
(1987)

Greatest Hits Live
(1988)

Singles from Coming Around Again

"Coming Around Again"
Released: 1986
"Give Me All Night"
Released: 1987
"The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of"
Released: 1987
"All I Want Is You"
Released: 1987

Coming Around Again is the 13th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on April 13, 1987.

The first of many albums Simon recorded for Arista; the title track was written for and featured in the 1986 film Heartburn, along with "Itsy Bitsy Spider". As a single, "Coming Around Again" became a worldwide hit; it peaked at No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (becoming Simon's 12th Top 40 hit), No. 5 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and No. 10 in the UK. The album itself reached No. 25 in both the US and the UK. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in September 1987, and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in February 1988. The album spawned three more Top 10 Adult Contemporary hit singles; "Give Me All Night", "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of", and "All I Want Is You" (which features Roberta Flack on backing vocals), and features a cover of "As Time Goes By" with Stevie Wonder on harmonica.^[1]

In June 1987, a live outdoor concert was recorded on a specially built stage in the town of Gay Head.^[2] In front of an invited audience, Simon and her band performed eight songs from the album, as well as some of her greatest hits. It was broadcast on HBO as Carly Simon – Coming Around Again, and later released on home video as Live From Martha's Vineyard.^[3] It was also released as a live album in 1988 titled Greatest Hits Live.

On October 27, 2017, Hot Shot Records released a 30th Anniversary deluxe edition of the album. The two-disc set includes six bonus tracks, including a 12" extended remix of the single "Give Me All Night" and the Oscar winning "Let the River Run", along with a second disc consisting of Simon's aforementioned Greatest Hits Live album. An in-depth interview with Simon is also included in the albums booklet.^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[5]

Rolling Stone gave a positive review of the album, writing: "The title cut on Coming Around Again gives Simon the chance to step away and deliver a cozy, soothing, even hopeful song. The song sets the mood for the entire album. Many of the tracks progress with the same slow, tuneful strides and reflect Carly's new lyrical stance — that of an older sister or mother. In most cases, this would mean instant death with younger listeners, but Carly pulls it off, because her voice stays cool and confident. Maybe all those years of avoiding the road have paid off for her; while the other acoustic heroines of the 1970s — Carole King, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell — have frayed at the edges, Carly's voice still sounds like it's in one piece. That's why it's not such a silly idea for her to cover a song like "As Time Goes By," which, if she doesn't redefine, she at least renews with some zephyrous overtones," concluding "Coming Around Again is a strong reminder of how refreshing a diversion Carly Simon can be".^[6]

Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times, stated: "Coming Around Again, the latest and one of the strongest chapters in a growing catalogue, embodies everything that the 41-year-old singer-songwriter does best. Of all the confessional singer-songwriters who emerged out of the 60's counterculture to confide their personal feelings in recorded pop song cycles, she has been one of only a handful to sustain a major label recording career of such duration. And of that handful, she has stayed the closest to the personal confessional mode." He also singled out the track "Two Hot Girls (On a Hot Summer Night)"; "along with the title tune, the album's most haunting cut is a song of adolescent memory titled "Two Hot Girls" in which the singer remembers competing with a friend for the attentions of a boy and losing. Like "Coming Around Again", "Two Hot Girls" is quintessential Carly Simon. Blunt, succinct and catchy on the surface, underneath it is psychologically complex.^[7]

People was also positive, stating: "Simon remains perhaps the most interesting of women pop singers. This album proves she is still captivating."^[8] A retrospective review from AllMusic stated: "On the surface, this hit album had a lot in common with [Spoiled Girl]. The big difference was that Simon was willing to go to her strengths as a ballad singer rather than romping amid synthesized blips." Awarding the album 3-out-of-5-stars, they also singled out the tracks "Coming Around Again", "Give Me All Night", "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of", and "All I Want is You".^[5]

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
1987	Grammy Awards	Best Recording for Children	"Itsy Bitsy Spider"	Nominated	^[9]
1988	Grammy Awards	Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female	Coming Around Again	Nominated	^[9]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[10]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Coming Around Again"	Carly Simon	3:38
2.	"Give Me All Night"	Simon Gerard McMahon	4:20
3.	"As Time Goes By"	Herman Hupfeld	5:06
4.	"Do the Walls Come Down"	Simon Paul Samwell-Smith	3:48
5.	"It Should Have Been Me"	Bryan Adams Jim Vallance	4:20
6.	"The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of"	Simon	5:01
7.	"Two Hot Girls (On a Hot Summer Night)"	Simon	4:51
8.	"You Have to Hurt"	Frank Musker Dominic King	4:04
9.	"All I Want Is You"	Simon Andy Goldmark Jacob Brackman	3:58
10.	"Hold What You've Got"	Simon Joe Tex	3:40
11.	"Itsy Bitsy Spider"	Simon (based on the original nursery rhyme)	3:40
Total length:			46:26

Bonus tracks on 2017 special edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Raining"	Simon	3:12
13.	"The Wives Are in Connecticut"	Simon	4:30
14.	"If it Wasn't Love"	Patrick Leonard Kathleen Wakefield	4:17
15.	"Let the River Run"	Simon	3:43
16.	"Sleight of Hand"	Simon Don Sebesky	3:28
17.	"Give Me All Night (12" Extended Remix)"	Simon McMahon	5:43
Total length:			71:19

Personnel

Musicians

Carly Simon – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 7, 10), keyboards (1, 11), arrangements (3, 11), acoustic piano (4), Yamaha DX7 (6)
Scott Martin – keyboards (1), backing vocals (1)
Bill Payne – keyboards (1, 11)
Peter-John Vettese – keyboards (2, 7), backing vocals (4)
Rob Mounsey – MIDI piano (3), programming (3), drum programming (3), string arrangements and conductor (3, 6, 9), acoustic piano (6), keyboard bass (6)
Dave Pickell – keyboards (5)
Robbie Kilgore – keyboards (8, 9), keyboard programming (8), synth bass (9)
Chuck Kentis – additional keyboards (8), string synthesizer (8)
Andy Goldmark – keyboards (9), drum machine (9)
Leon Pendarvis – synthesizers (10), arrangements (10)
Barbara Markay – synthesizer programming (10)
Hugh McCracken – guitars (2, 7), tiple (8)
Jimmy Ryan – guitars (3, 6, 8), backing vocals (4, 7, 8)
Keith Scott – guitars (5)
John McCurry – acoustic guitar (9)
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – guitars (10)
Tony Levin – bass guitar (2, 7)
Dave Taylor – bass guitar (5)
Neil Jason – bass guitar (8)
Russ Kunkel – drums (1–4, 6, 10, 11), drum machine (6)
Frank Filipetti – LinnDrum (2, 7), drum machine programming (8)
Mickey Curry – drums (5)
Jimmy Bralower – percussion (2, 4), drum machine programming (8)
Jimmy Maelen – percussion (9)
Stevie Wonder – harmonica (3)
Michael Brecker – EWI (4), saxophone (7)
David Nadien – concertmaster (3, 6, 9)
Terri Homberg – backing vocals (1)
Paul Samwell-Smith – backing vocals (1, 4, 8), E-mu Emulator (4), LinnDrum (4)
Lucy Simon – backing vocals (4, 7)
Marc LaFrance – backing vocals (5)
Timothy Wright Concert Choir – choir (6)
Caz Lee – backing vocals (8)
Will Lee – backing vocals (8)
Roberta Flack – backing vocals (9)
Gordon Grody – backing vocals (10)
Lani Groves – backing vocals (10)
Janice Pendarvis – backing vocals (10)
Alexandra Taylor – backing vocals (11)
Ben Taylor – backing vocals (11)
Isaac Taylor – backing vocals (11)
Sally Taylor – backing vocals (11)

Strings (3, 6, 9)

Warren Lash, Beverly Lauridsen, Richard Locker, Carol McCracken and Charles McCracken – cello
Lamar Alsop, Julien Barber, Theodore Israel, Carol Landon and Sue Pray – viola
Marin Alsop, Lewis Eley, Barry Finclair, Regis Iandiorio, Harry Lookofsky, Jan Mullen, John Pintavalle, Matthew Raimondi, Richard Sortomme, Marti Sweet and Gerald Tarack – violin

Production

Producers – Russ Kunkel (Tracks 1, 6 & 11); George Massenburg (Tracks 1 & 11); Bill Payne (Tracks 1 & 11); Paul Samwell-Smith (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 7 & 8); Rob Mounsey (Track 3); Bryan Adams (Track 5); John Boylan (Tracks 6 & 9); Richard Perry (Track 10).
Associate Producers on Tracks 1–5 & 7–11 – Carly Simon and Frank Filipetti
Executive Producer – Clive Davis
Production Coordinator – Gina Silvester
Engineers – George Massenburg (Tracks 1 & 11); Frank Filipetti (Tracks 1–4 & 6–10); Richard Alderson (Track 3); Bryan Adams (Track 5); Tim Crich (Track 5); Neil Dorfsman (Track 5); Chris Lord-Alge (Tracks 8 & 9); Ed Stasium (Track 8); Bill Miranda (Track 9); Leon Pendarvis (Track 10).
Assistant Engineers – Scott Mabuchi (all tracks); Bill Miranda (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 7 & 11); Noah Baron (Tracks 1 & 11); Michael Christopher (Track 5); Debra Cornish (Track 6); Jeff Lord-Alge (Track 9).
Mixing – Frank Filipetti (Tracks 1–4, 6, 8, 10 & 11); Bob Clearmountain (Track 5); Chris Lord-Alge (Track 9).
Mastering by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
Creative Direction – Steven Shmerler
Art Direction – Howard Fritzson
Design – Margery Greenspan
Photography – Lynn Goldsmith
Management – Tommy Mottola

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[11]	24
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[12]	17
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[13]	57
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[14]	25
European Albums (Music & Media)^[15]	19
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[16]	25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[17]	32
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[18]	29
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[19]	21
UK Albums (OCC)^[20]	25
US Billboard 200^[21]	25

Year-end charts

Chart (1987)	Position
US Billboard 200^[22]	58

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil	—	80,000^[23]
Canada (Music Canada)^[24]	Platinum	100,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[25]	Silver	60,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[26]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "As Time Goes By lyrics". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
^ Radel, Cliff (July 19, 1987). "A Peek At Simon". TView. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Live From Martha's Vineyard". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
^ "Coming Around Again: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". Cherry Red Records.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Ruhlmann, William. "Coming Around Again". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
^ Hoerburger, Rob (June 18, 1987). "Album review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
^ Holden, Stephen (May 3, 1987). "Carly Simon's Emotion-Laden Self-Portrait". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
^ "Picks and Pans Review: Coming Around Again". People. April 27, 1987. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
^ "Carly Simon". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
^ Coming Around Again (booklet). Carly Simon. Arista. 1987.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Carly Simon – Coming Around Again" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0822". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Carly Simon – Coming Around Again" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 22. June 6, 1987. p. 15. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Carly Simon – Coming Around Again" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Carly Simon – Coming Around Again". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Carly Simon – Coming Around Again". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
^ "Carly Simon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ Souza, Tarik de (January 6, 1988). "Um bom ano para o disco". Jornal do Brasil. p. 36. Retrieved March 18, 2023 – via National Library of Brazil.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Carly Simon – Coming Around Again". Music Canada. September 28, 1990. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
^ "British album certifications – Carly Simon – Coming Around Again". British Phonographic Industry. September 14, 1987. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
^ "American album certifications – Carly Simon – Coming Around Again". Recording Industry Association of America. February 1, 1988. Retrieved September 2, 2021.