An analytical commentary of Carole King’s album `Tapestry`.
This paper discusses how Carole King is probably one of the most influential pop song writers of the late sixties and early seventies and how her second album `Tapestry` was and still is widely considered as her greatest collection of recordings. It looks at how, number one for 15 weeks in the charts, it is an astonishingly well written record in terms of the accuracy with which it fills its place in the pop genre and also the standard of production.
`The middle-8 section can effectively be split into two distinct parts. In the first half, a chordal piano solo takes the lead role, playing over a static C minor vamp, whilst the guitar plays slightly emphasized rhythm phrases which add interest whilst importantly not drowning out the piano. The second half of the middle-8 is harmonically the same as the first four bars of the chorus. The guitar exchanges some jazzy lead phrases with the piano in this section, and a more active bass line and ride cymbal rhythm combine to pick up the momentum again. The middle-8 breaks down into the second verse in much the same way as the first chorus progresses into the first verse, with each part simplified to create space in the mix for the softer vocal.`