Released on 10th February 1971. While the rest of the world was discovering one of the greatest albums ever made, I was busy being a baby and contributing nothing except noise and laundry. My chart analysis at the time was weak.
I didn’t get to it until the late 80s, which is proof that great albums don’t expire. They just sit there patiently, waiting for you to catch up and improve your life choices.
Some albums are “of their time.” This one is of all time and still sounds like it knows it.
No gimmicks. No silly trousers. No twenty-minute guitar solos by men avoiding eye contact. Just songs. Proper ones. The sort that make other songwriters quietly stare out of the window and reconsider their trade.
This album didn’t gently enter music history. It marched in, put its coat on the back of the chair, and stayed.
You want stats? Fine. Months at number one. Years on the charts. Sales figures that need commas and possibly a calculator. But the real test is simpler. How many absolute monsters are on here? Answer. Loads. Proper ones. No filler, no “experimental phase,” no track you skip to make the tea.
Roll call of troublemakers
I Feel the Earth Move. Straight in, no messing about
So Far Away. Weary and real, like a Sunday night train platform
It’s Too Late. Breakup song for adults, not crockery throwers
You’ve Got a Friend. Comfort without the cringe
Will You Love Me Tomorrow. Takes her own hit back and does it better
Natural Woman. Yes, that one. Game over
The key thing here is authority. These songs aren’t hopeful attempts. She had already written hits for half the charts before she sat down at the piano. This is the musical equivalent of marking your own homework and still getting 100 percent.
Production wise, it is clean and unfussy. No dated studio tricks. No “that sounded modern in 1971” moments. Play it now and it still sounds like the right answer.
Why it still works
Because the songs are better than the trends.
Because melody beats fashion.
Because honesty lasts longer than cool.
This record shifted the goalposts, rewired the rulebook, and sold in the tens of millions while doing it.
Still my favourite LP by a female artist, and frankly it would be in the all-comers final as well.
Oh and an added bonus of a cat on the sleeve!
