Carole King - Love Makes the World

Bouncing around smaller indie labels in the '90s after a few failed albums on majors, Carole King rebounded with this self-released 2001 disc on her own Rockingale (an anagram of Carole King and a takeoff on her song "Nightingale") imprint. Although it's not a totally successful return to her past triumphs, the disc is one of her best post-'70s albums and occasionally even rivals her most enduring work. Wisely, King returns here to her strengths of melodic love ballads. While only a few selections match the natural woman charms of Tapestry and Music, King remains in terrific voice. When she keeps the arrangements stripped down, as on the closing "Safe Again" and "This Time," she taps into that N.Y.C. singer/songwriter vein that made her finest albums so memorable. Guest appearances from Babyface, k.d. lang, and Wynton Marsalis are hardly necessary, since King carries the weight of their songs herself. On the downside, Celine Dion's exaggerated influence is far too intrusive on "The Reason," overloading a perfectly good track with the bombastic ballad treatment Dion is recognized for. King sounds stiff and by the time the screaming guitar solo comes in, it's obvious this is not the approach that best suits the singer or her songs. Nor does the rock beat and big hooks of "Monday Without You," a misdirected slice of generic radio rock. The majority of the album fares much better, with King's distinctive piano and heartfelt, often gritty vocals belting out tunes with spare accompaniment. The string quartet on "Uncommon Love" seems organically relaxed and k.d. lang remains appropriately low-key throughout the duet. The yearning of "You Will Find Me There" recalls the simple poetic honesty of "You've Got a Friend" both lyrically and musically. Reprising her '60s hit "Oh No, Not My Baby" -- co-written with Gerry Goffin -- for the second time (she had already interpreted it on 1980's Pearls album) is unnecessary, but the solo piano backing illustrates the song's timeless qualities and fits nicely into this disc's overall flow. Certainly her classiest and most consistent collection since the late '70s, Love Makes the World proves that with a songwriter as accomplished as Carole King, less remains more. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alex Rodriguez Engineer Armand Sabal-Lecco Bass Armen Ksadjikian Cello Babyface Guitar, Vocals (Background), Producer, Drums, Programming, Vocal Arrangement, Keyboards Barbara Northcutt Oboe Bobby Arnold Engineer Brian Dembow Viola Carole Bayer Sager Executive Producer Carole King Piano, Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Celine Dion Vocals (Background), Vocals Cesar Ramirez Assistant Engineer Charles Larkey Bass Chris Brooke Engineer, Assistant Engineer Dane Woods Vocals (Background) David Foster Keyboards, Piano, Producer David Shostac Flute Dean Parks Guitar (Electric) Endre Granat Violin Felipe Elgueta Engineer Fredrik Sarhagen Assistant Engineer Gary Burr Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background), Vocal Arrangement Greg Wells Drums, Guitar Humberto Gatica Engineer, Mixing, Producer Jacqueline Brand Violin Jeffrey "C.J." Vanston Programming, Track Arrangement, Piano Jesse Gorman Assistant Engineer Jim Thatcher French Horn John Walz Cello Joyce Tenneson Photography Julie Gigante Violin k.d. lang Vocals Kenny O'Brien Vocal Editing Kevin Guarnieri Assistant Engineer Lester Mendez Programming Lorna Guess Coordination Mark Hudson Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background) Michael Fisher Percussion Michael Landau Guitar Michael McCoy Engineer, Drum Programming Mike Tocci Assistant Engineer Miran Kojian Violin Nathan East Bass Pablo Munguia Pro-Tools Paul Brady Vocals (Background), Piano, Vocal Arrangement, Piano (Electric) Paul Jackson, Jr. Guitar (Electric) Pop Rox Programming, Producer Rafael Rishik Violin Randy Waldman Programming Rev. Dave Boruff Saxophone Rudy Guess Engineer, Coordination, Guitar Russ Kunkel Drums Rusty Anderson Guitar (Electric) Simon Franglen Programming Steve Hamilton Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) Steven Kadison Mastering Steven Tyler Vocals (Background) Vigon Design, Art Direction Vladimir Meller Mastering Wynton Marsalis Trumpet