Carly Simon: Into White
For a CD with a lot of soft songs on it--"Scarborough Fair," "Over the Rainbow," "You Are My Sunshine"--Into Whitesends a loud message, that being: when you're as important an artist as Carly Simon, you can pretty much sing what you want, which accounts for this disc's genre confusion. Part kids' record, part under-the-covers project,Into Whitefeels a little like it went for a toss in the Simon residence's salad spinner; "Oh! Susanna," which has rarely sounded sweeter, is followed by a beautiful reading of the Beatles' poetic "Blackbird," which segues into a family sing-along to ex-husband James Taylor's classic "You Can Close Your Eyes" (son and daughter Ben and Sally Taylor pitch in on harmonies). Deciding whether to play it on the way to morning kindergarten or during brunch for your mellow sweetheart, then, can be brutal. But the choice to buy it or bypass it shouldn't be. Simon, vocally sure-footed as ever, wicks the warmth out of every last track and directs it with pinpoint precision to her listeners--nobody does music as comfort food better. Perhaps nobody knows how to pluck from her own catalog better, either: closing this artful jumble of a late-career disc is the abominably under-appreciated but gorgeous "Love of My Life," from the largely forgotten 1992 filmThis is My Life.--Tammy La GorceInto Green with Carly  More from Carly SimonNo SecretsCarly SimonMoonlight SerenadeAnticipationClouds in My Coffee 1965-1995(Box Set)Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits