SONY LEGACY
Gary Walker
First released in 1978 and remastered in 1999, King’s first best-of compilation rounds up material from Tapestry, Music, Rhymes & Reasons, Fantasy, Wrap Around Joy and Thoroughbred. With the benefit of hindsight, 12 tracks seems a scant tribute to such a prolific and gifted songwriter. Only four songs from career-highlight Tapestry make the cut, and none from debut Writer or the two albums closest to its release – Simple Things and Welcome Home. Inevitably, it’s three of the songs from Tapestry that stand out: the yearning examination of growing distance in a relationship, So Far Away; the raunchy I Feel The Earth Move and the raw break-up story It’s Too Late. Smackwater Jack, the upbeat oddone- out on the album, is a surprising inclusion, alongside the brassy Latin shuffle and Spanish lyrics of Corazon from 1973’s Fantasy. The two live tracks included on previous versions are omitted here, and there’s no place for You’ve Got A Friend, but it’s a brief yet perfect showcase of King’s honest vocal talent and songwriting brilliance.
VERDICT 8/10