Carole King’s 1971 Ode Records masterpiece, Tapestry, endures as an artistic benchmark, a cornerstone of ’70s pop, an industry phenomenon, and – most of all – as an album that must be listened to over and over again, not only for its hit single sides (“It’s Too Late” b/w “I Feel the Earth Move,” “So Far Away” b/w “Smackwater Jack”) and definitive standards (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got A Friend”) but simply for its evocative grasp of a long-ago moment forever caught in amber.
The humble roots of Tapestry are those very demos that Carole King would share with Lou Adler at the Ode office in the A&M Records lot on LaBrea Avenue – a “college campus” of a music community, he fondly remembers, remodeled from the studio once headed by Charlie Chaplin. For those who have lived and loved the album down the years, from LP to 8-track to cassette to its half-dozen different CD configurations, this Legacy Edition finally offers a chance to experience Carole King’s vision in its original “unplugged” brilliance – winter, spring, summer or fall.
At the 14th annual Grammy Awards ceremonies in March 1972, Carole King became the first woman to win the “grand slam” – Record Of the Year (“It’s Too Late”), Album Of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal (both for Tapestry), and Song Of the Year (James Taylor’s version of “You’ve Got a Friend,” for which he won Best Male Pop Vocal). It was a Grammy landmark untouched until Alanis Morissette (1995), plus, Quincy Jones won Best Pop Instrumental for his Smackwater Jack album (A&M).
When asked to comment about the impact of Tapestry, Carole King said, “I feel honored that Tapestry has made a difference in small ways and large ways in people's lives around the world.  It’s been a major part of my life, too,” she adds.  “As a songwriter, I’m so happy that the songs have held up for all of these years.  As a performer, I’m still enjoying playing them live, most recently on my Living Room Tour.”