Spoiled Girl

Spoiled Girl is the 12th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Epic Records, in June 1985.

Spoiled Girl
Studio album by
Carly Simon
ReleasedJune 1985
Recordedat Right Track Recording, Electric Lady Studios, The Hit Factory and Shakedown Sound, New York City.
GenreRock • synth-rock
Length48:11
LabelEpic
ProducerArthur Baker, Andy Goldmark, Russ Kunkel, Phil Ramone, G.E. Smith, Paul Samwell-Smith, Don Was, Tom "T-Bone" Wolk
Carly Simon chronology
Hello Big Man
(1983)		 Spoiled Girl
(1985)		 Coming Around Again
(1987)
Singles from Spoiled Girl
  1. "Tired of Being Blonde"
    Released: 1985
  2. "My New Boyfriend"
    Released: 1985

Recorded with a variety of producers in New York, this was Simon's only album for Epic. The album peaked at No. 88 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart,[1] and produced two singles: "Tired of Being Blonde" and "My New Boyfriend", with the former making the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 70.[1]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

In a mixed review of the album, Rolling Stone wrote "Spoiled Girl is Simon's most listenable album in years. Thanks to production by Arthur Baker, Paul Samwell-Smith and Don Was, there’s enough verve and contemporaneity to the basic tracks so that Simon’s laconic phrasing seems newly energized, while the tracks produced by Phil Ramone and Andy Goldmark manage to convincingly update Simon's old approach. But such studio gloss is no compensation for an album that’s so utterly inconsequential. In the end, as with any other spoiled girl, you just wish she'd be quiet."[3]

The New York Times was much more positive, writing "Carly Simon's first album in two years is a spicy, lighthearted romp of a record in which the 40-year-old singer-songwriter imaginatively comes to terms with the frivolous spirit of mid-80's pop. Nine producers, including the electronic wizard Arthur Baker, worked on the album, whose songs range in style from the kind of catchy folk-pop that has long been Miss Simon's stock in trade to ultracontemporary dance-oriented tunes with electronically tricked-up textures." They also singled out the track "Black Honeymoon" as "the album's darkest and most musically haunting song, a chilling vignette about sexual jealousy elegantly produced in a style that suggests a folkish variant of Steely Dan's pop-jazz by way of Tina Turner's Private Dancer. It is one of the finest cuts Miss Simon has ever recorded."[4]

Release history

Spoiled Girl was released by Epic Records on vinyl, cassette tape, and compact disc in 1985. Both the cassette and CD versions included the bonus track "Black Honeymoon" (originally the B-side of the "Tired Of Being Blonde" single).[5] A second CD release came in the late 1990s under the Sony Music Special Products label, which also included "Black Honeymoon".[6] In July 2012, Hot Shot Records re-released the album as a deluxe edition with four bonus tracks: "Black Honeymoon", the 7" single version of "Tired Of Being Blonde", and two remixes of the track "My New Boyfriend" which were originally included on the 12" version of the single.[7]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[8]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My New Boyfriend"Carly Simon4:19
2."Come Back Home"
4:22
3."Tonight And Forever"
4:53
4."Spoiled Girl"
3:20
5."Tired of Being Blonde"Larry Raspberry4:46
6."The Wives Are in Connecticut"Simon4:28
7."Anyone But Me"
4:19
8."Interview"
4:49
9."Make Me Feel Something"Simon4:40
10."Can't Give It Up"
  • Simon
  • Andy Goldmark
3:43
11."Black Honeymoon"
  • Simon
  • Brackman
  • Goldmark
4:32
Total length:48:11
Bonus tracks on 2012 special edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Tired of Being Blonde (Single version)"Raspberry4:14
13."My New Boyfriend (12" Remix)"Simon5:13
14."My New Boyfriend (12" Dub version)"Simon5:51
Total length:63:29

Notes

  • The song "Black Honeymoon" was the B-side for the single "Tired of Being Blonde" and appears only on the cassette and CD versions of the album, but not on the vinyl LP.

Personnel

Musicians
  • Carly Simon – lead vocals, backing vocals (1–6), synthesizers (7)
  • Robbie Kilgore – keyboards (1, 2), electric guitar (1), synthesizers (5, 9, 10, 11), strings (8)
  • Dave LeBolt – keyboards (3, 6)
  • Bill Payne – keyboards (4), synthesizers (4)
  • Stuart Kimball – keyboards (7), acoustic guitar (7), acoustic guitar solo (7)
  • Fred Zarr – keyboards (8), synth bass (8), LinnDrum programming (8)
  • Ira Siegel – guitars (2, 8, 10)
  • John McCurry – guitars (3, 4, 6), backing vocals (6)
  • G. E. Smith – guitars (5), guitar solo (5)
  • Jimmy Ryan – electric guitar (7), guitars (11)
  • Tom Wolk – bass guitar (2, 5)
  • Neil Jason – bass guitar (3, 6)
  • Doug Wimbish – bass guitar (7)
  • Tony Levin – bass guitar (11)
  • Jimmy Bralower – drum programming (1, 5)
  • Mickey Curry – drums (2, 10)
  • Russ Kunkel – drums (3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11)
  • Liberty DeVitto – drums (6)
  • William Beard – Simmons drums (7)
  • Arthur Baker – Oberheim DMX (7)
  • Bashiri Johnson – percussion (7, 8)
  • Mallett – percussion (11)
  • V. Jeffrey Smith – saxophone (8)
  • Andy Goldmark – backing vocals (1, 10), synthesizers (9, 10, 11), LinnDrum programming (9, 10, 11), arrangements (9)
  • Lucy Simon – backing vocals (1)
  • Paul Samwell-Smith – backing vocals (1)
  • Ron Taylor – backing vocals (1)
  • John Fiore – backing vocals (2)
  • Gordon Grody – backing vocals (2)
  • Ula Hedwig – backing vocals (2)
  • Lotti Golden – backing vocals (4)
  • Kate Taylor – backing vocals (4)
  • Rory Dodd – backing vocals (6)
  • Eric Troyer – backing vocals (6)
  • Tina B. – backing vocals (8)
  • Stephanie James – backing vocals (8)
  • Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (8)
  • Luther Vandross – backing vocals (10)

Production
  • Producers – Paul Samwell-Smith (Track 1); Don Was (Track 2); Phil Ramone (Tracks 3 & 6); Russ Kunkel (Track 4); G. E. Smith (Track 5); Arthur Baker (Tracks 5, 7 & 8); Andy Goldmark (Tracks 9, 10 & 11).
  • Executive Producer – Lennie Petze
  • Production Coordination – Joseph d'Ambrosio
  • Engineers – Frank Filipetti (Tracks 1–6, 9 & 11); David Thoener and Dave Whitman (Track 5); Andy Wallace (Tracks 7 & 8).
  • Assistant Engineers – Scott Mabuchi (Tracks 1–6, 9 & 11); Michel Sauvage (Tracks 5 & 10); Mark Russak (Tracks 7 & 8).
  • Mixing on Track 5 – Ed Stasium
  • Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
  • Cover Design – Allen Weinberg
  • Photography – Duane Michaels

Charts

Album – Billboard (United States)[1]

Year Chart Position
1985 Billboard 200 88

Album – International

Year Country Position
1985 Australia[9] 97
Canada[10] 96

Singles – Billboard (United States)[1]

Year Single Chart Position
1985 "Tired Of Being Blonde" Hot 100 70
Adult Contemporary 34

References
  1. "Carly Simon – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  2. Ruhlmann, William. "Spoiled Girl". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  3. Considine, J.D. (September 26, 1985). "Spoiled Girl review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  4. Holden, Stephen (August 7, 1985). "THE POP LIFE; A SPICY NEW ALBUM BY CARLY SIMON". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  5. "Tired Of Being Blonde 7" single". Discogs. 1985. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  6. "Spoiled Girl 1998". Discogs. 1998. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  7. "Spoiled Girl". Cherry Red Records.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  8. Spoiled Girl (booklet). Carly Simon. Epic. 1985.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. "CAN Charts > Carly Simon". RPM. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
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