#46 Really Rosie

Best Song: One was Johnny

The greatest thing Carole King ever did. Now this is a pretty bold statement seeing as Tapestry is one of the most celebrated albums of the singer songwriter movement. Am I really saying it isn’t as good as a children’s album…well of course I am.

Really Rosie is a musical based on the work of Maurice Sendak, who also provides the lyrics. This is really important to note, Carole King DID NOT write the lyrics. Why do I feel the need to stress this? Well, like I said this is a children’s album and King could have easily gotten away with writing trivial and cliché melodies and no one would have noticed or cared. But instead she wrote some truly inspired music to accompany some great story lyrics.

King’s vocal delivery reaches a level of passion and, on some tracks, frenzy that she could only hope to reach on any of her other albums. Screaming and Yelling (could only find a clip online? really?) wouldn’t seem out of place on any other of King’s albums and would be a highlight where ever it showed up. The Ballad of Chicken Soup is a dark song about choking on a chicken bone that has the only line on the entire album that I feel is out of place. “quicker than a winky” just does not work with the tone of the song.

My absolute favorite is the song One Was Johnny. It is one of the shortest but that only works to its advantage. It is a simple count to ten then count backwards concept but the lyrical flow and walking piano really works. Drum fill and funky bass signal the bridge continue to the end bring the song to fruition. Pierre should also not be missed and even though One Was Johnny is my favorite song the end of Pierre represents my favorite moment on the whole record.