For those unaware, Carly Simon’s No. 1 smash “You’re So Vain” lingers as one of the most clever and famous songs ever recorded. The subject of mass speculation ever since its release, soon after which it occupied the top spot on multiple Billboard charts for weeks, the anthem kept a captive public guessing at the identity of its smug subject for decades.

The question surrounding the protagonist’s identity remained perhaps the only mystery on the otherwise sexually open and autobiographically daring No Secrets, Simon’s commercial breakthrough and 70’s singer-songwriter staple.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45RPM 2LP set affords the platinum-certified 1972 effort the finest sonic treatment it’s received on vinyl.

Helmed by Richard Perry and recorded at London’s Trident Studios — where Beatles, David Bowie, and Elton John captured landmark LPs — No Secrets touts exceptional production qualities highlighted by this restorative reissue.

Audiophiles and record collectors, take note: This is the first time No Secrets has been available on 45RPM. The wider grooves and dead-quiet surfaces pay instant dividends. Simple, elegant, and disarming, songs seemingly float amid wide, deep soundstages. Simon’s voice takes on a confident, assertive tenor that emerges with accurate imaging, balanced tonality, and palpable presence. String arrangements and backing vocals come through with similar realism.

Side One:
1. The Right Thing to Do
2. The Carter Family

Side Two:
3. You’re So Vain
4. His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin
5. We Have No Secrets

Side Three:
6. Embrace Me, You Child
7. Waited So Long

Side Four:
8. It Was So Easy
9. Night Owl
10. When You Close Your Eyes

Maybe it is quintessential 1970’s soft rock - West Coast folk rock-influenced stuff with all the hard edges and challenging lyrical themes shaved off - but Carly Simon’s No Secrets is also an extraordinarily intimate confessional whose slick production values in no way insulates you from the secrets Carly offers up.

This, of course, is the album featuring the brilliant You’re So Vain, but it would be wrong to think that that brilliant pop-rock stab in the gut is the only reason for the album’s success. The fact is that women singer-songwriters tended to get short shrift, critically speaking, during the 1970’s, especially when they sang about love and relationships and sex, but Carly Simon here proves herself to be extremely capable - certainly deserving of more than the one hit wonder status she’s often saddled with.

Furthermore, the album has incredible instrumentals, delightful writing, and breathtaking vocals. Carly is a powerhouse vocalist and an incredible songwriter which makes her albums just so special. I love how much depth there is to this album. It’s so much more interesting than most of her other albums, in my humble opinion, thus this is a project that has always stuck with me.

Every element in these tracks come together so well. There’s enough variety for it to be interesting while the songs still keep the same style, and everything works very well here. Carly’s style is fully fleshed out by this point and it’s a delightful evolution to hear when compared to her could-have-been-better debut.

Enhanced by an all-star cast — Simon’s then-husband James Taylor, Paul and Linda McCartney, Mick Jagger, Lowell George, Klaus Voorman, Bobby Keys, Jim Keltner, Nicky Hopkins, and Bonnie Bramlett are among the renowned musicians who lend a hand — No Secrets advances Simon’s themes of personal introspectiveness, no-holds-barred reflectiveness, and feminist-inspired boldness. She makes every moment of No Secrets worth savoring. Simon invests her all in the songs, handling beautiful ballads, sassy folk-rock numbers, and bluesy fare with calm, composure, and candor.

While acknowledging her own regrets (“You’re So Vain”) and loss (“The Carter Family”), Simon champions the highs (“The Right Thing to Do”) and pains (“His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin”) of love in a sincere manner indicative of her maturity as both an artist and singer. The New York native distinguishes “When You Close Your Eyes” with deep-rooted spirituality, recalls childhood joys via charming sentimentality on “It Was So Easy,” and and takes ownership of her persona on a cover of Taylor’s “Night Owl.”

This is her brilliant 1972 album which is now available on 180g 45RPM 2LP for the very first time and is strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies. Mobile Fidelity’s reissue plays with wide soundstages and balanced tones and is cut at 1/4” / 15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.

Official Purchase Link

www.carlysimon.com