“Anticipation” (Carly Simon)

Today’s classic song of the day is “Anticipation” by Carly Simon. Released in November of 1971, it peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart early the next year.

“Anticipation” is kind of a sideways, not very dreamy eyed love song. Ms. Simon supposedly wrote it while waiting for a very late Cat Stevens to show up for a date. (Yeah, Carly dated Cat Stevens, at least for a little while.) The song never talks about love or moon in June spooning, but is rather open-eyed about being accepting about what may or may not come.

The lyrics are just so matter-of-fact realistic:

And tomorrow we might not be together
I’m no prophet and I don’t know nature’s ways
So I’ll try and see into your eyes right now
And stay right here ’cause these are the good old days

I love the production on this track. Andy Newmark’s drumming is of particular note. He plays everything except a steady pattern, no two measures are alike. It’s amazing what sounds he got out of a simple four-piece set with just two toms that somehow sound like a lot more. There are lots of cool syncopations and really playing in the moment. For my drummer pals, there’s a pretty accurate transcription available online; click here to view or download the PDF file. Man, this track is a master class in drumming for the song, not just playing a groove.

“Anticipation,” the song, was the lead track on Anticipation, the album. The rest of the album was also quite good, containing another big hit, “Legend in Your Own Time,” and other confessional songs. Anticipation was released in November of 1971, concurrent with the lead single, and rose to #30 on the Billboard album chart. It sold more than 500,000 copies and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocalist. I still listen to that album today.

When I was in junior high and high school I had a big crush on Carly Simon. I mean, just look at her album covers—what red-blooded teenaged boy wouldn’t get a little twisted up over Carly and her sexy bohemian looks? It helped that her music was also very good in that burgeoning singer-songwriter era; she held her own with Carole King and Joni Mitchell, at least in my opinion.

And here’s a special treat, a young (26 years old at the time) Carly Simon singing “Anticipation” on the Good Vibrations from Central Park TV special that aired on ABC-TV on August 19, 1971. The special, actually a recording of a concert at the 1971 Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park, was headlined by the Beach Boys and also featured Boz Scaggs, Ike & Tina Turner, and Kate Taylor. This was right as Carly was just starting to hit; in fact, “Anticipation” had not yet been released to the public. I think it’s great watching a famous artist when they’re just starting out—the enthusiasm, the energy, the innocence before fame set in. I remember watching this when I was 13 or so and was mesmerized. Those were the good old days.