Album of the Day

Carly Simon was one of the defining artists of the singer-songwriter era, but hardly one to let her past hits define her; for tenth album COME UPSTAIRS, the performer headed to New York's Power Station Studios … and added a bit of power to her sound. Released on this day in 1980, the Warner Bros. set features energetic arrangements that fit right in with the power pop and New Wave then filling the airwaves, but the synthesizers and electric guitars never get in the way of Carly's insightful lyrics. If the romantic entanglements here are as complicated as ever (“James” acknowledges her troubled marriage to James Taylor), Simon can also kick up her heels on the title track, and turn out songs that will have everybody singing (“Jesse” reached #11 and spent months on the singles chart). While COME UPSTAIRS was a stylistic departure for Carly Simon, it was also a successful one and very much ripe for rediscovery.