''Boys in the Trees'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include " Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Th ...

, released by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

, in April 1978. The lead single, " You Belong to Me", reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart, becoming Simon's fifth Top 10 pop hit, and earned her a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. The second single, a remake of

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

' 1958 hit " Devoted to You" (sung as a duet with then-husband

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...

), also reached the Top 40, peaking at No. 36. The singles also hit the Top 10 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

, peaking at No. 4 and No. 2, respectively. The track "Tranquillo (Melt My Heart)" reached No. 86 on the US Cashbox Pop chart. ''Boys in the Trees'' became one of Simon's biggest selling albums, and was officially certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA) on August 7, 1978, for sales of over one million copies in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

alone.

Reception and packaging

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

, writing in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', stated "''Boys in the Trees'' is Carly Simon's most serene accomplishment to date, but its moods vary dramatically enough to indicate that peace of mind comes at a high price." When praising the single " You Belong to Me", Maslin went on to write, "It's a number that could easily have been belted out or growled à la " You're So Vain", but this time Simon prefers to sound more like a cat who's been dining on canary. Somehow, she's a lot more compelling using a gently chiding tone than she is striking a come-hither-or-else pose." In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, William Ruhlmann rated the album 3 out of 5 stars, writing "what really made the album a winner was that Simon had had a couple of years to write some strong songs in her unflinching, reflective style, and she continued to explore the loves and mores of her age and class movingly." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said of the single "Tranquillo (Melt My Heart)" that a "funky arrangement of guitars, horns and strings follow a stepping beat" and praised Simon's "clean" vocal. "Boys in the Trees" is often played live by

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

. "I used to listen to this song over and over, wishing I'd wrote it," Amos once said of the track. The photo featured on the front cover of the album was expertly airbrushed to paint a Danskin top on what was a topless photo of Simon. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Album Package, the Grammy went to Johnny Lee and Tony Lane.

Awards

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Album - ''Billboard'' (United States) Album - International Singles - ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

External links

Carly Simon's Official Website
{{Authority control 1978 albums Carly Simon albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Arif Mardin