Carole King - Love Makes The World

Love Makes The World is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Carole King, originally released in September 2001 by Rockingdale Records.

Bouncing around smaller indie labels in the '90s after a few failed albums on majors, Carole King rebounded with this self-released 2001 disc on her own Rockingale (an anagram of her name and a takeoff on her song "Nightingale") imprint. It’s one of her best post-'70s albums and occasionally even rivals her most enduring work.

Wisely, King returns here to her strengths of melodic love ballads. While only a few selections match the natural woman charms of Tapestry and Music, King remains in terrific voice. When she keeps the arrangements stripped down, as on the closing "Safe Again" and "This Time", she taps into that N.Y.C. singer/songwriter vein that made her finest albums so memorable.

Guest appearances from Babyface, k.d. lang, and Wynton Marsalis are hardly necessary, since King carries the weight of their songs herself. Celine Dion's exaggerated influence is far too intrusive on "The Reason", overloading a perfectly good track with the bombastic ballad treatment Dion is recognized for

The album fares well, with King's distinctive piano and heartfelt, often gritty vocals belting out tunes with spare accompaniment. The string quartet on "Uncommon Love" seems organically relaxed and k.d. lang remains appropriately low-key throughout the duet. The yearning of "You Will Find Me There" recalls the simple poetic honesty of "You've Got a Friend" both lyrically and musically.

Certainly her classiest and most consistent collection since the late '70s, Love Makes The World proves that with a songwriter as accomplished as Carole King, less remains more.

Check out the tracks: “Love Makes The World”; "You Can Do Anything"; You Will Find Me There"; and “An Uncommon Love”.

This album is now available on vinyl for the very first time!

This LP record is a Music On Vinyl release on 180 gram audiophile vinyl, featuring remastered audio with a 4 page booklet, pressed in Europe.