Carly Simon: Live at Grand Central is a 1995 concert special that aired on Lifetime Television. Performed in the middle of New York City's Grand Central Terminal, the surprise concert was a prelude to Simon's first concert tour in 14 years.[1] It featured Simon and a live band performing the majority of her Letters Never Sent album, as well as some of her hits such as "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be", "Anticipation", "Legend in Your Own Time", "Haven't Got Time for the Pain", "Jesse", "Coming Around Again", and "Let the River Run". It was directed by English music video and film director Nigel Dick.[2]
| Carly Simon: Live at Grand Central | |
|---|---|
 Original VHS cover | |
| Video by | |
| Released | April 1995 |
| Recorded | April 2, 1995 |
| Venue | Midtown Manhattan, New York City |
| Genre | Live, pop, adult contemporary |
| Length | 70 minutes |
| Cover of 2023 Blu-ray release | |
 | |
For this special, Simon was nominated for two CableACE Awards: Performance in a Music Special and Original Song for "Touched by the Sun", winning for the latter.[3][4]
Production and release history
editIt was Jackie Onassis's idea for Simon to perform in Grand Central.[5] Simon wrote the song "Touched by the Sun" for Onassis, which originally appeared on Simon's album Letters Never Sent (1994).[6] The surprise performance "stopped commuters in their tracks",[7] and aired on Lifetime on May 21, 1995. Simon was also featured in an episode of the Lifetime original series Intimate Portrait, which was broadcast the same night.[6][8]
Live at Grand Central was released on home video on December 12, 1995.[9] The concert was restored and re-released on January 27, 2023 on Blu-ray, Vinyl and CD,[10] and can be purchased through Simon's official website.[11] Alongside the announcement, a video of "Like a River" from the concert was released, which was not featured on its original release.[10]
Track listings
editAll tracks composed by Carly Simon; except where indicated.
Original 1995 release
edit- "Touched by the Sun"
- "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" (Simon/Jacob Brackman)
- "Letters Never Sent" (Simon/Brackman)
- "I've Got to Have You" (Kris Kristofferson)
- "Anticipation"
- "Halfway 'Round the World"
- "Legend in Your Own Time"
- "Jesse" (Simon/Mike Mainieri)
- "De Bat (Fly in Me Face)"
- "Coming Around Again"
- "Davy"
- "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (Simon/Brackman)
- "Let the River Run"
- "We Have No Secrets"
Revised 2023 re-release
edit- "Touched by the Sun"
- "Anticipation"
- "I've Got to Have You" (Kris Kristofferson)
- "We Have No Secrets"
- "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" (Simon/Jacob Brackman)
- "Jesse" (Simon/Mike Mainieri)
- "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (Simon/Brackman)
- "Letters Never Sent" (Simon/Brackman)
- "Legend in Your Own Time"
- "De Bat (Fly in Me Face)"
- "Davy"
- "Halfway 'Round the World"
- "Like a River"
- "Coming Around Again"
- "Let the River Run"
Awards
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | CableACE Award | Original Song | "Touched by the Sun" | Carly Simon | Won | [4] |
| Performance in a Music Special or Series | Live at Grand Central | Nominated | [3] | |||
| Directing a Music Special or Series | Nigel Dick | Nominated |
Live album
edit| Live at Grand Central | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | January 27, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | April 2, 1995 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Frank Filipetti | |||
| Carly Simon chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| American Songwriter |   [12] |
| PopMatters |   [13] |
Live at Grand Central was made available for the first time on vinyl and CD on January 27, 2023, making it Simon's second live album, following Greatest Hits Live in 1988.
A review from Riff magazine stated: "This new release of Live at Grand Central captures [Simon's] command of the stage beautifully, and the remixing does it the justice it deserves."[14]
Track listing
editCredits adapted from the album's liner notes.[15]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Touched by the Sun" | Carly Simon | 5:43 |
| 2. | "Anticipation" | Simon | 3:52 |
| 3. | "I've Got to Have You" | Kris Kristofferson | 4:37 |
| 4. | "We Have No Secrets" | Simon | 4:55 |
| 5. | "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" |
| 3:40 |
| 6. | "Jesse" |
| 4:23 |
| 7. | "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" |
| 4:23 |
| 8. | "Letters Never Sent" |
| 4:09 |
| 9. | "Legend in Your Own Time" | Simon | 4:16 |
| 10. | "De Bat (Fly in Me Face)" | Simon | 3:16 |
| 11. | "Davy" | Simon | 3:37 |
| 12. | "Halfway 'Round the World" | Simon | 4:57 |
| 13. | "Like a River" | Simon | 4:55 |
| 14. | "Coming Around Again" | Simon | 4:48 |
| 15. | "Let the River Run" | Simon | 3:22 |
| Total length: | 64:57 | ||
Personnel
edit- Teese Gohl – music director, keyboards
- Rick Marotta – drums
- Doug Wimbish – bass
- Peter Calo – guitar
- Dirk Ziff – guitar
- Mick Rossi – keyboards
- Mindy Jostyn – violin
- Eric Bazilian – mandolin
- Marc Cohn – backing vocals
- Jerry Barnes – backing vocals
- Katreese Barnes – backing vocals
- Curtis King – backing vocals
Charts
editAlbum – Billboard (United States)[16]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Billboard Top Current Album Sales | 100 |
References
edit- ^ "Live At Grand Central 1995". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Carly Simon – Live at Grand Central". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ a b "Carly Simon: Live at Grand Central – Awards". IMDb. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- ^ a b "HBO and Garry Shandling's 'Larry Sanders Show' Lead CableACE Awards". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ Bonko, Larry (23 October 2019). "Carly Simon Spends 3 Hours Signing "Jackie" Books for Fans, Drops Newly Mixed Single Also Named 'Touched by the Sun'". Showbiz 411. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ a b "Letters Never Sent". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
- ^ "Star Tracks". People. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ Bonko, Larry. ""Gramps" is surely no Ben Matlock". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ "Live At Grand Central – Carly Simon". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ a b "Carly Simon Releasing Her Iconic Concert 'Live At Grand Central Station'". Legacy Recordings. 2 November 2022. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- ^ "Carly Simon Official Website – Store". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- ^ Zimmerman, Lee (January 27, 2022). "Review: Anticipation—Carly Simon's New Album Finds Her Coming Around Again". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ^ Horowitz, Steve (January 26, 2023). "Carly Simon Performed at an Unpublicized Concert at Grand Central Station in 1995". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ Alm, Rachel (January 23, 2023). "REVIEW: Carly Simon revisits 'Grand Central' on reissued live album". RIFF. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ Live at Grand Central (booklet). Carly Simon. C'est Music. 2023.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Carly Simon – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2014.