This is part II of my 10-day celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of Carole King’s Tapestry album. In the previous post I covered Tapestry’s great opener I Feel the Earth Move and So Far Away, the first of many beautiful ballads on this record. Next up is the third track on the A-side, It’s Too Late.
This tune, one of my favorite Carole King songs, is bringing up the speed to mid tempo. L.A. painter and lyricist Toni Stern provided the lyrics, while Carole wrote the music. “I’m sure there was a California quality in me that appealed to Carole,” Stern stated according to Musicfacts. “She was moving from a familial, middle class lifestyle to Laurel Canyon, where she started to let her hair down, literally and figuratively. We worked off our contrasts.”
It’s Too Late also appeared separately as the B-side to the lead single I Feel the Earth Move. As noted in my previous post, after giving initial preference to the latter tune, DJs discovered It’s Too Late and ended up playing it more than I Feel the Earth Move. While as such It’s Too Late may have been the actual no. 1, Billboard subsequently declared the single a double A-side. This meant the tunes were no longer tracked separately and are now both considered no. 1 songs. Regardless of these convoluted circumstances, there can be no doubt both tracks are outstanding.
Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; YouTube
Christian's Music Musings 
Duelling guitar and piano are great.
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Thanks, Graham, and great observation – as a guitarist, I should have called that out! 🙂
In general, I have to say I really dig Danny Kortchmar’s guitar work on Tapestry. I also think saxophonist Curtis Amy is great, especially on “Way Over Yonder”. And Charles Larkey plays some beautiful bass lines. Heck, none of the backing musicians on this album is a slacker!
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I don’t know about elsewhere, but in the states I Feel the Earth Move charted pretty high. Top 20 at least. And just about as much airplay as It’s Too Late.
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Thanks for pointing that out. I had relied on Songfacts’ information about ”It’s Too Late.” It turns out there’s some debate on whether ”I Feel the Earth Move” or ”It’s Too Late” was the true no. 1.
Billboard subsequently designated the single a double A-side. This meant the two songs were no longer tracked separately and have since both been considered no. 1 songs.
I updated this post and the previous one accordingly. This is what you get for discussing chart history! 🙂
Thanks again!
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Yeah I kind of thought it was a Double A. Although I never understood how they calculate how each side placed on the charts. I never knew how they did this.
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Love the rhythm of the song and her voice…She was in a fantastic groove writing this album.
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Completely agree, Max. I feel there really isn’t any filler on this record.
If you’re a stickler you could say two of the tracks are Carole’s covers of Goffin-King songs from the ’60s: “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”. But since she had written the music to both, there’re still her songs!
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Yes they are hers so what can you say? She must have needed two more or just always wanted to do them herself.
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I like Carole’s takes of both, though admittedly, it’s impossible to top Aretha Franklin!
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Anyone against Aretha is unfair!
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Still my favorite of Carole King’s songs. It’s understated, yet so very powerful, and I think part of it’s success was that the lyrics really struck a chord with a lot of people.
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