I'll be honest ... when I first read that Sony was releasing yet another version of one of my all-time favorite albums, Tapestry, I moaned and groaned. I knew I would HAVE to request it thru my Editor for review no matter what obstacles presented themselves ie: others in the office that might also have wanted to get their hands on it! Anyway, that aspect didn't present itself and so I was given this chance. After all, I've purchased the album (at least 3 times), the cassette, the 8 track, the MasterSound album, the 1987 CD, the gold-bit CD, and the 1999 remaster CD-- 9 copies of the basically the same album!

With this new 2008 "Legacy Edition," a 2nd disk containing all of the songs performed live in 1973 and 1976 was the latest hook to rack up more sales. Anyway, the packaging is indeed befitting a "deluxe" reissue, but the most surprising thing I would discover is just how great most of the live tracks are. Ms. King's voice is at its strongest and some of these versions, most notably "Way Over Yonder" are not only better than any prior version, but they take on all-new power.

While the recorded version of this song was always my least favorite (if such a thing could really ever be said) of the 12 tracks on the original, it's as if you are listening to a freshly written song hearing this latest impassioned live version. The same can be said of the versions of "You've Got a Friend" and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" - ergo, Carole's singing and piano playing is perfect.