It Might As Well Rain Until SeptemberJasmine JASCD1033★★★★
With Carole King supplying the melodies and her then husband Gerry Goffin writing the words, this golden couple were behind many of the greatest hits of the Sixties, from “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” by the Shirelles, through “Take Good of My Baby” by Bobby Vee to Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”.
But what tends to be forgotten is that prior to her emergence as a major singer-songwriter with her album Tapestry in the 70s, Carole King enjoyed success with the title track of this fascinating collection as well as recording the early tracks heard on the first half of the album. These include typical summer romance songs such as “Queen of the Beach” and “School Bells are Ringing” as well as a delightful tongue-in-cheek answer disc to fellow songwriter Neil Sedaka’s “Oh, Carol” called, naturally enough “Oh, Neil”
But perhaps the real meat and potatoes of this release are the 20 demo tracks recorded by King of songs the couple hoped would be recorded by some of the big names of the day.
Thus we get to hear her versions of Vee’s aforementioned “Take Good Care of My Baby” (plus for good measure, the subsequent answer disc “He Takes Good Care of My Baby”), “When My Little Girl is Smiling” and “Another Night with the Boys” – both to be recorded by the Drifters – and “Go Away Little Girl” a US chart-topper for both Steve Lawrence and, later, Donny Osmond.
It’s a captivating and absorbing celebration of one of pop’s greatest songwriting teams.
