The cover of The Best of Carly Simon reminds me of the Righteous Brothers song that supposes if there's a rock and roll heaven, you know they've got a helluva band, and then lists the greats (Jim, Jimmy, Janis, and Otis) who would be performing in the afterlife. It's not that the album cover is morbid. Rather, it captures Carly's admission into rarified, other-worldly Rock and Roll royalty. Indeed, it looks as though it is not a photograph of Carly herself but is instead the image of her that stands proudly in the musical Pantheon. Her pose is certainly statuesque. Her white dress could be the flowing robes of a goddess (so openly flowing one has to wonder where the clasp might be). And her hair - perfectly arranged and casually lifted by a breeze - is reminiscent of Venus as she rises from the sea. The stray hair across the forehead is an especially nice detail: when you are this goddess-like, any slight imperfection can only be endearing.
The lettering, too, looks as though it is etched in stone around a statue of one of the greats. And who could deny that by 1975 Carly was ready to take her place among rock deities? After five studio albums, seven top 40 singles, and any number of 'turntable hits' on FM radio, the arrival of her 'best of' was a well deserved acknowledgement of her achievements and her rightful place in the musical firmament.
