Coming Around Again

by William RuhlmannAfter the debacle that was Spoiled Girl, Carly Simon moved to her fourth record label, Arista, and returned to soundtrack work. This time, she wrote "Coming Around Again" for Heartburn, and it hit number 18 in early 1987, her biggest hit in more than six years. That set up Simon's comeback with this album, which became her biggest hit in a decade, producing two more chart singles, "Give Me All Night" (number 61) and "All I Want Is You" (number 54), and going platinum. Once again, a bevy of producers -- nine this time -- weighed in, in an attempt to vary Simon's appeal. The big difference was that this time, Simon was willing to go to her strengths as a ballad singer rather than romping amid synthesized blips. Better to flirt with retro than disco, at least as far as Simon's audience is concerned.