Have You Seen Me Lately

For the Sam Kinison album, see Have You Seen Me Lately?

Have You Seen Me Lately
Studio album by
Carly Simon
ReleasedSeptember 25, 1990
Recordedat Right Track Recording, New York City
GenreRock
Length50:26
LabelArista
ProducerFrank Filipetti and Paul Samwell-Smith
Carly Simon chronology
My Romance
(1990) 		Have You Seen Me Lately
(1990) 		This Is My Life (Music from the Motion Picture)
(1992)
Singles from Have You Seen Me Lately
  1. "Better Not Tell Her"
    Released: 1990
  2. "Holding Me Tonight"
    Released: 1990

Have You Seen Me Lately is the 15th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on September 25, 1990.

The album spent 32 weeks on the US Billboard 200, peaking at No. 60.[1] The first single, "Better Not Tell Her", was very successful on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, charting for 21 weeks, peaking at No. 4, and becoming Simon's biggest hit of the 1990s.[1] The second single, "Holding Me Tonight", was also successful on this chart, peaking at No. 36 and charting for five weeks. The track "Fisherman's Song" features backing vocals by Judy Collins and Simon's sister, Lucy Simon.[2] Simon released a children's book based on the song the following year.[3]

The album's title track was written for the Mike Nichols film Postcards from the Edge (1990), but the entire title sequence – including the song – was deleted by producers, although a great deal of Simon's underscore compositions and thematic interludes remain in the film, eventually earning her a BAFTA nomination for Best Film Score in 1991.[4]

Reception and promotion

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB[6]

A critical and commercial success, Have You Seen Me Lately spent eight months on the Billboard 200, while Stephen Holden, writing in The New York Times, called the album "superb" and the title track "the album's most stunning moment".[7] Greg Sandow, writing for Entertainment Weekly, graded the album B, and stated "'Life Is Eternal' breathes an air of genuine uplift" and "'Better Not Tell Her' and the title track sound firm, tender, and genuine, with pointed melodies and an airy outdoor aura".[6] In a retrospective review from AllMusic, William Ruhlmann rated the album three stars out of five: "Simon has always written songs for her age group; here, it's the fortysomethings of the 1990s. At the end, "We Just Got Here" provides the summer's-end metaphor for middle age." Ruhlmann also singled out the tracks "Better Not Tell Her" and "Fisherman's Song".[5]

Simon released music videos for the singles "Better Not Tell Her" and "Holding Me Tonight"; the former being shot on a beach on Martha's Vineyard in July 1990 - at the estate of Jackie Onassis.[8] Simon also performed the latter on Late Night with David Letterman in 1990.[9] Simon performed the tracks "Happy Birthday" and "Life Is Eternal" on a 1991 episode of The Phil Donahue Show.[10][11]

Awards

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Year Award Category Work/Recipient Result Ref.
1991 Boston Music Awards Outstanding Pop Album Have You Seen Me Lately Nominated [12]
Outstanding Female Vocalist Carly Simon Nominated

Track listing

[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[13]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Better Not Tell Her"Carly Simon5:21
2."Didn't I?"Simon2:51
3."Have You Seen Me Lately?"Simon4:16
4."Life Is Eternal"
5:25
5."Waiting at the Gate"
6:17
6."Happy Birthday"Simon4:53
7."Holding Me Tonight"Simon4:17
8."It's Not Like Him"
  • Simon
  • Brackman
4:31
9."Don't Wrap It Up"Simon4:19
10."Fisherman's Song"Simon3:54
11."We Just Got Here"Simon4:22
Total length:50:26

Personnel

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Musicians

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  • Carly Simon – lead vocals, keyboards, guitars
  • Teese Gohl – keyboards, string arrangements and conductor
  • Jimmy Ryan – acoustic guitar, backing vocals, acoustic bass (6)
  • Jay Berliner – Spanish guitar solo (1)
  • John McCurry – electric guitar (3, 7)
  • Dirk Ziff – additional acoustic guitar (7)
  • Will Lee – bass guitar (1–5, 7–10), backing vocals, additional lead vocals (4)
  • Bruce Samuels – acoustic bass (11)
  • Steve Gadd – drums
  • Jimmy Bralower – drum programming
  • Naná Vasconcelos – additional percussion (4, 6)
  • Michael Brecker – EWI (3, 8)
  • Marvin Stamm – trumpet (7)
  • Lani Groves – backing vocals
  • Paul Samwell-Smith – backing vocals
  • Lucy Simon – backing vocals, additional vocals (10)
  • Julie Levine – additional backing vocals (4)
  • Ben Taylor – additional backing vocals (4, 6)
  • Sally Taylor – additional backing vocals (4, 6)
  • Judy Collins – additional vocals (10)

Production

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  • Producers – Frank Filipetti and Paul Samwell-Smith
  • Recorded and Mixed by Frank Filipetti
  • Assistant Engineer – John Herman
  • Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
  • Artwork and Design – Carolyn Quan
  • Photography – Bob Gothard
  • Hand Lettering – Kathy Schinhofen

Charts

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Album – Billboard (United States)[1]

Year Chart Position
1990 Billboard 200 60

Album – International[14]

Year Country Position
1990 Canada 64

Singles – Billboard (United States)[1]

Year Single Chart Position
1990 "Better Not Tell Her" Adult Contemporary 4
"Holding Me Tonight" 36

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Carly Simon – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Have You Seen Me Lately". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "Books". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  4. ^ "Original Film Score in 1991". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Have You Seen Me Lately". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  6. ^ a b Sandow, Greg. "Have You Seen Me Lately". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  7. ^ Holden, Stephen (October 31, 1992). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  8. ^ "Carly Simon - Better Not Tell Her". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  9. ^ "Holding Me Tonight on Late Night". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  10. ^ "Carly Simon - Happy Birthday". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Carly Simon - Life is Eternal". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  12. ^ "Boston Music Awards 1991". Boston Music Awards. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  13. ^ Have You Seen Me Lately (booklet). Carly Simon. Arista. 1990.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ "CAN Charts > Carly Simon". RPM. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
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