Anticipation is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released in 1971.
The title track and lead single, "Anticipation", became a smash top-20 chart hit in the U.S.; it was later used as the soundtrack for several television commercials for Heinzketchup starting in 1973. The song relates Simon's state of mind as she waits to go on a date with Cat Stevens.[1] The album cover artwork is a photo of Simon taken by Peter Simon at the gates of Queen Mary's Garden in London's Regent's Park.[2]
The closing song, her version of Kris Kristofferson's "I've Got to Have You", was released as a single in Australia and reached the Top 10 of the Australian charts in 1972.
Writing in Rolling Stone, Stephen Davis gave a glowing review of the album. He called the title-track "a spirited examination of the tensions involved in a burgeoning romantic situation in which nobody has any idea of what's going on or what's going to happen." Davis continued by calling "Our First Day Together", "...a quiet song, lovely and quite enigmatic, with a trace of the minor chord influence of Joni Mitchell." He concluded by calling "I've Got To Have You", "an ...absolute clincher, an awesome description of the psychic ravages of gone-nuts, know-nothing love." He continued by saying, "...as Carly performs it, it becomes a tour de force, and a stern reminder to those of us who might have forgotten that passion is the ruler of man, not reason. When Carly moans 'I can't help it ... I've got to have you,' we're being shown something so primal and so private that it takes your breath away."
A more recent review from Allmusic's William Ruhlmann continued the praise. Ruhlmann rated the album three and a half out of a possible five, and stated, "the album ...found her extending the gutsy persona she had established on her debut album." In 1973, Anticipation was certified Gold by the RIAA, for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[6]
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