Carole King: Home Again - Live in Central Park  

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BBC Two - Carole King: Home Again - Live in Central Park

Carole King’s previously unseen homecoming concert in New York City’s Central Park in 1973

Never-before-released footage of Carole King’s triumphant 1973 homecoming concert on the Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park before an estimated audience of 100,000.

On Saturday May 26, 1973, before more than 100,000 fans on the Great Lawn of Central Park in New York City, singer-songwriter Carole King, at the undeniable top of her game, enjoyed a humbling homecoming a mere 14 miles from the house in Brooklyn where she grew up. The historic event highlighted the earth-moving power she had unleashed with her watershed Tapestry (already being touted as one of the highest selling albums in history a mere two years after its release), all the way through her soon-to-be released song-cycle album Fantasy, (her fourth consecutive album to land in Billboard’s Top Ten). Carole King’s performance that day was, according to Jack Nicholson, one of only two current events “proper” to be seen at in public.

Carole King Home Again is a previously unseen concert recording and a stunning document of one of the greatest contributors to the American songbook. Professionally filmed on 16mm film, this concert is presented with a new scan and full restoration, and in its entirety the visual tableaux of the concert absolutely shines. Kicking off the show solo by expressing gratitude that a threatening storm had held off, the first portion of the performance highlights recent songs that were nigh-canonical at this point, from Beautiful to Smackwater Jack to It’s Too Late. Carole’s deft piano and voice accompaniment is both enrapturing and riveting.

Later joined by her 11 piece band, all bedecked in customized St. Louis Blues hockey jerseys, the second half of the gig is resplendent and lush, highlighting the bulk of the songs from Fantasy, and overall, the epitome of a crack band gelling on the material and connecting with the audience. Closing out the evening with You’ve Got a Friend, dedicated to dear friend James Taylor, the overall feeling conveyed here is simple: joy.

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