Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Carly Simon has always produced pretty good songs – never terribly great, but pretty good. Be it You’re so Vain or her version of Mockingbird, Simon has a knack for bringing a pleasant smile to a listener’s face. She’s taken some risks throughout her nearly 40 years in the recording business, but, for the most part, her style is mellow love songs with decent vocals.

Simon’s latest album, This Kind of Love, is surprisingly a step in a different direction. She still has her usual sound, but she takes some risks – especially with the rap-infused People Say a Lot. Fortunately for the audience, many of the risks are welcome additions, like the album’s strongest song, Island. But, unfortunately, for the listener to get to these songs, they have to get through the less-than-powerful ditties, like the aforementioned, People Say a Lot.

The title track, which is also the first song, is a very strong opener. It has the feeling of a jazzy lounge act, and it feels like a song from another decade. Most importantly, you actually believe Simon when she sings about the pangs of love and the resiliency of the heart. On other lips, these potentially corny lyrics could sound strange. But, for Simon, they are typical and seem to fit.

Hold out Your Heart doesn’t match the greatness of the first track, but it’s also not half-bad. But then, we get to People Say a Lot. Now, I appreciate the worthy effort. And certainly, in this nearly seven-minute song, there are some good things. But, it just never reaches its potential. You have crazy melodies coupled with Simon’s rapping, “People say a lot, when they want a job.” I actually believe that listeners should read the lyrics to themselves, because there are some great images and lessons to be learned. But, when it’s put together musically, the results are pretty awful.

The rest of the album, including the gems, Island and Hola Soleil, prove that Simon is a musical act worth checking out. She floats through each song with a mastery that can only be achieved by someone who’s been there and done that. She often breaks into another language while singing, and it always seems to work without a hitch.

For the most part, This Kind of Love is a treat – a cacophony of risks that are generally pleasing to the ear.