Carly Simon - Playing Possum (1975)
Tracklist front / back album covers
Side one
1. "After the Storm" 2:47
2. "Love out in the Street" 3:40
3. "Look Me in the Eyes" 3:34
4. "More and More" 4:02
5. "Slave" 3:54
Side two
6. "Attitude Dancing" 3:52
7. "Sons of Summer" 3:05
8. "Waterfall" 3:31
9. "Are You Ticklish" 2:26
10. "Playing Possum" 3:57
Carly Simon Band Members / Musicians
Carly Simon – lead vocals, acoustic piano (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), horn arrangements (1), string arrangements (1, 10), backing vocals (2, 3, 5–8), acoustic guitar (3)
Billy Mernit – acoustic piano (2, 7)
James Newton Howard – ARP synthesizer (3), electric piano (3)
Dr. John – acoustic piano (4)
Lee Ritenour – electric guitar (1, 5, 8), mandolin (5)
James Taylor – acoustic guitar (3, 5, 8), backing vocals (3, 5, 8, 10)
Jeff Baxter – guitar (4)
Alvin Robinson – guitar (4)
Sneaky Pete Kleinow – pedal steel guitar (10)
Klaus Voormann – bass (1, 4)
Willie Weeks – bass (2, 6, 10)
Leland Sklar – bass (5, 8)
Joe Mondragon – bass (9)
Andrew Gold – drums (1, 10), guitar (2, 6), tambourine (2), acoustic guitar (10)
Andy Newmark – drums (2)
Ringo Starr – drums (4)
Russ Kunkel – drums (5, 8)
Jim Gordon – drums (6)
Irving Cottler – drums (9)
Alan Estes – percussion (1, 3)
Emil Richards – percussion (2)
Fred Staehle – percussion (4)
Richard Perry – tambourine (4)
Eddie Bongo – congas (6)
Trevor Lawrence – alto sax solo (1)
Derrek Van Eaton – flute (8)
Lon Van Eaton – clarinet (8), sitar (10)
Tommy Morgan – harmonica (10)
Perry Botkin Jr. – string arrangements (2, 5), orchestration (2, 5), conductor (2, 5, 9), horn and woodwind arrangements (5), clarinet and trombone arrangement (9)
Paul Riser – horn and string arrangements (6)
Rita Coolidge – backing vocals (2, 5)
Clydie King – backing vocals (2, 5)
Rodney Richmond – backing vocals (2)
Vini Poncia – backing vocals (3)
Julia Tillman Waters – backing vocals (4)
Maxine Willard – backing vocals (4)
Carolyn Willis – backing vocals (4)
Abigale Haness – backing vocals (6)
Carole King – backing vocals (6)
Ken Moore – backing vocals (6)
Producer – Richard Perry
Engineers – Bill Schnee (Tracks 1, 2 & 5–10); Norm Kinney (Track 3); Andrew Berliner (Track 4).
Second Engineer – Charles Beasley
Assistant Engineers – Larry Emerine and Reed Stanley
Remixing – Norm Kinney and Bill Schnee
Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
Art Direction – Glen Christensen
Design and Photography – Norman Seeff
Management – Arlyne Rothberg, Inc.
Playing Possum is the 5th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, on April 21, 1975.
It was Simon's third consecutive album to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Pop albums chart, peaking at No. 10 in June 1975. The lead single from the album, "Attitude Dancing", which featured Carole King on backing vocals, was also a success, peaking at No. 21 on Billboard Pop singles chart, and No. 18 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. A second single, "Waterfall," which featured prominent backing vocals by Simon's then-husband James Taylor, didn't fare as well, reaching no higher than No. 78 on the Pop singles chart. It fared much better on the Adult Contemporary chart, entering the Top 40 and peaking at No. 21. The album's third and final single "More and More" was co-written by New Orleans pianist Dr. John, who also played piano on the track, along with Ringo Starr on drums, but it peaked no higher than No. 94 on the Pop singles chart.
