Patrick Salvo talks to Lou Adler

To get to the A&M lot, one drives past Burbank, East on Hollywood's infamous Sunset Strip, past the Whiskey, the world's largest record store Tower Records, Schwab's Drug store, Filthy McNasty's Strip joint and the syrupy House of Pancakes.

Missing three lazy lights at La Brea one makes a slow left and cruises past Victor, the stubborn "Rent a cop" who misdirects all through the college - like campus grounds of A&M Records, formerly the home set of those immortal Charlie Chaplin flicks. once inside the clandestine, wooden portals of A&M's highly coveted, four studio music machine, many sights are to be seen.

In the far corner of studio "C", relaxes Graham Nash, touching up Joni Mitchell's new album "For The Roses" with a little impromptu harmonica work. Former Derek and the Dominoes drummer, Jim Gordon and his new girlfriend, Rene Armand hand in hand, drift out after a rehearsal session for Rene's new album "Rain Book".

A barefooted Joni Mitchell, wearing cut off jeans and a multicoloured scarf leaves studio "C" unrecognised; James Taylor chats for a few minutes with Sandy, the well-endowed blonde receptionist, and above the din, the clatter and the tinsel, a frail Carole King, from Brooklyn, New York, is breast feeding her baby while recording.

FLASH Ten years ago, New York:

To get to the Brill Building on Broadway, home fo the East Coast record world, one either takes a taxi or the smelly IRT, BMT or IND local through Manhattan's rat- infested subway system. Past the cranky receptionist, up the elevator through the six piano rooms and tiny cubicles, such songwriting teams and [as] Greenfield and Sedaka, Leiber and Stroller [Stoller], Barry Man and Cynthia Weil are busy writing" "There Goes My Baby", "On Broadway", "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place".

Flashing out of one of the cubicles, beckoned by her crying, crawling six months' old daughter is the 19-year-old, frail Carole King, who with her then husband Gerry Goffin, has just finished writing "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow".

As Lou Adler, her producer and close friend, would say, "It's ten years later and she's still checking baby's and making records. her production has never ceased!"

And if anyone should know it's the producer, publisher ODE Reco0rds President, who's been by Carole's side "since the very beginning." When requesting an interview with Carole King, one is escorted into Lou Adler's plush L.A. officers.

Lou Adler gives interviews for Carole King, although lately not very many. Recently he has turned down TIME, NEWSWEEK, LIFE and all the major dailies and since Carole's "Tapestry" was certified gold two years ago, he has ignored the American Press like the plague.

Musically Adler was schooled with Sam Cooke, Jan and Dean, Johnny Rivers and Barry McGuire. He brought Scott McKenzie a million seller with "San Francisco" during the hazy summer of powerless flowers. The force behind the Mamas and the Papas during the California dreaming days, Adler skyrocketed Spirit, Cheech and Chong into the charts and has done sessions with Lou Rawls and Chris Montez. The catalyst behind the two Monterey Pop Festivals and the films that ensued, he has produced "Brewster McCloud" and others.

Why "Rhymes and Reasons" and why all the secrecy?

Yeah, "Rhymes and Reasons" and it wasn't kept under raps any more than any Carole King or any album that I do. It's just because when I'm working on an album I always feel that it belongs to the artists and myself until the very last minute. So, I don't talk about it and no one hears it until I'm just totally finished.

What's the connection of the title, any specifics?

Yeah, there is. Well it is about rhymes and just normally the title is about a lot of rhymes and reasons and it's lifted from a line in a song she says "time will bring an understanding to the rhyme and reason of it all".

What's the story behind Carole's lyrics?

The reason why she wrote these? Carole King is a songwriter, you know, first and foremost. I mean, if she is a poet, it's only by label. She's a songwriter. She's not a poet that puts music to her words. She writes music and lyrics. Therefore, any thoughts that, they're very blatant. I mean you don't have to jump right in with "who was she thinking about". She was writing songs.

Whereas Joni Mitchell ... is a personalised poet?

Joni Mitchell writes ... well, Carole, every songwriter probably bases some of it on experience or an experience. But Carole is motivated more by songwriting than by making twelve statements on an album. Always was, right from the beginning. Joni's albums are probably ... I mean you can't say they're more personal. Nothing is more personal than music to Carole, but I mean it's in a different way. She's a songwriter. Actually it's something you have to judge for yourself. I can't judge for you or tell you what it's about. You can read it. She is a very, very sensitive person you know. She has incredible vision. She has a way of saying things that a lot of people want to say.

Is that why you think there's such mass appeal?

Oh Yeah, I mean, she knows how to say love in a lot of different ways. It's a very difficult question you know, what is love. She has a way of, she's you know, a composer. She's really a composer that has something to do with mass appeal. She also has one of the most captivating vocal qualities ever. People who usually hear her demos would want to keep them. The thing is to collect Carole King demos. She just has an honesty in the way she expresses everything, basic honesty. It's all like 100 per cent. You know, I'm saying this 100 per cent. And it's honest. You never question her, you she never lets you down.

Weren't Joni Mitchell and Carole recording their LPs about the same time in the same A&M studio?

Yeah.

Did Joni happen to come in and pitch in? No, no she's not on the album. Carole did all of the background vocals. Joni came in a couple of time, and Carole went in to where she was recording.

Tell me about the sessions. The players.

It's recorded basically with the same people. We only used one drummer, we used one bass player. Carole did all the vocals herself. She played all the keyboards, we used Bobby Hall on percussion, Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Charlie Larkey, her husband on bass. The engineer was the same as the last two albums, Hank Cicalo, same photographer and same graphic man.

Any interesting, anecdotal tales about the sessions?

Well this session was ... The album before this Carole did. The album before this "Music" we did while she was pregnant and this album we did with the baby, while she was, would breast feed it.

During the recording sessions?

Yeah, during the recording sessions and the other time the baby was either in my lap or asleep in the studio.

The baby's not on the record in any way, wailing?

No, no but, actually she was on some out takes, but they're all deleted. What's interesting about the string section that we use is that they're a new string section with Norman Kurban and David Campbell. David Campbell, we used on "Tapestry" as one of the string players but he's now gone into arranging. Like in L.A. The string players around are all very good. It's not like stilted, in some cities you hear or you use string players an d they're not into the music. In a large string section you'll find five, six seven guys that are into the music. You know even though they come out of classical music and they weren't exposed to "rock and roll" until they were exposed to it commercially when you hired them. They seem to get into it, but what David and Norman have is a string section where everyone is 19, 20, 21.

Aren't you sort of taking a chance? I don't take chances when it comes to Carole King.

Is she going back on the road soon?

I don't know. Sometimes she says she's not going to do any more appearances and sometimes she feels like she'll do some. It just depends on so many circumstances, you know. She has to really enjoy what she's doing so if all things feel right, she'll say, 'why don't we work'. She'll probably do some. That's my feeling.

Will "The City" album ever be released. I know Columbia once had it.

I haven't figured out a way to release it. Columbia had it at the end of my deal with Columbia and they lost it obviously. They never knew what they had! I haven't figured out a way to release it. I don't want to release it so it looks like a new album. I don't just want to sort of let it slip out. There are copies selling for $15, $20, $25, you know. Well, originally I pressed 5,000 so there are 5,000 out of it. It's really a collector's item. I don't know how to release it. I still haven't figured out a way. We have a seven minute film that's being distributed by Columbia called 'Ten Years Of Music'. It traces some of the music. It's not a very in depth study of Carole King, but Bobby Vee sings in it. It's a nice little film. It's all of her songs. Like Bobby Vee sings portions of 'Take Good Care Of My Baby' and we also have a book coming out also called 'Ten Years Of Carole King' with 70 or 80 hits. It's a songbook, but a hardcover version also.

When was the first time you met Carole?

In New York in 1961.

Do you remember the first meeting?

I remember the first impression. There in the middle of the floor of the office was a playpen. In it was this little baby and coming out of this room to check on the baby was Carole who was like 19, I guess. And then going back in and writing. And it's ten years later and we're still checking babies and making records! Her production has never ceased.

When I first heard 'Writer' two years ago I said wow, but apparently no one else said wow.

Well you saw through it, there are certain people that have more ears. You heard through an over production or whatever it was. You heard Carole King. Most people couldn't hear it through the way it was recorded. 'Tapestry', just basically put her back as a 'demo artist'. I mean it just got simpler and you were able to hear Carole King.

Do you think 'Writer' was over-orchestrated and whatever else?

Yeah, the mixes were lower. She was down in some mixes. It was over- orchestrated. There was a moog-synthesizer. It was really not Carole King at her piano yet which the mass was able to hear when it was presented that way I guess. When an album sells as much as 'Tapestry' you really don't know what did it. I mean you know. It's hard to figure out when they sell that much.

It's the number one selling album of all time.

I think it is. 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' might be close but it's very close to being.

What was the chronological development from 'Writer' to 'Tapestry'? There was about a year span in between there.

Well she was discouraged. She never showed it but I guess she was. The fact that 'Writer' didn't sell. But, in there up through 'Writer' I had been producing a film, not really running a record company. I still had the record company but I was into producing.

And then her third album, 'Music'.

'Music' was not an extension of 'Tapestry'. Music is the album in retrospect, if you get out everything after you have a big album. The group gets off playing, you do long instrumentals I mean you do all those things, just natural. This album 'Rhymes and Reasons' maybe it's the follow up to 'Tapestry'. Every song is great. It's very personal. It's always her. Nothing ever takes away. And 'Music' that happened a few times in the instrumentals. If you turned on the radio, you wouldn't know it was a Carole King record. You always know this is a Carole King record.

That's the first impression one gets.

It's very personal. Personal in that it's her presenting herself as if she's in the room playing the piano for you.

What do you foresee as the single off this album?

I think probably 'Peace In The Valley'.

When 'Tapestry' first came out did you realise what a commercial success it would be?

Yeah.

Like you had two or three singles off it?

I put two singles out, but I had probably ten and I just decided to stop putting them out. Thee was requests for almost everything. No, I knew what I had when I finished.

So how does Carole feel now? How does Carole feel about all the success?

I think she's the same. The same in the sense that money doesn't mean a lot of Carole King, over a certain amount of money. It's not like if I had $100,000 that means if I had $300,000 then I could do three times as much. As long as that money fits her aim, she doesn't make her values fit the money. There are certain things she likes, wants and needs and as long as there's that much money then she's just straight, you know. Being richer doesn't knock her out. She wouldn't buy two of this if she only wanted one.

How is she technically?

In the studio she's the best, there's no better. Carole's a musician - a total musician. She can explain anything that she wants. And she does. And she's at complete command and there's definite respect for her. She's fast and she doesn't waste time and it's not a lark.