Carly Simon’s new project ‘Comes in Waves’ debuts on three charts in the U.K. The set brings the singer to a new career peak on multiple rosters. CIRCA 1975: Singer/songwriter Carly Simon poses for a portrait in circa 1975. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
getty
Carly Simon made herself into a music industry phenomenon in the early ’70s with her string of bestselling albums and a number of huge singles. Her greatest hits include a number of tunes that have stood the test of time, like “Mockingbird” with then-husband James Taylor, “Nobody Does It Better,” “You Belong to Me,” “Jesse” and, of course, the unforgettable “You’re So Vain.”
Simon has been largely quiet on the music front for years, but she mounts a chart comeback in the United Kingdom this week. The singer-songwriter’s latest album Comes in Waves, her twenty-fourth full-length and first in a little less than two decades, becomes a quick bestseller in the country. On some tallies, the Grammy winner reaches new career highs with an album that has largely flown under the radar.
Carly Simon’s New Album Debuts on Three Charts
Comes in Waves debuts on three rankings in the U.K. at once. The full-length is new at No. 16 on the Official Album Downloads chart, No. 35 on the Official Albums Sales ranking and No. 39 on the Official Physical Albums tally.
Carly Simon Doubles Her Career Total on Several Lists
Comes in Waves doubles Simon’s career appearances on both the Official Albums Sales and Official Album Downloads charts. She first reached those two rosters a little less than a decade ago, in May 2017, when the then-decades-old No Secrets finally appeared.
Simon is up to five total wins on the Official Physical Albums ranking, which looks specifically at purchases on formats such as CD, cassette and vinyl, while the broader sales list also incorporates downloads. Comes in Waves marks her first new entry on the physical tally since No Secrets arrived in 2017. Simon first reached the roster more than a quarter-century ago when the compilation Nobody Does It Better debuted back in 1999.
Carly Simon Reaches New Career Highs on Two Charts
On both the Official Albums Sales and Official Album Downloads charts, Comes in Waves brings Simon to new career peak positions. The singer-songwriter reaches the top 40 on the general sales ranking for the first time, as No Secrets previously topped out at No. 42. On the downloads-only tally, No Secrets worked its way to No. 19, and Comes in Waves beats that placement by three spaces as it opens at No. 16.
Comes in Waves Is Not Carly Simon’s Biggest Physical Bestseller
Comes in Waves does not quite become Simon’s highest-charting release on the Official Physical Albums chart. That honor still belongs to Nobody Does It Better, her first set to make it to the ranking, as the compilation soared to No. 22 and stopped there.
About half a decade later, another compilation, Reflections, reached No. 25. Since then, Never Been Gone and No Secrets have lifted to Nos. 44 and 49, respectively.
Carly Simon Faces a Crowded Week of Debuts
It is an unusually busy week for new arrivals on the U.K. album rankings. On the Official Album Downloads chart, Comes in Waves launches inside the top 20, yet it is only the tenth-highest debut this frame. Simon’s latest comes in behind new projects from Jungle, The Script, Phoebe Bridgers and Marilyn Manson, among others.
The project notably does not make an impression on the Official Albums chart, which blends sales and streaming activity to rank the most-consumed releases in the nation. Simon has not scored a new appearance on that roster since 2010, when Never Been Gone peaked at No. 45. She first broke onto the list in early 1973 with No Secrets, which remains her only top 10 album in the U.K.