Almost any way you look at it, the Carly Simon of the '70s was pretty cool. Her acerbic wit and nasally expressive voice had people comparing her to Carole King, but there was also a weary androgyny to her that wouldn't be seen again until the arrival of Chrissy Hynde. Her songs rocked without quite being rock songs, and were folk-evocative without falling into the singer-songwriter bins. She scored multiple singles hits yet pulled off albums with the best of her contemporaries. This is an early collection, so it misses "Nobody Does It Better" and other later hits. Regardless, nearly all the songs here are worth having. Flavorful and nourishing--and a good package, besides. --Gavin McNett