Have You Seen Me Lately - Simon, Carly (CD 1990)

HAVE YOU SEEN ME LATELY reflects a definitive period in Carly's life and music as she just turned 45 when it was released. So it is no surprize that it is obviously aimed for the more mature listener which will most likely turn off a younger audience. But that just fine because even with it's sometimes moody and depressing atmosphere it remains one of her most introspective and thought provoking albums.
It is quite obvious throughout this entire set that she is reflecting on observations from the landscape of middle age. Though Carly looks fantastic on the cover with a sultry smile and provacitive clothing don't let this marketing ploy decieve you. This is somewhat of a dark album with sometimes depressing lyrics about growing older and facing the fact that youth has flown by quickly and one is just now trying to catch up. Sprinkled throughout with some upbeat tunes about romance and sexual liberation on tracks like BETTER NOT TELL HER (which became a top 5 adult contemporary hit), HOLDING ME TONIGHT, and DON"T WRAP IT UP, as well as a sense of 9o's new age sound on songs like LIFE IS ETERNAL and the title track it doesn't make up for the depressing tone of the album as a whole. On songs like IT'S NOT LIKE HIM, about a wife who is in denial about her husband having an affair with a younger woman, DIDN"T I?, a sad song filled with self doubt and dysfunctional angst about a failed relationship, and WE JUST GOT HERE, a metaphor for middle age and the end of youth, its hard to feel good while listening. However, for someone that can relate to these subjects and may want to do some reflecting themselves this might be the right stuff.