POP MUSIC REVIEW : Carole King at Her Best With ‘Tapestry’

Carole King came on stage at the Universal Amphitheatre on Sunday night with enough ground fog and flashing lights for an Aerosmith concert. Her peculiarly disjointed reading of the opening “Hard Rock Cafe” was another ominous sign, but she quickly set all theatrical pretense aside by digging into the happy rhythms of “Up on the Roof” and “Smackwater Jack.”

King, striding the stage with the verve of a gospel preacher and displaying an increasingly strong and flexible voice, made a few obligatory gestures to her new album, and covered some of her early tunes in a medley that included “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “One Fine Day” and “Don’t Bring Me Down.”

But the heart of the program was the material, as well as the stylistic energies, of her classic 1971 “Tapestry” album. King sang no fewer than 10 of its 12 selections, from “I Feel the Earth Move” to “Natural Woman.” On the climactic “You’ve Got a Friend,” she was joined by the guest vocal harmonies of Graham Nash and David Crosby--a lovely moment for performers and audience.

Despite all her other successes, it was clear, both from King’s rich interpretations and her audience’s ebullient enthusiasm, that the album was the defining moment in her musical life--and not a bad definition, at that.