Featuring the major hits "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" and "Mockingbird", the latter a duet with her then-husband James Taylor, Hotcakes became one of Simon's biggest selling albums.

[1] The album's cover photo, taken by Ed Caraeff in late 1973, shows Simon sitting in a maternity dress, pregnant with her first child, Sally.

Produced by Richard Perry who had previously helmed No Secrets, the album features Simon on piano, including the final track "Haven't Got Time for the Pain".

"[4] Shortly after its release, Hotcakes was certified Gold by the RIAA, for sales "of one million dollars at manufacturer's level" in the United States.

[5] Elektra chose to release two other very prominent albums at the same time: Bob Dylan's Planet Waves and Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark.

[2] Jon Landau, writing in Rolling Stone, stated Simon's ..."Hotcakes is playful-sounding with some serious overtones — a balance that best suits her for the time being."

"[7] Robert Christgau, writing in Creem, said, "You're So Vain" left a nice afterglow--as Ellen Willis says, it proves that rock and roll is so democratic that even a rich person can make a great single.

Ruhlmann said that "Hotcakes was an autobiographical concept album that defined domestic bliss at a time when Simon's listeners also were catching their breath and turning inward.