⭐ Official Review [Album]: "MADE IN AMERICA" (SP-3723)

[GaryAlan]

December 26, 1981, Billboard Magazine Year-End Issue:
Paul Grein:
" Carpenters, Made In America,...it's a shame image came to overshadow the Carpenter's music,
because Karen can sing circles around most of today's chart toppers."

On October 3, 1981 the album was retailing for $8.98 and was at #155,
per record retailers,after 14 weeks on chart.
Carpenters#15 Adult Contemporary Artist for 1981.
Touch Me When We're Dancing#15 AC Chart for 1981.
December 5,1981 KTAC-AM top add-on Those Good Old Dreams (sic.: song listed as Those Good Old Days)

 

[GaryAlan]

Some Background as Quoted from:
June 1981, Carpenters Fan Club Newsletter#70:
"...the album delay was due to several factors.
A. Problem with monitor and tape machine during recording at A&M.
B. Problem with computer board and interlocking device for the dual 24-track tape machine during Mix-Down.
C. Unsatisfactory Test Pressings. The quality of vinyl has steadily declined since the 'first energy crisis'.
Richard had to turn down three test pressings from various plants due to unacceptable surface noise and pops.
According to Richard, the pressings he finally approved are 'as good, if not better than other popularly priced albums, but
not as quiet as they used to be.'
"Being an incurable perfectionist and conscientious producer, he will not rest until he achieves the result he is completely
satisfied with."

 

[aaflyer98]

I remember the delays over Made In America. At the time, I bought the newsletters reasons. Now, no way, don't believe them for a second. And kudos to Ev and Rosina, no disrespect to them, whatsoever. Love them both and appreciated them. But we all know there was a big cover up when it had to do with anything personal as far as Karen and Richard went. And cover up they did! As they should. Now if only they wrote down what was really happening who was fighting with who and what Ev and Rosina really thought! I'd buy that book. Randy! Sequel! Please!

 

[ullalume]

With regards to the long gestation period of MIA I don't actually think there was any cover-up. At her wedding reception Karen stated it was due out in March. . .and the above 3 reasons make perfect sense as to why it was delayed 3 months. Obviously there was a lot of white-washing in the newsletters, but I don't think this is an example of it.

 

[GaryAlan]

I must be getting Old, or Forgetful, or Both:
I took a (re-) listen (today) to the 45-Vinyl of
Touch Me When We're Dancing/Because We Are In Love,
the later song has a run time of 5 minutes.
An ear-opener,today, as Karen sounded fantastic on this vinyl--even
the Wedding Song sounded good. Something about Vinyl.

 

[aaflyer98]

While relaxing today I put the headphones on and listened to
"When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)".
Wow. Still Amazing. Karen's vocals grip me. And Richard's arrangement is fantastic.
I invite you to re-listen to this overlooked gem.

 

[newvillefan]

While relaxing today I put the headphones on and listened to
"When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)".
Wow. Still Amazing. Karen's vocals grip me. And Richard's arrangement is fantastic.
I invite you to re-listen to this overlooked gem.

I have that experience with this song every now and again. The arrangement is absolutely exquisite and Karen's vocal is so haunting. It's one of the few lead vocals on MIA that has the sheer presence that's lacking on the rest of the album. I totally get what Richard means when he says the song is "an arranger's dream". He really made the most of it.

 

[ullalume]

Agreed. This is such a great track, but commercially it was never going to be a contender and in '80 both were still focused on that infamous "top 5 single".

In my dream world, where Karen lives and the pair realize the spotlight had moved elsewhere, we might have had an entire album of the calibre of "When It's Gone".

And I still have no clue what lyrics are sung by the background vocals. . .and what's more I love the fact that I have no clue. . .they're so ethereally mixed.

 

[newvillefan]

And I still have no clue what lyrics are sung by the background vocals. . .and what's more I love the fact that I have no clue. . .they're so ethereally mixed.

I don't hear anything other than "oohs" and "ahhs" that compliment her lead.

 

[GaryAlan]

Billboard Magazine, November 14,1981:
Kramer-Rocklen Studios
"...the studio has done many videos...for adult contemporary artists...which has a harder time getting aired than Rock videos.
"We did a Carpenters' video that I think a lot of people would like." says Kramer.
"It is not shown on the programs that a lot of people would watch, but it gets some play. It's cute and I think it works for what
the Carpenters are. It's like 'Happy Days' because one song was Please Mr. Postman and the other was Beechwood 4-5789. Both
happened to be early '60s tunes, so coming up with a concept was easy."

Source:
https://books.google.com/books?id=9yQEAAAAMBAJ

 

[GaryAlan]

Billboard Magazine, August 15, 1981:
Out of the Box (WNBC-AM Radio):
"...adding two new records this week...the other being the Carpenters' new A&M Single Touch Me When We're Dancing.
He did research this one--with CallOut Research--and found that "... those who know it, like it."

Source:
https://books.google.com/books?id=_CMEAAAAMBAJ

 

[Aaron Moyer]

I cannot articulate it, but I find this album to be...odd. This is the first time I thought Karen sounded "strained" instead of relaxed. I cannot hear that lovely caress that she always lavished on notes.

 

[GaryAlan]

July 25th,1981, Paul Grein's Billboard Review (Page 72) of the album reads, in part:
-----
"..I've always thought that Karen Carpenter has one of the most beguiling, richly expressive
voices of the modern pop era....But, within the community of critics, it would seem to be, shall we say,
a minority viewpoint. Certainly there's the odd review that is sympathetic to the Carpenters."
-----
"Made In America is a full-fledged return to the traditional Carpenters' sound."
------
"Because We Are In Love....has a lengthy opening verse, a 'Greek' chorus that exchanges dialog with the singer, and
the grand symphonic sweep of a suite from a Broadway Show...My musical theatre authority points out, correctly,
that the verse is much too long and lacks the wit and whimsy associated with the the Masters of the form."
----
"(Want You ) Back In My Life Again....would make an excellent second single..."
-----
" I Believe You, a 1978 single, which features one of Karen's most mesmerizing vocals... it's a classic torch performance....
which makes up for the painfully unimaginative inclusion of Beechwood 4-5789..."
----
"Two of the best cuts...Those Good Old Dreams and When It's Gone....
Karen is at her most compelling when she's singing milky, midtempo, ballads."

 

[newvillefan]

which makes up for the painfully unimaginative inclusion of Beechwood 4-5789

And that's coming from Paul Grein! It's interesting after all these years that the almost universal thinking of this track is "what were they thinking?"

 

[GaryAlan]

I see in Billboard Magazine(page 23) , January 28th, 1978 where
Dorothy Moore received a Grammy Nomination
for her vocal performance of "I Believe You".
Wondering if this played in to Richard Carpenter's decision to release this as a single in mid-1978.
Thoughts?
(Still trying--after all these years-- to really like this song.....)

 

[newvillefan]

(Still trying--after all these years-- to really like this song.....)

I'm still torn with this song. The orchestration is lovely, but there's something too bombastic about it. I have come to really dislike the 'false' ending where the drums come in again and it goes on for another even more overblown chorus. Was Richard trying to replicate the original album version of 'Close To You' perhaps?

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I think after the album Horizon, the Carpenters just lost there way in the music industry, they were millionaires at this point, making loads of money for A&M records on all there past albums and they were getting recognized in all the industry magazines as this young fresh music to come along. However after Horizon, they lost that "edge sound" that made them famous. A Kind of Hush took them in a whole different direction of a soft sleepy sound and it continued up to Made in America and Voice of the Heart, too much chorale backing vocals and not enough of the duo providing those stacked harmonies that made them famous.

It's almost like they had this young attitude going into their first few albums, making some really amazing music and then someone told them let's make it softer more easy listening. It wasn't Karen's voice because she could sing anything she was presented with, the edgier stuff or the material from Made in America. It was almost like the first few albums were what Richard and Karen wanted to make and then after Horizon someone said to make it more easy listening. I have often wondered if Harold and Agnes had more influence on them about choosing specific material after Horizon, maybe not picking the material per say but comments that you need to appeal to the older audiences and not just the young ones. If you look at the audiences in a lot of the video footage, they were older people not a young crowd. It reminded me of that comment that Richard made to the audience about Mr Guder and quitting the job and what was suppose to get a reaction from the audience like yeah good going for quitting fell on deaf ears and didn't get any reaction probably because they were not a younger crowd.

I've heard Richard say that his most favorite album was Made in America, most artists will say there last album was their favorite but I can't see how out of all the Carpenters albums that Made in America could have been his favorite. Richard seemed to be much more artistic on some of the earlier albums.

We can't undue history so it is what it is but they needed a whole different direction than what Made in America provided and since Karen's solo album was shelved they should have moved into jazz or something else. It's a clear indication that Karen should have been allowed to leave Carpenters just for a moment or 2 and provide her vocals on a popular soundtrack from 79, 80 or 81 like Saturday Night Fever or something huge even if it was just 1 song, the public would have said of wow I remember her voice and she sounds amazing. It would have helped image and boosted record sales into their next project. They needed something different.

 

[Mark-T]

Excellent post, Chris!

 

[newvillefan]

I've heard Richard say that his most favorite album was Made in America, most artists will say there last album was their favorite but I can't see how out of all the Carpenters albums that Made in America could have been his favorite.

Not only did he say it was his favourite album, he said it was Karen's too. In my mind, it's not a patch on 'Horizon' or 'A Song For You'. Forget the cost of making the album (he always boasts that MIA was their most expensive studio album outside of 'Christmas Portrait'), surely it's the success - commercially and artistically - that matters. Both of those outstripped Made In America. If truth be told, I'd rate 'Offering' above 'Made In America' as more of an artistic success, because they were totally true to themselves without selling out to outside influence.

It's a clear indication that Karen should have been allowed to leave Carpenters just for a moment or 2 and provide her vocals on a popular soundtrack from 79, 80 or 81 like Saturday Night Fever or something huge even if it was just 1 song, the public would have said of wow I remember her voice and she sounds amazing. It would have helped image and boosted record sales into their next project. They needed something different.

Let's face it, with Richard at the helm and the backing of his family, it was never going to happen.

 

[song4u]

I think after the album Horizon, the Carpenters just lost there way in the music industry, they were millionaires at this point, making loads of money for A&M records on all there past albums and they were getting recognized in all the industry magazines as this young fresh music to come along. However after Horizon, they lost that "edge sound" that made them famous. A Kind of Hush took them in a whole different direction of a soft sleepy sound and it continued up to Made in America and Voice of the Heart, too much chorale backing vocals and not enough of the duo providing those stacked harmonies that made them famous.

It's almost like they had this young attitude going into their first few albums, making some really amazing music and then someone told them let's make it softer more easy listening. It wasn't Karen's voice because she could sing anything she was presented with, the edgier stuff or the material from Made in America. It was almost like the first few albums were what Richard and Karen wanted to make and then after Horizon someone said to make it more easy listening. I have often wondered if Harold and Agnes had more influence on them about choosing specific material after Horizon, maybe not picking the material per say but comments that you need to appeal to the older audiences and not just the young ones. If you look at the audiences in a lot of the video footage, they were older people not a young crowd. It reminded me of that comment that Richard made to the audience about Mr Guder and quitting the job and what was suppose to get a reaction from the audience like yeah good going for quitting fell on deaf ears and didn't get any reaction probably because they were not a younger crowd.

I've heard Richard say that his most favorite album was Made in America, most artists will say there last album was their favorite but I can't see how out of all the Carpenters albums that Made in America could have been his favorite. Richard seemed to be much more artistic on some of the earlier albums.

We can't undue history so it is what it is but they needed a whole different direction than what Made in America provided and since Karen's solo album was shelved they should have moved into jazz or something else. It's a clear indication that Karen should have been allowed to leave Carpenters just for a moment or 2 and provide her vocals on a popular soundtrack from 79, 80 or 81 like Saturday Night Fever or something huge even if it was just 1 song, the public would have said of wow I remember her voice and she sounds amazing. It would have helped image and boosted record sales into their next project. They needed something different.

What I have surmised from the bios and interviews have led me to conclude that:
For Richard it was the continual pressure to come up with another hit single, another album, etc., that got him wound up so much that he started taking pills to sleep. Then, as we know, he kept needing to take more and more. It ended up making him ineffective as a songwriter, musician, arranger, etc.

For Karen, she was constantly being reminded by mom, in essence, "Richard and Karen perform together", "Richard is the truly talented genius", so much so that she even felt that "There is no KC without RC". She told her therapist that when the lights went down after a show, she felt like nothing. And her identity was so attached to Richard, that doing something on her own had a drastically ill effect on her health - especially when she she was then told it was s**t by her idol/mentor Richard.

If only they had had the guidance of a mentor who told/allowed them to take ample time off to recharge their creative batteries. And for what it's worth, imagine if there had been widely accepted anti-anxiety meds in the 1970's. What a concept!

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

She told her therapist that when the lights went down after a show, she felt like nothing. And her identity was so attached to Richard, that doing something on her own had a drastically ill effect on her health - especially when she she was then told it was s**t by her idol/mentor Richard.

I didn't know that she said that to her therapist...wow that is so sad she felt like that because in reality she had the voice like no other and her contagious personality (as seen in interviews) made her so special, more than just a singer she had a way of speaking to you in a song, there are singers and then there are singers that take you to another level, regardless of the material she was singing, she had a way of drawing you into her song and lyrics like it was you and her and no one else existed. That's a rare quality she had and it wasn't something learned or taught she just had it in her. It reminds me of the song, "At The End Of A Song" there is no one, after the last note is played, only the memory stays and even that fades away. If Karen really said that to her therapist and she really felt that, it brings that song to a whole new level for me.

 

[song4u]

I didn't know that she said that to her therapist...wow that is so sad she felt like that because in reality she had the voice like no other and her contagious personality (as seen in interviews) made her so special, more than just a singer she had a way of speaking to you in a song, there are singers and then there are singers that take you to another level, regardless of the material she was singing, she had a way of drawing you into her song and lyrics like it was you and her and no one else existed. That's a rare quality she had and it wasn't something learned or taught she just had it in her. It reminds me of the song, "At The End Of A Song" there is no one, after the last note is played, only the memory stays and even that fades away. If Karen really said that to her therapist and she really felt that, it brings that song to a whole new level for me.

I think it was in the Coleman book, but I'm not sure.

 

[newvillefan]

I think it was in the Coleman book, but I'm not sure.

Correct, that's where it was recounted by Levenkron. Coleman described the comment as "an illuminating flash of candour".

 

[Randy M]

I am in the minority but I do love this album including the lovely Wedding Song. Strength Of A Woman is a bit high in the chorus with the "wah-aaa" and Beechwood a throwaway though Beechwood makes me appreciate Mr Postman. Someones Been Lyin' seems very intimate and personal, maybe even the highlight of the album for me, though it contradicts the closing song on side 2 of the vinyl version.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I Believe You Single Billboard Ad from Oct 28 1978, unusual in that it was not an any album at the time and did not appear on any album until 1981 release of Made in America.

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1978/Billboard 1978-10-28.pdf

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