🎶 Album Sides THE ALBUM SIDES [Poll]: "MADE IN AMERICA" (SP-3723)

Which side is your favorite?

  • Side 1

    Votes: 20 55.6%
  • Side 2

    Votes: 16 44.4%

  • Total voters
    36

Chris May

Resident ‘Carpenterologist’
Staff member
Moderator
“MADE IN AMERICA”

madeinamerica.jpg


Catalogue Number: A&M SP-3723
Date of Release: 06/09/81
Chart Position- U.S.: #52; U.K.: #12; JAPAN: #44
Album Singles: "I Believe You"/"B'wana, She No Home"
"Touch Me When We're Dancing"/"Because We Are In Love"
"(Want You) Back In My Life Again"/"Somebody's Been Lyin"
"Those Good Old Dreams"/"When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)"
"Beechwood 4-5789"/"Two Sides"
Medium: Vinyl/Cassette/CD




Side 1:
1.) Those Good Old Dreams 4:12 (Carpenter/Bettis)
2.) Strength of a Woman 3:59 (Brown/Curiel)
3.) (Want You) Back In My Life Again 3:39 (Chater/Christian)
4.) When You've Got What it Takes 3:39 (Nichols/Lane)
5.) Somebody's Been Lyin' 4:22 (Bayer Sager/Bacharach)

Side 2:
6.) I Believe You 3:55 (Addrisi/Addrisi)
7.) Touch Me When We're Dancing 3:19 (Skinner/Wallace/Bell)
8.) When It's Gone (It's Just Gone) 4:59 (Handley)
9.) Beechwood 4-5789 3:06 (Stevenson/Gaye/Gordy)
10.) Because We Are In Love (The Wedding Song) 5:00 (Carpenter/Bettis)



Album Credits:

Those Good Old Dreams:
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ron Tutt
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Acoustic & Electric Guitar: Tim May
Pedal Steel Guitar: Jay Dee Maness
Percussion: Karen Carpenter, Paulinho DaCosta
Harp: Gayle Levant
Concertmaster: Jimmy Getzoff


Strength Of A Woman:
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Larrie Londin, Ron Tutt
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Electric Guitar: Tim May, Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gayle Levant
Percussion: Paulinho DaCosta
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter & The Carpettes: Karen Carpenter, Carolyn Dennis, Stephanie Spruill, Maxine Waters Willard
Concertmaster: Jimmy Getzoff


(Want You) Back In My Life Again:
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ron Tutt
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Acoustic & Electric Guitar: Tim May
Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso
Percussion: Paulinho DaCosta
Synthesizer Programming: Daryl Dragon, Ian Underwood
Tenor Sax: Tom Scott
Concertmaster: Jimmy Getzoff


When You've Got What It Takes:
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: John Robinson
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Acoustic Guitar: Tim May
Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gayle Levant
Percussion: Paulinho DaCosta
Concertmaster: Jimmy Getzoff


Somebody's Been Lyin':
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ron Tutt
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Acoustic Guitar: Tim May
Percussion: Peter Limonick
Harp: Gayle Levant
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Concertmaster & Solo: Jerry Vinci


I Believe You:
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Larrie Londin
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Acoustic & Electric Guitar: Tim May
Congas: Jerry Steinholtz
Concertmaster: Jimmy Getzoff
Vocals arranged by Richard Carpenter


Touch Me When We're Dancing:
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Larrie Londin
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Acoustic & Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso, Tim May
Harp: Gayle Levant
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Percussion: Paulinho DaCosta
Tenor Sax: Tom Scott
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter & The Carpettes: Karen Carpenter, Carolyn Dennis
Concertmaster: Jimmy Getzoff


When It's Gone (It's Just Gone):
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Larrie Londin, Karen Carpenter
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Acoustic Guitar: Dennis Budimir, Fred Tackett
Electric Guitar: Tim May, Tony Peluso
Pedal Steel Guitar: Jay Dee Maness
Percussion: Karen Carpenter, Bob Conti
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Concertmaster: Jimmy Getzoff


Beechwood 4-5789:
Background vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ron Tutt
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Electric Guitar: Tim May
Harp: Gayle Levant
Tenor Sax: Tom Scott
Concertmaster: Jimmy Getzoff


Because We Are In Love (The Wedding Song):
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ron Tutt
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Electric Guitar: Tim May
Percussion: Peter Limonick
Harp: Gayle Levant
Choir: The O.K. Chorale under the direction of Ron Hicklin, Conducted by Frank Pooler
Concertmaster: Jerry Vinci


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Produced by Richard Carpenter
Arranged & Orchestrated by Richard Carpenter
"Because We Are In Love (The Wedding Song)" & "Somebody's Been Lyin'" arranged by Richard Carpenter & Orchestrated by Peter Knight. "I Believe You" arranged by Paul Riser.
Recorded at A&M Recording Studios
Engineered by Roger Young
Additional recording by Dave Iveland
"I Believe You" engineered by Ray Gerhardt
Mixed at Sound Labs and A&M Recording Studios
Mix-down engineer: Roger Young
Assisted by Stewart Whitmore
Mastered at A&M Recording Studios by Bernie Grundman
Special thanks to Gary Sims, Pat Peters, Ron Gorow, John Bettis, Jules Chaikin, Herb, Jerry, Gil and the entire A&M family.
Art Direction: Chuck Beeson & Jeff Ayeroff
Album Design: Lynn Robb
Illustration: David Willardson, Willardson & White, Inc.
Photography: John Engstead
 
That’s a really tough one but side one. Tracks 3 and 4 are the sound of summer for me.
 
This one is tough. I like three of the songs on Side One, and nearly three of the tracks on Side Two. It's the other songs that really drag this album down for me. Like most, I really don't care for "The Wedding Song". I'm real ambivalent about "Somebody's Been Lyin'" and "Strength Of A Woman". I can't imagine ever seeking out either of the two "When..." songs intentionally.

So it's kind of a tie. If I had to pick one, it would probably be Side One, since this LP is one of the only places to find the original album mix of "Those Good Old Dreams."
 
This was impossible to chose. I ended up with Side 2 simply by looking at the songs I listen to most on compilation albums from that album and it's that side of the album.
 
Voted for side one. Not a big fan of the album, but I do like "Touch Me..." Side two misses with "Beechwood" and "Because...", the latter of which may be my least favorite of all Carpenters songs. Nothing on side one sounds as good as "Touch Me..." but I don't dislike anything there as much as that infernally overdone wedding song.
 
So which side of their worst album? let me see hum...:hmmm: Side 1: Based on the first selection, Those Good Old Dreams, with Karen's sweet reading. The best song on an otherwise forgettable album.
 
I see that the arrangement for, Because We Are In Love,
was all Richard Carpenter.
In any event, I like the song,primarily Karen's lead vocals.
I dislike much of the arrangement and especially the choir.
I'm surprised Richard Carpenter did the entire arrangement.
(as, for instance, Look To Your Dreams was left to Peter Knight).

Doesn't the song have similarities to the song
Someday ?
Someday--rested from hours of sleeping...

Children--it was more fun to be children...
 
The three best songs of the album are spread across both sides—-had to go with Side 2 as “Touch Me” and “Beechwood” are both on Side 2. The only other stand-out track amongst this collection of outtakes is (Want You” Back In My Life Again.
 
I found this very hard so had to give each song a mark out of 10 and add up each side. Side two beat out side one by 2 points (37/50 if anyone's interested). TGOD, TMWWD and WIG are among my favourite in the entire catalogue.
 
To complete the information above for the stats on the Album:
(1) Title of #4 on Side One is missing the letter "n" in the word "When"
(2) Beechwood is missing the "Run Time" after title (Side 2, #9).
 
To complete the information above for the stats on the Album:
(1) Title of #4 on Side One is missing the letter "n" in the word "When"
(2) Beechwood is missing the "Run Time" after title (Side 2, #9).
Fixed
 
Side 2 has the album's two best tracks in 'I Believe You' and 'Touch Me When We're Dancing'. Side 1 never gets above so-so and is pretty thin gruel on the middle three tracks.
 
I picked side two. I just can't stomach the "I am your door mat while you cheat" lyrics to "Strength of a Woman", plus two of the best songs are on side two.."Touch Me When We're Dancing" and "When It's Gone", which has one of Karen's most beautiful and properly emoted vocals ever.
 
This album held a special place for me in 1981 when it was released. I was very fond of it then.

My other favourites at the time were by Cold Chisel, Lene Lovich, Jona Lewie, Visage, Santana, Kate Bush, The Spinners, Heart, The Motels, Goanna, The Sparks and Alan Parsons Project. Although I really like soul a lot, I don't think there was much of that genre that grabbed me at the time. Carpenters were quite a bit softer than some of my other favourites, but I always loved melodic, easy-listening music with classical- and choral-influenced arrangements.

Most of the songs from 'Made in America', I still like. The only ones I'm not as fond of, although I don't dislike them, are 'Touch Me When We're Dancing', 'Strength of a Woman', '(Want You) Back in my Life Again' and 'Beechwood 45789'. My least favourites would be the last two I've mentioned.

I don't really have a favourite side of the album, so I haven't voted.
 
I haven't voted because for me it's impossible to choose a favorite side the only song I don't listen to on this is the overdone wedding song but thankfully it's the last track and easy to omit other than that track the rest of the album is memorable to me for personal reasons mentioned elsewhere
 
I went for side 2 and then five seconds later changed my vote to side 1. It's a tough choice as side 2 has Touch Me When We're Dancing. However, I think I dabble with side 1 more often. I'm unexplainably fond of When You've Got It What Takes (though it's not a song I'd play to try and convert a non fan). Want You Back In My Life Again is a song I'm listening to quite a bit lately and although I find it slightly maddening (I think its execution could have been so much better) it's grown on me. Similarly, I've grown to like Somebody's Been Lyin' as the years have gone on. The strings bit reminds me of that Make Someone Happy song (When Harry Met Sally) and, so long as I don't listen to the album in its entirety, I can cope with the over the top lushness and appreciate Karen's slightly different vocal take. And Those Good Old Dreams has fantastic harmonies and a banjo (though I'm not completely sold on Karen's lead vocal in the first verse - I don't know why).

I Believe You has its moments; a lovely vocal from Karen and Bondesque flutes, and if it ended at 2.24 before the big drums and the freckled little girl verse I'd like it more. I struggle to get through Because We Are In Love, although I quite like the beginning. When It's Gone is thoroughly pleasant if I'm in the mood for it and I'm listening to it with headphones to fully appreciate the arrangement. Beechwood was fine until I saw the video and now that's all I see when I hear it.

It's not an album I can listen to in one go as it all gets a bit too much after a while. It has some good moments though.
 
Why only ten songs? There were more recorded still left untouched. This is my least favorite album to the point I wish it had never been recorded. What did this album accomplish outside of a visit to Braxil singing karaoke? I only like 3 songs on it and I Believe You was 3 years old by ‘81, which leaves two songs of any value, and even those are weak in comparison to the Carpenters catalog. The stronger songs were still in the vaults. I will never understand the decisions of this album from stellar artists.
 
I voted for side one. I like all of side one except for "Somebody's Been Lyin'" (this has been discussed in other threads ad nauseum so I won't rehash any of it here). If I could swap places between "Touch Me When We're Dancing" and "Somebody's Been Lyin'", I wouldn't need a side two to MIA. Or, maybe more accurately put, side two would be a decent listen, but I probably would not flip the record over after side one, so side two would sound pristine after years of non-play.
 
I was re-reading my commentary (#7) from May 6, 2018.
I need to retract what I said about the arrangement for Because We Are In Love.
 
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