⭐ Official Review [Album]: "A KIND OF HUSH" (SP-4581)

HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS ALBUM?

  • ***** (BEST)

    Votes: 7 8.1%
  • ****

    Votes: 20 23.3%
  • ***

    Votes: 46 53.5%
  • **

    Votes: 12 14.0%
  • *

    Votes: 1 1.2%

  • Total voters
    86
Chris- Do you think One More Time and Ordinary Fool were both considered at the same time but one was chosen over the other? Sort of like You're the One and I Just Fall in Love Again for Passage.
 
I know it's not from this album but Crystal Lullaby gives me a similar feeling as One More Time. I especially love the part that goes:
Sometimes when I listen to
The velvet song that fills the summer afternoon
Something deep within me sighs
And wishes for the peaceful skies
Of long ago
 
Chris- Do you think One More Time and Ordinary Fool were both considered at the same time but one was chosen over the other? Sort of like You're the One and I Just Fall in Love Again for Passage.

With Ordinary Fool, according to the “Essential Collection” liner notes, it was one of ‘several extra songs tracked’ for the AKOH album. And as far as I can think, it’s the only one to be finished and released.
 
Chris- Do you think One More Time and Ordinary Fool were both considered at the same time but one was chosen over the other? Sort of like You're the One and I Just Fall in Love Again for Passage.

I don't know the full story yet behind it, other than the track [only] for Ordinary Fool was cut in January of '76, and both the track as well as the orchestration for One More Time was recorded and finished in February. Given the limited time span between the two - particularly the decision to fully orchestrate the latter tells me they probably made the decision early on to keep OF in the can.
 
Isn't there also a tendency to favor the latest thing you've worked on?
 
Isn't there also a tendency to favor the latest thing you've worked on?

It’s quite possible, although they recorded several other tracks over the ensuing months. My guess is they just weren’t taken enough with it to finish it. So glad we have it all these years later though ☺️
 
It’s quite possible, although they recorded several other tracks over the ensuing months. My guess is they just weren’t taken enough with it to finish it. So glad we have it all these years later though ☺
Have we heard of these before? Have any of them seen release? Tell us more, please.
 
Have we heard of these before? Have any of them seen release? Tell us more, please.

I just meant several of the other tunes that made it on the album. There was a title called Stay Young that was tracked the same day as One More Time, but never completed. Prior to that there were two unreleased tracks cut - never orchestrated in December of '75. Most everything else that was cut was completed and included on the "Hush" album. :)
 
Thinking of the drums for Goofus and Sandy on the Hush album: Cubby O'brien.
From Cubby (Oct 1996):
"O'Brien says he saw Karen just four days before her death. "They had gotten some action on a new record, and we were going out on tour for the first time in two years..." Had Karen lived, O'Brien says, the Carpenters' "place would be exactly what it was before: The reviewers would hate them, and everybody else would listen to them and buy their albums! Their music was some of the best music of the '70s."
Source:
Not so Mickey Mouse

December 1983, interview Cubby O'brien:
“When I joined the Carpenters, I had three days to learn the show with no music—only a tape. I walked around A&M Records with the tape to my ear, rehearsing and learning all the drum fills because Richard wanted to reproduce everything that either Karen or Hal Blaine had done,” he laughs, imitating a Hal Blaine fill in the air. “I was going crazy trying to learn all these fills, and what song they went in, and where. At that time Karen was playing too, and we were playing exactly the same fills on the same drums. We did that for a year or two with Karen still playing. "
Source:
Cubby O'Brien - Modern Drummer Magazine
 
Last edited:
UK Record Mirror, June 19, 1976:
THE CARPENTERS: 'A Kind of Hush' (A&M, AMLK 64581).
"Apparently, this eighth Carpenters' album expresses the duo's change of attitude, according to
Richard - although he doesn't go on to explain exactly what that change is. Listening to the album
I couldn't find anything startlingly different --Karen's voice is as pure as ever, and all the usual
vocal arrangements, care of Richard, are as strong as ever. In short, the album is as predictable as
ever, albeit enjoyably predictable. Side two contains to my ears the three best songs; 'I Need To Be In Love',
'One More Time' and Jackie De Shannon's lovely 'Boat To Sail.' There's also their last hit single
and what I think is their next single, Neil Sedaká s Breaking Up Is Hard To Do."

UK Record Mirror, June 26, 1976:
CARPENTERS: I Need To Be In Love (A&M, AMS 7238).
"Perfect. Thrills down the spine for the young men listening to the velvety voice (all in love with Karen);
and agreement from all the young ladles. Her presentation is superb, as always. The Carpenters always
choose songs wide enough to appeal to everyone, but always make sure the quality doesn't suffer in doing so.
Can't fail."
 
Last edited:
UK Record Mirror, June 19, 1976:
THE CARPENTERS: 'A Kind of Hush' (A&M, AMLK 64581).
"Apparently, this eighth Carpenters' album expresses the duo's change of attitude, according to
Richard - although he doesn't go on to explain exactly what that change is. Listening to the album
I couldn't find anything startlingly different --Karen's voice is as pure as ever, and all the usual
vocal arrangements, care of Richard, are as strong as ever. In short, the album is as predictable as
ever, albeit enjoyably predictable. Side two contains to my ears the three best songs; 'I Need To Be In Love',
'One More Time' and Jackie De Shannon's lovely 'Boat To Sail.' There's also their last hit single
and what I think is their next single, Neil Sedaká s Breaking Up Is Hard To Do."

UK Record Mirror, June 26, 1976:
CARPENTERS: I Need To Be In Love (A&M, AMS 7238).
"Perfect. Thrills down the spine for the young men listening to the velvety voice (all in love with Karen);
and agreement from all the young ladles. Her presentation is superb, as always. The Carpenters always
choose songs wide enough to appeal to everyone, but always make sure the quality doesn't suffer in doing so.
Can't fail."
And it didnt in the uk. Got to No 3.
 
I always thought of this one as a Sunday morning kinda album. Love it all except GOOFUS! Ugh and I hated the fadeout/ending of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do!
 
Thinking of the drums for Goofus and Sandy on the Hush album: Cubby O'brien.
From Cubby (Oct 1996):
"O'Brien says he saw Karen just four days before her death. "They had gotten some action on a new record, and we were going out on tour for the first time in two years..." Had Karen lived, O'Brien says, the Carpenters' "place would be exactly what it was before: The reviewers would hate them, and everybody else would listen to them and buy their albums! Their music was some of the best music of the '70s."
Source:
Not so Mickey Mouse

December 1983, interview Cubby O'brien:
“When I joined the Carpenters, I had three days to learn the show with no music—only a tape. I walked around A&M Records with the tape to my ear, rehearsing and learning all the drum fills because Richard wanted to reproduce everything that either Karen or Hal Blaine had done,” he laughs, imitating a Hal Blaine fill in the air. “I was going crazy trying to learn all these fills, and what song they went in, and where. At that time Karen was playing too, and we were playing exactly the same fills on the same drums. We did that for a year or two with Karen still playing. "
Source:
Cubby O'Brien - Modern Drummer Magazine

Not sure how I missed this the first time around. Thanks, GaryAlan! Great interview.
 
Thinking of the drums for Goofus and Sandy on the Hush album: Cubby O'brien.
From Cubby (Oct 1996):
"O'Brien says he saw Karen just four days before her death. "They had gotten some action on a new record, and we were going out on tour for the first time in two years..." Had Karen lived, O'Brien says, the Carpenters' "place would be exactly what it was before: The reviewers would hate them, and everybody else would listen to them and buy their albums! Their music was some of the best music of the '70s."
Source:
Not so Mickey Mouse
[SNIP]

Does anyone know what song or music Cubby refers to when he says "They had gotten some action on a new record..."?

Wondering if this was a general comment about maybe recording a new album, or something more specific.
 
Maybe he’s referring to “The Very Best Of The Carpenters” that hit #1 in Australia and #2 in New Zealand in early-1983 (although it’s New Zealand peak wasn’t until May 15, 1983, not sure when it hit in Australia).

Also Beechwood 4-5789 had been a Top 10 hit in New Zealand on March 28, 1982.


"Very Best of the Carpenters" entered the Australian charts on December 27th, 1982 and, by a strange coincidence, hit Number One the week before Karen died, from memory. It was supported by a television ad, (the first time I had seen snippets of Carpenters videos - I think I'd only ever seen the videos for 'Calling Occupants' and 'Please Mr. Postman' before that), and stayed on the charts for six months.

If artists happened to have monster hit albums in Australia around this time, they could actually sell between 300,000 and a million copies, although the million were very rare - 'Best of ABBA', later, John Farnham's 'Whispering Jack' and a handful of others.

Probably about 100,000 would have been the standard for a big Number 1 album around then.

There was also a poster campaign for this album.
 
Does anyone know what song or music Cubby refers to when he says "They had gotten some action on a new record..."?

Wondering if this was a general comment about maybe recording a new album, or something more specific.

As TomSwift2002 mentioned, it could well have been 'Very Best of The Carpenters' in Australia and New Zealand because that hit Number One in Australia at the exact time he is talking about. I'm not aware of a release in the US or UK at this time. I don't know about Japan.

From the Cubby O'Brien interview - "O'Brien says he saw Karen just four days before her death. "They had gotten some action on a new record, and we were going out on tour for the first time in two years".

'Very Best of The Carpenters' was Number One in Australia the week before Karen died. Maybe it was just the affirmation that there was still interest in Carpenters' music and that they could still have a hit album that spurred them on to think about touring again. I've never heard anything about them having
 
'I've never heard anything about them having a tour of Australia planned at this time', it's supposed to say, above.
Maybe the tour was in the early planning stages and had only been confirmed but with no dates and locations.

But the interesting thing with “The Very Best of the Carpenters” is that it contained the single edit of “Calling Occupants”. I think that version was used since the 1-disc album had 20 songs on it, so for space issues the single edit was used (“Calling Occupants” had hit #19 in New Zealand so it was a Big hit there for the Carpenters).
 
Maybe the tour was in the early planning stages and had only been confirmed but with no dates and locations.

But the interesting thing with “The Very Best of the Carpenters” is that it contained the single edit of “Calling Occupants”. I think that version was used since the 1-disc album had 20 songs on it, so for space issues the single edit was used (“Calling Occupants” had hit #19 in New Zealand so it was a Big hit there for the Carpenters).

Yes, 'Calling Occupants' had been the biggest hit in Australia since 'Only Yesterday', nearly three years before.

'Calling Occupants' peaked at Number 13 nationally but would have peaked higher if it hadn't taken off in different states at totally different times. For instance, in South Australia, (a state of Australia), it peaked at Number 5 in mid-January, 1978, whereas in Victoria, (another state), it didn't enter the charts until mid-March, 1978, eventually peaking at Number 10. In New South Wales, (where Sydney is), I think it peaked at Number 9, from memory, but I can't find anything at the moment to double-check. I'm not sure about the other states.

'Calling Occupants' hung around nationally long enough to become the 78th biggest hit of the year, eventually spending over seven months on the charts.

'Passage' had a similar story, peaking near the Top 10 in different states, but at different times.

'Very Best of The Carpenters' includes 'Beechwood' and 'Those Good Old Dreams', from 'Made in America', which was still a recent album, ('Made in America' mid-1981, 'Very Best Of' late 1982). Interestingly, no 'Touch Me When We're Dancing' on 'Very Best of The Carpenters' and no 'Want You Back in My Life Again' or 'I Believe You'. 'Touch Me When We're Dancing' only peaked at Number 78. 'Those Good Old Dreams' received some airplay, daily on some radio stations, and the video for 'Beechwood' received airings on some music shows but neither songs charted. 'Beechwood' had a picture cover, which was rare in this record market.

The TV promo for 'Very Best of The Carpenters' showed a snippet of 'Sing', from 'Live at the Budokan', in Japan, amongst snippets of a few other songs.

The promo poster was 36" x 24", showing the inner sleeve from 'Made in America', (which was the cover photo).
 
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