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

[newvillefan]

When fan club members are asked what should be the next single, that signals a BIG problem.

Very interesting observation and something I’ve never really thought about before. I can almost hear someone at A&M saying “we can’t find anything worth choosing, let’s see what the fans think”. What’s even more unbelievable is that they actually went with the fans’ choice!

 

[GDBY2LV]

And what a mistake that was. I think the song was an homage to Spike Jones and Harold!s record collection Richard listened to as a kid. Okay album cut, embarrassing as a single. They sound like they’re having fun on the recording, but it was just another just okay song on a very uninspired album that I wore out. Vinyl in my room away at college, and the 8-track in my VW Baja bug. KOH got me through a very tough year of loss, and home sickness.

 

[Harry]

8-track in my VW Baja bug

I used to joke with a buddy who had an 8-track in his VW bug that the VW was better as a speaker cabinet than it was a car...

 

[GDBY2LV]

It also didn’t help that A&M had signed a new duo that many saw as a new version of Carpenters. Captain & Tennille had a monster hit and record of the year with Love Will Keep Us Together. They put out fresh albums and singles frequently around that time. Even a full Spanish version of the 1st album, that sold pretty well. Por Amour Viviremos. Many people saw them as Carpenters competition, rather than just label mates. Even Tom Smothers made light of that fact on the Tonight Show, which Carpenters appeared the same night. He commented to them that the needed to get their crown back from them. I wonder if that’s why C&T fled to Casablanca Records when their contract ended with A&M. I’ve never read their reason for leaving. A&M marketed C&T heavily the first few years. They sold a ton of music early on.

 

[GDBY2LV]

So true. It was my mom’s car. She passed a few months after I moved away for school, so I drove it instead of my little Honda. It was a money pit. I spent a ton of money to keep it running. I gave up in ‘77 and sold it for junk.
it had flared out rear wheel wells and big Baja style tires on the rear, Lol. Great Clarion AM/FM 8-track system that I had installed though.....

 

[newvillefan]

It also didn’t help that A&M had signed a new duo that many saw as a new version of Carpenters. Captain & Tennille had a monster hit and record of the year with Love Will Keep Us Together.

Another Neil Sedaka-penned song, with drums by Hal Blaine.

 

[GDBY2LV]

Yes! That didn’t help the situation either. The Carpenters reply “DeShannon’s baaaack....”
I thought that was brilliant and subtle. Complete opposite of what Toni blurted out on her song. They took a shot and C&T while sorta making up with Sedaka with a C&T style version of BUIHTD. It was all subtle replies to the mess in Las Vegas.

 

[MorningOpensQuietly]

(1) Excellent analysis, Harry and Mark.
(2) By the way, Mark, unless folks saw the December 1976 TV special, how many folks would have heard of Goofus ?
Certainly I have never heard Goofus on the radio, from 1976 on. I believe Goofus has nothing to do with the downward spiral.

As I have detailed elsewhere, my 'hypothesis' is that the duo's career was really on a downward trend in
1974. There was nowhere to go but down. 1974's Santa Claus should be as well known as Merry Christmas Darling. It is not.
But, as of July 1974, The Singles album was still at #107, after 32 weeks on the chart.

But, no NEW album containing all-new material for the year 1974 had to have hurt.
Certainly the rate of acceleration downward increased in 1975....but, what was the true momentum spurring the downward trend ?
Only Yesterday reached only #4 and by 1979 had sold almost 600,000 copies....what explains that lack of interest ?
Not enough people/fans had purchased Horizon to be familiar with the entire album. So, I do not blame that album for the downward trend.

The tan album already had a Bacharach Medley, then a full-fledged oldies Medley on Now & Then.
The tan album has Druscilla Penny and Saturday, I rarely listen to those fillers (imho).

I choose Horizon any day over both the tan album and Now & Then, for a variety of reasons.
In my analysis, Now & Then is the true culprit for the downward slide which ensued.

You may be onto something that I've never really considered - that Now & Then slowed them down in generating radio play and sales. I've never been a huge fan of their oft-used "oldies medley", and I don't think the younger generation of radio listeners and record buyers at the time were too familiar or attracted to it (including myself). Is it well-done? Of course! I just think GaryAlan makes a valid point that maybe more potential single options should have replaced the oldies medley on the album. Then as discussed here and before, the no studio album release in 1974 really hurt.

 

[GaryAlan]

This thread has opened my "ears" regards comparing this album to previous Carpenters' albums.
In particular I did a comparison of two songs with "time" in the title: "One More Time" (1976) and "Sometimes" (1971).
Both songs make great use of Karen's lead vocals with no background harmonies present and accompanied by piano.
The tan album details use of Wurlitzer Electric piano, I am assuming same for 'Sometimes'.
The Hush album only says "keyboards" though obviously a different piano than what we find on the tan album.
The later song is more crowded with instrumentation, too.
One big difference between the two albums:
The tan album sequence opens and closes with slow songs (RDAM and Sometimes).
The Hush album opens and closes with uptempo tracks (TAKOH and Breaking Up).

Anyway, comparing the two songs is an interesting exercise. I like them both.
Perhaps sequencing I Need To Be In Love as the first song and One More Time as the album's final song,
plus a re-sequencing of the remainder sandwiched between, would put a different spin on the entire listening
experience.

 

[Jeff]

(1) Excellent analysis, Harry and Mark.
(2) By the way, Mark, unless folks saw the December 1976 TV special, how many folks would have heard of Goofus ?
Certainly I have never heard Goofus on the radio, from 1976 on. I believe Goofus has nothing to do with the downward spiral.

As I have detailed elsewhere, my 'hypothesis' is that the duo's career was really on a downward trend in
1974. There was nowhere to go but down. 1974's Santa Claus should be as well known as Merry Christmas Darling. It is not.
But, as of July 1974, The Singles album was still at #107, after 32 weeks on the chart.

But, no NEW album containing all-new material for the year 1974 had to have hurt.
Certainly the rate of acceleration downward increased in 1975....but, what was the true momentum spurring the downward trend ?
Only Yesterday reached only #4 and by 1979 had sold almost 600,000 copies....what explains that lack of interest ?
Not enough people/fans had purchased Horizon to be familiar with the entire album. So, I do not blame that album for the downward trend.

The tan album already had a Bacharach Medley, then a full-fledged oldies Medley on Now & Then.
The tan album has Druscilla Penny and Saturday, I rarely listen to those fillers (imho).

I choose Horizon any day over both the tan album and Now & Then, for a variety of reasons.
In my analysis, Now & Then is the true culprit for the downward slide which ensued.

Yknow Gary, I'm inclined to agree with you. SING being the lead single off Now and Then wasn't cutting any edges. At that point anything they released would have sold. Too bad the sappy Sing sunk the sailing ship. imho

 

[tomswift2002]

You know I was reading in the liner notes to the Essential Collection the other day that there were still a number of AKOH era tracks in the vault. The only released one I could think of was “Ordinary Fool”. I wonder what other tracks were considered and left off. On the albums since 1983 we’ve seen a lot of unreleased material from 1977-1982.

 

[Mark-T]

You know I was reading in the liner notes to the Essential Collection the other day that there were still a number of AKOH era tracks in the vault. The only released one I could think of was “Ordinary Fool”. I wonder what other tracks were considered and left off. On the albums since 1983 we’ve seen a lot of unreleased material from 1977-1982.

This sounds like a question for our resident Carpenters expert, @Chris May ,

 

[Carpe diem]

When artists have their downward spiral, as they all do, there's almost always a song or album that's perceived in hindsight to be the catalyst - the one that does them in. I've maintained for a long time that the release of the very successful SINGLES 69-73 album kind of put a bookend on the duo's most successful part of their career trajectory.

After that album, there was HORIZON. It contained another Number One single in "Please Mr. Postman", and their superb "Only Yesterday", and the album sold reasonably well. But I think, in hindsight, that it really is the start of the downward spiral. Other than those two songs, the rest of HORIZON has always felt like like it was a draggy, sleepy album. The pillowy-soft "Aurora/Eventide" that bookended the rest of the songs, and the deathly slow "Desperado" and "Solitaire" that ground things to a near halt, all provided a hint that Carpenters were shifting gears a bit. The up-tempo, almost noisy affair that NOW & THEN brought to the table with the oldies medley was gone. In its place was a series of slow ballads with Karen on lead and not much else to brag about. HORIZON is also short - yet another album that felt like it needed one more song, like the tan album. And yet the tan album had the dynamic duo of "Superstar" and "Rainy Days" along with "For All We Know" that kept it afloat. HORIZON felt, particularly to me, like it was bogged down with the weight of the really slow, sleepy stuff.

I know that HORIZON is well-liked by many fans. I like it too, but if someone only gave me a choice of one Carpenters album for a desert island exercise, I know for sure that HORIZON would not be the one.

So my theory is that Carpenters still had a large number of fans - the die-hards and the casual fans - that would have supported HORIZON because it was next in line after the great SINGLES album that rather succinctly covered their best years. And because HORIZON was that generally sleepy affair, it sort of threw up a flag that said to a lot of listeners "These guys are probably done."

Next up came A KIND OF HUSH. And we open it with another of what I've called a "castanet oldie". They'd already mined that field with their past hit "Postman" - and it did really well. There was also that Oldies Medley, the old Bacharach medley, "Help!", "Hurting Each Other", - all sorts of covers of old stuff - so titling the next album after another of these seemed like a been-there done-that thing.

Then we have "I Need To Be In Love" as a single. It was yet another slower-than-slow song, and some radio stations were throwing in the towel on Carpenters at that point. The rest of HUSH is also pretty slow - mostly ballads with just Karen on lead - and the album closes with yet another castanet oldie. It's no wonder that sales slid off and the downward spiral continued.

But I maintain that it was really HORIZON that slowed down their career as much as the album slowed down the music, and that it sold well on fumes rather than its merits.

Nice summation Harry!

In hindsight it does seem like the Singles 1969 to 1973 was their swan song...Too bad about Karen's illness as I believe they definitely would've had a "resurgence" at some point; just like Sinatra, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, etc, etc, etc.

 

[Another Son]

I liked 'Goofus' a lot at the time it was released as a single. I loved it! It was played a lot on my local radio station. I like the reinterpretation of it and the arrangement for it.

There was a lot of other very light stuff on the American Top 40 at the time so maybe it was in with a chance.

 

[Chris May]

This sounds like a question for our resident Carpenters expert, @Chris May ,

There were several tracks cut — many either without a full lead or never orchestrated, that never made it onto an album, that is correct.

 

[David A]

Another Neil Sedaka-penned song, with drums by Hal Blaine.

Now I'm hearing that song in my head as though it had been offered to the Carpenters instead of C&T, and had appeared on HUSH. Depending upon Richards choices relating to arrangement, I can totally hear Karen knocking this out of the park and they'd have had a big hit from the album.

Alternatively, it may have appeared on HORIZON, depending on timing.

According to Wikipedia, the song was originally targeted for Diana Ross.

 

[chuckbo]

(1) Excellent analysis, Harry and Mark.
(2) By the way, Mark, unless folks saw the December 1976 TV special, how many folks would have heard of Goofus ?
Certainly I have never heard Goofus on the radio, from 1976 on. I believe Goofus has nothing to do with the downward spiral.
[/QUOTE


I remember hearing Goofus frequently on WDAF in Kansas City when it was released (I want to say at least daily but my memory isn't so good anymore to be certain).

 

[Chris May]

You know I was reading in the liner notes to the Essential Collection the other day that there were still a number of AKOH era tracks in the vault. The only released one I could think of was “Ordinary Fool”. I wonder what other tracks were considered and left off. On the albums since 1983 we’ve seen a lot of unreleased material from 1977-1982.

"Come and Be Kind," "I Can't Stay Mad at You" and "Real Love" were all additional outtakes recorded from late '75 into early '76 for the Hush album.

 

[GDBY2LV]

I really wish they would have released I Can’t Stay Mad At You. My favorite Skeeter Davis song. Perfect for Karen to sing. The problem is that it sounds just like Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. It would have been repetitive. Too bad the latter won out.

 

[Geographer]

a

"Come and Be Kind," "Can't Stay Mad at You" and "Real Love" were all additional outtakes recorded from late '75 into early '76 for the Hush album.

I would REALLY like to hear their take on "Real Love," assuming it is the one made popular by Doobie Brothers. But being a Hush outtake really has me bewildered. I would think it would have been a Passage of MIA outtake. But then, of course, wasn't Ordinary Fool a Hush outtake? And that song is leagues away from a lot of the Hush material.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

a

I would REALLY like to hear their take on "Real Love," assuming it is the one made popular by Doobie Brothers. But being a Hush outtake really has me bewildered. I would think it would have been a Passage of MIA outtake. But then, of course, wasn't Ordinary Fool a Hush outtake? And that song is leagues away from a lot of the Hush material.

The song wasn't written then so it couldn't be that tune if it was for "Hush".

Ed

 

[Mark-T]

I can "hear" Ordinary Fool coming in after You and before Sandy. I don't know the other songs recorded.WAIT- "Real Love", the Dolly and Kenny duet from her 1985 album?

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I can "hear" Ordinary Fool coming in after You and before Sandy. I don't know the other songs recorded.WAIT- "Real Love", the Dolly and Kenny duet from her 1985 album?

We can't hear Ordinary Fool as it was because Richard finished it off in 1983 for the Voice of the Heart album. I am kinda curious as to what it sounded like in 1976.

Ed

 

[newvillefan]

We can't hear Ordinary Fool as it was because Richard finished it off in 1983 for the Voice of the Heart album. I am kinda curious as to what it sounded like in 1976.

Bass, drums and piano, no orchestration and no woodwinds. Probably sounded quite boring and uneventful. It’s such a slow track, maybe that’s why Karen didn’t like it when she recorded the lead.

 

[tomswift2002]

I really wish they would have released I Can’t Stay Mad At You. My favorite Skeeter Davis song. Perfect for Karen to sing. The problem is that it sounds just like Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. It would have been repetitive. Too bad the latter won out.

Probably would’ve been better than “Sandy”. I’ve never heard any of those tracks that I’m aware of.