Carpenters
THE SINGLES, 1969-1973
A&M SP3601
Track Listing:
1.) We’ve Only Just Begun 4:09 (Williams/Nichols)
2.) Top Of The World 2:28 (Carpenter/Bettis)
3.) Ticket To Ride 4:09 (Lennon/McCartney)
4.) Superstar 3:40 (Russell/Bramlett)
5.) Rainy Days And Mondays 3:14 (Williams/Nichols)
6.) Goodbye To Love 3:58 (Carpenter/Bettis)
7.) Yesterday Once More 3:57 (Carpenter/Bettis)
8.) It’s Going To Take Some Time 2:55 (King/Stern)
9.) Sing 3:20 (Raposo)
10.) For All We Know 2:34 (Karlin/Wilson/James)
11.) Hurting Each Other 2:46 (Udell/Geld)
12.) (They Long To Be) Close To You 3:40 (Bacharach/David)
Chart Position- U.S.: #1; U.K.: #1; JAPAN: #24
Medium: Reel/Vinyl/8-track/Cassette/CD[/b]
Album Credits:
#7, 9: Produced by Richard & Karen Carpenter
#1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12: Produced by Jack Daugherty
#2: Produced by Richard & Karen Carpenter & Jack Daugherty
Arranged & Orchestrated by : Richard Carpenter
All Vocals: Richard & Karen Carpenter
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Drums: Karen Carpenter & Hal Blaine
Bass: Joe Osborn
Guitar: Tony Peluso
Flute & Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger
Steel Guitar: Buddy Emmons
Woodwinds: Earl Dumler, Jim Horn & Doug Strawn
Harp: Gayle Levant
Engineered by: Ray Gerhardt
Special thanks to: The Jimmy Joyce Children's Chorus on Sing
Liner Notes: Digby Diehl
Art Direction: Roland Young
Photography: Neal Brisker
Liner Notes:
by Digby Diehl
Instant nostalgia.
You hum these songs in the same breath with You Belong To Me, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, or Paper Moon -- they have a warm, faintly reminiscent quality that echoes another era, a romantic musical Camelot. Although the Carpenters have been recording for only four years, it is already difficult to remember a sunny afternoon at the beach without them.
This music is a refreshing relief in our stormy age of social chaos, economic problems and bad news, when the turbulence of the Rolling Stones or Janis Joplin seems more in tempo with the times. But like Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the songs of the Carpenters fulfill that timeless yearning for escape from the troubles of the world and soar in harmonies. Revivals of the '30s, '40s, or '50s may come and go, but making a joyful noise will always be in style.
Karen's voice, featured in all the songs on this album, is a main ingredient of the Carpenters' unique sound, and it is a voice that seems to resonate with a maturity beyond the scope of vocal chords only 23 years old. Her tones have the richness and impact of those big band singers, a timbre suited to beautifully lyrical ballads. Like stylists of subtle years' experience, she also communicates a credibility, a sincerity in her singing that comes from phrasing and intonation that are impeccable. Or to put it simply: Karen is a knockout singer who makes you listen to the lyrics. Even given the extraordinary amount of talent emerging from the "Soft Rock Revolution," she is one of the finest singers of this generation.
Probably Les Paul and Mary Ford in the early '50s were the first recording artists to use the technique of overdubbing extensively in pop music and the Carpenters have extended this process in their recordings. Utilizing the complexities of modern acoustical engineering, Richard and Karen together create all of the harmony voices heard in these songs -- oops! -- they have a little help from their young friends on Sing. This technological trick is fully demonstrated in one section of I'll Never Fall In Love Again, (a selection on the Close To You album) in which they overdub their two voices into a 39-voice chord.
The unmistakable "Carpenters Sound," however, is the contemporary musical conception of a young man who could be Burt Bacharach's spiritual younger brother. Richard has the uncanny ability to spot a solid gold song in the background of a bank commercial -- as he did with We've Only Just Begun. Or he has the imagination as a musical arranger to bring a special magic to previously recorded material -- such as Ticket To Ride, Close To You, or Superstar -- which makes them memorable Carpenter hits.
Richard's development as a composer is the most significant recent development of the Carpenters' music. Writing in conjunction with lyricist John Bettis, Richard's own songs, including Yesterday Once More, Top Of The World, and Goodbye To Love suggest the adventurous avenues his talent may take. (Richard is also an accomplished pianist whose precocious abilities took him into classical studies at Yale, and, from there, to jazz combos.) "My influences were the three B's -- Bacharach, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys," Richard occasionally quips, and his accomplishments on this album demonstrate that the Pop Masters still inspire top-of-the-charts songwriting.
Most exciting, however, is the astounding manner in which the Carpenters' soft, special sound has swept through the entertainment business, instantly establishing a far-reaching influence. Hundreds of singers and musicians, from Johnny Mathis to George Shearing have picked up the trend by recording Carpenters' songs -- Close To You, We've Only Just Begun, and Rainy Days And Mondays have been recorded by over 225 artists. After all, it is the highest form of flattery to find your arrangement of a forgotten Bacharach song adopted by admiring colleagues in all corners of the music world. And even more flattering to have Bacharach like it.
The Carpenters' broad influence in music today is certainly justified by their public. From the Iowa State Fair to Las Vegas showrooms, their concert appearances have broken attendance records across the country. Throughout the world, their songs have been No. 1 in almost every country, compiling an international sales total to date of 20 million records.
White lace and promises... polkadots and moonbeams. The Carpenters' audiences are discovering that it doesn't matter whether you are remembering the fun of dancing cheek-to-cheek or just learning how. There is a timeless pleasure in the lyrics of love.
And now, direct from the Starlight Room high atop A&M Studios, we bring you a nostalgic trip back through the past four years with the Carpenters.[/size]
Note: This post was redesignated a sticky and reformatted to fit the A&M Corner Album of the Week (AOTW) format on 31 Oct 2005 for its turn as overall AOTW...
1/6/06 Edited to add songwriter credits for "Close to You"
THE SINGLES, 1969-1973
A&M SP3601
Track Listing:
1.) We’ve Only Just Begun 4:09 (Williams/Nichols)
2.) Top Of The World 2:28 (Carpenter/Bettis)
3.) Ticket To Ride 4:09 (Lennon/McCartney)
4.) Superstar 3:40 (Russell/Bramlett)
5.) Rainy Days And Mondays 3:14 (Williams/Nichols)
6.) Goodbye To Love 3:58 (Carpenter/Bettis)
7.) Yesterday Once More 3:57 (Carpenter/Bettis)
8.) It’s Going To Take Some Time 2:55 (King/Stern)
9.) Sing 3:20 (Raposo)
10.) For All We Know 2:34 (Karlin/Wilson/James)
11.) Hurting Each Other 2:46 (Udell/Geld)
12.) (They Long To Be) Close To You 3:40 (Bacharach/David)
Chart Position- U.S.: #1; U.K.: #1; JAPAN: #24
Medium: Reel/Vinyl/8-track/Cassette/CD[/b]
Album Credits:
#7, 9: Produced by Richard & Karen Carpenter
#1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12: Produced by Jack Daugherty
#2: Produced by Richard & Karen Carpenter & Jack Daugherty
Arranged & Orchestrated by : Richard Carpenter
All Vocals: Richard & Karen Carpenter
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Drums: Karen Carpenter & Hal Blaine
Bass: Joe Osborn
Guitar: Tony Peluso
Flute & Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger
Steel Guitar: Buddy Emmons
Woodwinds: Earl Dumler, Jim Horn & Doug Strawn
Harp: Gayle Levant
Engineered by: Ray Gerhardt
Special thanks to: The Jimmy Joyce Children's Chorus on Sing
Liner Notes: Digby Diehl
Art Direction: Roland Young
Photography: Neal Brisker
Liner Notes:
by Digby Diehl
Instant nostalgia.
You hum these songs in the same breath with You Belong To Me, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, or Paper Moon -- they have a warm, faintly reminiscent quality that echoes another era, a romantic musical Camelot. Although the Carpenters have been recording for only four years, it is already difficult to remember a sunny afternoon at the beach without them.
This music is a refreshing relief in our stormy age of social chaos, economic problems and bad news, when the turbulence of the Rolling Stones or Janis Joplin seems more in tempo with the times. But like Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the songs of the Carpenters fulfill that timeless yearning for escape from the troubles of the world and soar in harmonies. Revivals of the '30s, '40s, or '50s may come and go, but making a joyful noise will always be in style.
Karen's voice, featured in all the songs on this album, is a main ingredient of the Carpenters' unique sound, and it is a voice that seems to resonate with a maturity beyond the scope of vocal chords only 23 years old. Her tones have the richness and impact of those big band singers, a timbre suited to beautifully lyrical ballads. Like stylists of subtle years' experience, she also communicates a credibility, a sincerity in her singing that comes from phrasing and intonation that are impeccable. Or to put it simply: Karen is a knockout singer who makes you listen to the lyrics. Even given the extraordinary amount of talent emerging from the "Soft Rock Revolution," she is one of the finest singers of this generation.
Probably Les Paul and Mary Ford in the early '50s were the first recording artists to use the technique of overdubbing extensively in pop music and the Carpenters have extended this process in their recordings. Utilizing the complexities of modern acoustical engineering, Richard and Karen together create all of the harmony voices heard in these songs -- oops! -- they have a little help from their young friends on Sing. This technological trick is fully demonstrated in one section of I'll Never Fall In Love Again, (a selection on the Close To You album) in which they overdub their two voices into a 39-voice chord.
The unmistakable "Carpenters Sound," however, is the contemporary musical conception of a young man who could be Burt Bacharach's spiritual younger brother. Richard has the uncanny ability to spot a solid gold song in the background of a bank commercial -- as he did with We've Only Just Begun. Or he has the imagination as a musical arranger to bring a special magic to previously recorded material -- such as Ticket To Ride, Close To You, or Superstar -- which makes them memorable Carpenter hits.
Richard's development as a composer is the most significant recent development of the Carpenters' music. Writing in conjunction with lyricist John Bettis, Richard's own songs, including Yesterday Once More, Top Of The World, and Goodbye To Love suggest the adventurous avenues his talent may take. (Richard is also an accomplished pianist whose precocious abilities took him into classical studies at Yale, and, from there, to jazz combos.) "My influences were the three B's -- Bacharach, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys," Richard occasionally quips, and his accomplishments on this album demonstrate that the Pop Masters still inspire top-of-the-charts songwriting.
Most exciting, however, is the astounding manner in which the Carpenters' soft, special sound has swept through the entertainment business, instantly establishing a far-reaching influence. Hundreds of singers and musicians, from Johnny Mathis to George Shearing have picked up the trend by recording Carpenters' songs -- Close To You, We've Only Just Begun, and Rainy Days And Mondays have been recorded by over 225 artists. After all, it is the highest form of flattery to find your arrangement of a forgotten Bacharach song adopted by admiring colleagues in all corners of the music world. And even more flattering to have Bacharach like it.
The Carpenters' broad influence in music today is certainly justified by their public. From the Iowa State Fair to Las Vegas showrooms, their concert appearances have broken attendance records across the country. Throughout the world, their songs have been No. 1 in almost every country, compiling an international sales total to date of 20 million records.
White lace and promises... polkadots and moonbeams. The Carpenters' audiences are discovering that it doesn't matter whether you are remembering the fun of dancing cheek-to-cheek or just learning how. There is a timeless pleasure in the lyrics of love.
And now, direct from the Starlight Room high atop A&M Studios, we bring you a nostalgic trip back through the past four years with the Carpenters.[/size]
Note: This post was redesignated a sticky and reformatted to fit the A&M Corner Album of the Week (AOTW) format on 31 Oct 2005 for its turn as overall AOTW...
1/6/06 Edited to add songwriter credits for "Close to You"
-Chris
