⭐ Official Review [Single]: 2. "(THEY LONG TO BE) CLOSE TO YOU"/"I KEPT ON LOVING YOU" (1183)

[byline]

After hearing the new RPO recordings, the new version of Close To You is my favorite, as it enhances the technical clarity of every aspect while remaining true to the original arrangement.

I agree (and actually feel that way about most of the songs on the RPO recording). Though, with "Close to You" and its various remixes, I always, always, always miss the drum re-entry/reprise of the "whaaas" at the end. I fell in love with that version as a kid, and I will love it forevermore. Without that ending, the song is missing its final hook ... or, at least, the part that reeled me in.

 

[GaryAlan]

I have been re-reading the Carpenters 1994 biography authored by Coleman.
This time around, I am making notes and writing margin questions.
And, my book is quite marked up with annotations !

Here is something interesting:
Close To You...."Karen initially overworked the lyrics. On our first cut, Karen distorted the emphasis
in the lyrics, intentionally and with a fatal result. She sang it like Harry Nilsson might have done, accenting the word 'you,'
which sounded too contrived. And, Herb hated that." (Richard Carpenter, page 83).

I had forgotten Harry Nilsson's style, so here is Without You:

 

[A&M Retro]

That description of the first take always makes me think of the ‘live’ version of ‘Close To You’ they performed on The David Frost Show. Karen stretches out the words kind of like ‘Close to youuuu’ and it does sound rather labored or something. It’s not as natural-sounding as the inflections on the version we all know.

 

[Martin Medrano]

That description of the first take always makes me think of the ‘live’ version of ‘Close To You’ they performed on The David Frost Show. Karen stretches out the words kind of like ‘Close to youuuu’ and it does sound rather labored or something. It’s not as natural-sounding as the inflections on the version we all know.

Is there a clip anywhere i would like to see it.

 

[Walkinat9]

Nice little review after the single had been out for about a month

Clipping from The Capital Journal (Salem, OR), June 12, 1970

 

[AM Matt]

Actually, The Monkees album was called "Changes" NOT "With love". I think that the writer meant Bobby Sherman's latest album "With Love, Bobby".

 

[Walkinat9]

Actually, The Monkees album was called "Changes" NOT "With love". I think that the writer meant Bobby Sherman's latest album "With Love, Bobby".

I guess he was so enchanted with our duo's beautiful sounds that other music didn't seem to matter all that much :-p

Oh well, at least he got Karen's and Richard's names right. I've come across early reviews where the drumming sister is Carol Carpenter and another where the brother is David Carpenter. Yet another one stated that Richard is the youngest of the two

 

[GaryAlan]

March 16, 1971:
"The Carpenters won best new artist Grammy. It was also the first year the Grammys were televised live."
Celebrating that milestone, read:

The Best Of The Brill Building: 30 Timeless Pop Gems​

"An introduction to some of the best pop music of the 20th century, a style that was both innocent and sophisticated."
"The Brill Building, at 1619 Broadway in New York City, gave its name to a style of pop music that was both innocent and sophisticated. Along with its less-glamorous neighbor at 1650 Broadway, this 11-story office block was the New York home of the music business – you could find a songwriter, a publisher, record a demo, and play it to a radio plugger, all in one building."
---
"Proving that a great song refuses to go away, “(They Long To Be) Close To You” was originally released by Richard Chamberlain in 1963,
then recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1964, although her version was shelved until 1967. It became a worldwide hit by The Carpenters in 1970.
As Richard Carpenter explained, “That record, that song, the arrangement, all of it, is misleading to the uninitiated, because it sounds simple.
And, it’s anything but simple.”
---
Here:

The Best Of The Brill Building: 30 Timeless Pop Gems

Pop music from the Brill Building and its illustrious history features some of the best songwriters of the 20th century.

www.udiscovermusic.com

 

[GaryAlan]

Cashbox, September 5, 1970:
HOLLYWOOD - Close To You, the recent chart -topping single by A&M Records' Carpenters,
has passed the two -million mark in national sales, according to Bob Fead, Vice President and Sales Manager.
This makes it the biggest single record hit in the company's history. The Carpenters' version of the Bacharach-David composition heads up the group's
second A&M album, "Close To You," which has just been released. Accompanying the release of the album, the Carpenters have readied a new single,
"We've Only Just Begun." The ballad was written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams and was produced by Jack Daugherty.
A&M has also repackaged the first Carpenters LP (Offering) with a new title, Ticket To Ride, following the success of the Carpenters'
version of that Lennon -McCartney hit."