THE OFFICIAL REVIEW: "A KIND OF HUSH" (SP-4581)

[Chris May]

“A KIND OF HUSH”​

​

Catalogue Number: A&M SP-4581 ​

Date of Release: 06/11/76 ​

Chart Position- U.S.: #33; U.K.: #3; JAPAN: #5 ​

Album Singles: "There's A Kind Of Hush”/"(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye And I Love You”​

"I Need To Be In Love"/"Sandy"​

"Goofus"/"Boat To Sail"​

Medium: Vinyl/Reel/8-track/Cassette/CD​

Track Listing:

1.) There's A Kind Of Hush 2:57 (Reed/Stephens)
2.) You 3:45 (Edelman)
3.) Sandy 3:38 (Carpenter/Bettis)
4.) Goofus 3:32 (King/Harold/Kahn)
5.) Can't Smile Without You 3:26 (Arnold/Martin/Morrow)
6.) I Need To Be In Love 3:47 (Carpenter/Bettis/Hammond)
7.) One More Time 3:30 (Anderson)
8.) Boat To Sail 3:29 (DeShannon)
9.) I Have You 3:25 (Carpenter/Bettis)
10.) Breaking Up Is Hard To Do 2:34 (Sedaka/Greenfield)

Album Credits:


There's A Kind Of Hush:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger
Harp: Gayle Levant

You:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gayle Levant

Sandy:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Cubby O'Brien
Flute & Clarinet: Tom Scott
Flute: Bob Messenger
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant & Dorothy Remsen

Goofus:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Cubby O'Brien
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Tenor Sax & Cheek Pop: Bob Messenger
Tuba: Wes Jacobs

Can't Smile Without You:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Harp: Gayle Levant
Whistle: Doug Strawn

I Need To Be In Love:
Vocals by Richard & Karen Carpenter and the MOR Chorale
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant
English Horn: Earl Dumler
Flute: David Shostic

One More Time:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Oboe: Earl Dumler

Boat To Sail:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Vibes: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Guitars: Tony Peluso

I Have You:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gayle Levant

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Baritone Sax: Jim Horn
Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant

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

Produced by: Richard Carpenter
Associate Producer: Karen Carpenter
Arranged & Orchestrated by: Richard Carpenter
All Vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Engineered by: Ray Gerhardt
Assistant Engineer: Dave Iveland
Mastering Engineer: Frank DeLuna
Art Direction: Roland Young
Photography: Ed Caraeff
Album Concept and Design: J. Scarkino & Co.
Special Thanks to Ed Sulzer, Ron Gorow and John Bettis

 

[newvillefan]

Whenever I read about this album, I always think of the UK music review with the headline that ran 'Cool Carpenters Only Coasting'. That to me sums it up. To me, it's almost an album full of...well, album tracks. Even one of Karen's most beautiful and yearning performances, 'I Need To Be In Love', sounded a little tired and bare without the trademark harmonic sound, here replaced by the MOR Chorale. That to me is one of the reasons it didn't fare too well as a single. It continued the 'sleeper' feeling in its verses that I first heard on some of Horizon's album tracks, and so didn't have much of a 'spark' to catch the listener's ear when played on the radio - not unless you sat down and really listened to the words.

To me the album wasn't packed with obviously commercial songs as on 'A Song For You', one reason I think it took a while to go gold. As Richard has said, it's one of those albums that didn't have the sell-through top 5 hit single that would require album sales to go nuts. Releasing 'Goofus' was the Carpenters equivalent of clutching at straws: picking the next strongest song from a batch of only average tunes - and the public responded accordingly, making it the single that would stall their record-breaking run on the top 40 charts.

Having said that, I also think of the album as being quite sublime and dreamy, partly through the mellow arrangements and Karen's dreamy laid back vocals on songs like 'Boat To Sail' (one of my all time favourites) and the wistful 'One More Time'. 'Sandy' is nice in that the layered vocals at the end go a long way to redeeming it; I particularly like how Richard later resurrected it for his PACC album and stripped back the instrumentation to reveal the vocal layers. One song which I feel is begging for an updated remix is 'You'. It's one of those songs that drifts along in its own little way but manages to sweep you up as it builds to the superb harmonies in the last chorus.

Then there are the covers: There's A Kind Of Hush, Can't Smile Without You and Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. The fact that they tried to make covers of 3 songs that had been obvious big hits for other people in their own right didn't help their case at that point in time. It worked for Postman, but that song had its own indefinable magic that took it to the top on two other occasions for other artists. Ray Coleman's description of the title track was 'vapid', a description which I feel matches all three covers. They don't sound very inspired to me, and in turn did not add much to the album to inspire the listener.

Richard said that by this point they were tired, with 6 years on the road starting to take its toll. When I listen to this album as a whole, what I feel is missing is that crispness to the recordings (even the piano sounds tired and lifeless!) and the sheer commercial ambition and that was oozing out of them in the early days, as well as the ambitious harmonies that were so present even a year before on Only Yesterday. What I'm left with is a tired and listless feeling, which was starting to creep in to their own lives and which would bring them to a halt altogether about 2 years' later.

Stephen

 

[Mark-T]

"Hush" is an album full of contradictions, as far as I am concerned- both as an album and in my thoughts about it.

Non-music items: I LOVE the cover and all the artwork involved. The inside wallpaper was sheer class. The photography was well done, and K&R look great.
The wistful, but I think, out of place, photo of Karen inside always seems to draw me in. (And of course, my avatar is from the same photo sessions- my favorite photo of Karen period.)

As for the music, a mixed bag.

"Hush" is a tune I enjoy and particularly love the background vocals at the end- but it isn't very strong. After I saw them in Las Vegas in 1976 and heard "Hush" live, I thought they should have opted for a slow intro on the recorded version. Karen's reading on the phrase "All over the world" was sublime and sexy all at once. (But the next word "tonight" was too punctuated.) A slow intro would have been quite a surprise for radio listeners! To me, vocals on the recorded version seems a little peppy for such a lyrically sensual song. Yet, I do like this song alot.

"You" is probably the single that should have replaced "Goofus" but still pretty average. There's no joy in her voice even though she's found the man of her dreams. Nice song, but the reading feels rote. Even the guitar solo seems as if it was done several times before.

Personally, I think "Sandy" is pretty bad. Now, not "Druscilla Penny" bad, but after writing so many excellent songs, I have to ask, what were Richard and John Bettis thinking? When I first heard this on the back of my "Hush" single, I thought "oh, no." I feel this song represents all the complaints I've heard from folks not Carpenters fans- MOR, bland pop, safe, boring. It's hard to argue hearing this one.

"Goofus" is just out of place. Poor choice. Was this recorded at the request of their parents? Karen and Richard had gained quite a bit of teen and rock respectability with "Horizon"- and prompty threw it away with this song- and, unfortunately, much of this album.

Side One ends with "Can't Smile"- could have been much better than it was.
Here, there is cheeriness in her voice- the opposite of the lyrics.

Overall, a less than average beginning. At least there's Karen's voice singing something new, but certainly a letdown after the excellent, groundbreaking, previous album.

Side Two starts things off much stronger.

Love "I Need", hate the choir. This song brings back the feeling I get when hearing "Rainy Days". It shows the depth of her emotions and has some weight to it. "One More Time"- elegant, beautiful, and simple. ("Ordinary Fool" belongs on this side of the album, doesn't it?)

"Boat to Sail" is probably my favorite song on the album. Light, breezy, sultry vocal, smooth jazz arrangements. I never tire of listening to it.

At this point, I'm starting to think "This is pretty good- finally!"

All the vocal parts and the sentiment of "I Have You" take a pretty ordinary song to a new level of sweetness, bittersweet now, when thinking about Karen's life. I'm drawn in again. The voice matches the lyrical content.

Last song, "Breaking Up". OK- I liked Sedaka's original and loved his remake.
Sorry to say, we needed the slow version here as well. Karen would have shined on this as a ballad, and Richard's arrangement could have been amazing. I think it would have been a song like "Masquerade", one to take the audience to a new level of appreciation of them as artists.

In summary, I wanted something stronger. I thought Karen and Richard took a vacation with this one. 50% good to great- 50% average to poor.

The biggest contradiction of all? I play this album more than any other Carpenters album. But why? I have yet to figure that out...

 

[aaflyer98]

I love the album. The music, the artwork, the songs. I agree with a lot of the comments regarding the album, but not that it's average to poor (just my opinion, only!). It was more of an 'easy listening' album for better or for worse that did lack top 40 singles. And I do think "goofus" was a mistake, along with "breaking up is hard to do", could have done without those tracks. But "You" had hit potential and I think "I Need to Be In Love" just slightly missed the mark. Chalk it up to the choir! I always preferred the Carpenters background vocals over any choir. But overall, it is a very pretty, beautifully arranged and sung mellow album.

 

[Jeff]

K'mon,

CarpenterS COULDN'T go wrong!

Got me?

p.s. Iz so good ta be back!

Jeff

 

[Dave]

Two-Stars from Me:


"There's A Kind Of Hush" is a good mood-ballad, even surpassing the Herman's Hermits original and edging out Ed Ames remake...


"You" --by Randy Edelman, giving this up-and-coming songwriter another interpretation of his "demo's", this time more of a personal love-song as opposed to the still-good "I Can't Make Music", covered earlier...

"Sandy" I had on a '45' and that is a refreshing track that redeems this project enough that you wish more like it had been done...

"Goofus" is selling-out to the big-band crowd, but I guess a sort of a nostalogic epic was what Richard & Karen needed just for a change of pace... But to me, a throw-away...

"Can't Smile Without You" --popularized by Barry Manilow, but Karen gives this just as much of a longing and enduring quality...

"I Need To Be In Love" is another wistful ballad, reminiscent of the "Early Days" and that it was a minor-hit was what kept them from "moving on to another label"...

"Boat To Sail" --had on Jackie De Shannon's New Arrangement album and the dual-vibes by Richard & Karen enhance what to me, is a song I could live without... Just too off-putting in its nature, that's all...

"I Have You" (and "One More Time") --more potential and emotion displayed but kind of (to me)forgettable...

"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" -- Easily one I would skip; best-left as a Neil Sedaka song and wonder why Richard arranged the orchestration on Sedaka's remake of it--Artie Butler who did the arrangements on the rest of Sedaka's The Hungry Years album (with The Sid Sharp Strings) would still have been just fine... Carl Graves, another A&M artist, also covered this, more like Neil's "newer version"... As for Karen singing it, it has the Oldies-Feel that "BE4-5789" and "Please Mr. Postman" and even "Ticket To Ride" and "Help" had, but like the rest of this album and Horizon before it, I just can't get much into the "Spirit"...


Dave

 

[Mark-T]

"I Need To Be In Love" is another wistful ballad, reminiscent of the "Early Days" and that it was a minor-hit was what kept them from "moving on to another label"...

Dave, this comment is very interesting. Were K&R considering a label switch at this time? Seems coming off the last few albums they would be happy with A&M.

 

[piloso49]

I like a lot of this album. though when I play it I usually start with track 2 & stop before the last track. I really do love the original songs on the album.
Especially, "You" my favorite track, "Boat To Sail", "Sandy" ,"One More Time".
I dont especially love the remakes . Title track, Breaking up..., Goofus,
I do like "Cant Smile Without You".

So, To sum up for me,, It's got some of the Best as well as the worst. That's why I really enjoy listening to this cd with my hand on the remote.
But all in all I would still rate it 4 stars out of 5.

ps: I sould have included "Ordinary Fool"

 

[aaflyer98]

I know that according to Ray Coleman's biography, the Carpenters were considering leaving A&M I believe in 1977, after "A Kind Of Hush"...anyone fill more in on this?

 

[Chris May]

This was one of the first "albums" I listened to by the Carpenters. Up until this point, I was hearing mainly the hits, particualarly off of "The Singles, 1969-1973".

Commercially it really doesn't do anything. However, there is a mood that is created everytime I listen to it. From a technical standpoint, I always felt like there were a lot of flaws-- either in the edits, background noise, etc and I always thought the album could have been EQ'd a little "brighter". The overall tone of the album sounds kind of dark and a touch muddy where the engineering is concerned.

My favorite tracks are "YOU", "I NEED TO BE IN LOVE", and "BOAT TO SAIL". I gave this album a "3" -Chris

 

[no1kandrfan]

Unlike Horizon, this album didn't grab me and I don't listen to it very often; interestingly enough, it does contain 2 songs that I'm quite fond of - Boat To Sail and One More Time.

My least favorite is Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. I would have also enjoyed a slower arrangement of this song; Karen would have done a great job with it.

Kudos to the art work; the back cover photography, and the inside - with their logo printed hundreds of times; along with the actual label on the disc, was a first - and very well done.

Mike

 

[Mark-T]

^^ The artwork is great. No other album comes close...

 

[Murray]

Then there are the covers: There's A Kind Of Hush, Can't Smile Without You and Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. The fact that they tried to make covers of 3 songs that had been obvious big hits for other people in their own right didn't help their case at that point in time.

Stephen, Barry Manilow didn't record "Can't Smile Without You" until 1978, so he actually covered the Carpenters! He made that song his own though, injecting it with the angst and pain that the lyrics deserved, unlike the Carpenters syrupy rendition.

While it pales in comparison to their earlier albums, Hush is still an enjoyable album to listen to, particularly if I'm in a mellow mood and don't want to listen to anything too challenging. There are some really pretty songs on the album ("You", "Sandy", "Boat To Sail", "One More Time", "I Have You"). "I Need To Be In Love" has become my favourite Carpenters song in recent years, but it was never the type of song that could have achieved commercial success as a single.

I give it three stars.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I'm with Murray & give it 3 stars.

Not one of my favorite albums. The artwork cover is excellent. Years ago I tried to buy an original full size poster of the album cover but lost the bid on ebay. Somebody sniped me at the last milisecond.

The best tracks on this for me are; I Need To Be In Love, Goofus (Yes I am about the only one that loves this track) One More Time & You.

Wasn't there a different version of Can't Smile Without You released as a single? Or maybe I'm thinking of another single. I've been wanting to hear this other version.

 

[no1kandrfan]

Hey Chris - I like Goofus too; didn't mention that - actually there's a little story behind that one.

When the album first came out Charlie Tuna (a DJ out in Los Angeles) interviewed Karen on the radio. He brought up the song, mentioned how surprised he was that it had been included. She said something along the lines like 'yeah, it is a surprise, but we really like the song'. They talked a bit more but I don't recall the details. While 'different', I really do enjoy the song - the tuba (right?), her vocals, and the overall rhythm - and the catchy ending.

There is another version of Can't Smile... which first appeared on the 'second' singles album that was never released in the US; although I do believe it's on one of the later compilations.

Mike

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Yeah for me Goofus is contagious. What I enjoy most about that song is not so much the lyrics, it's the way in which Karen uses the lyrics. Some words we've never heard her put into a song before & it is very catchy for me. If you ever get the chance to pick up the single Promo Mono 45, I would highly recomend it. Karen's vocal is brought way up to the front giving the song a new feel.

 

[Murray]

There is another version of Can't Smile... which first appeared on the 'second' singles album that was never released in the US; although I do believe it's on one of the later compilations.

The alternate version of Can't Smile was first released as the B side of the Calling Occupants 45 (AM 1978). It later appeared on the Singles 74-78 album.

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

Stephen, Barry Manilow didn't record "Can't Smile Without You" until 1978, so he actually covered the Carpenters! He made that song his own though, injecting it with the angst and pain that the lyrics deserved, unlike the Carpenters syrupy rendition.

I never really heard angst and pain in Barry's version either.....

 

[Calvin R Murty]

Hi Everyone,

While on the topic of Carpenters/Barry Manilow's Can't Smile Without You [CSWY], I thought it would be interesting to mention (if you don't already know it) that at the back cover of Barry's Even Now (Remastered) CD [i.e. the album that contains CSWY), he mentions that while he was in A& M studio mixing the song, 'beautiful Karen Carpenter' walked in to say hello, and he let her hear it - apparently she said that it was going to be a number one hit and that she wished it was hers!

Also, if you read one of Barry's later biographies, Barry and Karen actually went for a couple of dates (i.e.social events) - but that's another story. Karen really admired his work.

Calvin

 

[brycem]

I know that according to Ray Coleman's biography, the Carpenters were considering leaving A&M I believe in 1977?

I read somewhere that Carpenters recieved the same base comission from the date they signed with A&M in 1969 up until Jerry Weintraub became their manager in 1976 who thought that the amount they recieved was pathetic considering that they were known throughout the record industry as "The boat that A&M sailed on". I could be wrong but I think that Jerry put forward to the powers that be at A&M that Karen & Richard would leave the label if they didn't recieve more money.... Someone correct me if I am wrong

 

[newvillefan]

You're right - that episode was chronicled in the Untold Story.

Stephen

 

[Chris_Sydney]

Ooh, now this thread I like! Loads of differing opinions which is nice to see.

I'll stand up and profess my affection for 'A Kind Of Hush'. I agree that it's by no means the Carpenters' strongest album and that it is a disappointing follow-up to the flawless 'Horizon', but these are contextual complaints. On the album's own merit I think it is a pretty strong collection of songs, and I would definitely rate it above some of the duo's other LP's.

Without echoing others' sentiments too closely I will agree that the creative juices were clearly running out. After only one 'oldie' on 'Horizon' we are now faced with three, each executed with varying degrees of success. I've always felt a bit lukewarm towards 'There's A Kind Of Hush'. By this stage the castinets are wearing a little thin on my ears and I'm with you 100% on this one mstaft, the production and delivery is all wrong for the lyric. That said, 'TAKOH' doesn't grate on me nearly as much as, say, 'Top Of The World', it just doesn't affect me like the majority of their other singles. As for 'Goofus' and 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do', well they were just ill-advised choices. How 'Goofus' became a single is beyond me but I suppose at least it was a different kind of oldies cover...

The rest of the album is, however, really quite lovely and I think a lot of the songs are underappreciated gems in the duo's catalogue. 'You' was probably the obvious single choice (and certainly would have made a better single than 'Goofus') but I probably would have been leaning towards 'Sandy'. I love this song and it's nice to hear Richard's voice with Karen's on the refrain as his vocal input in the songs seem to slow to a halt as the seventies wore on. I like that the romance of the lyric is rather relaxed. It's more an invitation of friendship than anything else. 'Ooh Sandy, could we spend the day together? You know how rainy weather gets me down when I'm alone...' I also like the blatant reference to 'Rainy Days And Mondays', haha! I wonder if that was intentional on John Bettis' part? The name 'Sandy' works well too seeing as it isn't gender-specific, although the idea of either Richard or Karen singing a gay love song makes me inordinately happy, haha.

'I Can't Smile Without You' rounds out the first side and is a pleasant take on a now-iconic song but the real gems on 'A Kind Of Hush' reside on the LP's second side, as mstaft pointed out. 'I Need To Be In Love' wasn't as instant as a lot of the Carpenters' singles for me but it latches on with repeated listens and you can hear how invested Karen is in the lyric. I think nearly every person in the world can relate to this song and that combination between vulnerability ('I know I need to be in love, I know I've wasted too much time') and resilience ('I'm hanging on a hope but I'm alright') is really appealing.

I'm surprised more people don't talk about 'One More Time'. Karen's voice here is sublime and I can't help but think the lyrics are rather pertinent in the wake of her tragic absence from our lives now. 'One more time for the good times that far outweigh the bad... when love was all we had'. As so much of Karen's legacy is now marred by her illness, it's lovely to hear her sing these comforting words which despite their latent sadness do seem to be focusing on the positive. I'm sure in our memories and affection for Karen, the good times DO far outweigh the bad.

'Boat To Sail' is gorgeous and can't help but make 'Sailin' On The Tide' on the 'Voice Of The Heart' album seem a little superfluous. No wonder it remained unreleased during Karen's lifetime seeing as they had already done the song, and better, on 'A Kind Of Hush'. 'I Have You' is pretty if unremarkable but with three amazing tracks on that side of the album already I can forgive the last two for being duds.

I always feel a bit sorry for 'A Kind Of Hush' because I really don't think it's as bad as some make it out to be (although, of course, this is all a matter of opinion). And with such stellar artwork - LOVE the back cover with the earth in the place of the sun - I really can't harbour any negative feelings towards it! 4/5 for me.


x

 

[Dave]

Carpenters
A KIND OF HUSH
A&M SP-4581

Track Listing/Album Credits:


1. There's A Kind Of Hush 2:57 (Reed/Stephens)

Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger
Harp: Gayle Levant

2. You 3:45 (Edelman)

Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gayle Levant

3. Sandy 3:38 (Carpenter/Bettis)

Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Cubby O'Brien
Flute & Clarinet: Tom Scott
Flute: Bob Messenger
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant & Dorothy Remsen

4. Goofus 3:32 (King/Harold/Kahn)

Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Cubby O'Brien
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Tenor Sax & Cheek Pop: Bob Messenger
Tuba: Wes Jacobs

5. Can't Smile Without You 3:26 (Arnold/Martin/Morrow)

Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Harp: Gayle Levant
Whistle: Doug Strawn

6. I Need To Be In Love 3:47 (Carpenter/Bettis/Hammond)

Vocals by Richard & Karen Carpenter and the MOR Chorale
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant
English Horn: Earl Dumler
Flute: David Shostic

7. One More Time 3:30 (Anderson)

Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Oboe: Earl Dumler

8. Boat To Sail 3:29 (DeShannon)

Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Vibes: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Guitars: Tony Peluso

9. I Have You 3:25 (Carpenter/Bettis)

Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gayle Levant

10. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do 2:34 (Sedaka/Greenfield)

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Baritone Sax: Jim Horn
Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant

Produced by: Richard Carpenter
Associate Producer: Karen Carpenter
Arranged & Orchestrated by: Richard Carpenter
All Vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Engineered by: Ray Gerhardt
Assistant Engineer: Dave Iveland
Mastering Engineer: Frank DeLuna
Art Direction: Roland Young
Photography: Ed Caraeff
Album Concept and Design: J. Scarkino & Co.
Special Thanks to Ed Sulzer, Ron Gorow and John Bettis



So what happened? OK, not just that THIS is supposed our NEXT Album-of-the-Week, but Horizon, which preceded this showed some new depth and growth for Richard & Karen...

A Kind Of Hush is a return-to-form of their earlier works, with of course some renewal, such as the bouncy & jaunty "Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do" and the creamy, dreamy "Boat To Sail" and even the radio-ready hit-singles "I Need To Be In Love" and while not-entirely dated, as UP-dated, "(There's) A Kind Of Hush" also work... "Sandy" easily could'a gotten a lot of D.J.'s to flip the '45' it was the B-Side of over and equally play, too... "You", "I Have You" and"One More Time" also show the same potential... And put aside the type of "Goofus" was and enjoy the brilliance of this "revision" though, corny it may still sound...

Good that the Carp's tried for "Horizon, Two" and were able to show yet another side of the same newfound dimension and give us the same out-going quality their previous efforts also offered...



Dave


[Edited by Dave to make in more of an AOTW format]

 

[goodjeans]

Also, if you read one of Barry's later biographies, Barry and Karen actually went for a couple of dates (i.e.social events) - but that's another story. Karen really admired his work.

I have always wished that Barry Manilow had arranged "I Need To Be In Love" in the somewhat predictable slow build to a bombastic ending with the "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" drums that he was so fond of. It may have been incongruous with the lyrics but I don't care. I think it would have been dramatic, wonderful and much more commercially strong. As far as their 'dates' I would bet that they had a lot in common.

 

[goodjeans]

('I'm hanging on a hope but I'm alright') is really appealing.

which, in my youth I thought was (hanging on a hook but I'm alright) and was pretty upset and sad for Karen until my older sister corrected me.