THE OFFICIAL REVIEW: "CARPENTERS" S/T (SP-3502)

[Chris May]

“CARPENTERS” S/T​

Catalogue Number: A&M SP-3502
Date of Release: 5/13/71
Nickname: The "Tan" Album
Chart Position- U.S.: #2; U.K.: #12; JAPAN: #47
Album Singles: "For All We Know"/"Don't Be Afraid"
"Rainy Days and Mondays"/"Saturday"
"Superstar"/"Bless The Beasts and The Children"
Medium: Reel/Vinyl/8-track/Cassette/CD​

Track Listing:

1.) Rainy Days and Mondays 3:40 (Williams/Nichols)
2.) Saturday 1:20 (Carpenter/Bettis)
3.) Let Me Be The One 2:25 (Williams/Nichols)
4.) (A Place To) Hideaway 3:40 (Sparks)
5.) For All We Know 2:34 (Karlin/Wilson/James)
6.) Superstar 3:49 (Russell/Bramlett)
7.) Druscilla Penny 2:18 (Carpenter/Bettis)
8.) One Love 3:23 (Carpenter/Bettis)
9.) Bacharach/David Medley 5:25 (Bacharach/David):
a. Knowing When To Leave
b. Make It Easy On Yourself
c. (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me
d. I'll Never Fall In Love Again
e. Walk On By
f. Do You Know The Way To San Jose?

10.) Sometimes 2:52 (Mancini/Mancini)

Album Credits:

Arranged and Orchestrated by Richard Carpenter
Engineered by Ray Gerhardt and Dick Bogert; Assistant: Norm Kinney
All Vocals: Karen and Richard Carpenter
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn and Bob Messenger
Reeds: Bob Messenger, Douglas Strawn, Jim Horn
Drums: Hal Blaine and Karen Carpenter
Wurlitzer Electric Piano and Ludwig Drums used
Album Concept and Design by Craig Braun Inc.
Jackets mfd. by Sound Packaging Corp.
Art Direction by Roland Young
Photography by Guy Webster
Produced by Jack Daugherty Productions

 

[Mark-T]

A perfect album with the exception of Druscilla Penny...

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I need to relisten to this album all the way through again -- haven't done it in years. I remember being underwhelmed by it originally, but now looking at the tune stack I can't really find any songs I completely dislike (even "Saturday" is pretty good; I enjoy Richard's lead vocals since they add variety to the proceedings). I think the weakest part of it is the Medley which, along with "Druscilla Penny," kind of takes the fire out of Side 2.

All in all, a very good album with some killer singles, but in my mind it's overshadowed by its awesome followup, A SONG FOR YOU.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Five stars for me. It was another Carpenter reel-to-reel that Dad just about wore to nothing...he played it a lot. My standouts are "Sometimes," "Saturday," "Druscilla Penny" and the "Bacharach/David Medley."

Actually, it's a strong, yet understated selection of songs. It was great to hear Richard put in a vocal or two. And let's face it, the Carpenter sound was well-suited to Bacharach/David material. That medley is amazing!!

All in all, I give this a definite thumbs up. Then again, I can't think of many Carpenter projects to which I'd give a thumbs down -- including her solo release, which I found to be excellent in many ways.

Jon

 

[Dave]

It's the FIRST ORIGINAL Carpenters ALBUM that I ever bought and I was fortunate to find a copy (though a later pressing of it) Still-Sealed... Richard's lead vocals here and there are a refreshing change of pace, no matter what he is singing...and I thought "Druscilla Panny" and "Saturday" are pretty good songs, no matter what... And the medley is also a nice touch--showing there is MORE than "Close To You", as far as covering Bacharach/David goes... And my favorite "filler-that-should'a been a hit" goes to (Randy, I think...) Sparks' "(A Place To) Hideaway"! ...I also wonder who the "other" Mancini (besides Henry) in that last song, "Sometimes", is ...

Along with A Song For You, this is one of the few Carp's LP's that I thoroughly enjoy start-to-finish...


Dave

 

[Brasil_Nut]

...I also wonder who the "other" Mancini in that last song, "Sometimes", is ...

It was written as a poem by his daughter. He put it to song. That's who the other Mancini is.

Jon

 

[Dave]

...I also wonder who the "other" Mancini in that last song, "Sometimes", is ...

It was written as a poem by his daughter. He put it to song. That's who the other Mancini is.

Jon

OK, thanks Jon! I do remember (...or that is, I saw "an album of her's") a Monica Mancini; could that be her? Kind of a good father/daughter collaboration there... Wish that could have been the "B-Side" of 'that' "Hideaway" '45'...!


Dave

...still enjoying those 'familiar strains' of "For All We Know"...!!

 

[Chris May]

Henry Mancini's daughter (and co-writer of "Sometimes") is named Felice. -Chris

 

[Brasil_Nut]

...Henry Mancini's daughter (and co-writer of "Sometimes") is named Felice...

That's right, Chris. Thanks for clearing that up. I should have mentioned this in my reply to David. I think it's a beautiful little jewel of a song. As a matter of fact, Lani performed this in concert many years ago, along with "Can You Read My Mind" from Superman. Both versions awe-inspiring. I can't help but wish she had recorded them.

Jon

 

[jfiedler17]

A five-star, in my opinion. No one track especially stands out to me (I'm not nearly as fond of the singles on this album as I am of their later singles), but as far as albums go, this one's just a winner from start to finish, and I rarely skip over a track. Even tracks that seem on paper like they should be throwaways - like the 1 minute, 20 second "Saturday" - are shockingly fantastic. Even after considering A Song for You, this one would still have to get my vote as the Carpenters album that makes the best album.

Jeff F.

 

[enigma]

I gave it a four star. I found this record to be weaker and that is only because it came between two great records CTY and ASFY. On it own the Tan Album is a great record I consider some of Karens finest vocal performances to come from this record. As for Richards parts sure they are not as good as Karens but I feel they provide me with a break kind of to catch my breath until Karen come on again to blow me away with another incredible vocal. Also his songs are not that bad I always listen to them and never hit the skip button and DP is no exception its is good enough for me to listen to and I find it kind of light hearted as opposed to the heavier more emotional songs Karen sings on the record. Over all I love this record in spite of it falling only slightly short of CTY or ASFY in my opinion its still a great record.

 

[Dave]

You do hear a sort of "Maturity" in this album; perhaps TOO MUCH so, given the kind of contrast between Close To You and the up-and-coming A Song For You...

The real "kicker" should in be in that "fold"; the portrait there of Karen & Richard very much resembles a fairly old picture of ME AND MY SISTER...!! (Honest!!)


Dave

...wondering how Richard as a young adult resembled me as a kid, and my lil' sis was a "Karen Clone"...

 

[aaflyer98]

A great album, with some classic hits..my favorite album cut is "One Love".

 

[PHIL]

This album has a special place for me, as it's what got me into the Carpenters. My Dad bought it for my Mum Christmas 72 I was 14 , and I soon knew every word! Every track is great in it's own way, if I had to choose a favourite, maybe " Hideaway " would get it. If only the album was longer!!

 

[Rudy]

Henry Mancini's daughter (and co-writer of "Sometimes") is named Felice. -Chris

For the record: Monica Mancini is Felice's identical twin sister, and the one who has released a couple of CDs under her own name as a vocalist.

 

[Jeff]

Rainy Days alone made this album. And ya know what's funny? They STILL get me down.

Jeff

 

[Prof4man]

This is probably my favorite Carpenters album, though not necessarily the best. It was the first one I bought and played over and over again. Being a piano player I bought the songbook for this album and still play "Sometimes" whenever I first sit down at a piano as a warm up. It is also the last song I play before I get up.

 

[davepowers]

I keep hearing "Let Me Be The One" and the cool bass lines that Joe Osborn laid down on that track. I got that album when it came out. I was in the second grade then, and I had just acquired a 'hi-fi' system that had great bass response. It was my first fascination with a woofer after listening to records on a kiddie record player. Listen to the low 'F' ("need someone to turn to...") and the bass licks during the repeated choruses at the end. Love it! I still have the LP. A few years ago, I found a pre-recorded 4-track reel tape that also sounds great, but what's weird is that the song order is re-arranged - probably for program duration on each side.

 

[Harry]

I acquired the "tan" album probably on or near release day. After the first two albums, I couldn't get enough Carpenters and needed anything else I could get as soon as possible.

I found it to be a reinforcing album with 'more of the same', and that was a good thing. The last thing I needed was for this new favorite group to be off doing the kinds of weird albums that were becoming more prominent at the time.

No, this album had more Bacharach, more from Nichols-Williams, and a couple of Richard-driven vocals to perfectly frame the sublime stylings of Karen on the big hits of "Rainy Days And Mondays" and "Superstar". When the album came out, I just KNEW "Superstar" was going to be huge if it were released as a single. It was instantly a favorite. (Of course I thought the same thing about "Let Me Be The One" and we all know what happened to THAT one!)

If there was any complaint from me about the 'tan' album, it was that it seemed short. The prior two albums had the usual twelve tracks, and this one only had nine, and totalled only a little over 31 minutes.

The packaging of the original LP was unique, being made to mimic a manila folder, with a fold-over flap design that was supposed to fit into a slit in the cover, which had the exciting new "Carpenters" logo embossed on it. Inside was an antiqued photo of Karen & Richard and the album was housed in the jacket vertically. Later-issued LPs would eliminate the flap and picture and were 'normal' album jackets.

When the '80s rolled around and the album was issued on CD, it acquired some of Richard's remixes instead of the original album mixes - most notably "Superstar" and "Rainy Days And Mondays." But at least the picture found its way back to the rear of the insert. That photo was used as the cover photo on a German-issued CD from Spectrum/Karusell that found its way into CD bins in the States. I guess that the importers thought there might be something different about the album because of the cover, but sonically it was the same.

Finally the 1998 re-issue by PolyGram in the Remastered Classics series brought the original album mixes back to this set. Unfortunately, someone at PolyGram also managed to spell the name of the album as "C A R E P E N T E R S" above the logo on the face of the disc. That error remains to today, from what I understand.

But it's the Japanese that take the prize, at least for now, with their box-set mini-LP version of this one - keeping the remastered audio, and adding back in things like "the flap," the original ochre label, and even an insert to match the original black-and-white "Preserve The Sound Outside" innersleeve.

Harry
NP: CARPENTERS (or is it CAREPENTERS?)

 

[no1kandrfan]

I've just realized that I really don't have a favorite Carpenters album - there are some that I listen to more then others, and this would be one of them.

Rainy Days and Mondays is one of my all time favorite Carpenters songs -Only Yesterday, All You Get From Love is a Love Song and This Masquerade being the others. I never really thought about Karen being 'so young' when she recorded this song, what impressed me back then (11 years old) was how quickly I related to it, and how her vocals just mesmerized me. Every time I heard this song I would stop whatever I was doing, turn the volume up, close my eyes, and just listen; this hasn't changed in 30 plus years - except I don't close my eyes if I'm driving.

I lived across the street from a Catholic school and church. They had a festival on the grounds every year, and the year Rainy Days was popular, they used this record to test the sound system. Each time they played it I would run outside, stretch out on my front lawn, and close my eyes. This happened about 10 times that day - I'm sure others were wondering what I was up to!

Today, I enjoy nothing more then sitting in a dark room with a head-set, listening to her sing this song.

Much has been written about Karen's style, and how her singing was 'beyond her years'. I guess the first time I read this comment I was in my late teens, and I began to listen to her voice with a different mind-set. It was only then that Rainy Days completely blew me away. It was only then that I heard Karen's true gift - her ability to become part of the song; to sing from her heart, and personally connect with the listener. I always feel she is singing directly to me - no one else exists.

This entire album is great - not 1 bad song in the bunch, but Rainy Days, Let Me Be The One, Hideaway and the medley - are my overall favorites. I guess my least favorite would be Sometimes - a great song, well performed, arranged, etc. - it just never grabbed me.

Mike

 

[Chris May]

Growing up in the 90s, this album was one of my favorites as a keyboardist. Aside from "SUPERSTAR" being one of my top three song faves, I really enjoyed the Bacharach/David medley.

I own a couple of Wurlitzer electric pianos, and the one I had at the time was well broken in while playing along with this medley every day. The harmonies are so exquisite, and the overall flow of this album once again left you feeling satisfied. I gave it a "4" out of "5". -Chris

 

[AudiophilePhil]

One of the Carpenters' top two albums. The other one is "A Song For You."

 

[CraigGA]

The project needed more songs, and although some are not my favorite, some are my very favorites and it is simply good listening. I also enjoy the gift card concept of the envelope.

Craig