Product Overview
Carpenters / Karussell Audio CD 1993
UPC 731455006322
Product Details:
Carpenters is the third studio album by American music duo Carpenters. Released on May 14, 1971, it was their most successful studio album, reaching number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 12 in the UK. The album contained the hit songs "For All We Know", "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "Superstar".
It has been said that the strength of these recordings is what caused Richard Carpenter to ask his sister to front the band for their live performances instead of playing behind the drums. Amongst many fans, the album has simply been referred to as "The Tan Album", because the original LP cover, complete with overlapping flap, looked like an oversized tan envelope, and is presumably a play on The Beatles' so-called White Album.
In Cash Box's Top 100 Albums of 1971, Carpenters was listed as one of the year's ten biggest albums. This is the first album to feature the familiar Carpenters logo.
All lead vocals are by Karen, except on the tracks "Druscilla Penny", "Saturday", and the "Walk on By" segment of the Bacharach/David Medley, where Richard Carpenter sings lead vocal, with Karen in the background.
Tracklist:
| 1 | Rainy Days And Mondays
Written-By – Paul Williams (2), Roger Nichols (2) |
3:40 |
| 2 | Saturday | 1:20 |
| 3 | Let Me Be The One
Written-By – Paul Williams (2), Roger Nichols (2) |
2:25 |
| 4 | (A Place To) Hideaway
Written-By – Randy Sparks |
3:40 |
| 5 | For All We Know
Written-By – Arthur James, Fred Karlin, Robb Wilson |
2:34 |
| 6 | Superstar
Written-By – Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell |
3:49 |
| 7 | Druscilla Penny | 2:18 |
| 8 | One Love | 3:23 |
|
Bacharach/David Medley Written-By – Bacharach/David |
(5:25) | |
| 9a | Knowing When To Leave | |
| 9b | Make It Easy On Yourself | |
| 9c | (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me | |
| 9d | I'll Never Fall In Love Again | |
| 9e |
Walk On By | |
| 9f | Do You Know The Way To San Jose | |
| 10 | Sometimes
Lyrics By – Felice Mancini, Music By – Henry Mancini |
2:52 |
More Details:
- Arranged By, Orchestrated By, Keyboards – Richard Carpenter
- Art Direction – Roland Young (3)
- Bass – Bob Messenger, Joe Osborn
- Drums – Hal Blaine, Karen Carpenter
- Engineer – Dick Bogert, Ray Gerhardt
- Engineer [Assistant] – Norm Kinney
- Photography By – Guy Webster
- Reeds – Bob Messenger, Douglas Strawn, Jim Horn
- Vocals – Karen Carpenter, Richard Carpenter
- Written-By – John Bettis (tracks: 2, 7, 8), Richard Carpenter (tracks: 2, 7, 8)
About the Artist:
The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (b. 1946). They produced a distinct soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's arranging and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded ten albums, along with numerous singles and several television specials.
The siblings were born in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to Downey, California, in 1963. Richard took piano lessons as a child, progressing to California State University, Long Beach, while Karen learned the drums. They first performed together as a duo in 1965 and formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio followed by the middle-of-the-road group Spectrum. Signing as Carpenters to A&M Records in 1969, they achieved major success the following year with the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". Subsequently, the duo's brand of melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary music genres. The Carpenters had three number-one singles and five number-two singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen number-one hits on the Adult Contemporary chart, in addition to twelve top-10 singles. They have sold more than 90 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The duo toured continually during the 1970s, which put them under increased strain; Richard took a year off in 1979 after he had become addicted to Quaalude, while Karen suffered from anorexia nervosa.
Their career together ended in 1983 when Karen died from heart failure brought on by complications of anorexia. Extensive news coverage surrounding these circumstances increased public awareness of eating disorders. Though the Carpenters were criticized for their clean-cut and wholesome conservative image in the 1970s, their music has since been re-evaluated, attracting critical acclaim and continued commercial success.
