When Karen and Richard Carpenter had such phenomenal success with their Near You album in 1970 – it made No.2 on the US charts, No.1 in Canada and the UK High 30 – there have been people who thought all of it could have been one thing of a fluke. Simply 9 months later, on Could 14, 1971, they launched their self-titled follow-up, Carpenters. Not lengthy afterwards, it first entered the Billboard 200 chart on June 5 at No.15, shortly shifting its method as much as No.2 on the Billboard bestsellers and No.12 within the UK.
The duo’s self-titled third album is an outstanding piece of labor, with hand-picked covers and originals from Richard and John Bettis together with a pair from Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. They embody one among their best-loved songs, “Rainy Days and Mondays,” the album’s opening observe.
One other Nichols/Williams tune is “Let Me Be The One,” a track that regardless of by no means being a single, has lengthy been a favourite with followers in all places. An additional standout is “For All We Know,” written for the movie, Lovers and Different Strangers. It was composed by Robb Royer and James Griffin, two members of the band Bread, however they did so beneath pseudonyms.
The opening observe on Aspect 2 is “Superstar,” written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell in 1969. This was a track that had a great deal of historical past even earlier than Richard and Karen recorded their model in early 1971. Delaney & Bonnie had recorded the primary studying of the track in late 1969, with Eric Clapton including delicate guitar element. It was launched because the B-side of their single “Comin’ Home,” which peaked at No.84 within the US however reached No.16 within the UK, credited to Delaney & Bonnie and Buddies that includes Eric Clapton. At the moment, the Bramlett/Russell track was known as “Groupie (Superstar).”
In 1970, when Joe Cocker launched into his well-known Mad Canines & Englishmen tour, Russell was his bandleader, and Rita Coolidge was given the vocal highlight to interpret the track that by now was often called “Superstar.” When the Carpenters made it their very own, it was with the assistance of Earl Dumler’s plaintive oboe, Joe Osborn on bass and the prolific session drummer Hal Blaine.
Richard Carpenter wasn’t conscious of the Delaney & Bonnie or Mad Canines variations, however was drawn to “Superstar” when he heard Bette Midler performing it on The Tonight Present, on American tv, earlier than she had ever charted, then included it on her debut album The Divine Miss M. It is likely one of the excellent highlights on Carpenters.
Richard was a giant fan of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s songwriting and the duo’s tribute medley breathes contemporary life into their much-loved songs resembling “Make It Easy On Yourself” and “Walk On By.” The album closes with a track written by Felice and Henry Mancini, the splendid “Sometimes,” one of many lesser-known gems of the Carpenters catalog.
Some should still dismiss Carpenters as “easy listening,” however that’s clearly lacking the purpose. The brilliance of the preparations, the great thing about Karen’s voice and the talent with which Richard places all of that collectively makes this a timeless document.
Carpenters could be purchased right here.
