Close to You

by Carpenters

Overview

Hurriedly put together in the wake of the success of the title song, and containing the follow-up hit "We've Only Just Begun," Close to You is a surprisingly strong album, and not just for those hits. Richard Carpenter's originals "Maybe It's You" and "Crescent Noon" are superb showcases for Karen Carpenter's developing talent, the latter a superbly atmospheric, hauntingly beautiful art song of the kind that Judy Collins was doing well at the time, and gorgeously arranged. There's also a Swingle Singers-style number, "Mr. Guder," showing off their paired vocal talents and more of Richard's arranging talents. Karen's singing on "Reason to Believe" isn't so much somber as it is passionate, as she emphasizes the melancholy component in the song more than most versions. Their version of "Help" lacks the inventiveness of "Ticket to Ride," although it has some pleasing vocal flourishes. The finale, "Another Song," tries hard for a serious rock sound, especially in Karen's animated drumming, but it's her voice that stands out. Released amid the political turmoil of 1970, in the wake of the Cambodian incursion, Kent State, and the conservative backlash against the antiwar forces, there was no way that the rock press or the most politically active listeners were going to appreciate this record, but the fact that it had two huge hit singles and earned a gold record award raised their ire against the Carpenters, a problem that would dog the duo for most of its career. But the public bought, and kept on buying. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	11/17/2017
Label:	A&M / Polydor
UPC:	0602557403725

Tracks

1. We've Only Just Begun
2. Love Is Surrender
3. Maybe It's You
4. Reason to Believe
5. Help
6. (They Long to Be) Close to You
7. Baby It's You
8. I'll Never Fall in Love Again
9. Crescent Noon
10. Mr. Guder
11. I Kept on Loving You
12. Another Song

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Carpenters   Primary Artist
Doug Strawn   Clarinet,Woodwind,Keyboards,Wind
Bonnie Douglas   Violin
Chuck Findley   Trumpet
Bob Messenger   Bass,Wind,Woodwind
Jay Rosen   Violin
Samuel Boghossian   Viola
Richard Carpenter   Piano,Vocals,Keyboards
Arnold Belnick   Violin
Hal Blaine   Drums
Danny Woody Woodhams   Bass
Paul Shure   Violin
Dan Neufeld   Viola
Joe Osborn   Bass
Gayle Levant   Harp
Jim Horn   Wind,Woodwind
Karen Carpenter   Drums,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Ralph Schaeffer   Violin
Bernard Kundell   Violin
Jacqueline Lustgarten   Celli
Ambrose Russo   Violin
William Kurasch   Violin
Gareth Nuttycombe   Viola
Jimmy Getzoff   Violin
Marshall Sosson   Violin
Jerome Reisler   Violin
George Kast   Violin
Wilbert Nuttycombe   Violin
Frederick Seykora   Celli
Tony Terran   Trumpet
Marilyn Baker   Viola
Douglas Davis   Celli

Technical Credits

Dick Bogart   Engineer
Jack Daugherty   Producer
Barney Williams   Composer
Carl G. Lampl   Composer
Mack David   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Robby Krieger   Composer
Lonnie Donegan   Composer
Ralph Carmichael   Composer
Richard Carpenter   Arranger,Composer,Orchestration
Danny Wilde   Composer
Paul Williams   Composer
Hal David   Composer
Toni Cottura   Composer
Roger Nichols   Composer,Composer
John Bettis   Composer
John Densmore   Composer
Dick Bogert   Engineer
Jerry Livingston   Composer
Aris   Composer
Al Hoffman   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
B. Williams   Composer
Tom Wilkes   Art Direction
Lennon-McCartney   Composer
Paul Hamilton Williams   Composer
Jim Currie   Composer
Ray Gerhardt   Engineer
Ray Manzarek   Composer
Tim Hardin   Composer
Burt Bacharach   Composer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Jim Morrison   Composer
Kesselbauer   Composer