1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 192. The Carpenters – Close To You (1970)

 

If the last album was radio-friendly material, this is material that’s more than friendly with the radio, it’s married it and had three kids with it. Karen Carpenter’s voice is unique and unmistakable, somehow managing to sound like she’s multitracked over herself with her rich tones (and indeed sometimes she is). When the songs do bring in Richard Carpenter in harmonies (which they don’t need, really) the effect is exponential.

There are some songs written by Carpenter, R. on here, and he’s a pretty good songwriter, holding his own against the other tracks by the likes of Bacharach/David and Lennon-McCartney (a cover of Help). I thought that some of the tracks were King-Goffin ones, but they’re not. The classic love song forever linked to images of happy newlyeds, We’ve Only Just Begun, is actually by Paul “Rainbow Connection” Williams and Roger Nichols, who also provide I Kept On Loving You where, unusually, Richard sings without his sister.

It's Burt Bacharach and Hal David who provide probably one of The Carpenters’ classics, Close To You, as well as I’ll Never Fall In Love Again. It’s not all happy love songs though, Mr Guder is a stab at their parents’ old boss at Disneyland that sacked them for playing contemporary tunes that guests requested rather than the old-time tunes they were supposed to be playing; it’s a skewering of an unimaginative corporate drone, a tiresome jobsworth. Another Song is just a joyous little jazz jam. 

Although Carpenter, K., does play drums, most of the drumming is done by a session musician because Karen was just too exuberant for studio style – search out some footage of her drumming, though. It’s a shame what happened to her; in a way the self-destructive behaviours of the likes of Brian Jones and Jim Morrison are not dissimilar, there’s probably a psychological study to be made of how they took the route of the male narcissist and wrecked things for those around them as well, while Karen Carpenter took the route of trying to disappear.

That took a bit of a dark turn, sorry. But it does set us up nicely for the next album.