Close To You (The Carpenters Album)

''Close to You'' is the second studio album by American duo Carpenters, released on August 19, 1970. In 2003, the album was ranked number 175 on '' Rolling Stone''s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list. The album contains the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and " We've Only Just Begun". The former was the song which earned the Carpenters an international reputation. The album topped the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at number 2 on the US ''Billboard'' albums chart. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, entering the top 50 of the official chart for 76 weeks during the first half of the 1970s.

The album and its singles earned Carpenters eight Grammy Award nominations including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year. It won the Best New Artist and Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for the album.

Background and song information

Drummer Hal Blaine reported that the Carpenters' parents were in the recording studio for the ''Close to You'' album and "You could tell right away they ruled the roost." According to Blaine, Karen's mother dictated her singing style and expressed disapproval that she did not perform as a drummer on all the songs. Blaine countered that though Karen was a capable drummer, she was accustomed to playing loudly for live performances and thus was not familiar with the different requirements of recording in a professional studio; however, she had been informed beforehand of Blaine's involvement and indicated her approval.

"(They Long to Be) Close to You" was the first Burt Bacharach/ Hal David composition the Carpenters covered. The song was recorded time and time again during the sixties, but didn't do well at all until the Carpenters version. It became Richard and Karen Carpenter's first RIAA-certified Gold single, as well as their first ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single that reached the Top 10. It stayed at number 1 for 4 weeks, and became the Carpenters' iconic song. Richard devoted the song to Karen.

"We've Only Just Begun" started out as a commercial for Crocker Citizen's Bank in 1970, composed by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. The commercial showed a couple getting married and starting their life together. In August 1970, it became the Carpenters' second RIAA-certified Gold single. Richard regards this as the duo's signature song.

Originally written by Ralph Carmichael for the early contemporary Christian musical ''Tell It Like It Is'', "Love Is Surrender" was a song Richard and Karen heard during their teen years. Several of the overtly Christian lyrics were changed for this version, notably from "Without Him, love is not to be found" to "Without love you are not to be found" and "You must surrender to His will" to "You must surrender if you care." The arrangement is very similar to an arrangement Carmichael did for the Valentine's Day 1970 broadcast by evangelist Oral Roberts. This version was released, along with other songs for that broadcast, on an album, "Love Is...". The Carpenters' recording is one of only two tracks on the album on which Richard Carpenter performs lead vocals.

"Maybe It's You" is a song written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis for their previous band, Spectrum. It's a very low-key song, with an oboe solo by Doug Strawn.

"Reason to Believe" is a song composed by Tim Hardin in the 1960s. Rod Stewart made a hit with it in 1971. Karen claimed in a live concert that the reason why they love the song is because it was one of the first songs they performed together as a group.

"Help!" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in early 1965. The Carpenters produced four Beatles covers (" Ticket to Ride", " Help!", " Can't Buy Me Love" from ''Your Navy Presents'', and " Nowhere Man").

"Baby It's You" is a song composed by Burt Bacharach, Barney Williams, and Mack David. It was sung by Richard and Karen in 1970, and performed on their TV show, '' Make Your Own Kind of Music''.

"I'll Never Fall in Love Again" is the third consecutive Burt Bacharach composition on the album. It was included on their medley the following year, on the album '' Carpenters''. According to Tom Riddle of ''Your Navy Presents'', there was a 29 part vocal harmony on the song. Originally part of the score for Bacharach and David's 1968 musical '' Promises, Promises'', the song had provided a top-ten hit for Dionne Warwick in January 1970.

Originally performed by Karen and Richard in the California State University, Long Beach choir in 1969, "Crescent Noon" is a song composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis.

"Mr. Guder" was dedicated to Richard Carpenter and John Bettis's boss at Disneyland, Vic Guder. It was a bit of a last tease to the man who fired the duo. They were hired to play old-time music on piano and banjo at the park's "Coke Corner" on Main Street, U.S., but they persisted in playing contemporary tunes that the patrons requested. The lyrics say:

:You're everything a robot lives for:
::Walk in at nine, and roll out the door at five.
:You reflect the company image;
::You maintain their rules to live by.
:Shine your shoes, let's keep a neat haircut,
::Now that you're wearing a coat and tie.

Many of their later recordings that were composed in the late 1960s were written during their Disneyland career.

"I Kept on Loving You", a song written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, features Richard on lead vocal and despite being uncredited in the album's liner notes, a guitarist is playing on the song, possibly either Gary Sims or a Los Angeles-based session guitarist.

"Another Song" was another Carpenter/Bettis creation that was very different from the typical Carpenters song and is essentially a suite in three movements: a pop section (0:00–1:45), a baroque-influenced section (1:45–2:28), and a jazz section (2:28–4:22). The song opens with a short prelude based on the harmony and melodic contour of the accompanied recitative " And, lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them" from Part I of George Frideric Handel's oratorio '' Messiah'' (1742).

Critical reception

''Close to You'' was nominated for Record of the Year and Album of the Year at the 13th annual Grammy awards (1970). "Close To You" won the Carpenters a Grammy for Best New Artist and another Grammy for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group or Chorus the same year.

AllMusic's retrospective review deemed ''Close to You'' "a surprisingly strong album", particularly praising Richard Carpenter's original compositions "Maybe it's You", "Crescent Noon", and "Mr. Guder", describing them as superlative displays of both Karen Carpenter's vocal work and Richard's arranging talents. They also derided contemporary criticism against the album, insinuating that the negative reaction stemmed from ''Close to You'' being a successful pop record at a time of great political turmoil.

Track listing

All lead vocals by Karen Carpenter except where noted.

Personnel

Musicians

* Karen Carpenter – vocals, drums
* Hal Blaine – drums
*Richard Carpenter – vocals, keyboards, arrangements and orchestration
*Joe Osborn

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