''Horizon'' is the sixth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by American musical duo

Carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

. It was recorded at

A&M Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property serv ...

(mainly in Studio "D" using then-state-of-the-art 24-track recording technology, 30 Dolby, and recorded at 30 inches per second). The Carpenters spent many hours experimenting with different sounds, techniques and effects. After five consecutive albums peaking inside the US top five, ''Horizon'' broke this run by only reaching no. 13. The album has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 1 million copies. It was particularly successful in the United Kingdom and Japan, topping the charts and becoming one of the best-selling albums of 1975 in those countries. ''Horizon'' also reached no. 3 in New Zealand, no. 4 in Canada and no. 5 in Norway.

Overview

The album's first single, " Please Mr. Postman" (released some seven months earlier), became the album's biggest hit single and also the Carpenters' biggest hit single worldwide. It reached no. 1 in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, as well as reaching no. 2 in the UK and Ireland. This tune features Karen on drums and

Tony Peluso Anthony F. Peluso (March 28, 1950 – June 5, 2010) was an American guitarist and record producer. He was lead guitarist for pop duo Carpenters from 1972 to 1983. Peluso played the fuzz guitar solo on the Carpenters' song " Goodbye to Love". He ...

on guitar solo. The following single, " Only Yesterday", was also a success, reaching no. 2 in Canada and France, no. 4 in the US, no. 5 in Ireland, no. 7 in the UK, no. 10 in New Zealand and was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

in Japan. The song also won the prestigious Grand Prix award in Japan. A third single, " Solitaire", reached no. 17 in the US and the top 40 in several other countries around the world. According to Richard, Karen never particularly liked the song. The Carpenters' version of this song leaves out lyrics included in the original. "

Desperado Desperado may refer to: * Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West Books * ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series * ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen * Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publ ...

" was originally recorded by

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

in 1973 for the album of the same name. Several others have recorded this song, including

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

, Bonnie Raitt, and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

. Because the song was already well-known, A&M decided not to release the song as a single. Another cover, "I Can Dream, Can't I" is an interpretation of the 1949 Andrews Sisters hit, and was written in 1937. Karen and Richard hired Billy May, who has worked with artists such as Frank Sinatra and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

, to help orchestrate the song. The song features the Billy May Orchestra.

John Bahler John Bahler (born November 11, 1940; surname also spelled Bähler) is an American vocalist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He is the elder brother of singer Tom Bahler, and the husband of Janet Lennon of the Lennon Sisters. Early c ...

is in the chorus of background singers. At the time of the release of ''Horizon'', lyricist

John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and Th ...

claimed "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You" to be his and Richard's best collaboration.

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' reviewer Stephen Holden acclaimed ''Horizon'', calling it "the Carpenters' most musically sophisticated album to date." However, AllMusic gave the album a less enthusiastic review and cited flaws despite a good production.

Re-packaged release

''Horizon'' was re-issued as a CD in 1996 with the track list and running order intact by the Belgium label ARC Records (not to be confused with the American label of the same name), retitled simply ''The Carpenters'' and with an entirely different cover design.Musik-Sammler (German text)
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Track listing

Personnel

*Karen Carpenter – vocals, drums *Richard Carpenter – keyboards, ARP synthesizer, vocals * Joe Osborn – bass guitar * Jim Gordon – drums *

– guitar *Bob Messenger – tenor saxophone *Doug Strawn – baritone saxophone *Earl Dumler – oboe, English horn *Thad Maxwell,

Red Rhodes Orville J. Rhodes, better known as Red Rhodes or O. J. Rhodes (December 30, 1930 – August 20, 1995), was an American pedal steel guitarist. His mother taught him to play the Dobro at the age of five, but at the age of fifteen he switched to ...

– pedal steel guitar *

Tommy Morgan Thomas Morgan Edwards (December 4, 1932 – June 23, 2022) was an American harmonicist and session musician, who had been active since the 1950s. He was considered one of the most heard harmonica players in the world, playing in over 500 fea ...

– harmonica *Gayle Levant – harp *

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

, Richard Carpenter – remastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering Although percussion is audible on some of the songs, notably "Only Yesterday", it is not specified who the percussionist is, but this would change with the experimental album ''

Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...

'', released in 1977. Engineers: Roger Young, Ray Gerhardt Assistant engineer: Dave Iveland Photography:

Ed Caraeff Ed Caraeff (born April 18, 1950) is an American photographer, illustrator and graphic designer, who has worked largely in the music industry. He has art directed, photographed and designed more than 400 record album covers from 1967 to 1981 for ...

Arranged, orchestrated and conducted by Richard Carpenter "I Can Dream, Can't I?" featured guest performances by: * Bass: Joe Mondragon * Drums:

Alvin Stoller Alvin Stoller (October 7, 1925 – October 19, 1992) was an American jazz drummer. Though he seems to have been largely forgotten, he was held in high regard in the 1940s and 1950s. He was best known for playing drums on both Mitch Miller's ...

* Keyboards: Pete Jolly * Vibes: Frank Flynn * Guitar: Bob Bain

Singles

*"Please Mr. Postman" US 7" single (1974) – A&M 1646 #"Please Mr. Postman" #"This Masquerade" *"Only Yesterday" US 7" single (1975) – A&M 1677 #"Only Yesterday" #"Happy" *"Solitaire" US 7" single (1975) – A&M 1721 #"Solitaire" #"Love Me for What I Am"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1975 albums The Carpenters albums A&M Records albums Albums arranged by Billy May Albums conducted by Billy May Albums recorded at A&M Studios