Carpenters Album: “Carpenters”

I remember growing up in the early seventies, heading into a record store with dark glasses on, looking both ways to ensure no one that I knew saw me go in to buy this Carpenters LP. Their unfortunate, sqeaky clean promo image was at its height; and I didn't want to called uncool or something even less flattering. "If only they listened to Karen's smoldering, melancholy vocals on Superstar, Rainy Days and Mondays and One Love," I thought, "perhaps they would see the light. Perhaps they would hear what I hear: an almost unbearable sadness, yearning and longing that pierces the heart; such pathos and poignance not heard since Patsy Cline."

Years after Karen died, as with many great artists, her vocals (and Richard's arrangements) were finally beginning to be appreciated. A diverse range of singers from Chrissie Hynde to Sheryl Crow to Matthew Sweet were singing Karen and Richard's praises. I was finally vindicated; I could remove my sunglasses, go into a record store and not be ashamed to say I wanted to buy a Carpenters album.

This superb collection is a showcase for Karen's extraordinary vocals. She clearly put her heart and soul into her singing. She has left us with a treasure chest full of mournful, soulfully sung tunes which we can now proudly place beside the likes of Edith Piaf and Patsy Cline. Karen belongs in their company.

Although it's a brief album even by 1971 standards, it should be said that every song on this 3rd LP by the Carpenters is wonderful. "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "Sometimes" bookend the work perfectly. In with melancholy, out with melancholy, just the way a Carpenters album should be! Three big hits on this one: "Rainy Days...", "Superstar", and my favorite, "For All We Know". Two wonderful tracks with Richard singing lead: "Druscilla Penny" which is one man's inquiry as to what makes a rock and roll groupie a rock and roll groupie; and "Saturday" which is so catchy that everytime I listen to this CD, I find myself with that song in my head for the rest of the day! "Penny" is a little dated, but that only adds to its' nostalgic early 70s charm. There are several other standout cuts including the "Bacharach/David Medley" which show's Richard Carpenter's arranging genius and "Sometimes" an amazingly beautiful and sentimental Henry Mancini tune. I would like to comment briefly on two other reviews of this album: The Richard Carpenter cuts are really no more dated than Burt Bacharach songs of the period, yet Burt's tunes are revered as classics.

The Carpenters were total perfectionists, as evidenced by the superb production values of this album especially. Yet in re-visiting it all these years later, what they captured perhaps without intent was a deeply felt melancholy, both in Richard's precise arrangements and, most of all, in Karen's measured yet sad and soulful vocals. This album never quits -- the songs are, without exception, excellent, in a near-theatrical running order, and provide a myriad of pleasures. The hits just keep on coming, starting with perhaps the most perfectly realized hit of their career, Rainy Days and Mondays. The Bacharach-David medley is so wonderfully arranged you almost wished they had recorded an album of all Bacharach material.

Back in 1971, my college roommate had this album. The dorm had pretty much emptied for Christmas break, however my ride wasn't leaving until Christmas Eve morning. So, as I WAITED to get home, I repeatedly played the song "Sometimes" and cried and cried. It is very short and I remember the words to this day:

"Sometimes, not often enough, we reflect upon the good things. And those thoughts often center around those we love.

And for so many years have made me...so very happy.

i know it's a stupid title for a review, but one of my first memories is of my mom playing this album on 8-track when i was a boy. I loved this album, and although I had little musical knowledge at the time, I knew what I liked and how amazing Karen Carpenter's voice was. I consider myself a pretty manly man, but "Rainy Days and Mondays" can still almost make me cry.