Close to You (Carpenters album)
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| Close to You | |||||
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| Studio album by The Carpenters | |||||
| Released | August 19, 1970 | ||||
| Recorded | 1970 | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 38:35 | ||||
| Label | A&M Records | ||||
| Producer | Jack Daugherty | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| The Carpenters chronology | |||||
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Close to You was the second album by The Carpenters, released in August 1970. In 2003, the album was ranked number 175 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [1] The album contains the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". "(They Long to Be) Close to You" was the duo's first big hit that gained the Carpenters international reputation for a decade.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "We've Only Just Begun" (Nichols / Williams) – 3:04
- "Love Is Surrender" (Carmichael) – 1:59
- "Maybe It's You" (Bettis / Carpenter) – 3:04
- "Reason to Believe" (Hardin) – 3:03
- "Help!" (Lennon/McCartney) – 3:03
- "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (Bacharach / David) – 4:36
- "Baby It's You" (Bacharach / David / Williams) – 2:50
- "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (Bacharach / David) – 2:57
- "Crescent Noon" (Bettis / Carpenter) – 4:10
- "Mr. Guder" (Bettis / Carpenter) – 3:15
- "I Kept On Loving You" (Nichols / Williams) – 2:14
- "Another Song" (Bettis / Carpenter) – 4:23
[edit] Song Information
[edit] We've Only Just Begun
We've Only Just Begun started out as a commercial for Crocker International Bank in 1970, composed by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. The commercial would show a couple getting married. Richard Carpenter decided it was a great tune for their next album, "Close to You." In August of 1970, it became the Carpenters' second RIAA Certified Gold Single. Richard regards this as the duo's signature song.
[edit] Love Is Surrender
Originally written by Ralph Carmichael, Love Is Surrender was a song Richard and Karen heard during their teen years. It was originally a religious song, with the words "Love is surrender to His will" altered to "You must surrender if you can."
[edit] Maybe It's You
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, and has a woodwind solo by Doug Strawn in the middle.
[edit] Reason to Believe
Reason to Believe is a song composed by Tim Hardin in the 1960s. The Carpenters liked it, and 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.[2]
[edit] Help!
Help! is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in early 1965. Richard has stated that he was inspired by three "B's": The Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Burt Bacharach. One can see that they did three Beatles covers (Ticket to Ride, Help, and Can't Buy Me Love from "Your Navy Presents"), a popular Beach Boys cover (Fun, Fun, Fun! on their "Now & Then" album), and countless Burt Bacharach covers. It's eminent that they tried to infuse Carpenters with Beatles on their Beatles covers. Mr Postman was a number 1 song.
[edit] (They Long to Be) Close to You
(They Long to Be) Close to You was the first composition by Burt Bacharach and Hal David the Carpenters covered. The song was released time and time again during the sixties, but didn't do well at all, until the Carpenters did a cover on it. It ultimately 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 #1 for 4 weeks, and became the Carpenters' iconic song.
This music was used as a soundtrack in a Hong Kong film, So Close. The story is about a woman, that used this music to hypnotize all of the security officer & get control of the main security.
[edit] Baby It's You
Baby It's You is a song composed by Burt Bacharach. It was sung by Richard and Karen in 1970, and performed on their TV show, "Make Your Own Kind of Music.
[edit] I'll Never Fall in Love Again
I'll Never Fall in Love Again is the third consecutive Burt Bacharach composition on this 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 vocal harmony on the song.
[edit] Crescent Noon
Originally performed by Karen and Richard in the California State at Long Beach choir in 1969, Crescent Noon is a gloomy song composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. The song describes the gloomy months.
"Green September burned to October brown. Bare November led to December's frozen ground. The seasons stumble 'round; our drifting lies abound to a falling crescent noon."
The song was also written in B flat minor. Minors are prominent for their sad sound.
[edit] Mr. Guder
This song was dedicated to Richard Carpenter and John Bettis' boss at Disneyland, Mr. Guder. It was a bit of a last tease to the man who fired the two. They apparently were supposed to be playing the music given to them as roadside attractions, but instead they played their own compositions. They described him as:
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.... Someday soon you may realize you've flown your life just playing a game where no one wins but everyone stays the same.
Many of their later recordings that were composed in the late 1960s was written during their Disneyland career.
[edit] I Kept on Loving You
A song written by Richard Carpenter, I Kept on Loving You is not a very well-known song. It was released as the B-side to their first RIAA Certified Gold single, "(They Long to Be) Close to You."
[edit] Another Song
Another Song was another Carpenter/Bettis creation that was very different from the Carpenters song. It's very upbeat, and is separated into two halves; a vocal part (0:00-1:45) and an instrumental part (1:45-4:22). Both halves have very different melodies.
[edit] First Part
It starts off with a soft Wurlitzer electric keyboard and Karen's soft vocals, and at 0:21, it explodes into Karen's vocals and drums, Richard's keyboards, and both of their backing harmonies. Many consider the ending of the first part to be chilling. They sing "the warmth of you had gone."
[edit] Second Part
The second part sounds very exotic and a bit Middle Eastern. Karen effectively uses complicated drum lines in the second half, and the flute is played with an eerie feeling. The talent of Richard and Karen Carpenter shine through in this part. Richard's yet again flawless arranging and the group's unfathomable talent makes the last song a highly underrated, yet perfect closing song to the album.
[edit] Singles
- (They Long To Be) Close To You
US 7" single (1970) A&M 1183 1.(They Long To Be) Close To You 3.40 2.I Kept On Loving You
JP 7" single (1970) AM-35 1.(They Long To Be) Close To You 2.I Kept On Loving You
JP 7" single (1976) AM-1002 1.(They Long To Be) Close To You 2.I Kept On Loving You
JP 7" single (1977) CM-2062 1.(They Long To Be) Close To You 2.I Kept On Loving You
JP 7" single (?) AMP-1056 1.(They Long To Be) Close To You 2.Ticket To Ride
JP 12" single (1970) AMS-14 1.(They Long To Be) Close To You 2.Someday 3.Ticket To Ride 4.Turn Away
JP CD single (?) PODM-1028 1.(They Long To Be) Close To You 2.Sing
- We've Only Just Begun
US 7" single (1970) A&M 1217 1.We've Only Just Begun 2.All Of My Life
JP 7" single (1970) AM-50 1.We've Only Just Begun 2.I'll Never Fall In Love Again
JP 7" single (1976) AM-1003 1.We've Only Just Begun 2.I'll Never Fall In Love Again
JP 7" single (1977) CM-2063 1.We've Only Just Begun 2.I'll Never Fall In Love Again
JP 7" single (?) AMP-1057 1.We've Only Just Begun 2.For All We Know
JP 12" single (1970) AMS-24 1.We've Only Just Begun 2.Help 3.I'll Never Fall In Love Again 4.Baby It's You
AU 7" single (1970) AMK 3913 1.We've Only Just Begun 2.All Of My Life
BR 7" single (1970) 7AM-5052 1.We've Only Just Begun 2.All Of My Life
[edit] EPs
- Close To You
US 7" promo (1970) A&M LLP 125 1.Help 2.Baby It's You 3.I'll Never Fall In Love Again 4.Love Is Surrender 5.Maybe It's You 6.(They Long To Be) Close To You
[edit] Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United States | 2 |
| United Kingdom | 23 |
| Japan | 53 |
| Australia | 16 |
| Canada | 1 |
[edit] Album Credits
- Producer: Jack Daugherty
- Arrangements & Orchestration: Richard Carpenter
- All Vocals: Karen and Richard Carpenter
- Drums: Karen Carpenter and Hal Blaine
- Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
- Bass: Joe Osborn and Danny Woodhams
- Woodwinds: Jim Horn, Bob Messenger, Doug Strawn
- Engineer: Ray Gerhardt and Dick Bogert
- Art Direction: Tom Wilkes
- Photography: Kessel/Brehm Photography
[edit] References
- ^ 175) Close to You : Rolling Stone
- ^ Live in Budokan, 1972
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