Today, I'm focusing on a reassessment of my favorite Top Ten albums by Carpenters. That Richard and Karen Carpenter are my favorite duo is one thing that definitely has not changed. But the list of my favorite albums by them has changed over the years. Which ones have moved up or down the list since the last time I did this in 2012?
Compilations, boxed sets, solo, live or Christmas albums are not included. At the bottom of each album's description and ranking is a link to my original review as well as one for my "Revisited / Fresh Look" reviews done years later. (I'm only finished with those through 1973's Now & Then album.) Here we go...
(11.) “Offering / Ticket to Ride”- 1969 album. Varied in style and approach. The disc has a very 60's rock / pop sound, making in an also ran for me. Super ambitious. Karen's voice has flashes of what we've come to expect. The album is much different than their breakout hits and romantic sounds that came in the following decade. Standouts: "Ticket to Ride" (though the definitive reworked version came in 1973), “All of My Life” (featured in The Karen Carpenter Story), "Don't Be Afraid", "Turn Away", “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing”.
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
10. “Made in America” – Their 1981 "comeback" album. They were striving for a hit, and it unfortunately shows. Seems stripped of the ambition mentioned above. To be fair, there are some pleasant songs, but it's much too soft. As usual, Karen sounds great, but her voice is generally higher, softer, and too far in the background. Richard's arrangements rule. Standouts: “Touch Me When We’re Dancing” (their last Top Twenty single), “Strength of a Woman”, "When It's Gone", “Somebody’s Been Lying”.
Original review here.
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
7. “A Kind of Hush”- The title track is a guilty favorite to this day, and although the album is beautiful to look at, the songs inside were very out of touch with what was on the radio back in 1976. There are still some absolute gems here. This is also the album I got to discuss for Randy L. Schmidt's Carpenters: An Illustrated Discography book. Note: When I reach this collection for my "Revisited / Fresh Look" review, I'll share my full interview notes that I submitted to Randy for consideration. Standouts: There's A Kind of Hush (All Over the World)", “Boat to Sail”, “I Need to Be in Love”, “One More Time”, “I Have You”.Original review here.
6. “Voice of the Heart”- First posthumous album released just months after her passing. Due to that fact, it's a sad but sentimental favorite. Varied styles affirm their ability to serve any genre well, but beware of the overuse of the chorale. Stunning cover photo of Karen and wistful back cover pic of Richard. Standouts: my favorite Carpenters song of all time “Ordinary Fool”, “Now”, the instant classic but under appreciated “Your Baby Doesn’t Love You Anymore”, “Look to Your Dreams”, “At the End of a Song”.
Original review here.
5. “Carpenters (aka The Tan album)” – Can't miss album with "For All We Know", "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "Superstar". Beautiful and melancholy. Does contain the worst of all Carpenters tunes, “Druscilla Penny”. Standouts: the three single releases plus “Let Me Be the One”, “Hideaway”, “Sometimes”, “Bacharach Medley”.
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
4. “Lovelines” - Strongest posthumous release. A mix of four selections from Karen's solo album, previously unreleased songs, and leftover tunes from Made in America- some of which are far better than those placed on that album. Standouts: The "Should have been a single, it's so good" outtake “Kiss Me the Way You Did Last Night”, the Michael Jackson meets Karen “Lovelines”, smooth jazz “If We Try”, a moody remake of Barry Manilow's “Where Do I Go From Here?”, the classic “When I Fall in Love”, “If I Had You”.
Original review here.
3. “A Song For You” - Almost a greatest hits album on its own. Great singles like "Top of the World" (original mix) . Standouts: "Road Ode", “Hurting Each Other”, “Goodbye to Love”, "Bless the Beats and Children".
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
2. “Horizon”- Best visual presentation of Karen and Richard as real people. Ultra polished collection but with real backbone, Elegant, classy, best recorded sound of Karen’s voice ever. A couple of songs too short, but flawless. Perfect for late night FM radio. Standouts: my favorite modern single of the duo, “Only Yesterday”, the definitive version of “Desperado”, Neil Sedaka's dramatic “Solitaire”, “I Can Dream Can’t I?”, bookends “Aurora/Eventide”, “Love Me For What I Am”.
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
1. “Close to You”- Back to the top of my rankings. The album that cemented my love affair with Karen's voice. Fresh. Energetic. Brilliant in every way. Standouts: Wedding song “We’ve Only Just Begun”, the could have been third single “Baby It’s You”, "Reason to Believe", “Love is Surrender”, “Maybe It’s You”, "Crescent Noon" “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”, "Another Song".
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
Will these stay in this order in another ten years? Stay tuned...
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
Original review here. Revisited / Fresh Look review here.
Will these stay in this order in another ten years? Stay tuned...
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