June 11, 2023

A&M Records Drops the Ball on the Carpenters

A&M Records did not know how to market their uber successful artists Richard and Karen Carpenter, and here's more proof: Take a look at this U.K. only 1976 ad for the duo's latest album A Kind of Hush. (The album that included a lilting remake of the title song by Herman's Hermits came out on this day 47 years ago.) Just look at just how poorly the Carpenters are represented. 

Yes, after the mesmerizing Horizon album, the much less ambitious A Kind of Hush was a softer, Adult Contemporary focused collection. Even the incredible I Need to Be in Love was without the edge of prior releases. The album was definitely not Top 40 material or execution- but this ad is just over the top bad. It is almost mocking the artists. Is it as bad as this advertisement a few years prior? What do you think?

I've written extensively about their music, album by album, and how each affected their career and their life. Each album review is filled with statistics, what was happening in the world of music, and rare photos. Since there are stories about my life mixed in, you'll also get a glimpse of what it meant to grow up in Southern California during the 70s. 

On the Insights blog, there are also numerous stand alone posts about Karen and Richard Carpenter highlighting different aspects of their career, recordings, and life. There's many unique photos to be found here as well. I was honored to be interviewed for Randy L. Schmidt's excellent Carpenters: An Illustrated Discography.

Below is the list of my "Revisited /Fresh Look" reviews and those that came a decade earlier. 

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