Richard Carpenter's Piano Songbook

Nothing in music can compare to the beauty of Karen Carpenter's singing voice- but brother Richard Carpenter shows he still has the chops. His new Richard Carpenter's Piano Songbook collection takes beloved songs from the duo and reimagines them in an elegant solo piano setting.  

Imagine if you will stripping down everything from the Carpenters album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra including Karen's voice. The resulting album is straightforward and anything but simple. His renderings of hits like Close to You and We've Only Just Begun reveal the man's God-given genius in arranging and recognizing a beautiful and memorable melody. In particular, I Need to Be in Love shines. It all comes together in a nice, clean, well packaged recording on Decca- not A&M Records; a first for any Carpenters project.

Aside from the horrible cover art (by and large another long-standing Carpenters problem), it is an absolutely fine collection for what it is: background music for the late night dinner party. Be forewarned- Listening will make you want even more of Karen. You can't divorce her voice from these definitive recordings as beautiful as they are. Read more about the Richard Carpenter's genius and his thoughts on their career and music in the beautiful new book, Carpenters: The Musical Legacy by Mike Cidoni Lennox and Chris May. 

(Photograph copyright Decca.)

New Photo of Richard and Karen Carpenter

I don't think this photo of Richard and Karen Carpenter appears in the new book, Carpenters: The Musical Legacy. (Which is an absolutely wonderful volume written by Richard and Mike Cidoni Lennox and Chris May. It is a must read for fans and non-fans alike. If you think you know them, you'll be shocked by some of their real story.) 

This photo was actually first found on the Wall Street Journal. But they will appear on the new Epic series on A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss: "Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records". With these new happenings and Richard Carpenters Piano Songbook due for release in January, it's absolutely yesterday once more. 

Be forewarned: consuming the book and watching the show will make you miss the woman with the one in a million voice even more so. Their legacy lives on for a reason. Richard was a genius producing her, and Karen Carpenter really was The Great American Voice.

(Photograph from the Michael Pultin Archives.)

New Music and A New Book from Richard Carpenter

When it rains, it pours! In this case, it's not Rainy Days and Mondays, but it is a brand new album by Richard Carpenter to go with his upcoming book Carpenters: The Musical Legacy by he and authors Chris May and Mike Cidoni-Lennox. This book explores the musical history of the Carpenters and that wonderful voice of the much loved and missed Karen Carpenter. A&M Record artist and mainstay at Top 40 radio, the duo amassed gold record after gold record and legions of fans from all over the world.