An absolute classic. The Carpenters best album, in my opinion.*
*Subject to change, based on experience!
I actually find it quite hard to listen to the whole album in one go. Why? Because, like some Joni Mitchell, I find it emotionally devastating. Okay, it’s very very different from Joni Mitchell, in so many ways. But it does have emotional power.
The more I listen to Carpenters, the more I feel complex feelings about the core duo of Richard and Karen.
They got a boost winning a talent show, as callow youths, in trio form, with Wes Jacobs on bass (and, or so I’ve read, tuba!). And it’s clear that, from the get go, Richard – the elder of the siblings – was the driver, ambition and musical arrangements wise. But Karen obviously became a focal point, ultimately to her own great detriment.
What’s so great about this album is that it perfectly balances Richard’s geeky goofiness with Karen’s terrific voice, and it finds them presenting one of their best and most consistent sets of compositions.
Ok, ‘Intermission’ is almost a redundant throwaway bauble, and Piano Picker another reminder of Dick’s doofus persona. But truth be told, this awkwardness silly, clever, earnest stuff, is all part of the siblings’ DNA.
But the single most compelling ingredient, and they both have it in spades, despite any/all of the razzle-dazzle showbiz chutzpah, is good ol’ fashioned melancholy. And this album drips melancholy, like a wounded rubber tree.