The sibling duo of Karen and Richard Carpenter are considered to many as the greatest soft rock musicians of all time. With so many beautiful melodic hits, it's no wonder that The Carpenters were at one time one of the best selling artists.
If you aren't familiar with the Carpenters, you'll definitely know enough songs off this album to say, "Oh this is them!" But don't be alarmed if it sounds off, as this album contains several covers along with songs that have been covered several times. Top Of The World is probably one of the most popular songs on the album and ironically was thought of by Richard Carpenter as not "commercially appealing" until it hit number 1 in Japan, in which they later re-released it as a single. Hurting Each Other, which was originally written by Gary Geld and Peter Udell and prior preformed by many other groups including Chad Allan and The Expressions, who would later become The Guess Who (who reached mainstream popularity again in Superbad as Michael Cera "soulfully" sang These Eyes). It's Going to Take Some Time is a Carole King cover, which even Carole King thought was done so elegantly that she said her version sounded like a demo. The A-Side ends on an Intermission track, which is a short little harmony letting you know it's time to flip, a nice touch you don't really get in the era of iTunes. The B-Side features the theme to the movie with the same title Blessed the Beasts and Children. The playful piano playing give Flat Baroque it's wonderful charm, and it's no wonder, since it was originally composed by Richard and John Bettis when they worked at Disneyland. I Won't Last a Day Without You is so beautifully sung by Karen Carpenter, that it inspired covers by Diana Ross and Barbara Streisand. The album comes full circle with a reprise of A Song For You.
You can score this album at a majority of your local record shops $1 bins. You can search online, but why bother. Half the fun of vinyl collecting is the hunt, so go out there and grab it.
Happy hunting.
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