album rating: ★★★★★
Genre: Soft rock / easy listening / pop / MOR. Carpenters — informally known among fans as 'the Tan Album', for the distinctive tan-coloured oversized-envelope design of the original LP cover — is the third studio album by Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946), and their most commercially and artistically successful studio record. Released on 14 May 1971, it arrived just nine months after their breakthrough Close to You (1970) and contained three of the greatest singles of their career. 'For All We Know' (written by Fred Karlin, Arthur James and Robb Royer for the film Lovers and Other Strangers) had already been released as a single in January 1971 and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. 'Rainy Days and Mondays' (Roger Nichols and Paul Williams), whose arrangement — Richard Carpenter's woodwinds as counterpoint to his own electric piano, and Karen's vocal as the centrepiece — Rolling Stone described as 'a superb example of the craft of MOR music'. 'Superstar' (Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell), in which Karen Carpenter's first and only take was used on the finished recording, was by Richard's account perfect from the outset. The album also includes a Burt Bacharach medley and the beautiful 'Sometimes' by Henry Mancini. All vocal parts are performed by Karen and Richard Carpenter; instruments include Joe Osborn and Bob Messenger on bass, Hal Blaine and Karen Carpenter on drums, and Bob Messenger, Douglas Strawn and Jim Horn on reeds.
Label: A&M Records (USA/UK), released 14 May 1971. Catalogue number: SP-3502.
Producer: Jack Daugherty (Jack Daugherty Productions). Arrangements and orchestrations by Richard Carpenter.
Recording studio: A&M Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. Engineers: Ray Gerhardt and Dick Bogert; assistant: Norm Kinney.
Critical reception: Contemporary reviews were mixed. Rolling Stone praised 'Rainy Days and Mondays' as an outstanding example of its craft but was critical of the album as a whole, later adding it to its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. AllMusic awarded four out of five stars, calling it 'their strongest to date' and praising the balance between hit singles and album tracks. Billboard noted that 'Richard's sophisticated, contemporary arrangements and Karen's sparkling voice are the essence of the Carpenters' great success.' The album is now consistently ranked as the definitive Carpenters record.
Commercial success: Carpenters debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200, climbed to a peak of number 2 and remained on the chart for 63 weeks. It reached number 12 in the UK and number 47 in Japan. It was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA (4 million copies) on 16 April 1998. Cash Box named it one of the top 10 biggest albums of 1971. 'Superstar' reached number 2 on the Hot 100; 'Rainy Days and Mondays' also peaked at number 2; 'For All We Know' peaked at number 3.
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