The Carpenters' radio-friendly soft rock virtually defined the genre in the early 1970s, and this album -- their third full-length -- was the group's ace card.
Following on the heels of the wildly successful Close to You, Carpenters features more breezy melodies marked by rich arrangements and beautiful lead vocals, courtesy of siblings Richard Carpenter and Karen Carpenter, respectively.
The record is most notable for two of the duo's strongest and best-loved singles.
"Rainy Days and Mondays," written by soft pop gods Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, is a bittersweet pop masterpiece fleshed out by Richard's string orchestrations and smoothly produced backing vocals, while Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett's "Superstar," from its melancholic verse to its dramatic chorus, is equally hard to resist.
(Both songs showcase Karen's sultry alto.) The rest of the album includes Richard's bubble-gum pop originals, another Williams-Nichols tune ("Let Me Be the One"), and a medley of Burt Bacharach-Hal David tunes.
Even more commercially streamlined than its predecessors, Carpenters is a classic of early-'70s pop.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rainy Days and MondaysRoger Nichols, Paul Williams | Carpenters | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 2 | SaturdayJohn Bettis, Richard Carpenter | Carpenters | Play | 01:18 | 2 MB | 8 MB |
| 3 | Let Me Be the OneRoger Nichols, Roger S. Nichols, Paul H. Williams, Paul Williams | Carpenters | Play | 02:25 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 4 | (A Place to) HideawayRandy Sparks | Carpenters | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 5 | SuperstarBonnie Bramlett, Richard Marx, Leon Russell | Carpenters | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | Druscilla PennyJohn Bettis, Richard Carpenter | Carpenters | Play | 02:14 | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| 7 | One LoveJohn Bettis, Richard Carpenter | Carpenters | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 8 | SometimesBurt Bacharach, Hal David, Felice Mancini, Henry Mancini | Carpenters | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 9 | For All We Know | The Carpenters | Play | 02:34 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 10 | Bacharach/David Medley | The Carpenters | Play | 05:27 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 31 mins | 71 MB | |||||
| 31 mins | 176 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burt Bacharach | Composer |
| 2 | John Bettis | Composer |
| 3 | Hal Blaine | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 4 | Dick Bogert | Engineer |
| 5 | Bonnie Bramlett | Composer |
| 6 | Karen Carpenter | Drums, Group Member, Vocals |
| 7 | Richard Carpenter | Arranger, Composer, Group Member, Keyboards, Orchestration, Vocals |
| 8 | Carpenters | Primary Artist |
| 9 | Jack Daugherty | Producer |
| 10 | Hal David | Composer |
| 11 | Ray Gerhardt | Engineer |
| 12 | James Griffin | Composer |
| 13 | Jim Horn | Guest Artist, Reeds, Wind |
| 14 | Fred Karlin | Composer |
| 15 | Norm Kinney | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
| 16 | Felice Mancini | Composer |
| 17 | Henry Mancini | Composer |
| 18 | Richard Marx | Composer |
| 19 | Bob Messenger | Bass, Reeds, Wind |
| 20 | Roger Nichols | Composer |
| 21 | Roger S. Nichols | Composer |
| 22 | Joe Osborn | Bass |
| 23 | Robb Royer | Composer |
| 24 | Leon Russell | Composer |
| 25 | Randy Sparks | Composer |
| 26 | Doug Strawn | Keyboards, Reeds, Wind |
| 27 | Guy Webster | Photography |
| 28 | Paul Williams | Composer |
| 29 | Paul H. Williams | Composer |
| 30 | R. Wilson | Composer |
| 31 | Roland Young | Art Direction |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |