The Carpenters' final album, Made in America, released after their two-year break from work, a period in which Karen Carpenter attempted a solo album and when Richard was incapacitated due to a drug problem, is very much a comeback effort, with a fair amount of energy on most of it, newly radiant arrangements ("The Wedding Song," etc.), one cute oldie cover ("Beechwood 4-5789," which was made into a video), and the best new songs they'd had since the mid-'70s ("Those Good Old Dreams," "Touch Me When We're Dancing").
The latter song, in particular, marked a breakthrough to a new sound and a new sensuality in Karen's image as a singer, and could have led to a new beginning for all concerned, and the album as a whole was more energetic and memorable than anything they'd done since A Song for You.
Unfortunately, the singer was already suffering from worsening effects of the psychological disorder that would kill her less than two years after the release of this album -- "The Wedding Song," in particular, seems now like an unintentionally poignant bookend on the other end of her life and career from "We've Only Just Begun.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Those Good Old DreamsJohn Bettis, Richard Carpenter | Carpenters | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | Strength of a WomanPhyllis Brown, Juanita Curiel | Carpenters | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 3 | (Want You) Back in My Life AgainKerry Chater, Chris Christian | Carpenters | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | When You've Got What It TakesBill Lane, Roger Nichols | Carpenters | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Somebody's Been Lyin'Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager | Carpenters | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 20 MB |
| 6 | I Believe YouDick Addrisi, Don Addrisi | Carpenters | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | Touch Me When We're DancingKen Bell, Kenny Bell, Terry Skinner, J.L. Wallace | Carpenters | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 8 | When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)Randy Handley | Carpenters | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | Beechwood 4-5789Marvin Gaye, George Gordy, William "Mickey" Stevenson | Carpenters | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)John Bettis, Richard Carpenter | Carpenters | Play | 05:02 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 40 mins | 93 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 231 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dick Addrisi | Composer |
| 2 | Don Addrisi | Composer |
| 3 | Burt Bacharach | Composer |
| 4 | Chuck Beeson | Art Direction |
| 5 | Ken Bell | Composer |
| 6 | Kenny Bell | Composer |
| 7 | John Bettis | Composer |
| 8 | Phyllis Brown | Composer |
| 9 | Dennis Budimir | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 10 | Karen Carpenter | Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Richard Carpenter | Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Orchestration, Producer, Vocals |
| 12 | Carpenters | Primary Artist |
| 13 | Kerry Chater | Composer |
| 14 | Chris Christian | Composer |
| 15 | Bob Conti | Percussion |
| 16 | Juanita Curiel | Composer |
| 17 | Paulinho Da Costa | Guest Artist, Percussion |
| 18 | Carolyn Dennis | Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Earl Dumler | Oboe |
| 20 | John Engstead | Photography |
| 21 | Marvin Gaye | Composer |
| 22 | Ray Gerhardt | Engineer |
| 23 | George Gordy | Composer |
| 24 | Bernie Grundman | Mastering |
| 25 | Randy Handley | Composer |
| 26 | Ron Hicklin | Director |
| 27 | Dave Iveland | Engineer |
| 28 | Peter Knight | Orchestration |
| 29 | Bill Lane | Composer |
| 30 | Gayle Levant | Harp |
| 31 | Peter Limonick | Percussion |
| 32 | Larrie Londin | Drums |
| 33 | Timothy May | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 34 | Roger Nichols | Composer |
| 35 | Tony Peluso | Guitar (Electric) |
| 36 | Paul Riser | Arranger |
| 37 | Lynn Robb | Design |
| 38 | Carole Bayer Sager | Composer |
| 39 | Tom Scott | Guest Artist, Sax (Tenor) |
| 40 | Terry Skinner | Composer |
| 41 | Stephanie Spruill | Vocals (Background) |
| 42 | Jerry Steinholtz | Congas |
| 43 | William "Mickey" Stevenson | Composer |
| 44 | Fred Tackett | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 45 | Ron Tutt | Drums |
| 46 | Gerald Vinci | Concert Master |
| 47 | J.L. Wallace | Composer |
| 48 | Stewart Whitmore | Mixing Assistant |
| 49 | David Willardson | Illustrations |
| 50 | Roger Young | Engineer, Mixing |
| 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). |