Close to You (The Carpenters album)
| Close to You | ||||
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| Studio album by The Carpenters | ||||
| Released | August 19, 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 – May 15, 1970 | |||
| Genre | Pop, easy listening | |||
| Length | 38:37 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Jack Daugherty | |||
| The Carpenters chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Close to You | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  |
Close to You is the second studio album by American duo The Carpenters, released on August 19, 1970. In 2003, the album was ranked number 175 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album contains the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". "(They Long to Be) Close to You" was the duo's song that gained the Carpenters an international reputation for a decade. The album topped the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at #2 on the US Billboard albums chart. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, entering the top 50 of the official chart for 76 weeks during the first half of the 1970s.
"(They Long to Be) Close to You" was the first Burt Bacharach/Hal David composition Carpenters covered. The song was recorded time and time again during the sixties, but didn't do well at all until the Carpenters version. It became Richard and Karen Carpenter's first RIAA-certified Gold single, as well as their first Billboard Hot 100 single that reached the Top 10. It stayed at number 1 for 4 weeks, and became Carpenters' iconic song.
"We've Only Just Begun" started out as a commercial for Crocker Citizen's Bank in 1970, composed by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. The commercial showed a couple getting married and starting their life together. In August 1970, it became the Carpenters' second RIAA-certified Gold single. Richard regards this as the duo's signature song.
Originally written by Ralph Carmichael for the early contemporary Christian musical Tell It Like It Is, "Love Is Surrender" was a song Richard and Karen heard during their teen years. Several of the overtly Christian lyrics were changed for this version, notably from "Without Him, love is not to be found" to "Without love you are not to be found" and "You must surrender to His will" to "You must surrender if you care." The arrangement is based on one recorded by Carmichael on his album, I Looked for Love. The original Carmichael recording was mid-tempo, but Richard recorded it up-tempo with extra percussion. The Carpenters' recording is one of only two tracks on the album on which Richard Carpenter performs lead vocals.
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