Carpenters - Close To You

Close To You is the second studio album by American pop duo Carpenters, originally released in August 1970 via A&M Records.

In December 1969, the Carpenters met Burt Bacharach, who was impressed by their work and invited the duo to open for him at a charity concert. They performed a medley of Bacharach and Hal David songs, and Herb Alpert suggested they record "(They Long to Be) Close to You" for their second album.

Richard Carpenter wrote a new arrangement for the song, which the band set about recording. Having struggled with the first recording session for the song, Alpert suggested seasoned session player Hal Blaine could play the drums, allowing Karen to focus on the vocals. This proved to be key in bringing out the best in her singing for the final version that was included on the album.

"(They Long to Be) Close to You" was released as the first single from the album, entered the US Hot 100 Singles chart at #56, and reached #1 on 25 July 1970 and stayed there for the next four weeks.

Their next hit single was a song Richard had seen in a television commercial, "We've Only Just Begun", written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. Three months after their first single hit #1 in the US, the Carpenters' version of "We've Only Just Begun" reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song became the first hit single for Williams and Nichols, who think the Carpenters' version is definitive.

The album also included an original composition by Carpenter and Bettis, "Mr. Guder". The song was inspired by Disneyland supervisor Victor Guder, who had dismissed the young songwriters (Carpenter and Bettis), for playing popular music when they worked at the park.

The Carpenters covered another Beatles hit song “Help” and also a song that would become a hit for Rod Steward in 1971, “Reason To Believe”

The album Close To You became an instant success both in the US and Internationally. It reached #2 on the US Billboard 200, #1 in Canada, #23 in the UK and #16 in Australia.

In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album at #175 on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.

Bruce Eder at AllMusic writes a glowing retrospective review deeming Close to You "a surprisingly strong album", particularly praising Richard Carpenter's original compositions "Maybe it's You", "Crescent Noon", and "Mr. Guder", describing them as superlative displays of both Karen Carpenter's vocal work and Richard's arranging talents. They also derided contemporary criticism against the album, insinuating that the negative reaction stemmed from Close To You being a successful pop record at a time of great political turmoil, such as the Cambodia incursion, Kent State, and the conservative backlash against the antiwar forces in 1970.

Check out the songs:   "(They Long to Be) Close to You"; "We've Only Just Begun"; “Mr. Guder”; “Love Is Surrender”; “Help” and “Reason to Believe”.

This LP record is a 2018 reissue on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl featuring remastered audio with replicated original album artwork and digital download code, pressed in Europe.