Carpenters Close to You

The Carpenters: Karen Carpenter (vocals, drums); Richard Carpenter (keyboards, background vocals).

Additional personnel: Jim Horn, Bob Messenger, Doug Strawn (woodwinds); Joe Osborn, Danny Woodhams (bass); Hal Blaine (drums).

Digitally remastered by Richard Carpenter.

Personnel: Richard Carpenter (vocals, keyboards); Karen Carpenter (vocals, drums); Doug Strawn (woodwinds, keyboards, wind); Jim Horn, Bob Messenger (woodwinds, wind); Hal Blaine (drums).

Arranger: Richard Carpenter .

Karen and Richard Carpenter's third album, released in 1970, includes two of their signature songs, Bacharach/David's "(They Long To Be) Close To You" and Paul Williams' "We've Only Just Begun," a tune originally written as a commercial jingle for California's Crocker Banks. The rest of the album continues the siblings' exquisite taste in outside material, returning to Williams for "I Kept On Loving You" and to Bacharach for the Shirelles' "Baby It's You." Also featured here is an appealing version of the classic "I'll Never Fall In Love Again."

Other fine covers include Tim Hardin's "Reason To Believe" and an arrestingly mournful version of Lennon/McCartney's "Help." The album also includes four Richard Carpenter originals, with "Another Song" and the girl-groupish "Maybe It's You" the highlights. CLOSE TO YOU is one of the Carpenters' most commercially and artistically successful albums.