Carpentersby Carpenters

A nearly perfect album (actually, I'd give it 4.7 stars.) This is the Carpenters third lp, but it is appropriately eponymously-titled. This is the one where they really hit their stride. It's all here - Karen's heartbreakingly gorgeous vocals, Richard's brilliant production, and a repertoire that's curated with knowledge and taste. My only real complaint is the Bacharach/David medley. As a rule, medleys don't work for me, and this is no exception. They try to fit way too many songs into the space of five and a half minutes, resulting in tempos that are way too fast - it sounds like they're just trying to get each song out of the way so they can move on to the next one. But this one minor complaint is more than offset by a program containing some of the best songs the Carpenters ever recorded. Another big plus is the availability of the vinyl version - Richard has really messed around with the mixes on Carpenters albums for the CD re-issues, and many people (myself included) prefer the originals. Highly recommended!