TOP 5 FAVORITE ALBUMS

[Rick Henry]

What are your top 5 favorite Carpenters albums?

1. HORIZON - This album is a technical and an emotional feat. Karen hit her stride vocally with "Horizon". Richard (although he feels the album drags) put together a masterpiece in which every track is outstanding. Not one filler track here.

2. A SONG FOR YOU - Almost a greatest hits package with six songs that charted on the singles chart. With some of the Carpenters most outstanding album tracks including "A Song For you", "Road Ode", "Bless The Beasts And Children" and "Crystal Lullaby".

3. PASSAGE - The Carpenters stepped out of the norm for this one and were successful in producing an extremely entertaining and unusual album. Richard Carpenter went over the top with several of his musical arrangements and Peter Knight's orchestration on several tracks was above and beyond what any of us expected. I remember when I first listened to this album in 1977 I was completely surprised and was once again reminded of the versatility and finesse of Karen and Richard's talents.

4. CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT - Following "Passage", 1978's "Christmas Portrait" was again an outstanding work of art. Karen's voice was in top form. Richard outdid himself again.

5. CLOSE TO YOU - This album is a classic among classics. Each song is a treasure and Karen's early voice is pure and magnificent.

[karen69roland]

Man..., Rick... This is one of the toughest question I have to answer in my 35 years life (born in February '69/Same age as The Carpenters).

I know what my #1 album is, but, the others are so close to each other that I..., well, I...

I'm analyzing this for 3 hours now and I still don't have a clear answer.

They all have from 6 to 9 *can't live without* songs to them, but, those who are tied at 6 songs are so beautiful..., I mean...

Ok..., let me analyze this a little bit more...

I'm coming back...

I love you Karen...

Roland C.

[karen69roland]

*(This is maybe too much of perfectionnism and inutility for most people, but... What can I do? This is me...)

Now...

After nearly 7 hours of deliberation..., my heart and my brain have come to a verdict...

What I did, all night, was to make a top list (near 69 songs) of the songs included in the originals studio albums(except for my #1 album..., I already knew it was my favorite one) and, then, make an average out of each album..., 7 songs per album to be excact (I didn't have to go further to get an official result).

Karen!!! A drum roll, please. ;D

These are my *top 5* Carpenters albums :

1 - Christmas Portrait
2 - Passage
3 - Horizon
4 - A Song for You
5 - A Kind of Hush

I'm making commentaries for only one album..., my #1 album *Christmas Portrait*...

To me..., of all the musical instruments on the planet, of ALL TIMES (that means, all the way back to the first shining star)..., Karen Carpenter's voice tone is the most beautiful (musical instrument tone) of them all.

Christmas songs are, to me, the most beautiful melodies of all times.

So..., it's the perfect match..., arranged by 3 genius :

Peter Knight, Billy May and Richard Carpenter.

I love you Karen...

Roland C.

[Federico Cruz]

Well, here I go!.
But you all remember that english in not my native language, so, I can not make commentaries:
1. A Song For You.
2. Carpenters.
3. Unreleased Solo Sessions.
4. Close To You.
5. Now and Then.
This selection means the albums I often choose to hear.

[enigma]

Here's is my top 5

Horizon - a Carpenters masterpiece and that lower register of Karens here is just superb as is the production.

Carpenters - really close between this one and my next pick but Superstar give this one the edge

A Song For You - so many good songs here and hidden gems a real solid effort

Now and Then - my introduction to the Carpenters; a great record with an oldies medley that proved the Carpenters were the masters of the medley. I guess first love never runs dry.

Close To You - its not the famous tracks that make me like this album as much as the hidden gems this will always remain about #5 of my top 5 a great effort but not as good as the above albums.

Honorable Mention
Passage - I like the country flavor to this record my only beef with it is Calling Occupants and Man Smart Woman Smarter Richard could have done better with his song selection here. This record just barely missed the top 5.

Karen reallly shines (more than usual) on at least one track on each of these records, all are solid efforts, and all are my most listened to Carpenters records. All the Carpenters records are great but these are my choices for the greatest of the greats.

[cam83]

Hi Guys,
Well here is my list of TOP 5 Carpenters albums...

CLOSE TO YOU...the album that just is full of different styles of music, ANOTHER SONG, MAYBE IT'S YOU, LOVE IS SURRENDER, MR GUDER, CRESCENT NOON, WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN, I'LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN. Wonderful wonderful songs. A very gorgeous cover album of them. Karen looks absolutely breathtaking in that long white gown, with polkadots on them. I love her neck band, her white shoes, and her long brown hair cascading down. When I saw that picture I thought she was a vision of loveliness. And I stared at that picture for hours. Richard of course, looked very handsome too. At this time, I wasn't sure if they were husband or wife(Spring of 1988), when looking at the album cover at SAM THE RECORD MAN store.


CARPENTERS...Another favorite album. Companion to CLOSE TO YOU album previous year. Another wonderful selection. I was dissapointed that the album cover looked bland, but when I saw inside picture, she looks beautiful. I am not too much of a fan of Richard. His hair looks...well...anyway, the music definately makes up for any minor criticism I may have. LOL. A PLACE TO HIDEAWAY, ONE LOVE, SUPERSTAR, FOR ALL WE KNOW, LET ME BE THE ONE are gorgeous songs. Not too happy about SOMETIMES. Never cared for that song. I loved Karen's vocals but didn't like the long, draggy intro by RC...


A KIND OF HUSH...Gorgous album cover art and design. Karen looks beautiful. Inside picture Karen looks very thin, but still beautiful in a fragile way. I love the music, the upbeat THERE'S A KIND OF HUSH, the heartfelt I NEED TO BE IN LOVE, the emotional ONE MORE TIME, the poignant YOU, the cute GOOFUS, the sublime BOAT TO SAIL...ahh...Karen, you sound so lovely on this track. I wish you had recorded more stuff like this in that vein.


VOICE OF THE HEART...Another wonderful album. Cover art is spectacular. Karen looks gorgeous. Never looked lovelier. Heartfelt thoughts in back by Richard is warm and saddening. Songs in the album are amazing. NOW, LOOK TO YOUR DREAMS, TWO SIDES, MAKE BELIEVE IT'S YOUR FIRST TIME, SAILING ON THE TIDE, PRIME TIME LOVE, ORDINARY FOOL, YOUR BABY DOESN'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE. I Love every track on this album. This is an album filled with wonderful performances by Karen. If you like songs where you can just appreciate the beauty of Karen's singing and her styles, this is the one for you. She just sings her heart out on this one!!

CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT...Another masterpiece!! She just puts to shame any other artist on this collection. Bing who? Judy who? Perry who? ETC. She claims these songs as her own and am so delighted to hear these songs played during the holiday season. To hear her voice booming out of speakers in a mall and store are comforting and bring a smile to my face, and a wave of nostalgia in my mind. AVE MARIA for me, is the standout track. She just sings with pure emotion and climbs effortlessly to the rafters on this song and so wonderfully in latin. HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS is just done with perfection. And SLEIGH RIDE is so wonderful. Just a wonderful album!!


My thoughts,
Cameron

[beaner]

Carpenters

Voice of the Heart

Christmas Portrait

A Song for You

As Time Goes By

[ThomB]

1. Horizon
2. A Song For You
3. Now And Then
4. Carpenters
5. Passage

[Moe]

Ever since its release, I have been playing "Gold" constantly. I love all of those songs together in one set. I love the remixing of each tune. They sound so fresh and new. Since it isn't fair to have "a best" of as a favorite, here are my favorites of the studio albums:

1. Horizon- I think their finest production and the strongest collection of songs the Carpenters put out. All of the songs are so personal. Karen's voice is so rich a vibrant and Richard's production is absolute perfection!

2. Christmas Portrait- still my favorite Christmas release-bar none. Karen's voice is perfect for Christmas songs. "Have yourself a merry little Christmas" and the "Christmas song," along with "Merry Christmas Darling" are songs I sneak a listen to all year long. I love the unfamiliar verses and the medleys and the huge number of songs they included in one album. This is state of the art!

3. A Song for You- The Carpenters' showed such growth and maturiy from the first albums. A great song selection, great production, love the intermission, and Karen's more refined vocals makes this one a classic.

4. Carpenters- So many great and classic songs on this CD. The 3 gold singles as well as Sometimes, Hideaway, Let me be the one, and One love are standards that have lasted over the years. Rainy Days, I think, is my all time favorite Carpenters' tune.

5. Lovelines- A great, even though uneven, collection of songs. The first introduction from Karen's solo work to You're the One and Where do I go from here, this collection of songs is the best of the post-Karen releases. (though Voice of the Heart is awesome, too) When I fall in Love and Little Girl Blue shows the Carpenters would have put out a wonderful standards CD if Karen had lived.