Made in America (The Carpenters album)
Made in America is the tenth studio album by the American music duo The Carpenters, released in June 1981. Karen Carpenter died less than two years later, making it their final album released in her lifetime. It reached number 52 in the US and number 12 in the UK.
| Made in America | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 16, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1978–1981 | |||
| Studio | A&M Studios, Los Angeles; mixed at Sound Labs and A&M Studios, Los Angeles[1] | |||
| Genre | Pop, adult contemporary | |||
| Length | 40:22 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Richard Carpenter | |||
| The Carpenters chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Made in America | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [3] |
Karen played drums in the studio for the first time since Horizon, on the song "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)", albeit in unison with veteran Nashville session drummer Larrie Londin, and she also played percussion on "Those Good Old Dreams" in tandem with Paulinho da Costa.
The album yielded their last Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hit, "Touch Me When We're Dancing", which peaked at #16. The album's other four singles, "I Believe You," "(Want You) Back In My Life Again," "Those Good Old Dreams," and "Beechwood 4-5789," were only minor hits, peaking at #68, #72, #63, and #74 respectively.
In 1985, Richard Carpenter said "that was Karen's favorite album and is mine, out of all our projects".[4]
Promotion
editTo promote Made in America, Karen and Richard Carpenter appeared on several talk shows in 1981,[5] including America's Top Ten on July 11, The Merv Griffin Show on October 2 performing "(Want You) Back in My Life Again", and Good Morning America on October 12.[6]
Reception
editBillboard stated that "the duo returns here to the mellow MOR-pop which has brought it 18 gold singles and albums since 1970. The LP is an about-face from the duo's last studio collection, 1977's Passage, which flirted with rock rhythms and failed to be certified gold. Included are pretty ballads by Burt Bacharach and Roger Nichols, who composed the pair's first two hits, "Close To You" and "We've Only Just Begun." The duo also returns to the Marvelettes' songbag, which brought its most recent gold single, "Please Mr. Postman," for "Beechwood 4- 5789." Daryl Dragon of the Captain & Tenille, once the Carpenters' chief rival for the MOR crown, contributes the synthesizer programming to "(Want You) Back In My Life Again," a punchy, midtempo Doobie-esque rocker which would be a strong second single." [7]
In their review, Cashbox noted that "America's favorite brother and sister team of a few years back is in fine fettle after a long hiatus from the studio. Don't expect a massive directional change from the "Close To You" days, though. Richard Carpenter's production is clean and modern, but the duo's strength remains its sprite, floating harmonies and A/C pop stylings. Karen and Richard's material here should fare well with adult contemporary and pop programmers considering the current American fervor for middle of the road acts." [8]
Bruce Eder of AllMusic called it "very much a comeback effort, with a fair amount of energy on most of it, newly radiant arrangements ("The Wedding Song," etc.), one cute oldie cover ("Beechwood 4-5789," which was made into a video), and the best new songs they'd had since the mid-'70s ("Those Good Old Dreams," "Touch Me When We're Dancing")...the album as a whole was more energetic and memorable than anything they'd done since A Song for You."[9]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Those Good Old Dreams" |
| 4:12 |
| 2. | "Strength of a Woman" |
| 3:59 |
| 3. | "(Want You) Back in My Life Again" |
| 3:40 |
| 4. | "When You've Got What It Takes" |
| 3:41 |
| 5. | "Somebody's Been Lyin'" | 4:25 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "I Believe You" |
| 3:54 |
| 7. | "Touch Me When We're Dancing" |
| 3:19 |
| 8. | "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)" | Randy Handley | 5:01 |
| 9. | "Beechwood 4-5789" |
| 3:06 |
| 10. | "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)" |
| 5:04 |
Personnel
edit- Karen Carpenter – lead and backing vocals; drums and percussion on "When it's Gone"; percussion on "Those Good Old Dreams"
- Richard Carpenter – backing vocals, keyboards (piano, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric piano, celesta, ARP Odyssey), orchestration,Roland Jupiter 8, Prophet 5, Oberheim OBXa, Rhodes Chroma, Korg MS10
- Tim May, Tony Peluso, Fred Tackett, Dennis Budimir – guitars
- Jay Dee Maness – pedal steel guitar
- Earle Dumler – oboe
- Tom Scott – tenor saxophone
- Gayle Levant – concert harp
- Joe Osborn – bass guitar
- Larrie Londin, Ron Tutt, John Robinson – drums
- Paulinho da Costa, Peter Limonick, Bob Conti – percussion
- Jerry Steinholtz – congas on "I Believe You"
- Carolyn Dennis, Stephanie Spruill, Maxine Waters Willard – background vocals
- The O.K. Chorale – backing vocals on "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)"
- Peter Knight – orchestration on "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)"
- Paul Riser – orchestration on "I Believe You"
- Daryl Dragon, Ian Underwood – synthesizer programming on "(Want You) Back in My Life Again"
- Bernie Grundman, Richard Carpenter – remastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Charts
edit| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10] | 50 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11] | 44 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[12] | 12 |
| US Billboard 200[13] | 52 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[14] | Silver | 60,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b The Carpenters - Made in America (1981) album at Carpenters.AmCorner.com
- ^ Eder, Bruce. "The Carpenters - Made in America (1981) album review, credits & releases". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 140. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone carpenters album guide.
- ^ Larry King Live - December 1985 - transcript
- ^ Karen Carpenter – IMDb
- ^ Schmidt, Randy L. (October 2012). Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters. Selected Television Appearances. ISBN 9781613744178 – via Google Books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. No. 20 June 1981. p. 76. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ^ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. No. 20 June 1981. p. 13. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
- ^ "Made in America - Carpenters | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Carpenters" (in Japanese). Original Confidence. Retrieved September 21, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Carpenters Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ "British album certifications – Carpenters – Made in America". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-02-22.