As a result of both “Horizon” and “A Kind Of Hush” not containing a “sell-through” single (Postman had been released approximately nine months prior to “Horizon’s” release) neither album fared as well, sales or chart-wise, as their predecessors; “Horizon” No.14 and “A Kind Of Hush” No.33.  I was hardly surprised then, when I heard from Jerry Moss, relating his concern about relatively lackluster sales by A&M’s biggest worldwide record sellers…us.  As an owner’s eyes fall on the manager when a fine baseball team doesn’t perform as expected, so the eyes of the record company fall on the producer when a successful artist’s record sales falter.  This, by the by, is the way it should be, so I was perfectly willing to let someone else take over my role; it would be a lot less work for me and, as previously mentioned, I was not 100% myself. The problem was, not one major producer would sign on; radio was not quite as friendly at that time to our type of sound and to be honest, my track record on the whole was a tough act to follow. Accordingly, I remained producer, but I did try to approach this new project from a different angle, hence my selection of songs for this album made “Passage” a bit of a departure from our previous recordings. I am still fond of every song on this album, but will mention the history of two:

Don’t Cry For Me Argentina -  This song was submitted to us by the publisher, and I immediately felt it was perfect for Karen, though now I feel differently, as I believe the song doesn’t linger long enough in a lower register, a great area for Karen’s voice.  We contacted England’s late, great Peter Knight to orchestrate the song, and two others on “Passage”. Peter flew to Los Angeles to conduct the L.A. Philharmonic for the recording. (Due to a contractual agreement their name was not allowed in the credits, hence the credit of the “Overbudget Philharmonic”.) Between the 100 plus member “Phil” and the 50 voice Gregg Smith Singers, the recording session had to take place on the A&M Sound Stage, and was wired into Studio D. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day) - I heard this song on Canadian group Klaatu’s debut album and couldn’t resist recording it. (Lyrics such as these don’t come along every day!) Peter Knight penned the creative orchestration to my arrangement. In addition to the guitar work, Tony Peluso reprises his role as a befuddled D.J.. This performance must be fairly convincing for following its release, we received numerous letters wanting to know when in fact, World Contact Day was scheduled!

 

1.    B'Wana She No Home    5:29

2.    All You Get From Love Is A Love Song    3:46

3.    I Just Fall In Love Again    4:02

4.    On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada / Don't Cry For Me Argentina    7:57

5.   Sweet, Sweet Smile    3:00

6.    Two Sides    3:27

7.    Man Smart, Woman Smarter    4:21

8.    Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft *   7:07

        (The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day)

 

Produced by Richard Carpenter

Associate Producer: Karen Carpenter

Arranged and Orchestrated by Richard Carpenter

*Orchestrated by Peter Knight

All Vocals: Karen and Richard Carpenter

Engineered by:  Ray Gerhardt, Roger Young and Dave Iveland

Mastering Engineer: Bernie Grundman

Special Thanks to Ed Sulzer, John Bettis and Ron Gorow

Art Direction: Roland Young

Design: Junie Osaki

Cover Art: Lou Beach

 

Click on an underlined Song Title to go to Song Notes

 

 
Last Updated June 4, 2008
May 2004  © Richard Carpenter

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