A Song For You [VINYL]

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By the time the Carpenters made their fourth studio album A Song For You, their place in the firmament of pop music was so assured that they were able to approach it as a broad-based concept record. The previous two years had brought massive acclaim for Richard and Karen’s work, and an almost unbroken chart presence. Perone, James E. (2018). Listen to Pop! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO. p.67. ISBN 9781440863776.

A Song for You is the fourth studio album by the American music duo the Carpenters, released on June 22, 1972. According to Richard Carpenter, A Song for You was intended to be a concept album (of sorts) with the title tune opening and closing the set and the bookended selections comprising the 'song'. " A Song for You" was written by songwriter Leon Russell. [4] [5] The album's biggest hit single, the number one song " Top of the World", was not issued until over a year after the album's release. [ citation needed] According to Richard Carpenter, who co-wrote the song with John Bettis, the reason for the song's late release in the US was that he had misjudged the song's commercial appeal, but was proven wrong when the Carpenters' "Top of the World" became a hit in Japan in 1972 and Lynn Anderson's cover reached number 2 on the US country charts in 1973. The song went through a few minor revisions, including a slight remix, before it was finally released as a single in the US. The Carpenters' treatment of the much-covered Paul Williams/ Roger Nichols composition " I Won't Last a Day Without You" also got a belated single release in 1974, and peaked at number eleven on the Hot 100. [ citation needed] Andy Williams recorded the song for his covers album, You've Got a Friend. His version rose to number 29 on the Easy Listening chart (today's Adult Contemporary) in September 1971. [4] At the same time it hit number 82 on the main pop singles chart. [5]World, Jimmie Tramel Tulsa (January 18, 2018). "Pop culture: Leon Russell song selected for Grammy Hall of Fame". Tulsa World . Retrieved April 23, 2021. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9. The Carpenters (February 3, 2013). "A Song for You Live". YouTube: Beverwyk. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.

Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". RPM. Archived from the original on 2015-02-04 . Retrieved 2012-02-19.Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Schmidt, Randy (2012). Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter. Omnibus Press. p.118. ISBN 9780857127693. A Song for You is considered by many fans to be the duo’s finest album. The first side is for Karen. Her voice is the centerpiece. This, however, is no surprise. Her voice was always the most brilliant feature of all the Carpenters’ hits. Side two, though, is for Richard. He was a talented arranger. Across the album, without being showy or gratuitous, he manages to work in a saxophone solo, a flute solo, an electric guitar solo, layers of acoustic piano and Wurlitzer electric piano, strings, and more. As to the “more,” his biggest stroke of genius is the use of an oboe and cor anglais. Playing sweet melodies, as on “Goodbye to Love,” the woody yet sour timbre of the instruments are the ideal expression of the emotional tone of numerous songs on the album. The instrumental “Flat Baroque” builds from (as the title implies) a baroque chamber pop song to include touches of light jazz. Later on, “Crystal Lullaby” has more Euro-classical orchestration. Then “Road Ode” displays a faculty for convincing contemporary, orchestrated pop jazz (like Antonio Carlos Jobim‘s Wave). “Top of the World” is country — this album version sounds more country than the single version. If there is a glaring flaw anywhere, it is the latin easy listening horn arrangements that arrive in jarring fashion in a few places.

Hurting Each Other", a cover of an obscure Ruby & the Romantics tune, was the first single issued from A Song for You in early 1972, and reached number two, becoming the Carpenters' sixth straight gold single. [ citation needed] A cover of Carole King's " It's Going to Take Some Time" followed and peaked at number 12, and was followed by the number seven hit " Goodbye to Love", which was refused airplay on some easy listening radio stations because of a fuzz guitar solo by Tony Peluso. The song had a significant impact on the power ballad songs which followed. The album also included the Carpenters' version of the Academy Award-nominated title song from the 1971 film Bless the Beasts and Children, which had already charted at number 67 on the Hot 100 as the flip side of the duo's version of " Superstar". [ citation needed] Whitney Houston recorded an uptempo version of the song for her final studio album I Look to You. Houston also performed a slowed-down version of the song in 1991 at her Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston concert. It was reported that Russell was so moved by the performance that he personally wrote her a letter expressing his admiration of her rendition of his song. [18]

On January 17, 2018, "A Song for You" was added to Grammy Hall of Fame. [2] [3] Notable cover versions [ edit ] They also had the ear to choose Carole King’s “It’s Going To Take Some Time.” The great writer had just released on her Music album on Ode, distributed at the time by A&M. That, of course, was where Richard and Karen had their home. The song went to No.12, and by the time A Song For You was released, the Carpenters were riding high with another single from the set. It was the superb “Goodbye To Love,” which became one of their best-loved songs. The ballad was admired for the duo’s outstanding harmonies, Karen’s faultless lead vocals, and Tony Peluso’s spectacular fuzz guitar solo. Knox, Teresa (March 14, 2018). "6 Things You Might Not Know About Leon Russell's "A Song For You" - The Church Studio". thechurchstudio.com/. Nathan Poppe, "Leon Russell's 'A Song For You' added to Grammy Hall Of Fame", The Oklahoman, January 17, 2018.

Ray Charles recorded a version of the song on his 1993 album My World. Released as a single, it reached number 104 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, and won him a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. A Song For You reached No.4 on the Billboard album chart and had huge success from Australia to Japan. The Carpenters were now, truly, on top of the world.The reaction to this innovation was not universally positive. When Carpenters first heard the music on the radio, a DJ joked about them “doing a Jimi Hendrix song.” They also received mail from fans upset at a perceived musical heresy. Carpenters’ ambition and experiments Amy Winehouse recorded a soulful version from her home that was included on the posthumous Lioness: Hidden Treasures compilation album. She specifically covered the Donny Hathaway version and references him at the end of the recording. [19] In the song, at least the line “when there’s no getting over that rainbow” might confirm that we are dealing with human social relations, and not divine interventions. Still, this can be viewed as forming relationships for protection, in pursuit of something greater. In the christian world this is the “holy spirit”. If the album makes this point somewhat inconsistently, then it may be the expression of just what Badiou sees as the inconsistency in Pasolini’s St. Paul.