Close To You - THE CARPENTERS****

We've Only Just Begun/Love Is Surrender/Maybe Its You/Reason To Believe/Help/(They Long To Be) Close To You/Baby Its You/I'll Never Fall In Love Again/Crescent Noon/Mr Guder/I Kept On Loving You/Another Song

The commercial breakthrough for the brother and sister duo The Carpenters came with their second release Close To You. It brought to the world's attention the magically pure voice of Karen Carpenter. Features the US chart topping title track and No. 2 hit We've Only Just Begun. (US:2 UK:23)

"The Carpenters second album finds the brother and sister duo soaring to new heights. What the Carpenters debut album was missing, Close To You improves on in almost every way possible. We've Only Just Begun and the title track are just amazing pop artefacts, as they showcase Karen Carpenter's voice at its brightest and most angelic peak. While there may be nothing else on the album that matches the power of these two songs, most of the album tracks are pleasant pop offerings that the duo seemed to lack on subsequent releases."

"After the poor performance of their debut, this is the album that enabled Richard and Karen to reach the audience that they deserved, mostly due to the success of the single Close To You. Despite being heavily jazz influenced, this is pop music at its best. The 'Carpenters sound' is fully realised and every track is a feast for the ears."

"This album launched The Carpenters into stardom that made them one of the most listened to groups of the seventies. Arranged by Richard Carpenter's unique blend of multiple track layered vocal recordings, the Carpenters music was indeed unique for its time. Karen's incredibly clear and flawless vocals made their sound a distinctive one, one you immediately recognise after hearing just the first several notes of music. Since they had not yet found their formula for pop success, this album offers a variety of music."

"The album is built around two wonderfully melodic songs. It begins with the love ballad We've Only Just Begun, a song that became the group's second consecutive hit. The other major hit, Close To You shores up the middle. The other tracks fill out the album quite nicely, although there are some songs that are a bit weak, yet pleasing all the same."

"We've Only Just Begun begins the album with a smash hit for The Carpenters; they play and sing this beautifully and the number is very sensitive. Karen sings this with so much passion, you truly feel that she is singing to you and only you."