Made in America (The Carpenters album)

Last updated
Made in America
81madeusa.jpeg
Studio album by
The Carpenters
ReleasedJune 16, 1981
Recorded1978–1981
Studio A&M Studios, Los Angeles; mixed at Sound Labs and A&M Studios, Los Angeles [1]
Genre Pop, adult contemporary
Length40:22
Label A&M
Producer Richard Carpenter
The Carpenters chronology
Christmas Portrait
(1978)		Made in America
(1981)		 Voice of the Heart
(1983)
Singles from Made in America
  1. "I Believe You"
    Released: June 1978
  2. "Touch Me When We're Dancing"
    Released: June 19, 1981
  3. "(Want You) Back in My Life Again"
    Released: September 1981
  4. "Those Good Old Dreams"
    Released: December 1981
  5. "Beechwood 4-5789"
    Released: January 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

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.

Contents

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

To 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

Billboard 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

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Those Good Old Dreams"
4:12
2."Strength of a Woman"
  • Phyllis Brown
  • Juanita Curiel
3:59
3."(Want You) Back in My Life Again"
  • Kerry Chater
  • Chris Christian
3:40
4."When You've Got What It Takes"
  • Bill Lane
  • Roger Nichols
3:41
5."Somebody's Been Lyin'"
4:25
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."I Believe You"
  • Dick Addrisi
  • Don Addrisi
3:54
7."Touch Me When We're Dancing"
  • Kenny Bell
  • Terry Skinner
  • Jerry Lee Wallace
3:19
8."When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)"Randy Handley5:01
9."Beechwood 4-5789"
3:06
10."Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)"
  • Bettis
  • Carpenter
5:04

Personnel

[1]

Charts

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

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [14] Silver60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 The Carpenters - Made in America (1981) album at Carpenters.AmCorner.com
  2. ↑ Eder, Bruce. "The Carpenters - Made in America (1981) album review, credits & releases". AllMusic . Retrieved 2012-05-31.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Larry King Live - December 1985 - transcript
  5. ↑ Karen Carpenter – IMDb
  6. ↑ 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)
  7. ↑ "Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. No. 20 June 1981. p. 76. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. No. 20 June 1981. p. 13. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Made in America - Carpenters | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic .
  10. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  11. ↑ "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Carpenters" (in Japanese). Original Confidence . Retrieved September 21, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Carpenters Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  14. ↑ "British album certifications – Carpenters – Made in America". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 2012-02-22.
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