A Kind of Hush (album)

A Kind of Hush is the seventh studio album by American popular music duo Carpenters. It was released on June 11, 1976.

A Kind of Hush
Studio album by
Carpenters
ReleasedJune 11, 1976
RecordedDecember 1975 - April 1976
StudioA&M Studios, Hollywood
GenrePop, easy listening, adult contemporary
Length34:00
LabelA&M
ProducerRichard Carpenter/Associate Producer - Karen Carpenter
Carpenters chronology
Horizon
(1975)		 A Kind of Hush
(1976)		 Live at the Palladium
(1976)
Carpenters studio album chronology
Horizon
(1975)		 A Kind of Hush
(1976)		 Passage
(1977)

By the time of the album's recording, Richard Carpenter's addiction to sleeping pills had begun to affect him professionally, and he blames this for the album being, in his opinion, sub-par.[1] All three excerpted singles became hits. "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)", a cover of a 1960s song by Herman's Hermits, broke both the UK Top 30[2] and US Top 20, as well as topping the adult contemporary chart.[3] "I Need to Be in Love" hit number 25 in the US[4] and number 36 in the UK.[2] "Goofus" was only a minor success, stalling at number 56 on the Billboard chart, though it did crack the adult contemporary top 10.[5]

John Bettis called "I Need to Be in Love" the favorite lyrics he ever wrote for Karen Carpenter. "If there was ever anything that came out of my heart straight to Karen's I would say that was it. I was very proud of it for that."[6] Richard Carpenter recalled that the song "became Karen's favorite Carpenters song".[1] The album was also the first not to have Karen playing drums on any tracks, which were performed by Los Angeles session drummer Jim Gordon.

Despite being certified Gold, the album was a relative commercial disappointment in the US, where its chart peak was outside the Top 30.[7] Like its predecessor Horizon, it performed better in the UK, reaching number three in the UK Albums Chart. The CD has been out of print since 2006 except in the Japanese market.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]

While noting that there are occasional highlights, AllMusic's retrospective review was generally negative, calling the album "pleasant, well-sung, and well-played, but basically bland". They particularly criticized the selection of material and the overt similarity of the album's formula to that of previous Carpenters albums.[8]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."There's a Kind of Hush"
2:57
2."You"Randy Edelman3:52
3."Sandy"
3:42
4."Goofus"
  • William Harold
  • Gus Kahn
  • Wayne King
3:09
5."Can't Smile Without You"
  • Chris Arnold
  • David Martin
  • Geoff Morrow
3:28
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."I Need to Be in Love"
3:47
7."One More Time"Lewis Anderson3:32
8."Boat to Sail"Jackie De Shannon3:31
9."I Have You"
  • Carpenter
  • Bettis
3:27
10."Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
2:35

Singles
  • "There's a Kind of Hush"
    • US 7" single (1976) – A&M 1800
  1. "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)"
  2. "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You"
    • UK 7" single (1976) – AMS7219
  1. "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)"
  2. "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You"
    • JP 7" single (1976) – CM-2001
  1. "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)"
  2. "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You"
  • "I Need to Be in Love"
    • 7" single (1976) – A&M 1828
  1. "I Need to Be in Love"
  2. "Sandy"
    • JP 7" promo (1976) – CM-2020
  1. "I Need to Be in Love"
  2. "Sandy"
    • JP CD single (1995) – PODM-1060
  1. "I Need to Be in Love"
  2. "Top of the World"
  • "Goofus"
    • US 7" single (1976) – A&M 1859
  1. "Goofus"
  2. "Boat to Sail"
  • "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
    • JP 7" single (1976) – CM-2025
  1. "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
  2. "I Have You"
  • "I Have You"
    • MX 7" single (1978) – AM-064
  1. "I Have You"
  2. "Sweet, Sweet Smile"

Charts

References
  1. Richard Carpenter's comments on A Kind Of Hush, RichardAndKarenCarpenter.com.
  2. Carpenters UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  3. "There's a Kind of Hush" US chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  4. "I Need to Be in Love" US chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  5. "Goofus" US chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  6. Schmidt, Randy L. (2010). Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter (1st ed.). Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Press. p. 156. ISBN 9781556529764.
  7. Complete Guide to the music of The Carpenters, John Tobler, Omnibus Press ISBN 0-7119-6312-6
  8. Eder, Bruce. A Kind of Hush at AllMusic
  9. 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.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". RPM. Archived from the original on 2015-02-08. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  12. "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Carpenters" (in Japanese). Original Confidence. 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  13. "charts.nz Carpenters - A Kind of Hush" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  14. "norwegiancharts.com Carpenters - A Kind of Hush" (ASP). Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  15. "The Official Charts Company - Carpenters - A Kind of Hush" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  16. AllMusic Carpenters > A Kind of Hush > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
  17. "Japanese Year-End Albums Charts 1976". 1976年アルバム年間ヒットチャート (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  18. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1979". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  19. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  20. "British album certifications – Carpenters – Kind of Hush". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-02-22. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Kind of Hush in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  21. "American album certifications – Carpenters – Kind of Hush". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-02-22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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