A Song for You (The Carpenters album)

A Song for You is the fourth studio album by 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]

A Song for You
Studio album by
the Carpenters
ReleasedJune 22, 1972
StudioA&M Studios, Los Angeles
Genre
Length36:57
LabelA&M
ProducerJack Daugherty Productions
The Carpenters chronology
Carpenters
(1971)		 A Song for You
(1972)		 Now & Then
(1973)
Singles from A Song for You
  1. "Bless the Beasts and Children"
    Released: August 12, 1971
  2. "Hurting Each Other"
    Released: December 23, 1971
  3. "It's Going to Take Some Time"
    Released: April 13, 1972
  4. "Goodbye to Love"
    Released: June 19, 1972
  5. "Top of the World"
    Released: September 17, 1973
  6. "I Won't Last a Day Without You"
    Released: March 25, 1974
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rolling Stone(Average)[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

In Cash Box's Top 100 Albums of 1972, A Song for You was ranked number 26.[6]

Six songs were released as A-side singles internationally: "Hurting Each Other", "It's Going to Take Some Time", "Goodbye to Love", "Top of the World", "I Won't Last a Day Without You", and "Bless the Beasts and Children".

Singles

"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. 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".

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. 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.

With the exception of "Bless the Beasts and Children", which peaked at number 26 on the AC chart, all of the album's charted singles made either number one ("Hurting Each Other", "I Won't Last a Day Without You") or number two on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album and its singles were also successful internationally; "Goodbye to Love" and "I Won't Last a Day Without You" made the top ten on the UK Singles Chart as a double A-side, and "Top of the World" made the Oricon singles chart in Japan on three separate occasions (number 21 in 1972, number 52 in 1973, and number 83 in 1996).

Track listing

All lead vocals by Karen Carpenter, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Song for You"Leon Russell4:42
2."Top of the World"
2:56
3."Hurting Each Other"
  • Gary Geld
  • Peter Udell
2:46
4."It's Going to Take Some Time"
2:55
5."Goodbye to Love"
  • Bettis
  • R. Carpenter
3:50
6."Intermission" (lead vocals: K. and R. Carpenter)R. Carpenter0:22
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Bless the Beasts and Children"
3:07
8."Flat Baroque" (instrumental)R. Carpenter1:45
9."Piano Picker" (lead vocals: R. Carpenter)Randy Edelman1:59
10."I Won't Last a Day Without You"
3:47
11."Crystal Lullaby" (lead vocals by K. and R. Carpenter)
  • Bettis
  • R. Carpenter
3:53
12."Road Ode"
  • Gary Sims
  • Dan Woodhams
3:50
13."A Song for You" (reprise)Russell0:53

Personnel

Charts and certifications

References
  1. Eder, Bruce. The Carpenters - A Song for You (1972) album review, credits & releases at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  2. Stephen, Holden (1972-12-12). "Carpenters: A Song for You: Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  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. A Song for You CD insert
  5. "Leon Russell - Best Of Leon (Vinyl, LP, Compilation) | Discogs". Discogs. February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  6. Cash Box YE Pop Albums – 1972
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". RPM. Archived from the original on 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
  9. "– Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) – Albums Chart Daijiten – Carpenters". a-カーペンターズ (in Japanese). 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  10. "The Official Charts Company – Carpenters – A Song for You" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
  11. "Carpenters Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  12. "Top Pop Albums of 1972". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  13. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  14. "American album certifications – Carpenters – A Song for You". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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