Garage Sale Vinyl: The Carpenters
Now & Then / A&M / May 1973
by Christopher Long
Say what you will. But when you break it all down, there really are only TWO types of people in the world:
1) People who recognize and appreciate the brilliant records, superb musicianship, genius production, and eternal legacy of the Carpenters.
2) People who hate puppies.
It’s easy for most of us “seasoned” folks to wax nostalgic about those “good ol’ days.” But truth be told, that golden era of the late-‘60s to early-‘70s was a smidge less sunny than some of us choose to remember. The Vietnam War was ramping down, while the Watergate scandal was revving up. America was still healing from the relatively recent Kennedy assassinations and EVERYTHING was burning — cities, draft cards, even bras. As a result, pianist / writer / producer / arranger Richard Carpenter and lil’ sis, lead vocalist / drummer Karen Carpenter were the right artists at the right time. While their work has been dismissed by some, their catchy, yet cozy pop music brought tremendous hope and comfort to millions of fans, especially during those oft-troubled times, circa ‘69-‘72.
In the spring of 1973, the California-based duo was white hot, with three consecutive platinum-selling Top Five albums under their belts, along with a slew of Top 10 singles. By the summer, they’d have another multi-platinum smash LP.
The apt-titled, self-produced Now & Then found the siblings leaning creatively on the past while forging sonically into the future. Although “Sing” is the Carpenters song that arguably gets stoned most frequently by critics, this Side One opener became a #3 smash on Casey’s Countdown. A delicate, yet complicated, soaring, orchestrated instrumental, “Heather” was a an absolutely beautiful piece of work. The “now” remakes of “This Masquerade” and “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” transformed the Leon Russell and Hank Williams standards into fresh-squeezed standouts for many of us pre-teen Partridge disciples.
Side Two was an all-out nostalgia trip, jamming eight classic hits from the “beach blanket” era into one compelling medley, woven into a fictional live on-air radio show. Mark Rudolph, YOU-ARE-WRONG! Side Two also opened (and closed) with “Yesterday Once More” — the second of the record’s TWO Top Five hits.
This is the album that would fuel my future fascination and frustration with song-crafting and record production — the gateway drug that led me later to the work of such songwriting aces and studio wizards as Brian Wilson and Todd Rundgren.
Now & Then was the Carpenters collection that spoke to me the loudest when it first hit the streets. And 50 years later, it’s still quite the lil’ screamer. Over the last five decades, I’ve owned the record on 8-track, cassette, and CD, as well as multiple vinyl copies. My previous LPs have vanished in the midst of time. My current copy is a slightly scuffed, original 1973 pressing that actually was gifted to me recently by a friend, FOR FREE. Dude!
(5/5) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now & Then Track List
SIDE ONE
- Sing (Raposo) – 3:20
- This Masquerade (Russell) – 4:50
- Heather (Pearson) – 2:47
- Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (Williams) – 3:40
- I Can’t Make Music (Edelman) – 3:17
SIDE TWO
- Yesterday Once More (R. Carpenter, Bettis) – 3:50
- Medley:
– Fun, Fun, Fun (Wilson, Love) – 1:32
– The End of the World (Dee, Kent) – 2:25
– Da Doo Ron Ron (Barry, Greenwich, Spector) – 1:43
– Dead Man’s Curve (Berry, Christian, Kornfeld, Wilson) – 1:40
– Johnny Angel (Pockriss, Duddy) – 1:30
– The Night Has a Thousand Eyes (Weisman, Wayne, Garrett) – 1:45
– Our Day Will Come (Garson, Hilliard) – 2:00
– One Fine Day (King, Goffin) – 1:40
3. Yesterday Once More (reprise) (R. Carpenter, Bettis) – 0:58
