Review of Carpenters, The: Close To You Remembering The Carpenters

Introduction

Remembering The Carpenters? Who could forget them? If you grew up in the late 1960s-1970s, the Carpenters were part of your life soundtrack with songs like "Close To You" and "Top Of The World". Karen Carpenter`s crystal sharp voice was one of the signatures of the time, backed by brother Richard`s sumptuous arrangements. This sixty minute documentary, credited by Richard Carpenter as the definitive story, charts their rise with excerpts and full performances of sixteen of their hits.

Tragically, Karen became the most famous victim of the disorder anorexia in 1983 when the stress on her body caused by her starvation fasting stopped her heart. She was aged just 32.

Her performances have continued to enchant in the years since her passing, and this disc brings back fond memories of one of the most successful recording artists of the 1960s and 1970s.

If I have one criticism it`s that one of the Carpenters` most iconic songs isn`t played in its entirety, but broken into with a comment by Richard.

Video

A variety of sources are used in the compilation of this programme, which is presented in its original 4:3. 16mm news footage, 35mm promotional footage and vintage videotape make for varied quality, but the programme is very well made. Colours are particularly bright on some sequences, and on some of the older material there are signs of wear and tear but I`d be surprised and a little disappointed if there weren`t some indications of the age of the material.

Audio

The sound is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. I think it might have sounded strange with 5.1 enhancement, so I`m quite happy with the unadulterated mix of the songs on the disc. Some recordings are, by their nature in mono, but all of the real showstoppers on the disc are in full stereo.

Features

There is a section called Encore, 13 minutes of extra goodies that range from the ridiculous (the Morton potato chips jingle) to the sublime (Karen`s goosebumping rendition of Ave Maria). There is a grainy piece of the Carpenters performing at the White House for Richard Nixon, a set of grotty US and Japanese tv commercials, a radio jingle, and hauntingly a photo gallery accompanied by Karen singing "Yesterday Once More".

Conclusion

I think you can guess I`m a fan of The Carpenters, and this spot-on documentary-tribute to the sibling double-act has been a real pleasure to review, even if I have had a couple of misty moments listening to Karen`s incredible voice and Richard`s magnificent arrangements. If only it were longer.