A Kind of Hush (album)

A Kind of Hush
Studio album by Carpenters
Released June 11, 1976
Recorded December 1975 - April 1976
Genre Pop, easy listening, adult contemporary
Length 34:00
Label A&M
Producer Richard Carpenter/Associate Producer - Karen Carpenter
Carpenters chronology
Horizon
(1975)		 A Kind of Hush
(1976)		 Live at the Palladium
(1977)

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

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] However, this album was also the first not to have Karen playing drums at all and top Los Angeles session drummer Jim Gordon played the drums on this album.

The album, despite its gold certification and a high UK chart placing, was a commercial disappointment in the US where its chart peak was outside the Top 30.[7] 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
  1. "There's a Kind of Hush" (Les Reed, Geoff Stephens) – 2:57
  2. "You" (Randy Edelman) – 3:52
  3. "Sandy" (Richard Carpenter, John Bettis) – 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
  1. "I Need to Be in Love" (Carpenter, John Bettis, Albert Hammond) – 3:47
  2. "One More Time" (Lewis Anderson) – 3:32
  3. "Boat to Sail" (Jackie De Shannon) – 3:31
  4. "I Have You" (Carpenter, John Bettis) – 3:27
  5. "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield) – 2:35

Singles

  1. "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)"
  2. "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You"
  1. "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)"
  2. "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You"
  1. "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)"
  2. "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You"
  1. "I Need to Be in Love"
  2. "Sandy"
  1. "I Need to Be in Love"
  2. "Sandy"
  1. "I Need to Be in Love"
  2. "Top of the World"
  1. "Goofus"
  2. "Boat to Sail"
  1. "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
  2. "I Have You"
  1. "I Have You"
  2. "Sweet, Sweet Smile"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1976) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[10] 57
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[11] 22
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[12] 3
New Zealand Albums Chart[13] 15
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[14] 17
UK Albums Chart[15] 3
United States Billboard 200[16] 33

Year-end charts

Chart (1976) Position
Japanese Albums Chart[17] 39

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Japan (RIAJ) 81,000[18]
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Richard Carpenter's comments on A Kind Of Hush, RichardAndKarenCarpenter.com.
  2. 1 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. 1 2 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.
  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. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  12. ↑ a-カーペンターズ "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Carpenters" Check |url= value (help) (in Japanese). Original Confidence. 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  13. ↑ "charts.org.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. ↑ "Chart Stats - Carpenters - A Kind of Hush" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. 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. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  18. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  19. ↑ "British album certifications – Carpenters – Kind of Hush". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-02-22. Enter Kind of Hush in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  20. ↑ "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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