Now & Then (The Carpenters album)

Now & Then
Studio album by Carpenters
Released May 1, 1973
Recorded 1972–1973
Studio A&M Studios, Hollywood
Genre Pop
Length 36:57
Label A&M
Producer
  • Richard Carpenter
  • Karen Carpenter
Carpenters chronology
A Song for You
(1972)A Song for You1972		 Now & Then
(1973)		 Live in Japan
(1975)Live in Japan1975
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rolling Stone(Unfavorable)[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

Now & Then is the fifth album by the Carpenters, released on May 1, 1973. In Cash Box Year-End Charts of 1973, Now & Then appeared at number 20 and the title for the album was suggested by Karen and Richard's mother, Agnes Carpenter.

Background

As an outgrowth of the Rick Nelson Garden Party incident, an oldies revival occurred in pop music around 1973, so Side "B" of the album featured an oldies medley. The medley starts with the Carpenters' original song "Yesterday Once More". Tony Peluso, the Carpenters' guitarist who made his debut on their 1972 album A Song For You, is heard as a radio DJ throughout the medley, which includes such songs as "The End of the World", "Dead Man's Curve", "Johnny Angel", and "One Fine Day". Peluso would also be heard as a DJ on the Carpenters' "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" recording in 1977. The medley also featured Mark Rudolph, a cousin of the Carpenters, on the "Guess the Golden Goodies Group Contest", as the listener who calls in.

This is also one of only two albums where Karen did most or all of the drumming - the other being Offering (later rereleased as Ticket to Ride). She plays all of the drum tracks with the exception of "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", which had Los Angeles session drummer Hal Blaine on the drums.

Cover

The LP album featured a three-panel cover that folded out, showing a panoramic view of Karen and Richard Carpenter driving past the Carpenter family home on Newville Avenue in Downey, California. The car pictured on the cover was a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ("Daytona") owned by Richard. (Richard mentioned on Jay Lenos Garage that the car they drive by the house was a Pinto due to the shape.) (Richard later sold the original red Ferrari featured on the album cover, but bought another car of the same type in 1995.)

In February 2008, fans created a worldwide awareness campaign of the impending demolition of the Now & Then Carpenter house which had been made famous on the album cover and became a tourist destination. The home's owners, the Parras, who had purchased it in 1997 from Richard Carpenter, after his mother's death in 1996, had had enough of devotees turning up at the house and asking to be shown round, and they wanted to raze the main house. The five-bedroom house had been bought by Karen and Richard for their parents in 1970. It was an annex to the now-destroyed house in which Karen collapsed from the heart attack that killed her in 1983.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Sing" (Joe Raposo)3:20
2."This Masquerade" (Leon Russell)4:50
3."Heather" (Johnny Pearson)2:47
4."Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (Hank Williams)3:40
5."I Can't Make Music" (Randy Edelman)3:17
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Yesterday Once More" 18:05
7."Yesterday Once More (reprise)" (Bettis, Carpenter)0:58

Personnel

  • Richard Carpenter – keyboards, lead and backing vocals, arranger, orchestration, producer
  • Karen Carpenter – drums (except on "Jambalaya"), lead and backing vocals, producer
  • Hal Blaine – drums on "Jambalaya"
  • Joe Osborn – bass
  • Bob Messenger – flute, tenor saxophone
  • Doug Strawn – baritone saxophone
  • Tom Scott – recorder
  • Tony Peluso – lead and rhythm guitars, spoken word (DJ) on "Yesterday Once More"
  • Gary Sims – rhythm guitar
  • Buddy Emmons – steel guitar
  • Jay Dee Maness – steel guitar
  • Earl Dumler – oboe, bass oboe, English horn
  • The Jimmy Joyce Children's Chorus – backing vocals on "Sing"

Technical

  • Ray Gerhardt – engineer
  • Roger Young – assistant engineer
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering engineer
  • Roland Young – art direction
  • Jim McCrary – photography (front cover)
  • Design Maru – illustrations (front cover)
  • Len Freas – illustrations (inside cover)

Singles

"Sing"

  • US 7" single (1973) – A&M 1413
    1. "Sing"
    2. "Druscilla Penny"
  • JP 7" single (1973) – AM-175
    1. "Sing"
    2. "I Won't Last a Day Without You"

"Yesterday Once More"

  • US 7" single (1973) – A&M 1446
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Road Ode"
  • UK 7" promo (1973) – AM1446
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Road Ode"
  • JP 7" single (1973) – AM-200
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Road Ode"
  • JP 7" single (1973) – AMP-780
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Sing"
  • JP 7" single (1973) – OH-134
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Superstar"
    3. "Top of the World"
    4. "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"
  • MX 7" single (1973) – SP-125
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Road Ode"
  • JP 12" single (1978) – CML3
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Please Mr. Postman"
  • JP CD single (1988) – S12Y3014
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Superstar"
    3. "We've Only Just Begun"
  • JP CD single (1992) – PODM-1025
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Yesterday Once More" (remix version)
    3. "Yesterday Once More" (original master karaoke version)
  • JP CD single (1996) – POCM-1187
    1. "Yesterday Once More"
    2. "Yesterday Once More" (karaoke version)
    3. "Goodbye to Love"
    4. "Only Yesterday"

"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"

  • UK 7" single (1974) – AMS7098
    1. "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" – 3:40
    2. "Mr. Guder" – 3:17
  • JP 7" single (1974) – AM-201
    1. "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"
    2. "Heather"

"This Masquerade"

  • MX 7" single (1974) – SP-133
    1. "Please Mr. Postman"
    2. "This Masquerade"

EPs

Now & Then

  • US 7" promo (1973) – A&M LLP 222
    1. "Oldies Medley" (part one)
    2. "Oldies Medley" (part two)

Charts

Decade-end charts

Chart (1970s) Position
Japanese Albums Chart[16] 25

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Japan (Oricon Charts) 514,000[17]
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Eder, Bruce. Now & Then at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  2. ↑ Fletcher, Gordon (July 5, 1973). "Music Reviews : Now and Then by the Carpenters". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  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.
  4. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4877". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Carpenters – Now & Then" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Carpenters" (in Japanese). Original Confidence. 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  8. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Carpenters – Now & the Then". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Carpenters | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Carpenters Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1973" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Top-ten of the Japanese Year-End Albums Charts 1970-1974" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  13. 1 2 "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  14. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1973". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  15. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1974" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  16. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  17. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  18. ↑ "British album certifications – Carpenters – Now and Then". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Now and Then in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  19. ↑ "American album certifications – Carpenters – Now and Then". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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