Passage (The Carpenters album)

Passage
Studio album by Carpenters
Released September 23, 1977
Recorded late from 1976 and half from 1977
Genre Pop, adult contemporary, experimental
Length 39:39
Label A&M
Producer Richard Carpenter/Associate Producer - Karen Carpenter
Carpenters chronology
Live at the Palladium
(1977)		 Passage
(1977)		 Christmas Portrait
(1978)

Passage is the eighth album by American popular music duo Carpenters. Released in 1977, it produced the hit singles "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song", "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" and "Sweet, Sweet Smile". The Carpenters' version of "Sweet, Sweet Smile" (written by Juice Newton) was picked up by Country radio and put the duo in the top ten of Billboard's Country chart in the spring of 1978.

This album was a considerable departure for the siblings and contained experimental material such as the Klaatu cover "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" single—which reached no. 32 in the US but was a top ten hit in much of the world (and prompted numerous letters to the Carpenters asking when World Contact Day was scheduled[1]). Ironically, the album's release predated Steven Spielberg's similarly themed film Close Encounters of the Third Kind by one month. Nonetheless, the album was the group's first to fall short of gold standard in the US.

This is the only Carpenters album (aside from their Christmas albums) not to contain a Richard Carpenter or John Bettis song and also the second album to not have Karen playing drums at all.

Background and recording

Prior to the album's recording, a search was made for a new Carpenters producer, prompted by the band's decreasing popularity and Richard Carpenter's struggle with production duties (caused by his addiction to sleeping pills).[1] However, according to Richard Carpenter, "not one major producer would sign on; radio was not quite as friendly at that time to our type of sound and to be honest, my track record on the whole was a tough act to follow. Accordingly, I remained producer, but I did try to approach this new project from a different angle, hence my selection of songs for this album made Passage a bit of a departure from our previous recordings."[1]

Richard Carpenter recalled that "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was "submitted to us by the publisher, and I immediately felt it was perfect for Karen, though now I feel differently, as I believe the song doesn't linger long enough in a lower register, a great area for Karen's voice. We contacted England's late, great Peter Knight to orchestrate the song, and two others on Passage. Peter flew to Los Angeles to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the recording. (Due to a contractual agreement their name was not allowed in the credits, hence the credit of the "Overbudget Philharmonic"). Between the 100-plus member "Phil" and the 50-voice Gregg Smith Singers, the recording session had to take place on the A&M Sound Stage and was then wired into Studio D."[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

AllMusic has retrospectively described the Carpenters' effort as "admirable even if most of the results aren't memorable or essential."[2] However, "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" was described as, "much more memorable...had a beat that one was accustomed to."

Track listing and personnel

Side one

1. "B'wana She No Home" (Michael Franks) – 5:36


2. "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" (Steve Eaton) – 3:47


3. "I Just Fall in Love Again" (Steve Dorff, Larry Herbstritt, Harry Lloyd, Gloria Sklerov) – 4:05


4. "On the Balcony of the Casa Rosada/Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice) – 8:13


Side two

1. "Sweet, Sweet Smile" (Juice Newton, Otha Young) – 3:02


2. "Two Sides" (Scott E. Davis) – 3:28


3. "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" (Norman Span) – 4:22


4. "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" (Terry Draper, John Woloschuk) – 7:06

Singles

  1. "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song"
  2. "I Have You"
  1. "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)
  2. "Can't Smile without You"
  1. "Sweet, Sweet Smile"
  2. "I Have You"
  1. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"
  2. "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[4] 48
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[5] 57
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[6] 7
UK Albums Chart[7] 12
United States Billboard Pop Albums[8] 49

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Gold 100,000^

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Carpenters: Passage album, 1977
  2. 1 2 Passage at AllMusic
  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. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". RPM. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Chart Stats - Carpenters - Passage". UK Albums Chart. Archived from the original (PHP) on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  8. ↑ Allmusic Carpenters > Passage > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
  9. ↑ "British album certifications – Carpenters – Passage". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-02-22. Enter Passage 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
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