WE CAN DREAM, CAN'T WE? {*Yeah, Sure.*}

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HORIZON
by The Carpenters
released: 1975
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Richard Carpenter has expressed a slight dissatisfaction with HORIZON, and although I am a HUGE fan of The Carpenters {*He exaggerates -- don't listen to him. He weighs about 165.*} I fear I must concur with Richard's assessment. This collection is akin to finding a few purebred Golden Retrievers running with a pack of common dogs. {*A really bad analogy, Stephen! Remember, man, this is the world's greatest singer you're talking about here.*}
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The album opens and closes with the very brief atmospheric mood pieces AURORA and EVENTIDE -- so good you're actually left disappointed that they weren't expanded. In between is the memorable but widely available hit ONLY YESTERDAY and the haunting SOLITAIRE. Unquestionably, the big knockout track here is the dreamy I CAN DREAM, CAN'T I? And this is really saying something when you consider that this collection also includes Karen's heartfelt reading of Frey & Henley's movingly plaintive and lyrically brilliant DESPERADO -- a song that would be the major highlight on any number of other albums! {*I have nothing to add to that paragraph. Nicely done, Stephen.*}
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Richard once lamented that had he only known how little time he and his sister would have together, they wouldn't have wasted any of it recording songs like BEECHWOOD 4-5789. And although it went to Number 1 on the U.S. charts and was a runaway monster in Japan {*You mean like Godzilla?*}, I have to believe that Richard would have included PLEASE, MR. POSTMAN in this lamentable category. It's just pure radio fluff, about as satisfying as a Popsicle! For me, the other three cuts -- HAPPY; (I'M CAUGHT BETWEEN) GOODBYE AND I LOVE YOU; and LOVE ME FOR WHAT I AM) -- are nearly equally forgettable.
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Oh, but did I mention I CAN DREAM, CAN'T I? {*Forgive him, folks. He's starting to get long in the tooth, and one's memory is always the first thing to go!*} It's bittersweet:
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Sweet in that Karen's exquisite, intimate voice and delicious delivery are perfectly framed by the crystalline, rock candy piano at the forefront and by the warm, melty, white chocolate strings in the background! {*Stephen, you hungry maybe?*} It's just GORGEOUS! A light wisp of smoke, tenderly wrapped in gauze and gently placed in a bed of softly folded lace.
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And it's bitter in that this is the only taste of it that we are ever going to get. Just a glimpse of an unrealized potential. What a treasure we would have possessed if The Carpenters had recorded an entire album of time-tested standards with similar stylistically luscious arrangements. It could have been called 'CLASSIC KAREN' and included songs such as Stardust; You Belong To Me; Misty; September Song; and Smokin' In The Boy's Room. {*SMOKIN' IN THE BOY'S ROOM??!!*} No, I meant Smoke On The Water. {*SAY WHAT?!*} Smoke Gets In Your Eyes? {*Yeah... well that's a little more like it. Man, they'll let just about anybody post reviews on Amazon.com, won't they?*}
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But I suppose it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. {*Good line, Stephen, but it sounds familiar.*}
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Alas, we're never going to get 'CLASSIC KAREN'. But still, we can listen to this one shimmering moment over and over, and we can dream, can't we? {*Yeah, I know he's kind of sappy, but you get used to him after awhile.*}
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In addition to the music, there are two REALLY NICE photos of Karen on the front and back cover {*Alright, Stephen, take it easy!*} and musically, the mountaintops are so majestic on this slightly uneven recording that they cast their shadows down into the valleys and render them passable. {*Was that sexual innuendo, Stephen?*}
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If you are new to The Carpenters, you could do worse than this collection. And if you are already a fan, then purchasing this compact disc should be on your immediate HORIZON. {*Ok, you done now? Let's log off, get out of these pajamas and go get something to eat already. Man, I'm starving!*}
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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