Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…

I’ve had a gut feeling for awhile that I’m going to find a Carpenters album that really knocks my socks off.

I have a soft spot for easy listening cheese when it’s done well, and especially when I really connect with the vocals. And Karen Carpenter, whatever else you think of her and her brother Richard, has an amazing voice.

I hoped that album would be their seventh release, A Kind of Hush, but it’s not quite the one. Richard himself is down on this album, blaming his pill addiction on the dip in quality.

Still, though it didn’t wow me, it’s far from a bust. The album features enjoyable covers of a trio of hits (‘There’s a Kind of Hush’ by Herman’s Hermits, Neil Sedaka’s ‘Breaking Up is Hard to Do,’ and ‘Can’t Smile Without You,’ originally recorded by David Martin but made popular a year later by Barry Manilow) and decent renditions of several lesser-known songs.

It really picks up on Side Two, which kicks off with ‘I Need To Be in Love,’ written by Richard Carpenter with John Bettis and Albert Hammond. This track, an ode to hopeful romantics, was Karen’s favorite Carpenters song.

I didn’t fulfill my Carpenters dream with A Kind of Hush, but I enjoyed it enough to be more certain that the right album is waiting for me. I vow to discover it this year!