Track Listing

1. I Need to Be in Love
2. Solitaire
3. We've Only Just Begun
4. This Masquerade
5. You're the One
6. Superstar
7. Rainy Days and Mondays
8. Top of the World
9. Make Believe It's Your First Time
10. I Just Fall in Love Again
11. (They Long to Be) Close to You
12. For All We Know
13. Where Do I Go from Here?
14. Only Yesterday
15. All You Get from Love Is a Love Song
16. When I Fall in Love
17. Hurting Each Other
18. I Won't Last a Day Without You
19. Song for You
20. Goodbye to Love

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3892 in Music
• Released on: 1998-03-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
1997 release featuring 20 of their best loved ballads, including 13 of their 20 top 40 hits! Contains 'Solitaire', 'We've Only Just Begun', 'Superstar', 'Rainy Days And Mondays', 'Top Of The World', '(They Long To Be) Close To You', 'For All We Know', 'Only Yesterday', 'Hurting Each Other', 'Goodbye To Love' and much more! An A&M release.

Amazon.com
There was a time, before Karen Carpenter was born, when most American female popular singers, even the black ones, sounded a lot like the way she would one day sound. The music of singer-drummer Carpenter and her piano-playing brother Richard came to be called soft rock, but it's really just good, straight American pop. This CD, released in March 1998, is a collection of greatest hits, with a special emphasis on romance. Paul Williams, Burt Bacharach, Sam Lewis, and Victor Young provide lovely melodies, and Carpenter's expressive voice makes each song genuinely affecting. --Stanley Booth

Customer Reviews

Keep Love Songs Close to You
I am almost willing to bet the house that this album has brought a hefty percentage of its listeners to tears. It's almost impossible not to cry when you hear Karen Carpenter sing. It's near heart-wrenching to imagine this lovely, attractive woman whose vocal chords emitted perhaps the sweetest, purest sound of her day -- and, perhaps of today -- starving herself to death. In each track on this album, one can't help but hear the agony in Karen's voice. Her misery was our gift, for her ability to emote through music can stir the emotions of even the most cynical among us. In Karen's music, she's often expressing the emotions that so many feel but never admit: longing, lonliness, love, desperation, hurt, and the list goes on. Much like the illness anorexia nervosa which claimed her life, the depth of this particular musical compilation can be overwhelming. One cannot help but wish, "If only someone could have done somethingt to help her." While that's a moot point, her talent should serve as motivation enough to be understanding and supportive of those who battle with eating disorders. When Karen Carpenter died, the world lost a musical wonder. Yet, her genius lives on in the form of her music, and this album in particular, showcases her gifts to tremendous effect.

I Love This CD!!!
I have loved listening to Karen Carpenter's voice since I was a little girl. However, from my teen years until I was about 30, I had forgotten about the Carpenters & just how great their music was.

Then, about 5 years ago, my husband had this CD playing in our car - and I fell in love with this music all over again! This particular CD has ALL of my favorite Carpenter's songs on it, so I play it quite often.

If you ever loved the Carpenter's, or just adore love songs, then this CD is for you. I only wish Karen was still around to create more great music with her brother - they made an amazing team!

No way am I the biggest Carpenters fan, but...
...listen to the music, listen to the songs, listen to Karen's voice. And then try to say that they ain't great performances. ...this is a primo collection of some of the best music ever made by the duo...or by anyone else, for that matter. I always loved thier rendition of Sedaka's "Solitaire"...and "Goodbye to Love" is one of the greatest tunes ever recorded, in my humble opinion. This is chocked full of tunes you know all the words to and that you already love. It is truly deserving of an Amazon.com double five star rating...and that is no lie. Get it, now.