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Customer Reviews of Passage

At the album's center is the integrity and versatility of Karen's voice. She soars on "I just fall in love again" (which stands up next to Dusty Springfield and Anne Murray's versions), pulls off Michael Franks' funny "B'Wana She No Home", is quite convincing on "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" and on "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft", well . . . its so over the top does singing really matter?

Other than those songs and the sleek "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" you get cutesy numbers like "Sweet, Sweet, Smile" and "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" and some filler. These types of "ditties" are of course the fatal flaw of most of their albums which undermine Karen's interpretive gifts just to keep things "lite". As usual the production is clean and smooth and everything ticks along nicely, but it would be stronger with a few more songs. For example an R&B song or a standard would be interesting.

Alas, this is more cohesive and enjoyable than most of their similarly hodgepodge albums, because there's enough good material to compensate for occasional lapses in taste. I would recommend purchasing the "Yesterday Once More" compilation if you enjoy their music becuase that gives you the most thorough and accurate and overview without a lot of fluff.

The most eclectic collection of songs from the Carpenters
I live in a world where I do not, despite the insistence of so many others around me, have to make things up, so I remember the heated debate I had with a guy working in a music shop in Stratford-on-Avon over whether or not Karen Carpenter sang "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" on an album. Not only will you find the opening song from Act II of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Evita," you will even find some opera singer types doing the "On the Balcony of the Casa Rosada" set up for the song. Actually, the ornate presentation of the song (courtesy of arranger Peter Knight, who worked on the classic "Day sof Future Passed" with the Moody Blues) is at odds with the rest of the album, especially the cover of Klaatu's "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft." This is some accomplishment because "Passage" reflects more variety than what you will find on any other Carpenters album. We have the Calypso style "Man Smart, Woman Smarter," the melancholy "Two Sides," the countrified "Sweet, Sweet Smile," and the best song this time around, the relatively rocking "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song." The chief charm remains the voice of Karen Carpenter, who defined the sound of easy listening music during the Seventies. The big irony is that the Carpenters would make a big production out of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," setting up the dramatic moment in the musical, when Karen Carpenter is going to sing it pretty much like a ballad. Even so, the song is more than a curiosity and the album a pleasant surprise for those who never considered the Carpenters to be anything more than the musical equivalent of saccharine.

An Innovative and Refreshing Album/CD
As all the other reviewers have indicated, Passage was a departure of Karen and Richard. But it showed that they were capable of more than just great love songs. Every track on this CD displays an awesome production and great sound. I noticed that the singles released from this CD did not fare well in the US. They did perform much better in other parts of the world. Calling Occupants was a Top 10 single in both the UK and Australia. However, singles aren't everything. While this CD is not A Song for You or Now and Then, it doesn't try to be. It is unique in both variety and the boundaries which it seeks to stretch. To really enjoy this CD, one needs to listen to it more than once. I agree with a previous reviewer, in that this was the Carpenters Sgt Peppers and Pet Sounds.