Ticket to Ride is the debut studio album by the American music duo Carpenters.
| Ticket to Ride/Offering | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Cover photo by Jim McCrary | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 9, 1969 (Offering) November 10, 1970 (Ticket to Ride) | |||
| Studio | A&M Studios (Los Angeles) | |||
| Genre | Pop, soft rock | |||
| Length | 36:52 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Jack Daugherty | |||
| Carpenters chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Original cover | ||||
 | ||||
| Singles from Offering | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [2] |
Background
The album is far more self-contained than subsequent Carpenters albums; excluding the orchestrations, bass by Joe Osborn and occasional guitar from Gary Sims, most of the instruments were played by Karen and Richard Carpenter themselves—drums and keyboards respectively—and 10 of the 13 songs were written by Richard and his lyricist John Bettis.
It also stands out from subsequent Carpenters albums in that the lead vocals are evenly split between the two band members; on later albums, Karen would perform most of the lead vocals and this is one of two albums where Karen provided virtually all of the drumming, the other being Now & Then, released in 1973.
Release
At the time of the album's initial release in 1969, it was issued under the title Offering, with a different cover photo. It was a commercial failure and produced only one minor hit single, a ballad version of the Lennon-McCartney song "Ticket to Ride".
After the Carpenters' subsequent breakthrough, however, the album was reissued internationally under the name Ticket to Ride and sold moderately.
Reception
In their review, Billboard noted that "brother and sister Richard and Karen Carpenter have come up with fresh and original concepts of music and singing in this debut LP on A&M. Richard's songs and arrangements, especially the overdubbing of his and Karen's voices, combine the best elements of pop, folk-rock, and jazz, and their version of the now classic "Get Together" makes it sound very new. With radio programming support, Carpenters should have a big hit on their hands."[4]
In a retrospective review, Allmusic stated that "Karen and Richard Carpenter issued a finely crafted record that moved effortlessly between Spanky & Our Gang-style pop/rock ("Your Wonderful Parade") and art-song. In some ways, Ticket to Ride is the Carpenters' most interesting album, for it contains a range of interests and sounds that were modified or abandoned on subsequent albums. The lushly orchestrated "Someday" is a brilliant showcase for Richard's arranging skills and the most dramatic side of Karen's voice - it points the way toward songs like "Crescent Noon" on the next album, and although that highly dramatic sound proved a blind alley, it did result in some ravishing performances by the duo."[5]
Track listing
All tracks written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Invocation" | Karen and Richard Carpenter | 1:04 | |
| 2. | "Your Wonderful Parade" | Richard Carpenter | 2:54 | |
| 3. | "Someday" | Karen Carpenter | 5:19 | |
| 4. | "Get Together" | Chet Powers | Richard Carpenter | 2:37 |
| 5. | "All of My Life" | Richard Carpenter | Karen Carpenter | 3:07 |
| 6. | "Turn Away" | Richard Carpenter | 3:12 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Ticket to Ride" | Lennon–McCartney | Karen Carpenter | 4:13 |
| 8. | "Don't Be Afraid" | Richard Carpenter | Karen Carpenter | 2:07 |
| 9. | "What's the Use" | Richard Carpenter | 2:43 | |
| 10. | "All I Can Do" | Karen Carpenter | 1:41 | |
| 11. | "Eve" | Karen Carpenter | 2:53 | |
| 12. | "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" | Neil Young | Richard Carpenter | 4:21 |
| 13. | "Benediction" | Karen and Richard Carpenter | 0:41 |
Personnel
- Richard Carpenter – lead and backing vocals, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, harpsichord
- Karen Carpenter – lead and backing vocals, drums, electric bass on "All of My Life" and "Eve"[6]
- Joe Osborn – bass
- Bob Messenger – bass
- Gary Sims – guitar on "All of My Life"
- Herb Alpert – shakers
- Technical
- Producer: Jack Daugherty
- Engineer: Ray Gerhardt
- Art director: Tom Wilkes
- Photographer: Jim McCrary
- Bernie Grundman, Richard Carpenter – remastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Charts
| Chart (1971–1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[7] | 19 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] | 88 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[9] | 20 |
| US Billboard 200[10] | 150 |
References
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