CARPENTERS CLOSE TO YOU (2nd ALBUM) RARE ORIG'70 A&M LP IN SHRINK w/STICKER MINT

$

26

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  MORE THAN 60  LISTED ITEMS

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·      CARPENTERS - - CLOSE TO YOU  (THE DUO’S GROUNDBREAKING SECOND ALBUM) - ORIGINAL 1970 A&M RECORDS STEREO LP SP-4271

·      ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·      COLUMBIA RECORDS, PITMAN, NJ  PRESSING

·      ORIGINAL BROWN (TAN) A&M LABEL (60’s and early 70’s style)

·      THIS ALBUM CONTAINS ORIGINAL MIXES OF THESE CLASSIC SONGS – NOT THE REMIXES DONE IN 2004 BY RICHARD CARPENTER

·      THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·      THICK CARDBOARD COVER, AMERICAN STYLE.

·      COVER IS STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL SHRINK (CELLOPHANE) WRAP WITH A NIFTY STICKER STILL AFFIXED TO THE WRAP.

·      CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·      THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

 (►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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Hurriedly put together in the wake of the success of the title song, and containing the follow-up hit "We've Only Just Begun," Close to You is a surprisingly strong album, and not just for those hits. Richard Carpenter's originals "Maybe It's You" and "Crescent Noon" are superb showcases for Karen Carpenter's developing talent, the latter a superbly atmospheric, hauntingly beautiful art song of the kind that Judy Collins was doing well at the time, and gorgeously arranged. There's also a Swingle Singers-style number, "Mr. Guder," showing off their paired vocal talents and more of Richard's arranging talents. Karen's singing on "Reason to Believe" isn't so much somber as it is passionate, as she emphasizes the melancholy component in the song more than most versions. Their version of "Help" lacks the inventiveness of "Ticket to Ride," although it has some pleasing vocal flourishes. The finale, "Another Song," tries hard for a serious rock sound, especially in Karen's animated drumming, but it's her voice that stands out. Released amid the political turmoil of 1970, in the wake of the Cambodian incursion, Kent State, and the conservative backlash against the antiwar forces, there was no way that the rock press or the most politically active listeners were going to appreciate this record, but the fact that it had two huge hit singles and earned a gold record award raised their ire against the Carpenters, a problem that would dog the duo for most of its career. But the public bought, and kept on buying.

(REVIEW REPRINTED COURTESY OF BRUCE EDER, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

Despite being dismissed as being lightweight and poppy, the music of Richard and Karen Carpenter aged with infinite grace and (at one point in early-to-mid seventies) even outsold the Beatles. Karen's untimely death in 1983 changed all this; people started realizing that Carpenters created one of the more lasting bodies of work; songs that were incredibly well crafted, composed, arranged and executed; songs performed with uncanny sense of "economy of sound". General public started longing for Karen Carpenter's wonderful, one-of-a-kind, bell-like voice which will NEVER be replicated and duplicated; Richard's songwriting and arranging skills are also being seen in a new, more friendly light these days. Lately, Carpenters have been enjoying a well-deserved renewal in popularity and interest - and even somewhat of a cult status - and are more likely to be seen as one of three or four  (along with Bee Gees, Abba and Fleetwood Mac) decade-defining acts of the 70's. This is one of the finest in the string of their million-selling albums from the early 1970's and virtually defines the Carpenters aesthetics and sound.

TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY THIS GROUP OR ARTIST ►  CLICK HERE

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·      CONDITION:

·      THE RECORD

(IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)         WE GRADE THE VINYL AS NEAR MINT. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)         The record comes in the original stock inner sleeve.

(c)          The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

(d)         Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·                          THE COVER

COVER IS STRONG NEAR MINT,  STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL ►SHRINK WRAP

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-       Cover has a visible "wrinkle"(crease)  in one of the corners.   (VISIBLE ON BACK SIDE ONLY)

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

We offer three postage rates for domestic orders: USPS Media Mail, USPS Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail and three rates for international shipments:  USPS First Class, USPS Priority International Mail, and USPS Express International Mail (in a small number of cases, we will, at our discretion and for purely technical reasons, substitute First Class Mail with eBay's Global Shipping, which is fundamentally the same service at about the same cost). INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND (BUT DO NOT INSIST) that you select USPS International Priority Mail when making a payment.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from one region of  the world to another. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates, please click on " Shipping, returns, and payments" tab in the header of our listing.

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CRITICALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

(A) All orders valued at $50.00 or more will be shipped fully insured against loss, damage or theft by ShipCover, eBay's contracted insurer, at our expense (B) Yes, we do combine items into a single shipment; in order to enable this feature, the winning bidders should WAIT until their last item of interest ends and ONLY THEN make a payment. Doing otherwise will result in multiple shipments to the same customer and forfeiture of multiple shipping charges already paid. (C) Because we do not play-grade our items, we do not know how the purchased item will play on the buyer's equipment. We can only make reasonable inference on the record's playing condition based on its visual appearance. (D) This seller will NOT cancel erroneous, frivolous and prank bids. The bidders can do so on their own, by visiting eBay's Site Map, then clicking on Bid Retractions link. (E) This seller does not specifically grade or describe certain items, such as: shrink (cellophane) wrap and accompanying extras (inserts, booklets, etc.); however, the presence of these items WILL be noted and accompanied by the gallery photo(s). (F) Please do not submit any bids on our items if you have insufficient user history. (G) Other than in very rare justified cases, failure to pay for the item you won amounts to a fraud and will result in a permanent ban on bidding on our future listings. (H) We will NEVER deliberately, knowingly or willingly provide a false, deceitful or misleading information.

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE (POSTAGE INCLUDED) WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED; STILL SEALED ITEMS MUST BE RETURNED SEALED IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND.   NO EXCEPTIONS!

FINE (BUT IMPORTANT!) PRINT

 (1) The year indicated in the title bar is the year of the original release,  NOT necessarily the year of the actual pressing; for the actual generation of the pressing, please see our item description (top section, the text in red letters). (2) Please do NOT bid based on the title bar, subtitle bar or item specifics box alone; instead, please read the entire description before bidding; (3) Absolutely NO order cancellations after the auction closes. ever, under any circumstances. We can ONLY cancel bids before the item closes. (4) We are unable to provide matrix-, stamper- or other pressing  information in the final 24 hours of the auction. (5) All disagreements and miscommunications can be - and will only be - solved in a civil and mutually respectful manner; please avoid puerile, offensive, abrasive or menacing language (6) This seller will accommodate all reasonable requests and - unless seriously molested - is generally a flexible, pragmatic and agreeable person.

Our love & appreciation for your trust, loyalty and business, always and forever;  Thank You & Good Night!

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