The formula behind the Carpenters' albums was starting to get fairly routine -- a hit single and an oldie or two (which sometimes was the single) surrounded by some well-produced soft pop/rock, driven by electric piano, strings, and a guitar solo or two cropping up. There's a Kind of a Hush and Breaking Up Is Hard to Do are the two most memorable tracks on this pleasant, well-sung, and well-played, but basically bland, album, A Kind of Hush. There are virtues here -- You has a good guitar solo by Tony Peluso, and the vocals on Sandy are radiant, but this record was where the real rot began to set into the Carpenters' fortunes, in terms of remaining connected to rock. Instead of covering Leon Russell's or Carole King's contemporary material, they're doing songs like Can't Smile Without You -- the latter is very sweetly sung by Karen Carpenter, and gets a lyrical but spare arrangement from Richard Carpenter, but they needed something more credible to the under-30 audience (and especially material that, if not attractive to guys in that age range, at least wouldn't make them self-conscious about listening to it with their girlfriends) on this album, and it wasn't here. If you close your eyes, it's possible to imagine Captain Tennille, not to mention Debby Boone, taking lessons from this release, although Karen's voice was still beyond comparison with any of them. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

1		There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)
2		You
3		Sandy
4		Goofus
5		Can't Smile Without You
6		I Need to Be In Love
7		One More Time
8		Boat to Sail
9		I Have You
10		Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

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