So, you’re thinking to yourself, “The Carpenters? Whoa, dagorama sister!� are you?

Sure the image of the Carpenters was one of sugar-coated, soft focus, cheesy grinning, ever-so-wholesome “goody four shoes�-ness, but look beyond all that to what they did to the music they performed and you shouldn’t help but be impressed. With a string of hits such as (They Long to Be) Close to You, Yesterday Once More, We’ve Only Just Begun, For All We Know, Top of the World, Only Yesterday and the surprisingly dark Superstar (made even darker some years later in spectacular style by Sonic Youth), the brother and sister team of Karen and Richard had a captivating line in layered harmonies which could make the hardest of ears go kind of gooey and mooshy. They have also left a legacy of classic pop tunes which many are finally discovering for themselves years later. Sure, they didn’t write much of the stuff they performed, however Richard’s arrangements and THAT amazing vocal production often sent otherwise pedestrian songs soaring to great heights. If you have any doubts, just ask Burt Bacharach his thoughts on what they did with Close to You...

And if you snuggle up on the couch, hug a nicely foofed-up cushion to your bosom and pop on Close to You – Remembering the Carpenters, you can hear Burt’s thoughts for yourself. He is one of many famous interviewees presented in this pleasingly open and frank documentary, along with the likes of Herb Alpert, Petula Clark, Paul Williams, Les Paul and an array of former band members and journalists. The main interview subject, however, is Richard Carpenter himself. Recorded in recent times, he leads us through the history of he and his sister’s creation from their childhood right through to Karen’s tragic death by heart attack at the age of just 32, brought on by her battle with the then scarcely publicised disease anorexia nervosa. These interviews are punctuated by much in the way of more interesting visual accompaniment, with portions of promotional clips, on the road footage and all manner of television appearances, ranging from the ‘60s through to their very own TV specials of the late ‘70s.

Almost all the hits are covered (‘almost’ as strangely and disappointingly there is no mention of their fabulously silly anthem for World Contact Day, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft – which was penned by the rather curious band Klaatu, who critics swore at the time were actually The Beatles), although none appear in their entirety. All the highs and lows of their lives are covered as well, from rejections to marriages, drug problems (yes, really!) to Grammy Awards (presented by Keith and Mrs Partridge no less!) and funerals to world tours. It goes without saying that this is a must for any Carpenters fan, however others interested in gorgeous harmonies and simply music documentaries of any form will find much to please within the confines of this little shiny disc.

For a conglomeration of all manner of file footage, dating back to the early ‘60s at times, the visual quality on offer in this full frame presentation remains quite impressive throughout. There’s quite a bit of video footage taken from TV broadcasts which certainly doesn’t look its 30 years or so vintage, although some of the archival filmed sequences demonstrate the levels of grain, fuzziness and weak colour that anybody who checks out the odd documentary such as this will be well accustomed to. With no obvious faults, and reasonable presentation throughout, things scrub up rather aptly squeaky-ish clean.

The same old applies for the audio, the Dolby Digital stereo mix provided uses both stereo and mono sources, so quality varies throughout. Release versions of songs come up very well, leading to the suspicion that they’ve been dubbed from better sources than the original video they accompany, whilst some original live performances can be a little on the fuzzy side. All latter day interview segments are perfectly clear and easily discernable, whilst most of the archival stuff is also well presented. Synch is mostly fine, although some of the clips where songs are mimed show up a few anomalies; naturally this is no fault with the disc.

A respectable amount of extras have been assembled for this release, in what is quite a fun little treasure trove to wander through. First up is an 11:36 featurette entitled Carpenters at the White House. Guess what? Yes! Kazza and Dick got to meet another Dick, one Nixon, on two occasions – once a general meeting where they exchanged banalities, another an appearance at a function for a German dignitary which, unknown at the time, was right amidst the time of the whole Watergate debacle. Neither the video or audio quality is super flash, but this certainly is an interesting curio regardless. A selection of 30 or so second Japanese television adverts follows, one for a brand of chocolate and two for the very aptly named soft drink Suntory Pop. There’s a photo montage which plays through for just over eight minutes, accompanied by the duo’s Yesterday Once More, a dreadfully bland muzak version, and a short and rather curious remix. Rounding out the package is a 30-second radio spot for station KFRC (accompanied by stills), a 21-page discography simply showing album covers and the seemingly inescapable Umbrella Propaganda in the form of the covers of four other recent music releases.

In all this is a thorough, entertaining and well-researched documentary. And as for those doubters out there, when the Carpenters number unashamed fans including the likes of Sonic Youth (who even wrote a song about Karen, Tunic), The Mavis’s, The Sugarcubes, Matthew Sweet and Redd Kross I’m certainly not embarrassed to be a resident of Dag City.