Track Listing:

1. There’s A Kind Of Hush 2:57 (Reed/Stephens)
2. You 3:45 (Edelman)
3. Sandy 3:38 (Carpenter/Bettis)
4. Goofus 3:32 (King/Harold/Kahn)
5. Can’t Smile Without You 3:26 (Arnold/Martin/Morrow)
6. I Need To Be In Love 3:47 (Carpenter/Bettis/Hammond)
7. One More Time 3:30 (Anderson)
8. Boat To Sail 3:29 (DeShannon)
9. I Have You 3:25 (Carpenter/Bettis)
10. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do 2:34 (Sedaka/Greenfield)

Album Credits:

There’s A Kind Of Hush:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger
Harp: Gayle Levant

You:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gayle Levant

Sandy:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Cubby O’Brien
Flute & Clarinet: Tom Scott
Flute: Bob Messenger
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant & Dorothy Remsen

Goofus:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Cubby O’Brien
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Tenor Sax & Cheek Pop: Bob Messenger
Tuba: Wes Jacobs

Can’t Smile Without You:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Harp: Gayle Levant
Whistle: Doug Strawn

I Need To Be In Love:
Vocals by Richard & Karen Carpenter and the MOR Chorale
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant
English Horn: Earl Dumler
Flute: David Shostic

One More Time:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Oboe: Earl Dumler

Boat To Sail:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Vibes: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Guitars: Tony Peluso

I Have You:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gayle Levant

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do:
Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Jim Gordon
Baritone Sax: Jim Horn
Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger
Guitars: Tony Peluso
Harp: Gayle Levant

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Produced by: Richard Carpenter
Associate Producer: Karen Carpenter
Arranged & Orchestrated by: Richard Carpenter
All Vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Engineered by: Ray Gerhardt
Assistant Engineer: Dave Iveland
Mastering Engineer: Frank DeLuna
Art Direction: Roland Young
Photography: Ed Caraeff
Album Concept and Design: J. Scarkino & Co.
Special Thanks to Ed Sulzer, Ron Gorow and John Bettis

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Following HORIZON, the seventh studio album from Carpenters was A KIND OF HUSH. Featuring classy packaging with its wood-grain, window-pane theme, classy custom labels, and even logo-printing on the interior of the jacket, A KIND OF HUSH is a bit of a hit and miss affair.

“There’s A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)” as the title track became the first single, molded as a sort of sequel to the #1 hit “Please Mr. Postman”, but it only managed a #12 on the Billboard pop charts as even fans began to be fatigued by the barrage of older material. And this album not only had the oldie title track, but incredibly a remake of Neil Sedaka’s ’60s hit of “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”.

A more personal-sounding song and later fan favorite “I Need To Be In Love” followed as the second single, but only managed a #25 peak position (though it reached #1 on the adult contemporary chart). Things really begin to go off the rails with the third single, “Goofus”, a head-scratching choice all the way around that placed no better than #56.  Such was the power of Carpenters at the time that even a strange song choice like “Goofus” would chart at all.

Some of the album tracks like “You”, “Sandy”, and “One More Time” are looked upon more favorably than the singles. “Can’t Smile Without You” was reworked with slightly different opening lyrics just for the privilege of being a b-side to a later single (“Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft”).

When A KIND OF HUSH was first issued on CD by A&M in the ’80s, it featured two changes from its vinyl days. First up is the 1985 remix of the title track. Later, instead of the “I Need To Be In Love” original album mix, a shorter 1985 remix was substituted. These were changed back to the original vinyl mixes for the Remastered Classics version in 1998, and a few cymbal hits that had been missing from “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” on both vinyl and the old A&M CD were now present. On the Remastered Classic, the song “You” was slowed down for some reason.

Original promotional ad for this album: