Zack: Close to You is a good, nondescript '70s pop album. Let’s get that out of the way first. It’s an enjoyable enough listen, I’m sure it was plenty influential, and although I didn’t love it by any stretch of the imagination I have absolutely no problem with its inclusion. Now that all that is covered, let’s talk about Mr. Guder. I didn’t really like the song, but even on a first listen I could tell it was a weird tonal shift. Up to that point, like 80% of the songs had been love songs and 90% had been covers. And then we get to Mr. Guder and I’m wondering if I just heard the word robot. Did I hear that right? Turns out I did, because The Carpenters apparently wrote a song mocking their old boss at Disneyland and named it directly after him. No fake name or anything like that. Basically, they pioneered the diss track. What a legendary “fuck you” moment! I wish I was musically talented because there are definitely like 2-3 former bosses in my life that need '70s-pop-based middle fingers.
Favorite Tracks: (They Long to Be) Close to You; Crescent Moon; We’ve
Only Just Begun
Emily: The cover art on Close to You pretty much epitomizes what the album sounds like. You have a '70s-ish font and a picture of a young '70s couple looking like they're posing for the photo to accompany their engagement announcement in a local newspaper. She's wearing a flower-child flowy white dress with a middle part in her hair that looks like the same style my aunt had as a teenager, and the guy has a brown blazer, a shirt with a giant pointy collar, and a feathered Partridge Family 'do. They're sitting on some rocks with a river and a mountain in the background. The overall effect is wholesome, pleasant, and somewhat generic. And that's exactly what I thought of this album. It was an enjoyable listen and certainly a product of its time, but I know it's not going to stick with me.
Favorite Tracks: (They Long to Be) Close to You; Baby It's You; Love is Surrender
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