Karen Carpenter: Makin' Love in the Afternoon

Karen Carpenter
'Makin' Love in the Afternoon'

from Karen Carpenter (1980)

You can't go wrong with the bouncy pop sound of this track from Karen Carpenter's one and only solo album, which was recorded during 1979 and 1980, and featured contributions from a lineup of accomplished musicians. It's the very embodiment of how well-produced, frothy, and feel-good a pop song from that era could be. 

The story goes that A & M record executives Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss considered the album unmarketable, and refused to release it. Not until 1996 (Carpenter died in 1983) was 'Karen Carpenter' released.

'Makin' Love in the Afternoon' features backing vocals by Chicago's Peter Cetera, and a fine saxophone solo.

In my opinion, the song - and indeed, all of the songs on the album - compare very well to the material being released by today's female vocalists.