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18. If I Had You (recorded 1980, released 1989) The day before she died, in February 1983, Karen Carpenter rang producer Phil Ramone to discuss “our fucking record” – the 1980 solo album her label refused to release. When its contents were unveiled on posthumous Carpenters’ albums, their decision appeared baffling, as evidenced by I Had You: her patent brand of melancholy given a smooth, shiny funk makeover. 17. Touch Me When We’re Dancing (1981) Made in America (1981) was a cautious return after a hiatus provoked by Richard Carpenter’s drug addiction and the ano...

R ichard and Karen Carpenter sit by the ocean, dressed in dinner-party duds and beaming directly into the camera lens, which is pulled to the softest possible focus. The photo on the cover of the Carpenters' 1970 album Close to You is like something you'd see hanging in a Sears portrait gallery (Richard himself hated it), and that gauzy, clean-cut image dogged the duo for years. A year later, the Carpenters' third LP would have nothing on its cream-colored jacket but the band's name, embossed in its now-iconic baroque font. That record, simply titled Carpenters, was released 50 years ag...