It has been said that the strength of these recordings is what caused Richard Carpenter to ask his sister to front the band for their live performances instead of playing behind the drums.

Richard Carpenter's arrangement uses woodwinds as the perfect counterpoint to his own, sensitive electric piano playing.

In their review, Billboard noted that "Richard's sophisticated, contemporary arrangements and Karen's sparkling voice are the essence of the Carpenters' great success.

Oscar winner "For All We Know" and their current hit "Rainy Days And Mondays" are included, along with the Leon Russell-Bonnie Bramlett penned "Superstar" and a Bacharach/David medley which is a joy to hear.

"[12] The music of "Rainy Days and Mondays" was composed by Roger Nichols, and the lyrics were written by Paul Williams, who later recorded his own version of the song.

"(A Place To) Hideaway" is a song originally written and composed by Randy Sparks, the founder of the New Christy Minstrels, songwriter, performer and owner of a nightclub in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.

The Carpenters performed it on their television series, Make Your Own Kind of Music on August 10, 1971 on a set where Karen wears a white and red ensemble with a dark blue background with a big letter "K".

Later that year, the Carpenters performed it on The Andy Williams Show, with Karen in a lacy outfit with a blue background.

The video from The Andy Williams Show is not widely available, with the exception of snippets of their documentary, Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters.

James [Arthur] Griffin and Robb [Wilson] Royer of the popular '70s soft-rock group Bread petitioned the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to use their real names on their awards, but to no avail, as the published composer credits are under their respective pseudonyms.

Written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, "Superstar" had been made popular by Rita Coolidge in 1970, but the Carpenters' version, released as a single in August 1971, became an international hit.

In the liner notes for Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition, Richard writes that he saw Bette Midler singing the song on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and felt that it would be a perfect fit for Karen's voice.

The music of "One Love" was composed by Richard Carpenter, and the lyrics written by John Bettis, in the late 1960s, when both had jobs at Disneyland.