SPINDALE — It was, indeed, “white lace and promises — a kiss for luck and we’re on our way,” as lead singer Lisa Rock expertly and passionately “channeled” the vocals — and the spirit — of singer-extraordinaire Karen Carpenter in her smashing tribute concert “Close to You: The Music of The Carpenters” on April 16 at The Foundation Performing Arts Center at Isothermal Community College.

The show’s two sets, split by a 20-minute intermission, lasted 60 minutes and 40 minutes, respectively. There also was a five-minute encore. The performance drew 427 people — more than a few of whom left misty-eyed after hearing Rock’s superb vocal salute to Karen Carpenter, who an unnamed music writer at dangerousminds.net website described as taking “me to that happy safe place when I was young and everything seemed possible.” The show concluded The Foundation’s 2015-16 Salon Series — its 17th year of hosting shows.

Among the highlights were a near-note-perfect rendition of the starry-eyed crush song “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” The Carpenters’ breakout song that was its first No. 1 hit; as well as a lovely, layered and fired-up rendition of “Sing” and — my personal favorite of the show — a rendition of The Carpenters’ ethereal cover of The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride.” (In a web posting on the YouTube website of The Carpenters’ “Ticket to Ride,” Tony Alexander wrote of Karen’s vocals, “God must have had to have that perfect voice back, to teach angels how to sing.”)

Rock, also a playwright, was superb in singing the Karen Carpenter leads that are in a contralto vocal range — and an unexpected treat was the beautiful harmonies by her two backup singers (Melissa Minyard and Micky York), serving as a mesmerizing counterpoint to Rock’s searing leads that were aided by her four-octave range. 

(Karen Carpenter reportedly had a three-octave range — and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney once said she was, in his opinion, the greatest-ever female singer. She was 5-foot-4 and, in the early days of the group, was the drummer as well as lead singer.)

Karen’s brother Richard, the other half of the Grammy Award-winning duo (and the lone survivor), was a record producer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, occasional lyricist, and composer. Richard also joined with Karen on harmony vocals — and played keyboards on stage – to produce what repeatedly has been described as “unabashedly catchy pop music” that captured the attention of a generation.

“The thing about Karen Carpenter’s voice is that it’s magically haunting and soothing, captivating and mysterious, light and dark,” Lori Melton of Axis website wrote. “She engages listeners and draws them into an intimate space to hold what equates to a close conversation with a cherished friend. Carpenters songs resonate with all kinds of emotion, including happiness, sorrow, longing, loss and love.”

During a career that spanned 14 years, The Carpenters recorded 11 albums and 31 singles that spawned three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles, five No. 2 singles and 15 Adult Contemporary No. 1 hits.

At one point during the show, Rock, who is not a drummer, tapped out a nifty rhythm or two on the drums, much to the delight of both her highly skilled, six-piece, Chicago-based band — and the audience. While Karen’s skills as a drummer earned admiration from drumming luminaries and peers, she is best-known — by far — for her vocal performances, Rock noted.

Another positive in the show were the many bits of history and trivia that Rock shared about The Carpenters in general and Karen in particular. Also laudable was the show’s efforts to raise money for eating disorder awareness and treatment. Karen died tragically at age 32 in 1983 from heart failure caused by complications related from anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder from which she suffered that was little known at the time.

Her death led to increased visibility and awareness of eating disorders. After Karen’s death, singer-actress Olivia Newton-John, who was considered one of Karen’s best friends (maybe the best), discussed in public how she might have encouraged Karen to seek help sooner. Karen Carpenter is the most famous person to have ever died of anorexia.

“We all know Karen died from anorexia,” Rock said later in the show, but “ we don’t want her to be remembered for that, but (rather) for her golden voice.” She noted that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her group’s CDs go to the anorexia foundation.

On the critical side, the choice of the encore, “A Song for You,” might have been appropriate — if the tribute show’s creators only wanted to leave that sweet sentiment in the crowd’s thoughts as the show ended. However, it was a weak finale for what was otherwise a delightful, dynamic show. Alas, the night ended with a whimper instead of a much-deserved bang.

Also, the show’s choice to perform — as the second song of the night — “We’ve Only Just Begun,” one of the greatest Carpenters songs, was decidedly premature. The crowd was just warming up, as was the singer and the band, when the enormously popular song was performed. (Of course, it must be tempting to put a song with such a name at the beginning of a show. No doubt, the crowd would have enjoyed it much more later in the show.)

Also, even though Christmas is increasingly distant, it was a shame that the show left out a performance of “Merry Christmas, Darling,” which remains one of the most-cherished holiday classics in which Karen’s angelic voice glides through a wistful song about missing a loved one at Christmas.

The show began with the song “Yesterday Once More,” after which Rock welcomed the audience with an enthusiastic, “”Good evening, Spindale!” The crowd cheered loudly in response. 

Then, in an unusual move for any group (after playing just one song), Rock introduced the members of her six-piece band. The band included a pianist, bassist, percussionist, a “reed” specialist (who played flute, clarinet, saxophone and other instruments), keyboardist/backup male singer and a tamborinist/backup female singer. Pianist Ken McMullen, who also is the band leader, performed on The Foundation’s Steinway piano, over which both Rock and McMullen expressed delight several times during the show. 

Rock said that she grew up in Warren, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, and was exposed to a lot of different kinds of music as she was growing up — thanks to her parents’ eclectic tastes. She said she always especially loved the songs by The Carpenters — and particularly the singing of Karen Carpenter.

Rock noted that the next song, “We’ve Only Just Begun,” was one of the Carpenters’ biggest hits” and was inspired by a bank commercial. The applause for the second song of the night was fairly strong, but nothing like one would expect after hearing such a splendid rendition of one of the duo’s greatest songs.

Next, Rock said that “The Carpenters also covered a lot of songs by others, resulting in major hits, as the group launched into  “There’s a Kind of a Hush” by Herman’s Hermits; Delaney and Bonnie’s “Superstar,” a song which prompted singer Bette Middler to mock Karen’s wholesome image; and “Rainy Days and Mondays,” written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams; and a song that became a No. 1 hit three separate times — “Please, Mr. Postman.” It first topped the charts in 1961 as performed by The Marvelettes, and then again in 1963 with The Beatles. The Carpenters’ version was a mega-hit in 1975 — and the Spindale audience clapped along enthusiastically to the tribute group’s rendition of “Please, Mr. Postman” and applauded mightily after it was finished.

Then the show featured a performance of “For All We Know,” for which the duo won an Oscar — the song hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening chart. The song was written by the group Bread for the 1970 film “Lovers and Other Strangers.” 

Also memorable from the first set was “Only Yesterday,” which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts in 1975.

The first set ended with a high note, with an ethereal rendition of the Carpenters’ cover of “Ticket to Ride” and a slightly rearranged “Sing.”

“Ticket to Ride” featured Rock front and center, flanked by her two backup singers, with just piano accompaniment. Rock said that The Carpenters “were great Beatles fans” and that their cover of “Ticket to Ride” reached No. 54 and it was their first song to make the charts.

During “Sing,” the audience was invited to sing the lead, followed by the two backup singers, then Rock finally — after teasing the crowd with her delay — sang Karen’s part.

The second set began with The Carpenters’ cover of  “When I Fall in Love,” followed by “It’s Going to Take Some Time.” (On the latter, Rock spoke of  Ella Fitgerald’s friendship with Karen and the Carpenters’ record 15 No. 1 hits — “the best ever done” — and that it took Elton John 40 years to match that feat.)

Rock told how she suffered from appendix problems before a show near Cleveland, as an introduction to two songs — “Hurting Each Other” and “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” 

She then did a Carpenters country hit, “Top of the World,” which hit No. 2 on the country charts. Rock noted that Olivia Newton-John, who originally was a country singer from Australia, was not greeted warmly when she first arrived in Nashville — and that Lynn Anderson was the only musician who warmly reached out in welcome to her. Soon afterward, Karen and Olivia met at a nightclub in London and were fast friends ever since, Rock said. 

Next, Rock said that Tony Peluso joined The Carpenters on “Goodbye to Love” for a studio session in 1972 and stayed with the band after that. He even rejected an offer to join Paul McCartney and Wings because he liked Karen and Richard — and the music they performed — so much. The tribute group then launched into “Goodbye to Love,” which featured Peluso who was notable for his “fuzz” guitar-playing.

At that point, Rock said that the group would play Karen’s favorite Carpenters song, “I Need to Be in Love,” noting that Karen had difficulties in dealing with love with men. For instance, she reportedly desperately wanted to have children, but in 1980 she finally married someone (real-estate developer Thomas James Burris on Aug, 31, 1980) who, it later was revealed, concealed from her that he had had a vasectomy. That marriage is thought to have broken Karen’s spirit — and was the worst thing that could have happened to her, Rock said.

The regular show closed with a spectacularly moving “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” after which the audience gave the tribute group a loud and sustained standing ovation, prompting the band members to return to the stage to sing “A Song for You.” That prompted another standing ovation, but Rock told the audience, “Thanks, again, for spending your night with us,” as the group bowed, waved and departed the stage permanently.

Afterward, Rock and her bandmates signed autographs in the lobby outside the auditorium, at which time she spoke to the Asheville Daily Planet a bit about her tribute show, her charity effort and her thoughts on the Karen Carpenter.

“So Karen said the biggest thing in her life was love,” Rock said in the post-concert interview. Also notable was that she and Richard recorded “(They Long to Be) Close To You” when “she was just 18” years old.

Further, she noted, “Karen … everyone called her ‘the voice of an angel.’ She just wanted to make music… For Karen, that never stopped. She call herself ‘a drummer who sings’ — she was a phenomenal drummer.” With a quick laugh, Rock quipped that, in contrast, “I’m a singer who sings.”

As for the anorexia issue, Rock said, “We didn’t want to make it public” that the show is raising money for the anorexia foundation, but did so anyway. Controversy is involved because some “people are literally (going) hungry right now. We’re fully aware” of the different aspects of the issue that make it complex.

As for why “We’ve Only Just Begun” was performed so early in the show, Rock said, “Because it has the longest sustained notes.” Because the song is such a challenge to sing, she wanted to do it right after the opening, so that she would have sufficient time to recover to sing some of the other complex songs later in the show.