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Post by Rick Henry on Nov 22, 2007 9:49:03 GMT -5
Thanksgiving is here, and what other song but "Sometimes" sung so eloquently by Karen. Like the song, a time to remember people we see all the time and take for granted, but should reflect and appreciate. I second that emotion... today my song of the day is "Sometimes"... Sometimes not often enough We reflect upon the good things And those thoughts always center around those we love And I think about those people who mean so much to me And for so many years have made me so very happy And I count the times I have forgotten to say thank you And just how much I love them
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Post by beaner on Nov 25, 2007 20:17:43 GMT -5
Today I pick "Those Good Old Dreams". Why? Just because....
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makapipi
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Post by makapipi on Nov 28, 2007 0:41:01 GMT -5
I found "Beechwood 456789" song/video kind of fun song. I like the part "Just takey your time" I think "takey" was sung like that to make the words of the lyric flow better. I have never heard any song where the word was changed a little, except for words like "and" to ann and other short words like that. "Takey" sounds almost asian, like when you go the Korean store and she says "here takey your change" Actually it makes sense now because Karen sang "Sing" partly in Japanese in 1974 "Live at Budokan" and so during the process they thought, hey why not change this word take to takey. Only the Carpenters would add this kind of variety into their music.
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Post by Rick Henry on Nov 28, 2007 1:58:39 GMT -5
I found "Beechwood 456789" song/video kind of fun song. I like the part "Just takey your time" I think "takey" was sung like that to make the words of the lyric flow better. I have never heard any song where the word was changed a little, except for words like "and" to ann and other short words like that. "Takey" sounds almost asian, like when you go the Korean store and she says "here takey your change" Actually it makes sense now because Karen sang "Sing" partly in Japanese in 1974 "Live at Budokan" and so during the process they thought, hey why not change this word take to takey. Only the Carpenters would add this kind of variety into their music. That's pretty funny Makapipi... but I think Karen is actually saying "just take-uh your time". Often times Karen would add an "uh" at the end of a word to give it that musical flow. Speaking of song of the day... mine is the rockin and rollin "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing"... I really love the vocal harmonies on this song and Richard's ecstatic electric piano solo... this is easily one of Carpenters' most diverse songs. It is also one of their very finest musical arrangements... one which has caught the attention of a wide circle of music lovers... Richard truly had a vision, early on, to create a unique sound... and he was very successful at it right from the beginning.
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sunnybunny
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Post by sunnybunny on Nov 28, 2007 17:04:03 GMT -5
I agree.The 'just takey your time' gave it sort of a 50s-60s feel like in the music video.Sort of reminds me of something of 'Donny and Marie'.lol Not to bring this off the Carpenters,just a thought.
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Post by Rick Henry on Nov 29, 2007 8:21:19 GMT -5
I agree.The 'just takey your time' gave it sort of a 50s-60s feel like in the music video.Sort of reminds me of something of 'Donny and Marie'.lol Not to bring this off the Carpenters,just a thought. I had to go back and listen to "Beechwood 4-5789" to hear the "take" thing and I can see how it may sound like Karen is saying "takey"... but she is actually saying "take-uh". It actually sounds more like "takey" in the background vocals... but that could be because the backing vocals are slightly tweaked a bit with studio wizardry. My Carpenters song of the day is "B'wana She No Home"... One I've chosen before. I choose this song for it's extreme musicianship. As with "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" this song is one of Carpenters' finest musical moments... no Donny and Marie here (sorry... but Carpenters are far more advanced, musically and vocally, than Donny and Marie ever were). "B'wana She No Home" is much akin to jazz master Grover Washington Jr's "Mister Magic" era... this is jazz-fusion at it's best. I really feel Richard wanted to experiment more in the jazz-fusion genre... but of course being tied to the "powers that be" I'm sure he had to limit his experimentalism. I also like the song because it was written by smooth-jazz great Michael Franks. Some of us remember Franks for his novelty tune "Popsicle Toes" (which by the way was remade by Diana Krall about ten years ago). My favorite part of "B'wana She No Home" is Tony Peluso's electrifying progressive jazz guitar chords and of course Karen's dry yet boldly authoritative vocal. Certainly a treat amongst Carpenters gems.
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sunnybunny
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Post by sunnybunny on Nov 29, 2007 9:42:31 GMT -5
I get your point.The Carpenters sang more of those slow ballads while Donny and Marie sang songs that were kind of goofy.
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Post by Rick Henry on Dec 10, 2007 21:53:32 GMT -5
I get your point.The Carpenters sang more of those slow ballads while Donny and Marie sang songs that were kind of goofy. Sunnybunny... please let me correct my comment here... This is not to take away from Donny and Marie... as for what they did they were just fine and they certainly have talent... both fine vocalists in their own right... I apologize if I misrepresented myself in this comment. A lot of people try to compare Donny and Marie to Carpenters because they're both brother and sister acts... and I guess I take a bit of offense to that only because Carpenters not only did those deep dark slow ballads but they were musicians to the extreme... they were not only good at what they did... but are considered to be some of the very best of the best... and Karen Carpenter wasn't only a very good singer... she is considered to be one of the world's finest vocalists of all-time... her name is often mentioned with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Patsy Cline, Dusty Springfield, Annie Lennox... you get the point. Carpenters did a wide variety of styles and they did them with originality and authenticity. When they did a 40's styled song it wasn't just "fluff" they would produce the real thing case in point... listen to "I Can Dream Can't I" from the album "Horizon"... this is a fantastically produced song which has real soul and some muscle behind it... granted it's tender muscle... but still muscle... this was not a "washed down" recording of a group trying to do a 40's styled song... this was the real thing. Jazz was another genre they specialized in. They've done many jazz styled recordings true to the genre... my favorite example is the song "B'wana She No Home" from the album "Passage". "B'wana..." is a jazz fusion song recorded with some of the finest jazz musicians in the business and produced with complete authenticity... again this is the real thing... not a pop group trying to do jazz fusion... musically this song fits right in with something Grover Washington Jr would have done in 1975. Carpenters were big fans of Dave Brubeck who was an innovator in the jazz fusion movement. If you're interested in finding out more about what jazz fusion is here is a link with some good info... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_fusionThen we have country... Carpenters were so good at country music that they reached the top ten on the country charts with "Sweet Sweet Smile". The song "Those Good Old Dreams" has been a popular country night club tune for over twenty years. And disco too... that's where Karen Carpenter solo comes in... granted her solo album is not a disco album... it's more of a smooth jazz meets funk album... with some power-pop, disco, country and ballads... but those disco tunes are some of the very best disco tunes ever recorded (anyway I think they are). Karen employed Rod Temperton from the band Heatwave (famous for the disco tunes "Boogie Nights" and "The Groove Line" and the funk ballad "Always And Forever). with Rod Temperton and members from the band Brothers Johnson and jazz great Bob James (amongst others) she was able to produce some very solid tunes and the disco tunes were along the lines of what you would hear on Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album... which by the way Rod Temperton also worked on. Again Karen's disco was not a pop singer's watered down version of disco... hers was the real thing... with chunky guitar riffs and heavy percussive rhythms. Someone on this forum once compared her disco tunes to Donna Summer's style of disco... it's disco with elements of rock music. I wouldn't call Donny and Marie goofy... but Karen and Richard are in a whole different ballpark.
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sunnybunny
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Post by sunnybunny on Dec 11, 2007 9:40:12 GMT -5
Okay.I understand your point now.
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Post by Rick Henry on Dec 12, 2007 0:46:22 GMT -5
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Post by ps11932 on Jan 19, 2008 20:31:48 GMT -5
I found quite a bit of inspiration today from "When You've Got What It Takes", from Made In America. Though not amaong the musical masterpieces of the group in comparison with most of the other work, it is nevertheless well done and the words offer some good encouragement and hope, especially when a prolonged stage of challenge and doubt comes.
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makapipi
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Post by makapipi on Feb 15, 2008 1:58:25 GMT -5
Valentines day song of the day , the sensual "Slow Dance" from the Lovelines cd
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Post by Rick Henry on Feb 15, 2008 10:06:35 GMT -5
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makapipi
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Post by makapipi on Jun 14, 2008 1:55:42 GMT -5
Superstar... the radio guy said "Superstar with Karen Carpenter" then the song played. so nice.
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Post by ps11932 on Jun 19, 2008 15:25:37 GMT -5
No doubt- "Superstar" is a great choice and one of the most noteworthy of all Carpenters songs; very haunting, and superbly done. It has enjoyed a general surge in popularity over the past year or so it seems, and it just might be more popular 50 years from now than it is today.
It is about 4 years now since my interest in The Carpenters was revived and I nominate as song of the day "For All We Know." Though it is not really one of my personal favorites overall it will always have a place in my heart because it was the first number on the copy of "Singles" that I heard on that great summer night. There was something in the voice (the pronounciation of the word "two" jumped out at me)and composition that so compelled me that I knew right away I had chosen (or perhaps been chosen) to be a Carpenters fan for life.
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Post by Rick Henry on Jun 19, 2008 20:58:04 GMT -5
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Jun 20, 2008 9:31:42 GMT -5
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Post by enigma on Jun 21, 2008 20:02:11 GMT -5
My SOTD will be Love Is Surrender this short number has always brought my spirits up and I consider it on of the Carpenters upbeat numbers I especially love the lyrics of the last verse it has an almost political message love ending wars an interesting concept. Musically and lyrically a real upbeat nice song and all in just over two minutes. I really love this song! BTW Rick your smileys don't appear to be working my signature no longer appears in picture form it just has the text maybe itsa just my computor but I do not see any pictures in my signature.
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