Looking at the albums - "Carpenters"

[Rob813]

The release of Carpenters third album, the self titled "Carpenters" was on May 14, 1971. Many consider this to be the best of their albums. It contains three singles that are also considered among their best, "For All We Know", "Rainy Days and Mondays", and "Superstar". Let's take a look at its' contents.

Rainy Days and Mondays (Paul Williams / Roger Nichols) - Released on April 23, 1971 it went to #2 on the charts and was the second Williams/Nichols song to do so within one year. (The other of course being "We've Only Just Begun".) Many of us consider this to be Karen's finest vocal performance - her interpretation of this melancholy song is filled with deep rich tones and a vibrancy of light and solemn joy.

Saturday (Carpenter/Bettis) - Richard sings the lead and Karen harmonizes on backup. A short song, it is an upbeat and light tune that was the b-side to "Rainy Days and Mondays".

Let Me Be The One (Williams/Nichols) - Originally slated as a single, "Superstar" was chosen instead of it. Many of us consider this one a strong singles selection. This song is a good example of the high level of quality of album tracks vs. singles; both are equally as strong.

(A Place To) Hideaway (Randy Sparks) - Written by the founder and leader of the popular 60's folk group The New Christy Minstrels. Richard first heard the song performed by Randy Sparks in a nightclub (owned by Sparks) on the same night the pre-Carpenters group Spectrum was scheduled to perform. This song poetically speaks of the push and pull of love in one's life.

For All We Know (Fred Karlin / Robb Wilson / Arthur James) - While taking a much deserved night off, Karen and Richard went to the movies in 1970 to see Lovers and Other Strangers. "For All We Know" was featured in the movie and Richard was instantly taken with it. They rushed back to the studio and quickly recorded this wonderful song. Released January 15, 1971 as their fourth single, it reached #3 on the U.S. charts and sold over a million copies. Together with "We've Only Just Begun", "For All We Know" has become a perenial wedding favorite. Due to the Carpenters treatment of the song, it won the Academy Award for Best Song in a movie (although they don't sing it in the movie).

Superstar (Leon Russell / Bonnie Bramlett) - Released as a single on August 12, 1971 it became the Carpenters fourth hit single reaching #2 on the U.S. charts and sold over a million copies. Richard first heard Bette Midler singing Superstar on The Tonight Show and instantly felt it would be right for Karen. What we hear is a first take recording by Karen as she read the lyrics off a napkin! Who else could have produced such an incredible work of beauty but our Karen. This is arguably Karen's finest vocal performance and is always paired with "Rainy Days and Mondays" by Richard on subsequent compilations.

Druscilla Penny (Carpenter/Bettis) - Richard sings lead and Karen harmonizes. Played briskly and with a dry sense of humor, this song seems like a tribute to the Beatles.

One Love (Carpenter/Bettis) - Written in 1970, this song is sung with a purity and sincerity only Karen could bring. This is vintage Carpenters with lush orchestrations, harmonies and lyrics of young and yearning love.

Bacharach/David Medley - includes "Knowing When To Leave", "Make It Easy On Yourself", "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Walk On By", and "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?". Arranged at a brisk pace, full of textured rhythms and beautiful harmonies, Karen and Richard show why they are masters of the medley.

Sometimes - Henry Mancini / Felice Mancini - Composed by Henry Mancini who set a poem written by his daughter to music. This beautiful ballad proves less is more, featuring only Richard's piano and Karen's voice.

So there we have it, ten gems from Karen and Richard Carpenter, the "Carpenters"! This album sold over 4 million copies, had 3 hugely successful singles on it and reached the top 3 of Album Charts. "Carpenters" also was awarded the Grammy in 1971 for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.

By every standard "Carpenters" is a commerical and artistic smash! I personally never tire of listening to this delightful offering from Karen and Richard - a timeless gem!!!

[enigma]

Carpenters is another great effort by the Carpenters every song is good and some of Karens greatest vocals are on this one. Superstar is my favorite Carpenters song and I beleve it is Karens best vocal performance pure pop perfection and to think this was her first take and she did not even like the song at first. Rainy Days and Modays with its soulful performance is also a highlight on this record. The rest of the record is hit and miss with the majority of it great material and some that I only consider good. Considering the two powerhouse albums it was released between this one is slightly tarnished but a great classic album nonetheless. &^

[YesterdayOnceMore]

I have to jump in on this one, as Carpenters has always been one of my favorite albums. I remember hearing it for the first time, and smiling all the way through it. Karen's reading (literally) of Superstar is amazing....she nails the song with perfection the first time she records it. Those of us who have always appreciated Carpenters knew what an extraordinary talent KC was from the start, and this beautiful rendition of Superstar just drove that point home. I think Richard's two tunes where he steps out on the lead vocals were simply, just to break up the album. Had he not recorded these sort of trite tunes, the album might have come off as too melodramatic - because it's rather heavy with sadness, if one comes right down to it.....Superstar isn't a happy little tune, one must admit....neither is Place To Hideaway or Rainy Days. KC does a magnificent job of relaying just how "mournful" if you will, they truly are. The emotion that lady could pull out of song lyrics is truly incredible. It seemed so obvious to me that she felt every note/syllable she sang.

The Bachrach medley has always been a fave, mostly because of the way Richard arranged it.....I had heard the tunes prior, of course, to this arrangement, HOWEVER, what a knock-out arrangement this is, what with all those stacked harmonies, and embelishments that Rich and Karen added - bet Bachrach just went nuts when he heard the final cut of this one.....

Let Me Be The One is such a strong tune too - Karen's reading of this song reaches right into my gut every time I hear it. She tells this story like no other could. And, not only her vocal interpretation, but her percussion interpretation as well......I mean I love it when at the end with all the tags and the drama of the drums - just too cool.

Thanks Rob for starting this forum - I'm just happy any time to make my comments about ANY of KC and RC's work. After all, it was they who were the "Superstar(s)".....

".....and I think about those people who mean so much to me, and for so many years have made me so very happy....."

Tim

[Rick Henry]

"Carpenters" the album is a fine album which came just prior to what I consider to be the Carpenters finest works.

"Superstar" and "Rainy Days And Mondays" alone make this album worthy of classic status. Both these tunes focus on the darker side of Karen's voice and Richard's musical arrangements. In my opinion "Superstar" is musically and vocally is one of the world's finest and strongest songs ever.

"For All We Know" a fine pop tune and a huge hit single is a great little number. It's a good song but compared to "Rainy Days..." and "Superstar" or next to the two previous singles "We've Only..." and "Close To You", it falls short of greatness. "For All We Know" doesn't have the same musical or vocal intensity as the two singles released before or after it. Regardless I still love the song and it truly is a quality work. Though it may not be my favorite, it by no means lowers the quality of the album.

"Let Me Be The One", this song is timeless. It still sounds as vibrant and fresh as it did in 1971. Karen's vocal contains a sense of urgency and dramatic tones. This would have been a natural as a single.

"Bacharach/David Medley". This gave us a glimpse of the range of the Carpenters' abilities as fine musicians. I would have loved to hear full length recordings of each song.

"Sometimes" is an outstanding simplistic yet powerful tune. This is one of Karen's most soulful vocals. It definitely contains that chill factor.This song rates right up there with "Rainy Days..." and "Superstar".

"Hideaway" and "One Love" are both fine album tracks. I do like the lyrics on "Hideaway" quite a bit, and it's writer Randy Sparks is a kind and generous person.

The main downfalls on this album are "Druscilla Penny" and "Saturday". I do like the upbeat quirkiness of "Saturday" - but really if these songs were replaced with songs sung by Karen I would easily rate "Carpenters" as one of their strongest albums.

Just a bit of trivia "Saturday" was used as the theme song on quite a few Saturday morning television and radio talk programs in 1971-1972.

All in all I love "Carpenters" the album, though my favorite Carpenters albums came in 1972 (A Song For You), 1973 (Now & Then) and 1975 (Horizon).

[Rob813]

Wonderful comments Rick. You always have a great way of expressing yourself with such clarity and precision. I've always loved Carpenters, but you've enabled me to fall in love with them over and over again. Thanks for all your hard work on this forum. It is my extreme pleasure to be associated with you and the fine folks who express themselves so often and with such passion.

[Rob813]

OK so you guys don't want to comment on this album. The next one, A Song For You is coming up soon, so look out for my new posting and be ready to share you comments on this one. I really look forward to hearing what you have to say, so don't be shy!

Rob

[Rob813]

You know it's funny but Karen often sang a sad song and somehow it had an optimism to it. Conversely on happy songs the sad timber of her voice would manifest during the song. Karen really was a deep, complicated woman. Even after all these years we're still trying to figure her out.

[Rob813]

Well Dave maybe not complicated in certain ways, but I think she was a much deeper person than many people thought she was. Karen had many conflicting emotions and all of it showed in her recordings. That's why we are so entralled with all of the music.

[cam83]

Oh I would definately say Karen was a complicated person, with contrasting degrees. I mean, even John Bettis says she was a complex person(for me, complex and complicated are very similar). You know, she was sweet, but the next minute she could be harsh and bite the bullet, and get the job quickly and swiftly. Some people could think she was a bit (******)but you know, when you are successful and know what you want, and go for it no matter what, that's what puts her at the top. She would have to be complicated too, especially in her understanding of herself...take for example her therapy...she had to dig thru layers of herself to get to the heart of the matter why she was suffering from anorexia. All those layers and layers, all thru the years being built up to protect herself, and hide the real truths, until she believed the untruths...anyway, enough of my rambling. I think she was a complicated person, especially to suffer from the dreaded disorder anorexia...

My thoughts,
Cameron

[Rick Henry]

<+
To me Karen was a mystery. She had this unique voice which was deep dark sweet soulful mysterious silky agressive tender authorative naive bold soft and complex all in one. She had a look, those eyes that smile that just captivates you and makes you want to stare at her for hours just trying to figure her out. karen was just simply an interesting person all the way around.

[Mariah Andrews]

I was just listening to this album again, recently. TO me, it's another classic of theirs, a sequel to "Close To You". The next album to me was more of the turning point, when they added guitar to their instrumentation.

My favorite songs are "Saturday" and "One Love", both originals of Carpenter and Bettis.

[Rob813]

After posting the new topic about A Song For You I can really see the growth, musically of Karen and Richard from the album Carpenters to A Song For You. There was a progression from beautiful music to a more complex and sophisticated pop sound.