What do you like about it...

[Rick Henry]

???We all have our favorite and least favorite Carpenters songs. I thought it would be interesting to talk about the songs we don't care for. But with a different twist to it. What is your least favorite Carpenters song and what do you like about it?

What is your least favorite Carpenters song? Now try and list two or three things about this song that you like.

I will come back tomorrow night with my input on this. Oh and to make things more interesting, let's not choose a song with Richard on lead. Let's keep it to songs with Karen's lead vocal.

[beaner]

%$ I'd have to say that the least favorite song, without Richard as the lead, would be "Man Smart, Woman Smarter".

I really don't care for the music sound at all. Also, it just sounds like Karen is shouting all the words out and doesn't appeal to me much.

What I do like about the song and I'm afraid I can only think of one thing; being a woman, I can say that I totally agree with the lyrics......"Man Smart, WOMAN SMARTER"...hehehe.

[Rick Henry]

@@

There's probably three or four Karen sung songs which I really don't care for as much as others. One is "(Want You) Back In My Life Again". It's just way too fluffy for me.

But I do like the rhythm. It has a nice beat to it. Not a dance or a disco rhythm, but a good light yet driving beat. I also like the synthesizer sounds.

[Rob813]

This is a tough question because anything you say seems sacreligious. I'm not a big fan of Sweet, Sweet Smile. I know Karen suggested it, but it is a fluff song and was beneath Karen's talent. Anyway, in praise of the song, it shows Karen's ability with a country flavor song and it has a catchy beat.

[Moe]

I am gonna say "Druscilla Penny" is one of my least favorite songs. It is good because it is short and I can hit the skip button on the cd player!

[beaner]

Hey Moe, I think Rick mentioned it not be a song that Richard did lead on as in the case of Druscilla Penny.

I know it's hard, especially coming from people like us who like Karen's singing so much, but do you have a song that Karen sings lead on that you're not crazy about?

[carprave]

Look To Your Dreams I don't really care for Karen's voice on this one. Her higher notes are slightly off, the same with Because We Are In Love, when she hits those high notes it's almost annoying. She was able to reach high notes with ease. On Solitaire and any of the Christmas songs she reaches the higher notes to perfection.

Anyway what I like about Look to your Dreams is the lyrics. This is a great lyric.

[Will]

Moe said:

I am gonna say "Druscilla Penny" is one of my least favorite songs. It is good because it is short and I can hit the skip button on the cd player!

I've never heard of this song. Where can I find it?

[Rick Henry]

?*
Hi Will, "Druscilla Penny" is on the album Carpenters (tan album). It's sung by Richard. Other songs on the album include "One Love", "A Place To Hideaway", "Bacharach David medley", "Sometimes", "Rainy Days And Mondays", "Superstar" and "For all We Know".

[JIM]

The wedding song is my least favorite. It
reminds me of Tom Buris, who treated her so
badly. She deserved so much better. What
I do like about the song are the lyrics.
They are like a persnal conversation with
her mother on the night before her wedding.

JIM

[YesterdayOnceMore]

^^
Jim, I have to agree totally with you - The Wedding song is my least favorite. And for lots of reasons. Burris being one of them. But, it's way to "orchestral" for me. Sometimes Richard fluffed things a bit too much with the orchestra. The words are great, I'll have to agree.

Rick, I'm surprised that you don't care for (Want You) Back in My Life. That's probably one of my favorite tunes, but for reasons that probably relate more to when the song was released and I heard it for the first time. My best friend had just returned from several years on the west coast - Costa Mesa, CA, in fact - and I was so glad to have him "back in my life" again. So - I'm sure that has a lot to do with why I like that tune so much.

Two of my all time favorites that Karen sings so beautifully are "I just fall in love again" - it came out just before my daughter was born - that was 27 years ago, and I used to sing that to her as a lullabye. The other from that same album is Two Sides. I think that song is just amazing - because it's true. I especially like the bridge - but wish they would have put the 3rd part in there, because it would have filled it out so much more.

That's my thoughts on this post.
~Best
Tim

[Rick Henry]

Hi Tim, for some reason "(Want You) Back In My Life Again" just doesn't grab me. It's a funny thing because I think it's very well produced and arranged. The rhythm track is excellent and Karen's vocal on the song is just fine. When "Made In America" was released "Back In My Life Again" was my favorite track.

As time has gone by "Those good Old Dreams" and "I Believe You" end up being my favorites from MIA.

[JIM]

Tim. I agree Richard went through a real fluff stage on VOTH. There are a few songs
from VOTH heart that I would love to hear
with the OK Chorale removed and replaced with
Rrichards backing vocals for a more classic
Carpenters sound on future compilations.

Rick I like WANT YOU BACK IN MY LIFE AGAIN but
I always find myself wishing Richard had chosen more mature songs or standards whwn I listen to MIA. I think it must have been hard to decide what type of material would appeal to listners after their long hiatus and unlike
previous albums that seemed to have an underlying theme or structure, MIA seems to have a lets try everything feel and I think thats why some songs just seem to be hit or miss and have an out of place feel. One song that I didn't like at first was WHEN YOU'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES but now its one of my favorites from MIA because of the way the backing vocals repeat and the layering becomes
the prominent feature in what would other wise
be a drab song.

JIM

[enigma]

This is not my least favorite Carpenters song but I do not really like it its just OK. The song is Mr Guder. What it does have going for it is great vocals and drumming by Karen nice keyboard work by Richard as well as a good flute solo and great harmonies and trade offs between Karen and Richard.

&^ *%

[YesterdayOnceMore]

enigma said:

This is not my least favorite Carpenters song but I do not really like it its just OK. The song is Mr Guder. What it does have going for it is great vocals and drumming by Karen nice keyboard work by Richard as well as a good flute solo and great harmonies and trade offs between Karen and Richard.

^^
I can appreciate where you're coming from Enigma - but Mr. Guder has always been one of my all time favorites because of the overdubbing, and the simplicity of it. It's just "fun." It always gets me going.

~Best
Tim

[Peteruk]

Rick ....now you have opened up a can of worms .....!!

Well here are my least played Carpenters tracks .....

Goofus .....awful corny lyrics / song ....even Karen's fun vocal plus Richard's production cannot save this song ...this should have stayed in the vaults .....

To think Goofus was issued as a single is beyond belief ....no wonder it performed so badly ....!!

Man Smart ....why Carpenters chose to record different lyrics from original Harry Belafonte hit is a puzzle ....this track really does not work and the instrumental jam just goes on & on ....disappointing ....

Balcony Casa Rosada ....this mars the great Argentina lead vocal from Karen. Dreadful leads ...really Richard should have taken the lead & used University Choir on backing harmonies ....as it is ....painful ...!

These tracks really needed to be replaced by better vault or later Carpenters track releases ....here you see the high quality marred by these issued tracks ....

Peter ....Not Too Many ....!!

[JIM]

Hey Peter;
I must agree, what were they
thinking when they adhered this one to magnetic tape and thinking it would fly as
a single. I can appreciate that Richard liked
to experiment with different styles of music
but Goofus is just as it sounds goofy! The
only thing I like about this song is the section of lyric that matches my life. I was
actually born in Ioway(Iowa) and I play the
saxaphone. At one time I could not read notes
and played by ear even in my jr. high school
concert band which is not according to the rules which I am sure sounded goofus when I
hit a wrong note but I was a flaming youth, yes flaming, luckily the flame went out and
I learned how to read the notes. I am still
unsure how to form a corn flake chord, it must
be some kind of goofy enharmonic aug6th.

Sorry for all of the goofiness.
Goofing off for now.
JIM

[Rick Henry]

Hi, Peter in keeping with the idea of the topic, what do you like about each of these songs.




On "Goofus" I must be the only Carpenters fan who can see why Richard and Karen would have chosen to record this song. It really does have an interesting history behind it. It was a popular circus music favorite. I think this thrilled Richard - seeing the music history buff that he is. The song was very vaudevillian. I think Richard at that time was slightly into the vaudeville sound. As the original version of "There's A Kind Of Hush" recorded by the New Vaudeville Band ("Winchester Cathedral") was also done in a 1920's Rudy Vallee sort of vaudeville style.

I myself have a liking for this sort of oddball music of the 20's and 30's. I love the vaudeville style and also barbershop quartet stuff. I love the foot tapping jazz sounds of the 30's - a big favorite of mine. "Yes, We Have No Bananas", "Puttin' On the Ritz".

In reading over the old newsletters they stated that "Goofus" was chosen as the next single due to the great response the song received from their fans. In 1976 Carpenters fans who bought "A Kind Of Hush" and wrote to the fan club obviously mentioned "Goofus" as a favorite on the album. In that sense I can understand why the song was released as a single. they were only trying to please the fans.