⭐ Official Review [Album]: "MADE IN AMERICA" (SP-3723)

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

It's funny because I'm just the opposite of Craig's post because my 2 favorite tracks off MIA are album cuts, the first being "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)" I think the song is a masterpiece and I actually relish every note from the opening to the end. The lyrics paint a picture, it's like watching someone paint a mural or watercolors with a sad story line underneath. I think my favorite lyric is "There's no face in the locket, there's no place for the past, I'll put it back in my pocket, it was never meant to last" Wow those lines always gives me chills, the way Karen pronounces her words and draws them out, wow!!. When I listen to this with headphones in my quite space, this song completely envelopes me. I also feel the best sounding version of this song is found on "From The Top" at least sonically to my ears.

The other is "When You've Got What It Takes" this is such a feel good song for me and I really like Richard's backing vocals that I feel really compliment the track. I also like how Karen goes up in her register and then down low in spots.

I guess I'm kinda weird with their music because I have always been drawn to their non hits or album cuts more than the standard hits material.

 

[CraigGA]

It is uncanny that our likes are similar but different. I know that I am in the minority and as I said if the vocal track was separated out I might like it better for the only line that comes to memory is the one you quoted. Too bad we can't see each other as we listen so I can hear it through your eyes. That is how I an learn to appreciate what others hear, is watch them as they listen. And since there is nothing new on the horizon that is all we can do as fans is to hear the current songs in a different light. I do enjoy When You Got What it Takes for the same reasons, but it's still a therapy type song that I have listened to when down. Actually, after 1977, I like the standard type songs best that were on the television specials, which is probably why I enjoy Somebody's Been Lyin since it has that feel. I can bathe in the songs from Music Music Music that Karen and Richard and Ella sang!

 

[ullalume]

It's funny because I'm just the opposite of Craig's post because my 2 favorite tracks off MIA are album cuts, the first being "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)" I think the song is a masterpiece and I actually relish every note from the opening to the end. The lyrics paint a picture, it's like watching someone paint a mural or watercolors with a sad story line underneath. I think my favorite lyric is "There's no face in the locket, there's no place for the past, I'll put it back in my pocket, it was never meant to last" Wow those lines always gives me chills, the way Karen pronounces her words and draws them out, wow!!. When I listen to this with headphones in my quite space, this song completely envelopes me. I also feel the best sounding version of this song is found on "From The Top" at least sonically to my ears.

The other is "When You've Got What It Takes" this is such a feel good song for me and I really like Richard's backing vocals that I feel really compliment the track. I also like how Karen goes up in her register and then down low in spots.

I guess I'm kinda weird with their music because I have always been drawn to their non hits or album cuts more than the standard hits material.

For a couple of years now When It's Gone has been my favourite of all their songs. Absolutely adore it. I like your watercolour analogy since I always imagine her tears falling into a limpid pool, and all that reverb on her voice, and the stacked acoustic orchestration, like ripples echoing out across the water. Favourite line would have to be her final "When it's go. . . .oonnnneeeeeee" and her voice floats off into space, then just as it fades to nothing Richard has the violins come in and take the melody.

Sorry, gone on too long, but really love the track.

Laters

Neil

 

[Jeff]

I've always struggled with WHEN IT'S GONE. Don't know why, just think yawn and nitey nite upon spin.

 

[GaryAlan]

Arrangement-wise, it seems to me, Uninvited Guest and When It's Gone are similar,
and sang similarly by Karen.
They both could have been more-Countrified !
I love them both.
After listening to the song Sometimes...from Tan LP,
and noting similarities to Because We Are In Love,
I still believe an injustice was done to the song.
Imagine--if you will-- the piano introduction and sparse arrangement,
of Sometimes, transplanted to Karen's Wedding Song.
Presto, I imagine a great song, there.......

 

[newvillefan]

After listening to the song Sometimes...from Tan LP,
and noting similarities to Because We Are In Love,
I still believe an injustice was done to the song.
Imagine--if you will-- the piano introduction and sparse arrangement,
of Sometimes, transplanted to Karen's Wedding Song.
Presto, I imagine a great song, there.......

With the treatment you suggest it could have been a great torch song to close the album. Instead we got a schmaltzy sleeper of a track that was a forerunner to most of Voice Of The Heart.

 

[song4u]

Sometimes less is more. Especially with such a full voiced singer. I would rather have had more of just Richard's backing vocals. If I recall correctly, he rushed through it thinking the deadline was short.

 

[Toolman]

Imagine--if you will-- the piano introduction and sparse arrangement,
of Sometimes, transplanted to Karen's Wedding Song.
Presto, I imagine a great song, there.......

There's an excellent idea. What an enormously better song that would have made.

 

[Hideaway21]

This album is certainly one of my favourite Carp. albums. It has a warm, elegant feel. Hard to believe this album only generated one moderate size hit, TMWWD. I don't even know if this was even issued in the UK. It didn't make the top 100. Such a shame as the album should have extracted some massive hits.
Surely by now, it must have achieved platinum sales in the US?

 

[WYBIMLA]

35 years ago this month was the release of the comeback,update to their sound and what turned out to be The Carpenters last album together.

We have a review thread for this era, but I wanted a place to simply collect all things related to this project.
(I'm not inviting criticism. Only as much as we know about this album and its promotion in one place. With all due respect may we use this to focus on the art and music.)

Examples of things I'd like to see: articles, advertisements, fan club reports, pictures (artwork, photoshoots, signings), liner notes/credits or track information, approximate dates of recordings, promotional tour schedule, interviews (radio, TV), promo videos/performances, unreleased titles, book references, etc. Any rarities you may know about.

Outside of what was music for TV specials or the incomplete '79 album, the posthumous releases contained tracks from these sessions (8 of them if I'm not mistaken from VOTH, Lovelines, and ATGB). So, 17 recordings they put down that year for MIA that we know of for sure (not counting '78 "I believe you" and of course the actual track listing itself). Off the top of my head there was one called "All my life" (not All of my life from '69) that year Richard thought to release according to an interview located elsewhere on this forum. So, we can bump up that number to 18, but quite possibly it may have been a bit over 20 songs. So, to me it seems like it was a large project over the course of almost half a year. It seems special and I'd be curious to know more about it's process. If you're musically inclined and can tell more about some of the musical choices made here by all means get technical.

Thanks!

 

[K.C. Jr]

Hmmm, this might take awhile..

An interview (not the best quality, but still nice)


Factoid: title created from a label on Karen's running suit (A&M Press Release 1981, found in the Carpenters Reader book)

(Album signing event)

And, lastly, an amusingly stupid mistake of my own. I paid almost $30 for this CD as an SHM..because it was one of the first I owned and I was unaware that it was available for a cheaper price. Yep, I learned real quick after that.

 

[K.C. Jr]

"(Want You) Back in my Life Again" + interview


"Those Good Old Dreams"


"Beechwood 4-5789"

 

[GaryAlan]

On the topic of
Made In America,
I won ( at auction) a Test Pressing of
Those Good Old Dreams....

I do not own any test pressings, so I thought I'd
try for this one.....in any event, it was all of ten dollars,
but, I honestly have no clue as to its value---if any.

 

[Mark-T]

Just listening to Those Good Old Dreams. It's a very nice song. It's sounds great in the earphones. Sure, it's a little soft and surely out of touch with the times in which it was released, but very nice nonetheless.

 

[K.C. Jr]

Just listening to Those Good Old Dreams. It's a very nice song. It's sounds great in the earphones. Sure, it's a little soft and surely out of touch with the times in which it was released, but very nice nonetheless.

I agree, mstaft! It's one of my favorites.

 

[WYBIMLA]

I wonder if they had other alternate artwork to choose from?
The artwork for the album singles weren't much different.

I think of like how "Hush" had the globe with the record around it and "Passage" had a spaceship graphic.
Horizon had nice accompanying images too even a literal visualization for "Solitaire".

Not a big deal, but nice detail.

I'm not sure exactly what would be satisfying in this case.
In reference to the promotional videos... you know, the single artwork for TGOD could have had like a gold picture frame. "Beechwood" could have had a pink phone in the corner of it for all I care or "Touch me" could have had a dancing couple on the front.

Maybe I should create those for my playlist. Lol

 

[WYBIMLA]

Just listening to Those Good Old Dreams. It's a very nice song. It's sounds great in the earphones. Sure, it's a little soft and surely out of touch with the times in which it was released, but very nice nonetheless.

Spot on about the earphone experience.

So many of their songs lend themselves to a nice experience that way, and some of the later remixes Richard did make it even better.

For best earphone experience from this album specifically my top picks would be:
1) TGODs
2) (Want you) Back in my life again ... I know a remix of this would be of interest to fans for sure. The "here with ME" great touch.
3) TMWWD

Honourable mentions:
Strength of a woman ("whooo I know your trying" moment stands out to me)
Beechwood (2.04 mins for about 12 seconds with just the drums, bass, and synth and KCs voice seems much more present at this moment)
When you've got what it takes

And well because I adore "Without a song" (Interpretations version) that near A capella overdubbed section in "Somebody's been lyin" is also enjoyable with some comfy padded earphones.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I never liked the MIA artwork. Remember this was when they were trying to seem more "hip" to the public. They'd done the Passages album (and it wasn't that big a success) and Richard had made it known far and wide that he didn't like all the cheek-to-cheek, "smiling" pictures they kept getting stuck with. When this came out I thought, "sheez, they're going in the opposite direction now." I wonder if by this time he had figured "Hey, we had our biggest hits with the smiling covers, so let's give'em some more smiles and see if that helps."

Even the title was a little cheesy, but the country at that time was still awash in bicentennial patriotism so maybe that's what influenced it.

Smiles aside, in that era of very elaborate and artful album covers, I thought this one looked pretty blah. Coming after A Kind of Hush, with its very nice cover, this one was a letdown for me.

This is just my two cents, everybody has different tastes. But I doubt there are many people who would pick MIA as their favorite Carpenters cover, or even in the top 5.

 

[Toolman]

I never liked the MIA artwork.

I agree on all points, including the reaction I had when seeing it for the first time. Rarely was embarrassed when buying a Carpenters LP, but I was this time. The only jacket I liked less than this (and it was an import) was "Live at the Palladium". That said, I think it's a pretty honest reflection of the music inside (if not Karen's appearance), so I'll give them credit for truth in advertising.

 

[Mark-T]

I bought it and was so excited to have a new album by the duo in my hands that I don't think I paid attention to the employee who rang up my purchase. I couldn't quit smiling!

 

[K.C. Jr]

Personally, I think the artwork on the inner sleeve would have been a better cover for MIA. At least it was an actual photo!

 

[GaryAlan]

Among the promo items for this album is the 24" X 36" Poster of the Cover Artwork.
The Logo, unlike on the actual album, is not to the right, but above their profiles (and spans the length of the Poster).
The Logo is actually gorgeous in these colors. (That is, the colors as seen on the cover artwork).
I suppose, thinking back to the day in 1981 when I purchased the LP, that cover was no more embarrassing
than the awful (IMHO) Now & Then Cover, not to mention the awful Live At The Palladium cover (Las Vegas, anyone?).
And, there are some great photos from the MIA sessions.

 

[GaryAlan]

I do love the song, Those Good Old Dreams.
That being said, I have somewhat re-arranged it in my head---
much as with Because We Are In Love, a cleaner arrangement
would greatly benefit the song.
The intro and outro could be pared down, the bridge between first and second
chorus could be lengthened (and jazzed up), the drums could be
strengthened and the steel guitar brought out more--just a few starters.

 

[GaryAlan]

My latest 45-Single arrived today,
it being a Test Pressing, double-sided,
Those Good Old Dreams.
It does sound incredibly good for its age.

I must say, I recall the comment in the Newsletters whereby
Richard Carpenter turned down three test-pressings of this album.
I would love to get a copy of the album in that incarnation,
has anyone heard a test pressing of the album ?

 

[WYBIMLA]

And, there are some great photos from the MIA sessions.

That's what I wanted to see. I'd have to search for them around here. Although, I don't remember which threads or pages off the top of my head.