CARPENTER/BETTIS: ALBUM CUTS

[A&M Retro]

'Turn Away' I've always liked. I think it sounds something like a hybrid of Spanky and Our Gang and The Mama's and Papa's. It's structured oddly, but it still works. Very '60's, that's for sure.

I keep changing my mind with this list. First, I went with 'Maybe It's You', then 'Crescent Noon', then 'Another Song', and now I'm hedging towards 'Eve'. LOL>> Obviously, I'm yet another big fan of Carpenter/Bettis!

 

[Chris Mills]

It's really interesting to see how difficult a choice this is, I always thought it was going to be tough, Carpenter/Bettis wrote some really interesting songs. It wasn't until this poll emerged, that I realised "All Of My Life" was written by Richard without John Bettis.

 

[GaryAlan]

This was/is a very difficult poll.
When listened to, in turn, as a whole, you can hear the evolution in the music.
From lyric to instrumentation, from vocals and harmony to intricate balladry...
Richard and John created some rather interesting, if at times timeless (and sometimes not) , music!
Interesting, too, that it is difficult to visualize anyone but Carpenters performing these songs.
Richard and John, Karen's vocal interpretations, the sibling harmonies,
and the arrangements : Pure Carpenters !

 

[Jamesj75]

This was/is a very difficult poll.
When listened to, in turn, as a whole, you can hear the evolution in the music.
From lyric to instrumentation, from vocals and harmony to intricate balladry...
Richard and John created some rather interesting, if at times timeless (and sometimes not) , music!
Interesting, too, that it is difficult to visualize anyone but Carpenters performing these songs.
Richard and John, Karen's vocal interpretations, the sibling harmonies,
and the arrangements : Pure Carpenters !

"Pure Carpenters"---sounds like a great title to the next compilation!

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Rough choice between "Another Song" and "Sandy." Karen's vocal on "Sandy" is just gorgeous and I love the vocal arrangement. Better still is the entire arrangement coming out of the first chorus and going into the second verse. Sublime stuff. Still, I went with the tune that's like nothing else in their catalog: "Another Song." It's totally bizarre and they never did anything like that again. The choral "GONE" is just gorgeous. What other Carpenters tune has movements?

Ed

 

[A&M Retro]

I remember playing 'Another Song' around 1985 to a couple of fraternity buddies. I was pushing the 'cool' quotient by even attempting to sit them down and make them listen. I picked 'Another Song' to play for them. They both freaked over it, and I remember one of them saying, 'Wow! I had no idea they were that good!' Mission Accomplished.

 

[Don Malcolm]

So many great choices, so many terrific tunes. Fantastic to see how much of the very early work is getting props here. Karen is always great, but Karen with an edge--sadness bursting out into dynamic contrasts of powerful yet layered emotion--is on an entirely different, even otherworldly level. (Kindly pardon the puffery!)

With all that in mind, my vote goes to "Crescent Noon."

 

[ullalume]

I remember Bettis saying at one point that Richard was "not a procrastinator, but" (read-a procrastinator) with regards to his writing. I get the impression that it was Bettis who would go to Richard and say "let's write some tunes". I don't know why that is. . .he's clearly a gifted composer, and as an arranger he's composing bits of musical business left, right and center. . .but maybe he didn't have that much confidence in himself in that role.

Let's look at their composing career.

1967 - the pair compose together enough material to see them through to 1972's A Song 4 U. They then split.
1968 - Richard alone writes Don't Be Afraid and All Of My Life

Late '71-early '72 over a two week period the two actually sit down for the first time in 4 years and write Goodbye To Love and Top of the World.
'73 - compose one song. . .Yesterday Once More
'74- one song. . .Look to Your Dreams.

Then comes the most prolific 2 year period of their song writing history in '75/'76 where they write 5 bona fide songs together (Only Yesterday, Goodbye and I Love You, Sandy, I Have You, I Need to be in Love. . . plus the lovely Aurora/Eventide). Even I Need to be in Love originated away from Richard and was then brought to him by Bettis.

Then nothing for 4 years until Karen asks him to write something for her wedding day in 1980. Off the back of that came Those Good Old Dreams and At The End Of A Song.

Finally in '82 we have 2 more, You're Enough and In Love Alone.

It's crazy to think that the first 16 selections in the above poll were all written in 1967.

And I still can't pick a favourite

Neil

 

[Murray]

Another vote for "Another Song" here! This one's got it all - Karen's down in the basement, rollin' in the money vocal, while rockin' out on the drums... Richard's fingers flying all over the Wurlitzer... the flute solo with the middle-eastern vibe... the multi-layered choir of Carpenters ("the warmth of you had gone")... and the psychedelic arrangement (whatever RC was trippin' on when he conceived this music, I want some!). It's simply the most unusual thing they ever committed to vinyl, and it works!

 

[Chris May]

There are only a few duds in this early period, like 'Turn Away' and 'Druscilla Penny'. I also find 'Eve' and 'Someday' a bit overblown, although I realise that they were finding their feet in terms of arranging material of this nature, which they'd then refine on later albums.

What's funny is I actually very much enjoy Turn Away and listen to it more frequently than many of the others on the album. Whereas the song may seem a little uninteresting, I will say the alternating tempo is great and harmonies are wonderful and so fun to sing along to! Just my $.02...

 

[newvillefan]

What's funny is I actually very much enjoy Turn Away and listen to it more frequently than many of the others on the album. Whereas the song may seem a little uninteresting, I will say the alternating tempo is great and harmonies are wonderful and so fun to sing along to! Just my $.02...

I'm with you on that one Chris, I also think it's really fun and the harmonies are great!

 

[Chris Mills]

I remember Bettis saying at one point that Richard was "not a procrastinator, but" (read-a procrastinator) with regards to his writing. I get the impression that it was Bettis who would go to Richard and say "let's write some tunes". I don't know why that is. . .he's clearly a gifted composer, and as an arranger he's composing bits of musical business left, right and center. . .but maybe he didn't have that much confidence in himself in that role.

Let's look at their composing career.

1967 - the pair compose together enough material to see them through to 1972's A Song 4 U. They then split.
1968 - Richard alone writes Don't Be Afraid and All Of My Life

Late '71-early '72 over a two week period the two actually sit down for the first time in 4 years and write Goodbye To Love and Top of the World.
'73 - compose one song. . .Yesterday Once More
'74- one song. . .Look to Your Dreams.

Then comes the most prolific 2 year period of their song writing history in '75/'76 where they write 5 bona fide songs together (Only Yesterday, Goodbye and I Love You, Sandy, I Have You, I Need to be in Love. . . plus the lovely Aurora/Eventide). Even I Need to be in Love originated away from Richard and was then brought to him by Bettis.

Then nothing for 4 years until Karen asks him to write something for her wedding day in 1980. Off the back of that came Those Good Old Dreams and At The End Of A Song.

Finally in '82 we have 2 more, You're Enough and In Love Alone.

It's crazy to think that the first 16 selections in the above poll were all written in 1967.

And I still can't pick a favourite

Neil

That's a great breakdown of Carpenter/Bettis and their songwriting partnership. Think it might explain why the earlier albums were more successful, the material was really mixed up. You had no idea as the listener what was going to come next musically, and it was a formula that worked, and that is where Carpenters eventually got it wrong, because by the time 1976 arrived with "Kind Of Hush", it all became a bit too predictable. Richard did try his best to repair the damage with "Passage" by shaking things up a bit, but reverted to that predictable formula for MIA.
(Not one Carpenter/Bettis composition on "Passage".....writers block maybe?)

 

[A&M Retro]

I agree with you, Chris. The earlier albums were far more adventurous than the later ones (excepting 'Karen Carpenter', of course). I would guess they deliberately steered clear of including a Carpenters/Bettis track for 'Passage', but who knows? Now that I think about it, there weren't any Carpenter/Bettis tunes after 1976 and before MIA. And none were included on 'Lovelines', either.

 

[Chris Mills]

The one strange thing for me about Carpenters studio recording capabilities, is that technically after 1973, Carpenters had access to some very advanced recording technology, as can be heard on "Horizon". So as much as I love their earlier albums, I much prefer the sound they perfected for studio recordings after 1973.

 

[A&M Retro]

Yeah, 'Horizon' sounds like no other album they ever completed. Quite a listen! It's so intricate and clean, though I equally love the earlier, more organic stuff, too.

 

[newvillefan]

So as much as I love their earlier albums, I much prefer the sound they perfected for studio recordings after 1973.

I think that's the main thing that separates fans of their earlier work from those who prefer the post-1973 material. It's a choice between sound versus musical style. I'd argue that 'Horizon' is polished to perfection, but doesn't have anywhere near the same variety of material as 'A Song For You'. Whereas I used to think 'Made In America' was their best album because the sound was so sophisticated, I now regard 'A Song For You' as their most accomplished album because there's so much more charm, vigor and energy in the albums from their early years.

 

[Guitarmutt]

So confused! Where is Goodbye to Love in the poll? I did not read all comments, but .......

 

[Guitarmutt]

Oh I see now. There is another thread for the singles, and these are just album tracks. OK.

 

[A&M Retro]

I think that's the main thing that separates fans of their earlier work from those who prefer the post-1973 material. It's a choice between sound versus musical style. I'd argue that 'Horizon' is polished to perfection, but doesn't have anywhere near the same variety of material as 'A Song For You'. Whereas I used to think 'Made In America' was their best album because the sound was so sophisticated, I now regard 'A Song For You' as their most accomplished album because there's so much more charm, vigor and energy in the albums from their early years.

I agree about 'A Song For You'. It's pretty much THE BOMB from Carpenters. Hard to top it, though I think 'Close To You' is probably my all-time favorite for the same reasons you listed above, newvillefan.

 

[MorningOpensQuietly]

How about another new survey thread, this time a "Non-Carpenter/Bettis" Favorite Album Cut? I think that would be very interesting and thought-provoking for all forum readers and participants!

 

[Chris May]

How about another new survey thread, this time a "Non-Carpenter/Bettis" Favorite Album Cut? I think that would be very interesting and thought-provoking for all forum readers and participants!

Great idea but that wouldn't be feasible since the polling only allows for (30) options, and this would make for dozens and dozens of song options unless we broke it down by album. Although I am working on a Williams/Nichols thread which should be fun and interesting.

 

[Dave]

Regardless, it seems to me that a poll like this makes sense... The Richard Carpenter-John Bettis team penned some songs that were hits, and some that weren't...

Nearly everything self-written was by both, so it's nice to see how both entities do, if they have to be in two different threads...

Looking forward to the Williams-Nichols thread--and whatever other writers you can come up with, Chris...


-- Dave

 

[newvillefan]

What about a 'Favourite Album Opener' poll for all the studio albums from 1969's 'Offering' up to 2001's 'As Time Goes By'? I bet that would get some interest...and I know which song would win hands down

 

[MorningOpensQuietly]

Thanks, Chris. We look forward to anything (and everything) you may come up with for the next poll!

 

[Mr. SPAC]

"Someday" & "Maybe It's You" have always been favorites.
I know Karen always wanted to redo the lead vocal on "Someday" for recording, but finally got the chance in a medley for the tv special "Music, Music, Music".
That medley is one of their very finest performances of all time.
"Look To Your Dreams" went to the top of my list when I first heard it.
My eyes still fill with tears every time, no - seriously, every time I hear it - knowing what I know now.
She is always just over my shoulder.