Carpenters songs you disliked that suddenly grew on You

[byline]

I never much cared for Made in America ... but there are songs from that album that have grown on me over time: "Those Good Old Dreams," "I Believe You" and "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)" are the main ones.

 

[Portlander]

For All We Know. As the follow up to We've Only Just Begun, I thought it was too mellow and would never have given it a chance to crack the top ten let alone make it to # 3. I appreciate the ballad much more today as the song and I have both aged over four decades.

 

[GaryAlan]

Did not care much for Jambalaya, when first I heard it.
Then, listened to the the Master Karaoke (many, many years later) ,and that turned me around.
Now, it is a favorite.
As I say, when Richard was good, he was very good, indeed. (e.g.., arranging).

 

[Harry]

For All We Know. As the follow up to We've Only Just Begun, I thought it was too mellow and would never have given it a chance to crack the top ten let alone make it to # 3. I appreciate the ballad much more today as the song and I have both aged over four decades.

I kind of felt the same about "For All We Know" when it first appeared on the scene. It was great to have another hit single for the duo, but I felt it was just a little underwhelming in comparison to the three masterpieces that preceded it. It was also very short, which limited the time we'd get to hear them on the radio. As the January 1971 release, it "replaced" "Merry Christmas Darling" on the radio.

I didn't dislike the song, but I've just never been overly fond of it the way some of you are.

Harry

 

[Mark-T]

I agree with you, Harry!

 

[Guitarmutt]

I like Solitaire. For me Desperado is meh. I'm not really a fan of The Eagles, and this cover is whatever really, and I always think: what's the point?

I feel Solitaire has something to say; Desperado, not so much. That's just me.

But Karen does sing it beautifully, and it has grown on me.

Plus, I always felt Postman was superfluous on this album. Not bad, but it doesn't fit.

 

[song4u]

Still waiting for Solitaire to grow on me. It's just draggy, maybe because it's so long, I don't know.

 

[WYBIMLA]

It's dependant on mood I think.

"Get together" (with that effect on it makes it harder to enjoy)
"Druscilla Penny"or "Saturday" (someday I appreciate these other days not)
"Sing" (I think it's the children's choir that loses its appeal)
"Solitaire" (Maybe it's one of those you can tell the singer and backups don't seem to be really into it)
"Man smart/Woman smarter"

 

[Tapdancer]

From the very first hearing, I absolutely loved For All We Know - but as previously mentioned, I didn't think it would ever be commercial enough to end up as high as #2 on the charts! I guess that's more than enough poetic justice for all the times great artists come out with a piece of musical heaven, only to chart at, say, #39 e.g. Dusty Springfield's magical rendering of How Can I Be Sure?

Damn the musically ignorant masses!!

The Carpenter's song that took me a couple of listenings to warm up to was A Place To Hideaway. Initially, it didn't sound like there was much to it, but then I realised how wrong I was. Also, it could not have been slotted into a better place on the "Carpenters" album - perfectly positioned - and its always deeply reassuring to me when I hear that introduction.

 

[BrandonBarry]

Songs I hate, that I have never grown to appreciate are REASON TO BELIEVE, and YOU'RE THE ONE and WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE....maybe in 10 years time I will appreciate them

I love those three so much! Hear them again, believe me, each has their own special magic!

 

[GaryAlan]

A song that I can tolerate, but, still leaves me wanting: "Slow Dance".
According to the official Carpenter website the song was recorded during same session as "Honolulu City Lights".
I adore the later, and am still lukewarm on the former. (Although,Karen's vocals are great on each!).
By the way, that official website refers to "Uninvited Guest" and "Kiss Me the Way You Did Last Night" as Outtakes
from the Made in America sessions. In earlier interviews, Richard Carpenter pointedly remarks that the duo did
not record outtakes--he is too proud of their work to refer to them as such---so, why that terminology use now?
"Rainbow Connection"---this one has never grown on me! Again,Karen's vocals fine--but,otherwise....no comment!
Karen Carpenter did not like the song....good for her! (Her instincts were correct, bless her soul.).

 

[BrandonBarry]

[QUOTE="
"Rainbow Connection"---this one has never grown on me! Again,Karen's vocals fine--but,otherwise....no comment!
Karen Carpenter did not like the song....good for her! (Her instincts were correct, bless her soul.).[/QUOTE]

I always wondered whether Karen didn't like the Carpenters version of the song or just the song in general. I think she does a beautiful reading of it.

 

[GaryAlan]

Good question, BrandonBarry.
Karen sings that work lead wonderfully,
but the song just 'lays there', for me.
No spark.
Richard added instruments and singers in 1999 (As Time Goes By Liner Notes).
Thus, presumably, Karen Carpenter simply did not like the song.(In General).

 

[Harry]

Should Richard have left it in the vaults? I thought fans wanted every utterance, regardless. Why criticize?

I happen to really like "Rainbow Connection". Karen does a great job, whether she liked the song or not, and Richard's treatment of it is first class all the way. It's one of the highlights of AS TIME GOES BY and it's nice to have it on the GOLD compilation.

Harry

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Should Richard have left it in the vaults? I thought fans wanted every utterance, regardless. Why criticize?

I happen to really like "Rainbow Connection". Karen does a great job, whether she liked the song or not, and Richard's treatment of it is first class all the way. It's one of the highlights of AS TIME GOES BY and it's nice to have it on the GOLD compilation.

Harry

I agree 100%....I love this song but even if I didn't best to keep that to yourself and just move on....in this case I understand why Richard is hesitant to release vaulted tracks, he can't win either way. He did a great job on finishing this track. There was a fan's ask question on the official website that Richard responded to about this track and the fan asked something about leakage in Karen's vocals during the song (he said no) but I mean good grief I could never in a million years ask a question like that, the song was a gift to us from Richard, a work lead none the less....why dissect and criticize something that we were not suppose to hear in the first place but Richard was gracious enough to finish it and I for one am glad he did. As Time Goes By CD doesn't get enough recognition it deserves.

 

[GaryAlan]

I should probably add that I do not like the song---has nothing to do with Karen's vocals or Richard's arrangement.
I simply do not care for the song.
And, I disliked the song long before I discovered that Karen did not care for it,
or that Paul William's did not care for the chord changes that Richard had made.
I'm with Paul Williams: It is always a pleasure to hear Karen Carpenter sing one of his songs.
Reiterating: My dislike of the song has nothing to do with Karen or Richard Carpenter, I simply
do not like the song.

 

[GaryAlan]

By the way, on the same train of thought:
I adore listening to Karen Carpenter sing any song.
I revel in Richard Carpenter's timeless arrangements.
I have been a supporter and listener of Carpenters' music since the early 1970's.
That does not imply that I demean anything simply due to my criticism.
(My) critical analysis is not meant to belittle the greatness that is already there---
to wit: Richard Carpenter's arrangements, Karen Carpenter's voice, and harmonic overdubs---
it is meant to foster greater understanding of, along with appreciation of, the modes
and techniques which encompassed all facets of Carpenters' music and career.
I fail to understand the question: Why criticize? No one is perfect.
Perhaps I should concentrate only on the 1969-1973 period of their career.
Then I could ignore the misses, flops, addictions, tragedy. Everyone would be happy.

 

[Jamesj75]

Interesting discussion here... I believe that the topic of this thread, "Carpenters songs you disliked that suddenly grew on you," lends itself to kudos as well as minor criticisms. If I had a nickel for every time I read something at this site critical of "Solitaire" (my favorite C's recording ever) and A Kind of Hush (one of my personal favorite C's albums), I would indeed be rich. Yet I am not dismayed, as I understand tastes, even among ardent fans, can differ. Hence, one of the beauties of discussion boards... Further, I appreciate all that Richard has released from the vaults. Of course, I will like some of the material more than others---as we all do.

 

[newvillefan]

There was a fan's ask question on the official website that Richard responded to about this track and the fan asked something about leakage in Karen's vocals during the song (he said no) but I mean good grief I could never in a million years ask a question like that, the song was a gift to us from Richard, a work lead none the less....why dissect and criticize something that we were not suppose to hear in the first place but Richard was gracious enough to finish it and I for one am glad he did. As Time Goes By CD doesn't get enough recognition it deserves.

I have to say I agree with you 100% there Chris.

 

[GaryAlan]

As Time Goes By, is a great collection. I'm thrilled that Richard Carpenter
was able to jump through all the legal hoops in order to get this collection to the public.
It certainly deserved, and deserves, to be recognized, by the public, in the pantheon of Carpenters' repertoire.
Seems I recall (1975 Compendium interview) Richard Carpenter pontificating in reference to a
'creaking studio door' and 'piano creaking' which slipped into some early recordings.
Add to that, the tinkering, remixing (as he says: "why not,after all, they're my songs"),
the 'punch-ins' (say,on the recording, "Goodnight"..from moon /sun...etc.) vocal fixes,
and one can see that Richard Carpenter is truly a perfectionist.
Also, this,(from official website)
Question:
How long did it take to record a Carpenters track in those days at A&M Records?
Richard Carpenter:
Ordinarily we didn't do a whole track start-to-finish at one time; it is not efficient nor cost effective. The few times out of necessity that we did
(e.g. Merry Christmas, Darling, For All We Know, and Bless the Beasts..)
I would estimate that from initial downbeat through mixing and mastering, about ten days.
Question:
“Regarding ‘The Rainbow Connection’ - My question is whether there may be a leakage of a sound where Karen sings 'dreamers and meeeeee'.
I'm not sure if this is the reason why you left it out as an outtake to begin with.
I was guessing her lead was only partial so you thought it had better be untouched.
But now with your effort and enthusiasm, we are able to listen to this beautifully arranged song with previously unreleased vocals by Karen."
Richard Carpenter:
“This was originally written for Kermit the Frog (Muppet), with some accents on the wrong syllables. I took some artistic license and changed the melody a bit.
Still, Karen just didn't like the song, and it didn't make the album.
For years fans kept requesting the recording, so I completed the chart and put it out. In the matter of leakage, there is none.“

 

[Harry]

I fail to understand the question: Why criticize?

My point here is simply that AS TIME GOES BY was a gift to fans - a collection of odds and ends and leftovers - stuff that we were not meant to hear as selections on a professionally produced and mixed CD, yet after all of the clamoring and haranguing by fans, Richard relented and gave us this disc. A lot about it isn't perfect - it is what it is - so my question was simply a matter of good manners, I suppose. And really, it doesn't matter - this IS after all just a discussion forum where we dissect that kind of stuff all the time. It just seemed odd to me that a "gift" was being criticized as somehow not good enough. That's all.

Harry

 

[Mark-T]

I love this album for many reasons, as I have shared in my review of it. It is a gift to us!

 

[newvillefan]

Question:
“Regarding ‘The Rainbow Connection’ - My question is whether there may be a leakage of a sound where Karen sings 'dreamers and meeeeee'.
I'm not sure if this is the reason why you left it out as an outtake to begin with.
Richard Carpenter:
In the matter of leakage, there is none.“

Reading this back now, I'm convinced what the person posting heard in the song is actually Karen's vocal fry. To the uninitiated, where her voices cracks and breaks like that, it can sound like interference or crackling.