LIVE AT THE PALLADIUM
- Thread starter Jeff
- Start date
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Live at the Palladium peaked at #28 ( on the UK Charts for two weeks) in August 1977.
I notice this is also a case where an album of 40 minute duration is 35% of the time taken with the duo presented separately,
over 15 and 1/2 minutes of Hits Medley,
and Complete songs (Hush, Jambalaya, From This Moment On, and We've Only Just Begun) occupy only 10 and 1/2 minutes.
Approximate breakdown in time-spent :
Duo Separately: 35% (Richard with his spots--Warsaw Concerto, Flat Baroque, Piano Picker...Karen and drums...)
Hits Medley: 39%
Complete Songs: 26%
Is there a take-away lesson from this?
I notice this is also a case where an album of 40 minute duration is 35% of the time taken with the duo presented separately,
over 15 and 1/2 minutes of Hits Medley,
and Complete songs (Hush, Jambalaya, From This Moment On, and We've Only Just Begun) occupy only 10 and 1/2 minutes.
Approximate breakdown in time-spent :
Duo Separately: 35% (Richard with his spots--Warsaw Concerto, Flat Baroque, Piano Picker...Karen and drums...)
Hits Medley: 39%
Complete Songs: 26%
Is there a take-away lesson from this?
davidgra
Active Member
The only real complaint I have with this album is that it's too short. Years ago, I wasn't happy about the fact that so few "complete" songs were included, or that more of their mid-70s songs hadn't been included, but now I appreciate the fact that the album was designed to present quite a bit of material that was unfamiliar and otherwise unavailable on any Carpenters album.
One of my most fervent wishes in life is that someday the entire concert(s) from the Palladium will be released. Of course they performed a lot more than 40 minutes' worth of material; it's known that a medley of "Good Vibrations"/"Comin' Through the Rye" was performed and considered for inclusion on the album, but ultimately dropped from the track list.
With Richard's dislike for live recordings, I don't think there's any chance that we'll ever get the WHOLE concert, but it's nice to dream about.
One of my most fervent wishes in life is that someday the entire concert(s) from the Palladium will be released. Of course they performed a lot more than 40 minutes' worth of material; it's known that a medley of "Good Vibrations"/"Comin' Through the Rye" was performed and considered for inclusion on the album, but ultimately dropped from the track list.
With Richard's dislike for live recordings, I don't think there's any chance that we'll ever get the WHOLE concert, but it's nice to dream about.
CarpentersToYou
Somehow you brought the gambler out in me...
I'll never forget this album arriving to my house on Halloween night. I was so enchanted to hear Karen and Richard LIVE in London. It would be awesome if an expanded album were released. Why no earth ABBA gets all these amazing releases and Carpenters don't really grinds my gears.
It doesn't compare to the amazing sound of Live in Japan, but we're lucky to have two live albums from them.
It doesn't compare to the amazing sound of Live in Japan, but we're lucky to have two live albums from them.
The tracklisting for the album is quite strange. The omission of 'I Need to Be in Love' is the most baffling thing, given that it had been their most recent UK single at that point. The 'Hits Medley' is good (better than the TV special version that turned up on As Time Goes By), the versions of 'We've Only Just Begun' and 'There's a Kind of Hush' are nice (the latter has far more life than the studio version) and I prefer this version of 'From This Moment On' to the TV special version used on Interpretations, but although 'Piano Picker/Drum medley' starts out well, without the visuals, both it and 'Warsaw Concerto' get quite boring and take up too much time on Side 1 of the album.
Much of the problem with this show I guess is that it was very 'visual' in comparison to their previous tours, so large parts of it (the Grease medley, the Spike Jones take on 'Close to You', etc) don't translate well onto an 'audio-only' medium. Although not all of them work even then, at least when you can see what's going on, they make sense, which would be rather lost on vinyl.
Much of the problem with this show I guess is that it was very 'visual' in comparison to their previous tours, so large parts of it (the Grease medley, the Spike Jones take on 'Close to You', etc) don't translate well onto an 'audio-only' medium. Although not all of them work even then, at least when you can see what's going on, they make sense, which would be rather lost on vinyl.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Excellent points, Rumbahbah.
Joe Layton, who had worked with Bette Midler, created the 'new' show.
It is too 'Las Vegas' for my tastes, a Vegas Lounge Act.
In many of the concert reviews I have posted, very few have been negative,
and I fail to see evidence that the audiences for the early concerts did not thoroughly
enjoy those concerts. Perhaps official reviewers were balking, but the audiences were not.
I do see where the early (1970-1975) concerts --and reviews thereof---consistently highlighted
Karen's personality and her outstanding vocals.
Once again, the change in concert format seems to have little to do with the music and
more to do with highlighting credit to Richard's place in the duo.
But, just my opinion, as I never saw them in concert.
So, again, I could be wrong.
Joe Layton, who had worked with Bette Midler, created the 'new' show.
It is too 'Las Vegas' for my tastes, a Vegas Lounge Act.
In many of the concert reviews I have posted, very few have been negative,
and I fail to see evidence that the audiences for the early concerts did not thoroughly
enjoy those concerts. Perhaps official reviewers were balking, but the audiences were not.
I do see where the early (1970-1975) concerts --and reviews thereof---consistently highlighted
Karen's personality and her outstanding vocals.
Once again, the change in concert format seems to have little to do with the music and
more to do with highlighting credit to Richard's place in the duo.
But, just my opinion, as I never saw them in concert.
So, again, I could be wrong.
Portlander
Well-Known Member
After seeing the revamped concert in 1976, I left thinking it was one of the best shows I had ever seen at the young age of 19. The response from the audience was amazing with three standing ovations, one dedicated to the end of Karen's drum solo and the other two at the end of the main show and the final encore. Many years later with time to reflect, I think if the Carpenters were around today and headlining a Las Vegas venue, Richard would have to change one important portion of the show that he clung to during the seventies.
I disliked the "medley" approach to showing off their substantial catalog of hits and alway felt it cheated the audience and made their accomplishments appear less substantial and they would never get away with a short 70 to 80 minute performance with today's expectations for concerts. This means they would now have t0 be on stage for close to two hours which would force them to perform the major hits (top 10 at a minimum) through completion which would be great! Wonder if Richard has ever put together a fantasy set list for what a Carpenter concert would be like today if Karen was still with us, I know I have!
I disliked the "medley" approach to showing off their substantial catalog of hits and alway felt it cheated the audience and made their accomplishments appear less substantial and they would never get away with a short 70 to 80 minute performance with today's expectations for concerts. This means they would now have t0 be on stage for close to two hours which would force them to perform the major hits (top 10 at a minimum) through completion which would be great! Wonder if Richard has ever put together a fantasy set list for what a Carpenter concert would be like today if Karen was still with us, I know I have!
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Portlander, thanks for the valuable insight.
Nice to read of the standing ovations.
As I never saw them in concert, my own opinion--outside of the newspapers/Billboard reviews---
relies heavily on Youtube and a few audio performances.
Nice to hear from those who were at the forefront-- at that time.
Nice to read of the standing ovations.
As I never saw them in concert, my own opinion--outside of the newspapers/Billboard reviews---
relies heavily on Youtube and a few audio performances.
Nice to hear from those who were at the forefront-- at that time.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
After not having listened to the Palladium cd (Pickwick) of this concert in many a year, I gave it a spin this morning.
As is my custom, I took a few notes:
Of course, my opinion may differ from others', but here is what I took away from the listening experience--
The cd lists nine tracks,
The first, (1)Flat Baroque, too fast for me...and the intro...you would almost think Karen was not going to show up.
And, when she does show up, I don't hear,".. ladies and gentlemen, Miss Karen Carpenter"...or, did I miss that?
Speeding through an intro of Only Yesterday, I also am dismayed, since that song deserves an entire four minutes--a slow burn.
(2&3) There's A Kind of Hush and Jambalaya....I rather like those presentations, they work well here.
Then, again, I can do without (4) Piano Picker, and I greatly enjoy Karen's interlude (drums: (5) Strike Up the Band..)
Which segues into (6)Warsaw Concerto....I can do without--it's okay, but boring for me.
Then, (7) From This Moment On.....very well done...accentuating, finally, capturing Karen Carpenter's vocals.
Then, (8) The Hits Medley, nice, but I do prefer entire songs.
And, the finale, (9) We've Only Just Begun, is great.....serving to reinforce my conclusion,
More Karen Carpenter singing complete songs, and less emphasis on displaying keyboard dexterity.
(Tony Peluso, by the way, is fantastic throughout.)
As is my custom, I took a few notes:
Of course, my opinion may differ from others', but here is what I took away from the listening experience--
The cd lists nine tracks,
The first, (1)Flat Baroque, too fast for me...and the intro...you would almost think Karen was not going to show up.
And, when she does show up, I don't hear,".. ladies and gentlemen, Miss Karen Carpenter"...or, did I miss that?
Speeding through an intro of Only Yesterday, I also am dismayed, since that song deserves an entire four minutes--a slow burn.
(2&3) There's A Kind of Hush and Jambalaya....I rather like those presentations, they work well here.
Then, again, I can do without (4) Piano Picker, and I greatly enjoy Karen's interlude (drums: (5) Strike Up the Band..)
Which segues into (6)Warsaw Concerto....I can do without--it's okay, but boring for me.
Then, (7) From This Moment On.....very well done...accentuating, finally, capturing Karen Carpenter's vocals.
Then, (8) The Hits Medley, nice, but I do prefer entire songs.
And, the finale, (9) We've Only Just Begun, is great.....serving to reinforce my conclusion,
More Karen Carpenter singing complete songs, and less emphasis on displaying keyboard dexterity.
(Tony Peluso, by the way, is fantastic throughout.)
Now having said that, I would've preferred something like the Dizzy Fingers stuff he played on the same tv special that Karen played drum solo...ya know, the one where Richard ran around to each piano/harpsichord (sp?)Eh...not after they just got done with Karen doing the exact same thing with the drum medley. It'd be repetitive.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Is there an Official Review section for this--- Live At The Palladium-- recording ?
In any event, here is an interesting bit from the Carpenter Webpage (Bio-9) :
"....was recorded, mixed by Karen and Richard at AIR Studios, starting about the
third night into the engagement, and released within days of the Carpenters’ departure."
In any event, here is an interesting bit from the Carpenter Webpage (Bio-9) :
"....was recorded, mixed by Karen and Richard at AIR Studios, starting about the
third night into the engagement, and released within days of the Carpenters’ departure."
masqueraded
Well-Known Member
This is sort of related to the Palladium, but can someone upload the entire BBC 1976 show? I know excerpts are out there but I wanna see the full show (at least the full show that was aired, not the highlights). I see someone uploaded the full Holland one on youtube (thankfully)! Also, has anyone thought of mixing the two shows to get a full video recording? I know quality would vary but would be neat to see. 
masqueraded
Well-Known Member
Can we assume this is the full special and unedited? If so, I'm saving it. Too bad the Grease Medley and Sing were cut from here. :/
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I never got that about the opening of this concert. Why did Richard orchestrate a tape recorder? 
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
November 22-November 27,1976.... are the dates of the Palladium Concerts,
if the double-decker bus pictured on the back of the Album sleeve is accurate.
Billboard (December 18,1976,page 54 ) states three of those shows were taped,
edited and mixed by A&M Records for rush-release Live Album.
The Show, at the Drury Lane Theater is the one taped for BBC- TV Screening.(Billboard October 23rd,1976).
Incomprehensible that neither the 1973 White House Concert
or the 1978 Long Beach Christmas Concert were professionally recorded/videotaped.
if the double-decker bus pictured on the back of the Album sleeve is accurate.
Billboard (December 18,1976,page 54 ) states three of those shows were taped,
edited and mixed by A&M Records for rush-release Live Album.
The Show, at the Drury Lane Theater is the one taped for BBC- TV Screening.(Billboard October 23rd,1976).
Incomprehensible that neither the 1973 White House Concert
or the 1978 Long Beach Christmas Concert were professionally recorded/videotaped.
