No Alpert influenced "re-whipped" for K&R

[JAZZ4JEFF]

I sent a email off to the "Ask Richard" portion of the Carpenters web site. To my surprise, I received an email back. Becky and her staff were so kind to answer my question. It was very classy of them.

Anyway, here is the question I asked Richard:

With the success Herb Alpert has gained with his new version of "re-whipped and other delights", would you ever consider taking a classic Carpenters album and add contemporary elements and artists to the tracks?

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for writing in. Richard read your note and asked me to tell you that no, he doesn't plan to put together an album as you suggest.

Sincerely,

Becky Boxberger
Personal Assistant to Richard Carpenter

I was very impressed with the new Alpert collection, and wondered if the Carpenters might do the same thing? For those of you who have not heard the album, Herb took the original tracks from "Whipped creme & other delights" and added new artists, rhythm tracks, and contemporary elements.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

no, he doesn't plan to put together an album as you suggest

I suppose it could sound kind of cool, but Richard would not be the person to put it together...he's an excellent producer/arranger, but he's not exactly in today's musical groove. Such as happened with RE-WHIPPED, it'd have to be an outside project that might then get RC's stamp of approval (and in Herb's case, his actual participation).

Herb took the original tracks from "Whipped creme & other delights" and added new artists, rhythm tracks, and contemporary elements

FWIW, Herb had nothing to do with the production of RE-WHIPPED, other than to add new trumpet solos to some of the tracks.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Something similar has already been done. It was called "If I Were A Carpenter". Other artists did cover versions of Carpenters famous tracks and they were compiled on this album. Richard even showed up on Matthew Sweet's nice take on "Let Me Be The One"

Ed

 

[Mike Blakesley]

True, but Jeff was suggesting a "remix" like RE-WHIPPED... IF I WERE A CARPENTER was all-new performances.

 

[JAZZ4JEFF]

I have heard some of the DJ mixes of Carpenters recordings, and they don't sound half bad. It's fun to hear Karen with a contemporary rhythm track.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Personally I agree with Richard, I think it would be fatal. The only voice that belongs to Carpenters songs is Karen. Any other artists can sing them but none could compare to Karen, even if they were the original tracks but a different artist, I would always be saying, not as good as Karen. Except for Akiko, she reminds me alot of Karen's vocal when she uses her lower registar.

Even Olivia's version of Rainy Days is ok for me but no where does it give the chill factor that Karen did.

I also personally think that "If I were a Carpenter" (of which I own the CD) was just a weird project overall, I have a magazine article in which the interviewer talks to Richard about the making of this CD. I could just never warm up to this CD, the artists were too different for my liking. I only kept the CD because of the cool close-up shots of Karen in the Cd jacket. The Cd itself is useless to me.

I think a good idea for Richard would be to work again with Akiko Kobayashi except this time use a full orchestra on original Carpenters songs, she sounds most like Karen. You can get a taste of what it could be like with Richard doing a project like this by listening to Akiko's CD titled, "A Song for You" which uses a full orchestra of all Carpenters songs.

 

[henryjg]

Sort of along these lines were the dance versions by Jackie Clune of "Calling Occupants" and "For All We Know." I do think she sounds unbelievably like Karen. What do others think of those?

 

[Trevor]

With Richard's arrangements and Karen's vocals (Richards, too), the song is done, completed, finished...

For example:

I think of the Christmas songs that the Carpenters have recorded. Many performers (from all types of musical genres) have recorded Christmas songs. But I still go back to Richard's arrangements and Karen's vocals. I guess that's why I am a Carpenter fan, too.

Don't tell anyone in the Sergio Mendes forum, but I prefer Carpenter's version of "This Masquerade" and others...

Trevor

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Don't tell anyone in the Sergio Mendes forum, but I prefer Carpenter's version of "This Masquerade"

Nothing wrong with that. I'm in the Mendes forum and I think the Carps' version of "This Masquerade" is superior to Sergio's. (I'll wager Harry, another big Mendes/Carpenters fan, would agree.)

 

[Harry]

It's interesting that for Sergio's version, Bonnie Bowden was chosen for the lead vocal. Bonnie, IMHO, had a sugary/sweet way of singing and was probably the closest to Karen Carpenter that any of Sergio's singers ever were. Bonnie's register was higher than Karen's, and it was that deeper quality of Karen's vocals that made that song so sultry.

Bottom line, I like both, but I'll take Karen Carpenter's version over Bonnie Bowden's any day.

Harry
...trying now unsuccessfully to imagine a Karen Carpenter version of "Mas Que Nada", online...