🎤 Interview Richard Carpenter Interview 2014

[close2u40]

Hi Chris! That interview was amazing! Richard seemed really comfortable and relaxed, no doubt because you have a connection. I seem to remember the question of where the unreleased recordings were stored came up when asked about the titles of some songs being leaked. I distinctly recall him saying "everything" was at Iron Mountain in Pennsylvania (I considered applying for security guard there...lol). That has since been proven untrue by both the article supplied by Harry as well as Richard's comment. Chris, can you shed light on what the loss of an "Original Master" vs the secondary copies that might be at Iron Mountain would be. I'm sure Richard has personal copies of unreleased material but in what form is questionable. It certainly seems to limit the future remixing, remastering process unless I'm wrong. I'm also betting it cost us all the alternate vocal takes, studio chatter, etc... that was left over. Richard seemed concerned over the loss. That speaks volumes.

My two cents on the Christmas album.....it is never going to meet the expectations of anyone on this board. It is obviously a whole new direction from his original plans and initial recordings. The fact that Karen will not appear on it will let down most people on this board who are hoping her voice would grace one more track. It will undoubtedly get compared to Christmas Portrait which we all know is the greatest Christmas album that ever was or will be made. It is perfection. But I do hope that we always respect Richard Carpenter and his wishes whether we agree with them or not. It has been a difficult road for him since the loss of Karen and I think he has done the best he could at preserving the legacy.

And god do I miss that voice....every day.

 

[mr J.]

When Chris was asking Richard about labels and the record business indie vs major labels and how everything is so different now Richard says "I'm not really in it so I don't think about it"

What did you take from that?
That he has no label and at this point doesn't think about it anymore?
That sounds to me like he's not in the business anymore.

It means exactly what he said: he's not in the record business anymore,so he doesn't dwell on the dismal situation that the music industry is in today.

 

[Chris May]

I seem to remember the question of where the unreleased recordings were stored came up when asked about the titles of some songs being leaked. I distinctly recall him saying "everything" was at Iron Mountain in Pennsylvania (I considered applying for security guard there...lol). That has since been proven untrue by both the article supplied by Harry as well as Richard's comment. Chris, can you shed light on what the loss of an "Original Master" vs the secondary copies that might be at Iron Mountain would be.

What Richard was saying, was that all of the *original* analog masters, which were initially stored in PA (i.e. multi-track to include the albums and anything including on those reels of tape, recorded during the assembly of each album) were supposed to be shipped back to PA once the SACD project was completed. Something fell thru the cracks on that at Universal, and when the '08 fire took place, they were destroyed. This doesn't mean there aren't multi-track copies, but Richard told me years ago that he always goes to the original 2" analog tape to remix from whenever possible.

 

[ringves]

Chris, thanks for the interview and the great questions.

Just to clarify - as a result of the fire - would it be correct to say that TODAY it would be impossible to create the SACD that he and Al Schmidt created back in 2004?

Also: Were all or most of the Carpenters multi-track recordings lost in that fire? Or was the loss limited to the 20 or so songs that appear on the SACD release? (Of course, these were the C's most famous songs !)

 

[ullalume]

Sorry Chris. . .can't quite get my head around this fire stuff. . . .so, he finished "All My Life" the 1980 outtake for the As Time Goes By album in '99. Has that gone forever now, or because he must have transferred it to a digital medium to finish it up, is it still out there? And stuff that hasn't been touched but existed, like 1974's "Try to Win a Friend". Has that gone too, since it was never transferred. Or was it transferred. God, this interview opened up more questions than it answered. . . then again, maybe that's what good interviews are supposed to do.

And fancy Burt being the one that wanted them dropped (attempting to eliminate the competition perhaps?).

Good Job Chris,

Neil

P.S. Ultimately, all the above questions are academic, since this interview shows that even if he had a dozen songs in his desk drawer he's NEVER RELEASE ANYTHING MORE. I think that's a good thing to hear from him, since I know to just appreciate what I've got (and let's face it, the man spent almost 2 decades releasing stuff from the vaults). Frankly, when he does pass on to greener pastures, I think I'd want the stuff buried with him, coz you just know whatever money-hungry shister released it would screw up the legacy with its presentation.

 

[Tapdancer]

God, this interview opened up more questions than it answered. . . then again, maybe that's what good interviews are supposed to do.
Neil

That comment fascinates me, because it means we can define "a good interview" using two opposing criteria: success because of good answers to good questions; or success because it now leaves the listener intrigued by wanting to find out more.

 

[Song4uman]

Thank you Chris. I agree and understand everyone else has said.

 

[JAZZ4JEFF]

Chris:
Can you shed any light on his long delayed solo Christmas project? I know he said there is nothing he is working on, but we know via Joe Osborn that this is not the case. Any insights?

 

[Chris May]

Chris:
Can you shed any light on his long delayed solo Christmas project? I know he said there is nothing he is working on, but we know via Joe Osborn that this is not the case. Any insights?

I know this is a little confusing! HA! Richard (as most well know) doesn't talk publicly about anything until there is a master plan. The album is well on its way, near completion. IF the album sees release later this year, then I'm sure there will be a public push. In the meantime, it is what it is

 

[mr J.]

Sorry Chris. . .can't quite get my head around this fire stuff. . . .so, he finished "All My Life" the 1980 outtake for the As Time Goes By album in '99. Has that gone forever now, or because he must have transferred it to a digital medium to finish it up, is it still out there? And stuff that hasn't been touched but existed, like 1974's "Try to Win a Friend". Has that gone too, since it was never transferred. Or was it transferred. God, this interview opened up more questions than it answered. . . then again, maybe that's what good interviews are supposed to do.

And fancy Burt being the one that wanted them dropped (attempting to eliminate the competition perhaps?).

Good Job Chris,

Neil

P.S. Ultimately, all the above questions are academic, since this interview shows that even if he had a dozen songs in his desk drawer he's NEVER RELEASE ANYTHING MORE. I think that's a good thing to hear from him, since I know to just appreciate what I've got (and let's face it, the man spent almost 2 decades releasing stuff from the vaults). Frankly, when he does pass on to greener pastures, I think I'd want the stuff buried with him, coz you just know whatever money-hungry shister released it would screw up the legacy with its presentation.

We talked about this in an earlier post-Richard has possession of all Carpenters outtakes-they are in his personal storage facility in Pennsylvania.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Confusing is the exact word....as someone mentioned above...Richard's responses only prompt more questions. He's recorded a Christmas album then he can't get a label then he's back to his Christmas album that's near completion...my head is spinning and not sure what to think or believe. He was so stern about nothing ever being released Carpenters and not working on anything now.

Chris we need a Part 2!!

 

[Chris May]

Confusing is the exact word....as someone mentioned above...Richard's responses only prompt more questions. He's recorded a Christmas album then he can't get a label then he's back to his Christmas album that's near completion...my head is spinning and not sure what to think or believe. He was so stern about nothing ever being released Carpenters and not working on anything now.

HAAA! It can be for sure! What Richard said was that he wasn't working on anything "at the moment". He also said there's nothing else related to "Carpenters" that he plans to release. The *truth* is, he has most of a new Christmas project complete, that he isn't "at the moment" working on. Richard won't disclose anything publicly that doesn't have a specific plan and release date attached to. Doesn't mean he hasn't worked on something OR that it won't see a release necessarily. This also is his own project, unrelated to anything Carpenters. It can get confusing yes, but just more dots to connect with him than most! COME ON!! KEEP UP!!! LOL

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I'm trying to keep up .... If he's being guarded about his Christmas album it's understandable....remember how word got out he was looking for a solo artist...it ran like wildfire and even his own website had a mention that Richard is not looking for a singer (partner) to start a duo....I guess we just have to except the fact that no more Carpenters recordings will ever be released...such a tough pill to swallow. I'd still be interested in anything he releases solo, compilations....hey how about a 45 anniv set...I hope something appears from Japan, would have been cool to ask Richard about that when the box sets were discussed. It was nice hearing him mention those sets.

 

[close2u]

Richard isn't signed to any label, but these days that is not all that important. I have an artist I have followed for 12-13 years now and her last few albums were on her own indie label... the DISTRIBUTOR is the key to getting the product out there in some of these cases. Richard could certainly do something like that. Also, I would imagine, too, that his relationship with Universal is good enough that he could get a release through them without too much trouble...

Randy

 

[Chris May]

Richard isn't signed to any label, but these days that is not all that important. I have an artist I have followed for 12-13 years now and her last few albums were on her own indie label... the DISTRIBUTOR is the key to getting the product out there in some of these cases. Richard could certainly do something like that. Also, I would imagine, too, that his relationship with Universal is good enough that he could get a release through them without too much trouble...

YEP!! Well said my friend...

 

[Portlander]

Chris, wonderful job with this interview along with your previous discussions with Herb, Joe and Hal. Was fortunate to meet Karen and Richard prior to a concert in Chicago in 1976 and my respect for them as down to earth and genuinely nice people grew tremendously after just a 20 minute private encounter. Their autographed photo is proudly displayed in my home and I am content with Richard's efforts to maintain the Carpenters legacy over the past 30 years since Karen's passing. Not sure if I would want or need to hear any new recordings stored away in "the vault" if there actually were any, my take is they were not released previously due to Richard not being comfortable with the final product and that is good enough for me.

If I had to ask Richard a question in the future I would be curious to know his feelings and thoughts on the fairly recent deaths of Tony Peluso and Doug Strawn. I know Richard and Tony remained close for many years after losing Karen and I wonder if he attended either of their services and if he still has any interactions with their families? Read somewhere that Doug headed off to a small town Montana after his Disney career. In addition, is Richard still friends or in contact with Danny Woodhams, Doug Sims, Cubby O'Brien and Bob Messenger? For all the music, touring, TV specials and even a White House performance together, I am surprised that I have never heard of any reunions or stories involving his former band members with the exception of Joe Osborn.

 

[mr J.]

Richard isn't signed to any label, but these days that is not all that important. I have an artist I have followed for 12-13 years now and her last few albums were on her own indie label... the DISTRIBUTOR is the key to getting the product out there in some of these cases. Richard could certainly do something like that. Also, I would imagine, too, that his relationship with Universal is good enough that he could get a release through them without too much trouble...

Randy

Being signed to a label IS all that important! As a person who is very familiar with the record industry & how record labels operate,I can definitely say that the whole process of putting out an album is an enormous task. That's why records labels have a:
sales department
marketing department
publicity department
art department
accounting department
legal department
international department

People are also overlooking a very important issue here: a veteran artist of Richard's stature,generally speaking,would want to be signed with a major label-or,at least,an indie label with major-label distribution.

As far as Richard's relationship with Universal-Universal is not a label,it's a conglomerate of labels & they are the parent company of A&M. If Richard isn't signed with a UMG label,no album gets released.

I think we can all take Richard's answer about future solo projects at face value-nothing will be coming out anytime soon.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Richard would probably perfer to have anything he releases handled via a major label just because that's how he's always done it. But lots of artists have migrated to small indie labels (Herb Alpert being one) and have done just fine. He certainly COULD do it that way if he wanted to, he probably just doesn't want it that way -- and at this stage of his life he deserves to be as picky as he wants to be.

 

[Passenger]

Chris, great job and sincere thanks for posting this. How wonderful to finally hear something new from Richard himself, yet bittersweet with his emphatic "no" and "all done" remarks regarding any unreleased material. As someone over 50 that always hungered for more of their music throughout their entire career, I'll continue to cherish what we have. Just hearing Karen's crystal clear voice on "Goodbye to Love" at the beginning of the interview reminds me how blessed we've been. Thanks again.

 

[aaflyer98]

...a little hope goes up in smoke....

 

[aaflyer98]

Chris, great job on the interview. You did an amazing job as host and asked the "not so typical" questions. Thank you. Richard was fun to listen to. He's a musical genius and remembers every detail. I love that. You can also tell how much he loves Karen and how much he admired and respected her talents. Thank you for sharing this interview with us! Well done!

 

[Tapdancer]

I was interested to learn that the multi-layered Carpenters harmonies had their genesis in the "ooh-ahh-ooh-ahhs" of Les Paul and Mary Ford's recording of Tiger Rag.

 

[wideawakeat4am]

Great interview!

I'm still confused about the fire and what it destroyed and what is left though.

Although I can see Richard's reasons for not wanting to release whatever he has left if he does not seem them as up to scratch, at the same time he could throw us a bone or two. He could re-release the solo album with a couple of bonus tracks from the previously unreleased stuff for example.

It was interesting to hear his views on bootleg CDs and so on. I would have thought that this would prove there is a demand still. Rather than not wanting to think about it, maybe he should get in on the action and make sure more official releases are out there.

There are a lot of things he could do. He just doesn't want to do them and I guess we just have to accept that. Sadly

 

[Chris May]

It was interesting to hear his views on bootleg CDs and so on. I would have thought that this would prove there is a demand still. Rather than not wanting to think about it, maybe he should get in on the action and make sure more official releases are out there.

I'd posted this elsewhere I think, but I also think another reason for Richard is the fact that regardless of whether he takes the time and effort to create and promote an unreleased gem or album full of them, people are just going to steal them and trade them illegally anyway. I almost get the feeling from him that he feels like "What's the point? People are just going to take advantage of it, sell or trade it illegally, and at the end of the day no matter what gets released, it will never be enough anyway, so why bother?". I [personally] think THAT, plus his desire (and rightfully so) to have a life and identity of his own, especially at 67 years old, is leading him a different direction now - at least with a majority of this stuff. Just my $.02

 

[Harry]

Also, look at it as a set of giant one...two punches. First his sister, partner, and reason for his celebrity dies. Then, a fire destroys the master recordings of his life's work. Would you have much will to continue, given just THOSE circumstances?

At least he got the opportunity to refine many of those recordings over the few decades since Karen's passing. Some of them turned out wonderfully, others are questionable at best - but at least he gave them to us.

Harry