This Masquerade: A Quick, Light Look at 4 Versions

[JohnFB]

"This Masquerade" was composed by the creative but underrated Oklahoman Leon Russell and recorded by him on his 1972 album "Carney". Russell's version starts off with a somewhat extended instrumental intro and then features his uniquely soulful - if rather rough and gruff - voice and, presumably, his piano work - here's that version:





Helen Reddy recorded the song on her 1972 hit album "I Am Woman" and it features her delightful and distinctive vocal with maybe a little more string accompaniment than one would expect for a jazz oriented song like this. Here's her version:





Carpenters, of course, recorded it in 1973 for the "Now & Then" album and it was released as Side B for the "Please, Mr. Postman" single - in addition to Karen's wonderful vocal she also played the drums on the recording. And the song also included the highly tasteful instrumental solos of Richard on piano and Bob Messenger on electric flute. Here's their (some would say incomparable) version, which we're all so very familiar with and which runs to almost 5 minutes:





The fabulously talented George Benson then recorded an extended version on his 1976 album "Breezin'" featuring his "scatting" and great guitar work. His version was the only one to chart, making it to No. 10 on Billboard's Hot 100. It also won a Grammy for Record of the Year. Here's that extended version which runs to just over 8 minutes (the single was edited down to a little over 3 minutes):


This Masquerade (2000 Remaster)


And just for the fun of it here's a young YouTuber reacting to Carpenters version after having heard Benson's version "all of her young life":

Carpenters This Masquerade *DayOne Reacts*

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[Mark-T]

One of the best in the duo's catalogue of iconic records.

 

[Nemily]

Carpenters take on This Masquerade adds what is needed to make this the definitive version because of Karen's genius read on the rhythm and tempo. She knew exactly what to do with it and set up the mood for everything on the recording brilliantly.

When I hear this recording I always wonder why they didn’t dabble more in this direction. it was true to their Jazz roots and strengths.

 

[JohnFB]

...

When I hear this recording I always wonder why they didn’t dabble more in this direction. it was true to their Jazz roots and strengths.

I really believe that they would have swerved strongly towards so-called "Smooth Jazz" flavored arrangements and songs - "A Song for You" was in this same Blues/Jazz vein and look at how outstanding that turned out to be - even the incredible recording "Rainy Days and Mondays" was as much a Jazzy/Bluesy effort as it was Soft Rock or Pop. And on the Solo Album there was "If We Try" and "If I Had You", both heavily SJ oriented.

 

[Geographer]

Carpenters take on This Masquerade adds what is needed to make this the definitive version because of Karen's genius read on the rhythm and tempo. She knew exactly what to do with it and set up the mood for everything on the recording brilliantly.

When I hear this recording I always wonder why they didn’t dabble more in this direction. it was true to their Jazz roots and strengths.

I agree and will only add that Richards brilliant and, dare I say, "classy" arrangement make this the classic that it is.

 

[Geographer]

I really believe that they would have swerved strongly towards so-called "Smooth Jazz" flavored arrangements and songs - "A Song for You" was in this same Blues/Jazz vein and look at how outstanding that turned out to be - even the incredible recording "Rainy Days and Mondays" was as much a Jazzy/Bluesy effort as it was Soft Rock or Pop. And on the Solo Album there was "If We Try" and "If I Had You", both heavily SJ oriented.

Definitely a direction they could have easily, and successfully, gone once their "hit-making" era had ended for sure! Their audience and fans have matured by this time and the music would have also.

 

[Song4uman]

I wish it had been a single.

 

[Harry]

Flip side of Please Mr. Postman:

 

[newvillefan]

I wish it had been a single.

I think you meant A-side rather than B-side?

 

[1969]

Carpenters take on This Masquerade adds what is needed to make this the definitive version because of Karen's genius read on the rhythm and tempo. She knew exactly what to do with it and set up the mood for everything on the recording brilliantly.

When I hear this recording I always wonder why they didn’t dabble more in this direction. it was true to their Jazz roots and strengths.

Yes. Karen, Richard, and Bob Messenger really shine as *musicians* here, and Karen's vocal is (nothing new) perfection. I sometimes wonder if it were released as a single before George Benson, maybe it would have led to a Grammy nomination. I wouldn't mind listening to the entire original take where the end goes on for a lot longer maybe? Just to hear Bob on the flute and Karen on drums for a wee bit longer.....

 

[Harry]

I think you meant A-side rather than B-side?

Oh, I'm sure of that. But --- it was a single.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

For me, Carpenters’ version of this tune is definitive. George’s is very nice but Carpenters’ wins by a landslide. I always liked Carpenters’ smooth jazz-tinged tunes. They’re the ones that Richard doesn’t overproduce. He does enough and gets out of the way so Karen can shine. Only Ordinary Fool is overproduced (think if Meatloaf did a saloon song) but Karen’s vocal is so amazing that she wins anyway.

I’d love to have seen Carpenters head down this road. They wasted a lot of time chart chasing after Horizon and that time could have been better spent taking a left turn into jazzier things. Karen had the chops and Richard definitely did too.

Ed

 

[JohnFB]

... I always liked Carpenters’ smooth jazz-tinged tunes. They’re the ones that Richard doesn’t overproduce. He does enough and gets out of the way so Karen can shine. Only Ordinary Fool is overproduced (think if Meatloaf did a saloon song) but Karen’s vocal is so amazing that she wins anyway.

I've agreed with this "overproduction charge" in relation to some of their recordings, but not "Ordinary Fool" - unless one considers the light use of strings at all as a form of overproduction. Because, other than that, I think the arrangement and orchestration are sparse and tasteful and perfectly appropriate for the Blusey/Jazzy reading Karen gives the song, which IS amazing - or as one reviewer said "breathtaking"...

I’d love to have seen Carpenters head down this road. They wasted a lot of time chart chasing after Horizon and that time could have been better spent taking a left turn into jazzier things. Karen had the chops and Richard definitely did too.

Ed

Not too sure this would have happened, even if both of them had stayed healthy...too much pressure from A&M for more "hits", too much obsession by Richard for "chart positions", too much demand from their fans (and radio programmers) for more light, simple fun songs like "Postman", too extensive & exhausting of a touring schedule, too little significance given to what they had achieved artistically with recordings like "A Song for You" and "This Masquerade" by both R & K, inability to find more such top quality songs, Richard's unchanging fascination with technical recording gimmicks, Karen's unwillingness to act like the Diva she was and demand much better material for her magnificent voice and vocal style, etc., etc...

The best hope for a major shift in musical direction might have been for Karen to take charge of herself and her career, sign on with a record company that understood & appreciated her awesome talent, and find other producers/arrangers who knew and understood exactly what she was after, and how to make it happen.

 

[Mark-T]

I may be in the minority, but I find Ordinary Fool every bit as perfect a recording as This Masquerade.

 

[JohnFB]

... Karen's unwillingness to act like the Diva she was justifiably could have been and demand much better material for her magnificent voice and vocal style, etc., etc...

The best hope for a major shift in musical direction might have been for Karen to take charge of herself and her career, sign on with a record company that understood & appreciated her awesome talent, and find other producers/arrangers who knew and understood exactly what she was after, and how to make it happen.

Ah, the bittersweet agony of posthumous wishing thinking...the cold reality of "never will bes"...

 

[ars nova]

I wish it had been a single.

i hammered my ( then ) favorite station here in dallas to play THIS MASQUERADE after YESTERDAY ONCE MORE ran out of steam, and they did play it. my opinion was that it probably would haved been a single if the push to have TOP OF THE WORLD and SINGLES 1969 - 1973 ready for the christmas release season.

 

[Song4uman]

I think you meant A-side rather than B-side?

Yes A side.

 

[JohnFB]

Things I wonder about:

Why wasn't this truly outstanding recording an A-side? Length? Weren't there some other long songs back then that got played a lot on "Hit Radio"?

Did Leon or George ever comment on Carpenter's version?

Did Carpenters ever perform the song live during any of their concert appearances?

 

[Song4uman]

Things I wonder about:

Why wasn't this truly outstanding recording an A-side? Length? Weren't there some other long songs back then that got played a lot on "Hit Radio"?

Did Leon or George ever comment on Carpenter's version?

Did Carpenters ever perform the song live during any of their concert appearances?

The First Time Ever I saw your face
4 minute 20 second radio edit

 

[JohnFB]

"Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin maybe - it was very long, but was it played on many Hit Radio stations? Billy Joel's "Piano Man"?

 

[Harry]

The First Time Ever I saw your face
4 minute 20 second radio edit

And the slowest record I've ever heard.

 

[newvillefan]

And the slowest record I've ever heard.

And a chart topper in the US, Canada and Australia

 

[Mike Smith]

The best hope for a major shift in musical direction might have been for Karen to take charge of herself and her career, sign on with a record company that understood & appreciated her awesome talent, and find other producers/arrangers who knew and understood exactly what she was after, and how to make it happen.

This is a really interesting comment. However, based on a conversation I had with Karen and what I have read about her, the chances of this were very small even if she had been healthy. She thought Richard would always have her best interests at heart even though the quality of their material clearly declined in the later years. The extreme touring was the huge mistake, in my opinion. Was it really necessary for them to have three concerts in Oklahoma (not that there is anything wrong with the Sooner State) in less than two years?

More than Karen leaving the duo, what would have been better was a manager with a vision for their career and the guts to say "no" to the less strategically important demands on them.

 

[JohnFB]

... However, based on a conversation I had with Karen...

You had a conversation with Karen!?! What was the occasion? (he said while turning dark green with extreme envy...)

The extreme touring was the huge mistake, in my opinion...

Absolutely - it was far, far too extensive - and a major contributing factor in their health problems and in their decline in creative output - they should have been locked in the recording studio and supplied with everything they could possibly want or need, and told to make music - and let out only a few times a year for some llimited duration concert engagements...

More than Karen leaving the duo, what would have been better was a manager with a vision for their career and the guts to say "no" to the less strategically important demands on them.

Any idea who that could have been?

 

[Randy M]

I like both the Carpenters' & Helen Reddy's versions. Reddy's career took a dive after the 70's. Her albums from the 80's onward were spotty but some nice songs.

"Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin maybe - it was very long, but was it played on many Hit Radio stations? Billy Joel's "Piano Man"?

"Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin maybe - it was very long, but was it played on many Hit Radio stations? Billy Joel's "Piano Man"?

Stairway To Heaven was justifiably long, and I only heard it on classic rock stations. Classic rock stations played classics before they were classic. To me they were "hard rock" stations, whatever I mean by that. When I make my mix-CDs, I find that a lot of those long songs were really just looped over and over at the end. I like songs that get in and get out in 3 minutes. 3 and a half max. Elvis' song were under 2 minutes sometimes.