🎶 Album Sides THE ALBUM SIDES [Poll]: "PASSAGE" (SP-4703)

[Chris May]

“PASSAGE”​

Catalogue Number: A&M SP-4703
Date of Release: 09/23/77
Chart Position- U.S.: #49; U.K.: #12; JAPAN: #7
Album Singles: "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song”/"I Have You”
"Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft"/"Can't Smile Without You"
"Sweet, Sweet Smile"/"I Have You"
Medium: Vinyl/Reel/8-track/Cassette/CD​

Side 1:
1.) B'wana She No Home 5:29 (Franks)
2.) All You Get From Love Is A Love Song 3:46 (Eaton)
3.) I Just Fall In Love Again 4:02 (Dorff/Herbstritt/Sklerov/Lloyd)
4.) On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada/Don't Cry For Me Argentina 7:57 (Webber/Rice)

Side 2:
5.) Sweet, Sweet Smile 3:00 (Newton/Young)
6.) Two Sides 3:27 (Davis)
7.) Man Smart, Woman Smarter 4:21 (Span)
8.) Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft 7:07 (Klatuu)


Album Credits:

B'Wana She No Home:
Piano: Pete Jolly
Electric Piano: Larry Muhoberac
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ron Tutt
Percussion: Wally Snow & Tommy Vig
Conga: Jerry Steinholtz
Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso
Tenor Sax & Alto Flute: Tom Scott
Vocal Arrangement: Gene Puerling

All You Get From Love Is A Love Song:
Electric & Acoustic Piano: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ed Green
Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso & Ray Parker
Conga: Tommy Vig
Percussion: Jerry Steinholtz
Tenor Sax: Tom Scott
Background singers: Karen & Richard Carpenter, Julia Tillman, Carlena Williams, Maxine Willard

I Just Fall In Love Again:
Electric & Acoustic Piano: Richard Carpenter
Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ron Tutt
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Harp: Gale Levant
Overbudget Philharmonic: Peter Knight, Conductor
Gregg Smith Singers: Gregg Smith, Conductor

On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada/Don't Cry For Me Argentina (From the opera Evita):
Overbudget Philharmonic: Peter Knight, Conductor
Gregg Smith Singers: Gregg Smith, Conductor
Announcer: Dennis Heath
Peron: William Feuerstein
Che: Jonathan Marks

Sweet, Sweet Smile:
Bass: Joe Osborn
Fiddle: Bobby Bruce
Banjo: Larry McNealy
Drums: Ron Tutt
Tack Piano: Tom Hensley
Acoustic & Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso

Two Sides:
Electric Piano: Richard Carpenter
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ed Green
Acoustic Guitar: Lee Ritenour & Jay Graydon
Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso
Pedal Steel Guitar: Jay Dee Maness

Man Smart, Woman Smarter:
Bass: Joe Osborn
Drums: Ed Green
Piano: Leon Russell
Tack Piano: Richard Carpenter & Tom Hensley
Steel Drums: Vince Charles
Percussion: Tommy Vig
Baritone Sax: David Luell & Kurt McGettrick
Tenor Sax: Jackie Kelso
Electric Guitar: Tony Peluso
Conga: King Erickson

Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day):
Acoustic & Electric Piano: Richard Carpenter
Synthesizer: Richard Carpenter
Drums: Ron Tutt
Bass: Joe Osborn
Electric Guitar & DJ: Tony Peluso
Oboe: Earl Dumler
Overbudget Philharmonic: Peter Knight, Conductor
Gregg Smith Singers: Gregg Smith, Conductor

Produced by: Richard Carpenter
Associate Producer: Karen Carpenter
Arranged and Orchestrated by: Richard Carpenter
I Just Fall In Love Again, On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada / Don't Cry For Me Argentina and Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft Orchestrated by: Peter Knight
Vocals: Karen & Richard Carpenter
Engineered by: Ray Gerhardt, Roger Young and Dave Iveland
Mastering Engineer: Bernie Grundman
Special Thanks to: Ed Sulzer, John Bettis and Ron Gorow
Art Direction: Roland Young
Design: Junie Osaki
Cover Art: Lou Beach

 

[Mark-T]

Although I love Sweet Sweet Smile, side one wins because of the one-two punch of the opening cuts.

 

[CraigGA]

It's a hard decision. But I think I once played the first side more when I first bought it for Bwana, Love Song, and Fall In Love Again: and even Don't Cry. Sweet Sweet Smile was contagious, so when listening to side 2, I would have definitely played that. I liked the rest, but it took a different mood of listening, but that does not diminish its quality. This is one of my favorite albums.

 

[newvillefan]

Side 1 for me, as it has the sublime opening track (currently the subject of so much discussion), as well as a lovely piece of ear candy in Love Song and a stellar Carpenters ballad.

I can't stand Sweet, Sweet Smile or Man Smart, Woman Smarter although an honourable mention goes to the magnificant Occupants.

 

[GaryAlan]

In spite of the fact that
Two Sides
is a fantastic song....
and I do love Sweet,Sweet Smile and
Calling Occupants,
It'll have to be side one for me....

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Hmm can I put B'wana on side 2?
I've never been a fan of I Just Fall In Love Again and Argentina is just too long and I really prefer Olivia's version over Karen's
I'd have to pick side 2
I love Sweet Sweet Smile and Calling well I'm a sci fi fan and Two Sides is a hidden gem that doesn't get enough recognition. Man Smart yuck I'd replace that with B'wana for the perfect side 2.

 

[GaryAlan]

As I might have mentioned previously,
the 45-Honolulu City Lights/I Just Fall In Love Again
absolutely sounds incredible...
so, for those who have this 45, spin
I Just Fall In Love Again,
and hear if it doesn't sound stunning....
I played it this morning and was overwhelmed.....

 

[Carpe diem]

Side 1 hands down! B'wana...unforgettably wonderful, All You Get From Love...wonderful, I Just Fall...exquisitely wonderful, On The Balcony...Turn that down or I'm calling the cops! (not good), Don't Cry For Me...wonderful.

Side 2: Sweet Sweet...ok, Two Sides-wonderful++, Man Smart...el stinko, Calling all Occupants...too long but a beautifully haunting chant by our girl.

 

[Murray]

Another vote for side one... B'wana, AYGFLIALS, I Just Fall In Love Again, Argentina (minus the dreadful Casa Rosada intro) = four great performances - vs only three on the flip side (make that 2 3/4 - I deducted a 1/4 point for the DJ intro. It's really worn thin over the years).

 

[Harry]

I picked Side One on the strength of newly-fascinating "B'wana She No Home" and the presence of longtime favorite "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song". I too used to love "Occupants" but it's worn really thin over time and no longer feels all that special. I still like it, just not as much.

As for "Casa Rosada", well, its presence doesn't detract from the full side, and I like the "Argentina: song.

 

[tanner71]

"Two Sides" ranks among their best tracks, and four decades later, "Occupants" remains bizarrely fascinating and fun. But "Sweet, Sweet" and "Man Smart" never really get out of the gate, so I have to go with Side 1, if only by default. That said, each side could have benefited from some tightening to make room for another track or two. I've never understood the point of the long outro of "B'wana"; Franks's original has a more natural flow, though Karen's lead vocal is more intriguing. "On the Balcony" has no place on a 1977 pop album, even one so self-consciously "progressive." Maybe "Sailing on the Tide" could have been slid in as a palate cleanser between "I Just Fall" and a condensed "Argentina." Then they could have junked "Man Smart" altogether and added a couple of interesting covers by the likes of Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Christine McVie. "Sweet, Sweet" might then be remembered more fondly as a slight, breezy album cut. (Maybe some of this would have happened if Joe Wissert had signed on to produce, per the discussions early in '77.)

And yet, of the post-"Horizon" albums, "Passage" is still the one I think of most fondly, if for no other reason than its game effort. It deserved better.

 

[Graeme]

Great album. I remember the first time I heard B'Wana I was amazed. It was just so different and I loved the whole vibe it had. I like the others on side 1. However, I prefer AYGFLIALS when I watch the video (I also have an aversion to seagulls after a trip to St Ives), I Just Fall In Love With You is great but I could maybe do without the choir, and I have to be in the right mood for Don't Cry for Me Argentina (though I feel Karen's performance of the song should be more widely known).

However, I've gone for side 2. I never grow tired of Sweet Sweet Smile, it has a banjo, fiddle, some great guitar work and I love the way Karen tackles it, especially that final "you're always in heart", though I can't really explain why. I love the the guitar work on Two Sides. And I'm sorry, but I'm a big fan of Man Smart Woman Smarter. Like B'Wana, it seemed so different to what they'd done before and when the saxophone gets going it gets a bit Jungle Book (might just be me!) And Calling Occupants is just fantastic.

The whole album was just so eclectic, fresh sounding and upbeat. It deserved to be more successful.

 

[GaryAlan]

Varied and interesting discussion of this Album !
Too bad it did not get this amount of attention in 1977-1978 !
I do wonder if the Space Encounters TV Special did not tarnish it just a bit.
However this LP remains in my Top 5.....

 

[Toolman]

Abstaining because I like both sides. Probably my second or third favorite Carpenters LP.

 

[Rudy]

This would be a tough one for me. The one-two punch on side one is strong right out of the gate ('specially for this Michael Franks fan), and the excerpt from Evita can sound good on the right day.

Yet if I go by the number of "sure thing" tunes, three of the four are solid. I don't care for "Man Smart..." mainly because it's a butchering of the original tune (which Harry Belafonte used to perform quite a bit, and appeared on his landmark Calypso album). I did not realize until years later that our version here was nearly a carbon copy of Robert Palmer's. Can't listen to it currently to make certain this is the right version (I'm playing some Oregon this evening), but...

 

[ars nova]

was this album recorded during the time of Richard's illness? mostly his contribution here is producer. two of the arrangements are lifted from others and much of the keyboards are performed by other musicians. there are some carpenter gems however. I've always felt cheated by this album. there were only eight tracks. we had heard AYGFLIALS and two of them, MSWS and DCFMA were just taking up space as far as I was concerned.

 

[John Tkacik]

Side 1: "Argentina" and "I Just Fall In Love Again". I prefer Karen's vocals on these as opposed to the more well known versions by Madonna & Anne Murray.

 

[CraigGA]

I was surprised when I learned that fans don't like MSWSmarter. I like the song and always have. I even like that long instrumental at the end. For a live opening it could have be tagged into Flat Baroque before Only Yesterday. If you have ever walked into a old jazz club bar, all the band has a turn with the melody and one song can take up to 2o minutes. Since I enjoy that, it could be why I like this song. Plus, we get to listen to Leon Russell play the piano on a Carpenters track.

 

[newvillefan]

I was surprised when I learned that fans don't like MSWSmarter. I like the song and always have. I even like that long instrumental at the end.

If I'm not mistaken, there's the prolonged sound of an airplane crash towards the end of the song, buried underneath the lengthy ending.

 

[Rumbahbah]

Definitely Side 1 - even if the prelude to 'Argentina' is a bit superfluous, it's all competent and at times excellent. Side 2 however is blighted by 'Man Smart, Woman Smarter' probably the worst thing they ever recorded, and I don't care for 'Sweet Sweet Smile' either.

 

[tanner71]

Provocative discussion here, as an earlier poster noted. I agree that the long instrumentals are well played and recorded, but in those days Carpenters albums were getting fewer and farther between, and when one finally arrived, I wanted to hear lots of Karen and Richard (especially Karen). For too-long stretches of "Passage," they go missing. Which is a (dirty old) shame, because the album's high points really soar.

 

[ullalume]

If I'm not mistaken, there's the prolonged sound of an airplane crash towards the end of the song, buried underneath the lengthy ending.

I always thought it was a combine harvester, you know, keeping with the idea of being out in the sticks.

 

[Calvin R Murty]

This being the first Carpenters LP I ever bought (after that, I started getting all that came before and after), I liked er, the two sides of it equally!

 

[Carpe diem]

If I'm not mistaken, there's the prolonged sound of an airplane crash towards the end of the song, buried underneath the lengthy ending.

Are you sure? Was it an airplane crash or two giant freight trains colliding "head on"?

 

[BarryT60]

Side One... Although I love Two Sides.... I Just Fall In Love Again remains one of my favorite recordings from K & R - period. It carries the side, along with All You Get From Love is a Love-song, and I really like Don't Cry For Me Argentina - the actual song... (would have rather another Carpenter track, rather than On The Balcony...)

But when i saw a flash of the artwork for the album and reviewed the track listing, it brought back my initial fondness and hope I had for this album. I really believed that the fresh approach to the music and the clean and updated artwork, would lead to a new momentum and respect industry-wide for Karen & Richard.

All in all - how disappointing that this transitional package didn't really take them to the next level...

But you know what - 40 years later, it still holds up! So - all in all - even though it didn't take them where one might have hoped, just a glimpse of that artwork - and it takes me back instantly to that feeling of excitement and optimism... Much the same way the actual music does...

SO - at the end of the day - - - - maybe it did the trick after all! Success! 40 years in the making!