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I agree Gary. The extra orchestrations at the end just seem unnecessary. I tried my hand at it and here are the results. Skip to 3:10 to hear the changes.
I wish I could love When It’s Gone like you guys do. It’s my least favorite of all. I do like Somebody’s Been Lying as a favorite and most of you don’t.
I like from the middle to the end. The song is too long and it drags on and on and on. Same arrangement throughout. It’s just boring to me. When It’s Gone I’m glad it’s over. It’s the only song that I feel that way. I’ll try to take another listen just to see if I can see any of the stuff people like in it. Honestly, I was shocked when I found out people like it. I’m glad people enjoy it for the Carpenters are high up on my scale of good music and anything people enjoy excites me.I’m a big fan of it, I love how there’s darkness intertwined with the grandness of the sound and the lyric is intriguing and thought-provoking. No, it doesn’t have the “guts” of an early era track but I think it’s a compelling arrangement and I do really like the orchestral flourish at the end; it’s like that’s part of the fantasy Karen desires but it ends with the strings(?) skipping around at the end like they did at the beginning, mirroring a partner tip toeing around the truth as quietly as possible.
I like from the middle to the end. The song is too long and it drags on and on and on. Same arrangement throughout. It’s just boring to me. When It’s Gone I’m glad it’s over. It’s the only song that I feel that way. I’ll try to take another listen just to see if I can see any of the stuff people like in it. Honestly, I was shocked when I found out people like it. I’m glad people enjoy it for the Carpenters are high up on my scale of good music and anything people enjoy excites me.
When It's Gone....this is an oddly-structured song, not the usual structure for a "pop" song.
There is no lengthy instrumental bridge, for example, between stanzas.
I will go on record as saying that my favorite song from this album is....
Strength of a Woman.
In any event, this has been my listening "album of the week."
Okay, I'll say it...the album has some interesting things going on.
Most of the songs have bits-and-pieces that intrigue me (example: I do not really like the arrangement for the song
When You've Got What It Takes-- hate the first 12 seconds of it and it should end at 3:13,
but the parts that include background harmonies are great).
Touch Me When We're Dancing sounds incredible on the RPO album.
I will give my own opinion regarding ''When It's Gone'':
Richard's arrangement is really tender and subtle, explosive only in very few moments (when going to the 'B' section), most of the time is 'subdued'.
Like GaryAlan and newvillefan say, the song's structure is unusual, and even the so-called chorus is not as extrovert as most chorus are.
Also, there's no background vocals, solo Karen.
A side-point: I never thought the 'B' sections of the song to be a chorus, but more of a bridge between the verses. Like I said, it certainly doesn't sound like your typical chorus, even though it does have a bit of more pronounced rhythm due to the percussion making an appearance.
Perhaps it's very atypical structure and arrangement is what makes it to stand-out for me. I do like the ending instrumental section, it doesn't drag like other songs of this album like ''Somebody's Been Lyin''', and hearing all the embellishments each instrument play on this last section is just beautiful. Somebody mentioned in another thread the chime-like 6-notes (I think it's a vibraphone or glockenspiel) starting at around 4:26 (4:29 in the video I posted); that's what I mean with subtle touches that make the song that beautiful.
I think the songs in this album could benefit by bringing the vocals a bit up and reducing the reverb slightly. I also think that several songs had their pitch altered to be a bit up, but I feel they overdid it (Those Good Old Dreams is 3/4 of a semitone up for example), hence making Karen sound somewhat tinny in her timbre. I have lowered the pitch on the songs I have posted of the album.
Ooh, ''(Want You) Back In My Life Again'' has been growing on me for the past months, and it is a pretty underrated tune. Yeah, probably they're trying a bit too hard, but it is a really catchy tune, and the arrangement is pretty fun and it does make me want to dance a bit (and I don't like dancing, very rarely I have done so).
Here's a special mix I did, pitch tuning it down slightly, reducing the overall reverb and boosting the vocals. It's not perfect, but it's what I can do with what it's available.
Yeah, probably double-tracked Karen in verses was not a good idea; on the choruses do work but sounds a bit odd on the rest. I do dig the strings harmonic accompaniment that complements the other instruments lines, but yeah it is a little too in-your-face; I did tried to subdue it here. It is still a fun listening despite the somewhat overproduction of the track. I really dig it.This is definite improvement. At least it places Karen further forward (the whole album should have been this way). The whole tune sounds less smothered. You can't get the "double" off of Karen's vocal, of course, and it's just totally unnecessary. I think a single vocal would have been fine throughout. Just my take. 'Course, for me, this doesn't help the weakness of the arrangement. You nailed it when it says it tries too hard. Then, in the same breath, it undermines itself with strings it doesn't need. I just feel it's overproduced. Never a dull moment, really.
Ed
Chris Christian's wife also battled anorexia and she wrote in her book that she saw Karen with her mother, I believe at Hamburger Hamlet right before she died....Chris Christian also dusted with Debby and Cherry Boone along with Laura and Lindy Boone on their album....I listened to Chris Christian's original of Want You Back In My Life Again,
then compared it to Carpenters' version. IMHO Carpenters' arrangement is superior,
that being said--Karen's lead vocal sure seems buried in the mix.
Also, IMHO the song is not a particularly good choice.
However, it is sorta "catchy."
I actually like the cover Beechwood 4-5789 much better !
I simply feel neither of these two songs is "single-worthy."
I located a definition of "concertmaster" :
"The concertmaster leads the orchestra in its tuning prior to the concert, and customarily plays all of the violin solos within pieces.
In addition, the concertmaster marks the orchestra’s scores with the appropriate bowings –
so all the violinists are moving and playing in unison."
On this album, we have two concertmasters who appear on the ten selections:
Jimmy Getzoff (eight songs) and Jerry Vinci (two songs: Somebody's Been Lyin' and Because We Are In Love).
For a comparison, on
Voice of the Heart album, Jimmy Getzoff is concertmaster for "Look To Your Dreams." (one of my all-time favorites).