Behind the Music documentary

Hadn't seen this before, I enjoyed the album-by-album assessment format.

For whatever reason, this reinforced my feeling about 'Touch Me'; to have a top 16 hit in 1981 with that song, with virtually no promotion to drive it, after the long decline their music went through for half a decade, on an otherwise (arguably) weak album, was something of a small triumph.
 
Interesting to watch and fair assessment for the most part. Licensing must have limited the footage/photo/soundtrack usage, too many New London Theatre clips. Am a little surprised that "The Singles 69-73" wasn't even mentioned seeing it spent 17 weeks at number one in UK where this documentary was produced. Guess they were concentrating on original studio albums even though "The Singles" was a unique and fresh approach to the greatest hits format.

No mention of "Hurting Each Other", "Sing", "Please Mr. Postman" or "Touch Me When We're Dancing" which ended up as their last Top 20 hit. From 1975 on, the Carpenters still had 5 television specials, sold out concerts including mine in 1976, 7 Top 40 hits (5 reaching #1 on the AC charts) and a #8 Country hit. Their "decline" years were still successful and I'm sure there are many recording artists past and present that would happily embrace that level of disappointment as their career peak.

Also don't think the Carpenters covered the Beatles that much after Ticket and Help, Postman was a Marvelettes cover. Thanks for posting byline and I love Nova Scotia!
 
If this documentary is from the UK, Touch might not have been mentioned since it looks like it either wasn’t issued or did not chart in the UK (at least according to Wiki).
 
If this documentary is from the UK, Touch might not have been mentioned since it looks like it either wasn’t issued or did not chart in the UK (at least according to Wiki).

I don’t believe it was ever issued in the UK. Strange, since the album charted well here, Occupants had hit the top 10 here in 1977 and (unbeknown to them) VOTH would also chart in the top 10 two years later. The audience was always there for them in the UK.
 
According to Wikipedia, none of the MIA singles charted or were issued in the UK. Apparently there was nothing between “Sweet, Sweat Smile” (UK 40) and “Make Believe It’s Your First Time” (UK 60) for UK Singles.
 
A somewhat interesting watch but a rather odd documentary. It does look like it's from the UK, but was it ever broadcast or just a semi-amateur production? Aside from Rod Hoeburger, the other talking heads all seemed a bit randomly included and as if they'd just learnt their lines from a script rather than giving their own thoughts.

On the issues of singles discussed, if this is a UK production, that might explain why the songs Portlander notes weren't covered, as 'Hurting Each Other', 'Sing' and 'Touch Me When We're Dancing' failed to chart in the UK (although 'Please Mr Postman' of course did at #2!).

On the subject of UK singles from Made in America, three were issued ('Touch Me When We're Dancing', 'Beechwood' and 'Those Good Old Dreams') within the space of five months between June and November 1981, but none of them made the Top 75 chart.
 
On the subject of UK singles from Made in America, three were issued ('Touch Me When We're Dancing', 'Beechwood' and 'Those Good Old Dreams') within the space of five months between June and November 1981, but none of them made the Top 75 chart.

I stand corrected on all three counts. I don’t know why I posted that Touch Me When We’re Dancing wasn’t a UK single because I’ve got a copy of this :laugh:. The second two are clearly marked “exclusive licensees for the UK”.

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I was about to ask what happened with a UK release for Want You Back In My Life Again when I realised it was the B-side of Those Good Old Dreams. Very strange choice.

carpenters-want-you-back-in-my-life-again-am.jpg
 
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I stand corrected on all three counts. I don’t know why I posted that Touch Me When We’re Dancing wasn’t a UK single because I’ve got a copy of this :laugh:. The second two are clearly marked “exclusive licensees for the UK”.

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carpenters-beechwood-45789-1981-7.jpg


carpenters-those-good-old-dreams-1981-3.jpg


I was about to ask what happened with a UK release for Want You Back In My Life Again when I realised it was the B-side of Those Good Old Dreams. Very strange choice.

carpenters-want-you-back-in-my-life-again-am.jpg
We’re they just Promo only singles? That might explain why they didn’t chart.
 
Hmm John Tobler. I had some of his “critical review” books on ABBA in the nineties and they weren’t all that good either.
 
We’re they just Promo only singles? That might explain why they didn’t chart.

No, all three were officially released as singles (I've got copies of 'Touch Me...' and 'Beechwood' and neither is a promo copy). You can see a scan of the commercially released single here:

Carpenters - Beechwood 4-5789

John Tobler wrote a track-by-track guide book for the Carpenters back in the 1990s. He didn't go into much detail on the songs and I didn't agree with a lot of his opinions, but the book did mention that he'd been trying to make a documentary on the Carpenters that never got commissioned and that he'd interviewed various people (Sherwin Bash, John Bettis, possibly Richard too) for it, so maybe this 'unofficial' documentary was an offshoot from that original idea.
 
No, all three were officially released as singles (I've got copies of 'Touch Me...' and 'Beechwood' and neither is a promo copy). You can see a scan of the commercially released single here:

Carpenters - Beechwood 4-5789

It’s interesting that Beechwood was released in August 1981 in the UK and not until March 1982 in the US - almost a year after the album’s release. Sadder still than none of the MIA singles even charted in the UK - not even Touch Me When We’re Dancing. By rights they shouldn’t even appear on UK hits compilations.
 
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It’s interesting that Beechwood was released in August 1981 in the UK and not until March 1982 in the US - almost a year after the album’s release. Sadder still than none of the MIA singles even charted in the UK - not even Touch Me When We’re Dancing. By rights they shouldn’t even appear on UK hits compilations.

I seem to recall that one of the 1981 fan club newsletters (can't find a link to it now - are these still available online?) said that different territories were being allowed to pick different singles from the album, so that may explain why 'Beechwood' got a release as the second single in the UK. However, the fact that they filmed a video for it along with 'Touch Me...' and 'Those Good Old Dreams' in mid-1981 suggests that it had always been earmarked as a future single release.

Yes, Made in America was their only album in the UK not to produce a charting single. I don't know if much effort was put into promoting them - they did come over to the UK in October (so it would have been just before the release of 'Those Good Old Dreams' as a single) to promote the album, but I don't think they performed on any TV shows while they were here, and it seems that the effort was in vain, as it didn't boost sales of the album or the singles.
 
This is really a bad 'documentary', full of inaccuracies. Pink-hair woman explains to uninformed public that Carpenters 'took some time off' after Passage and made a comeback with MIA. No mention of Christmas Portrait at all, the most popular festive album ever made? Sad-looking blue t-shirt guy laments KC's vocals on MIA, as if to say that her declining health had produced a thinner sound. What utter nonsense.
 
Sad-looking blue t-shirt guy laments KC's vocals on MIA, as if to say that her declining health had produced a thinner sound. What utter nonsense.

I thought the sad looking blue t-shirt guy - Rob Hoerburger, a well respected music journalist - was spot on. MIA does sound different and much of Karen’s vocal work did sound thinner. It’s been much discussed on this forum.
 
Although I believe there is weakness in Karen's vocals on parts of MIA LP,
I attribute that perceived weakness to (at least) three things:
(1) Karen (or Richard--or, both) was purposeful in trying to sound more feminine on these songs,
(2) the 'weaker' sounds are primarily on faster-tempo songs such as Beechwood and Back In My Life,
the slower songs sounded quite nice,
(3) as widely reported, there were technical, mechanical problems in production of the LP,
Richard having to go through--at least-- three physical test pressings (Fan Club Newsletters).

If we go back and watch snippets of Karen's 'live' vocals--near that time--
the 20/20 Herb interview,Japan telethon ad-lib on Touch Me, Olivia's Program--
we hear that Karen could sound stronger, tougher, in vocals when it was needed !

Still, impossible to deny that her physical decline had to affect her vocals in some manner.
It is impossible to ascertain to what extent it did.....my two cents worth....
 
Still, impossible to deny that her physical decline had to affect her vocals in some manner.

I usually stay out of discussions about Karen's "weaker" vocals because frankly I don't hear it - at all. I think too many people look at videos and are horrified by her appearance and equate that to her sound. As Richard himself has said, her sound never changed, and I agree with that. These "faster-tempo" songs were both mixed with Karen back in the mix. That was intentional to give the songs a more group-like feel. Enough said. I'll retreat from this discussion for another decade or so.
 
I recall-1981--upon first hearing Touch Me When We're Dancing--
thinking that the vocal sound was a bit thinner than previous songs.
Of course, we had the so-called "Carpettes" on Background Vocals, too ! (Why ?).
Hearing that song on the radio--1981-- was previous to any video of Karen Carpenter
I ever saw--and, that came in 1983, when the video for Touch Me aired on television news.
So, no, at least in my instance, the video--the appearance--of Karen Carpenter has absolutely
no place in my belief that songs on Made In America has weaker--or, at least softer,
vocals than previous efforts.
But, then, I Believe You is in a softer vein, too. And, that's 1978.
Karen's illness was unknown to me until February 1983.
 
Although I believe there is weakness in Karen's vocals on parts of MIA LP,
I attribute that perceived weakness to (at least) three things:
(1) Karen (or Richard--or, both) was purposeful in trying to sound more feminine on these songs,
[SNIP]
Still, impossible to deny that her physical decline had to affect her vocals in some manner.
It is impossible to ascertain to what extent it did.....my two cents worth....

^^ This. I am convinced that the sound of much of Karen's vocals on MIA was at least partly a conscious decision. To what extent her personal and health travails at this point in time may have had on her voice, is hard to know, but it seems likely it had _some_ impact. She was, after all, human.
 
I usually stay out of discussions about Karen's "weaker" vocals because frankly I don't hear it - at all. I think too many people look at videos and are horrified by her appearance and equate that to her sound. As Richard himself has said, her sound never changed, and I agree with that. These "faster-tempo" songs were both mixed with Karen back in the mix. That was intentional to give the songs a more group-like feel. Enough said. I'll retreat from this discussion for another decade or so.
I think what Karen did do is choose a more restrained vocal sound. I remember reading that she essentially accused her younger self of oversinging, and she really preferred the controlled version of her voice. Once she made that decision, she stuck with it. Personally, I disagree with Karen's assessment. I loved the dynamic range she achieved in her youth, everything from "belting" (though Karen's version of belting was quite different from, say, Ethel Merman's) down to a whisper. But it wasn't my voice, and I can understand why she felt more restraint equaled greater maturity.
 
I think what Karen did do is choose a more restrained vocal sound. I remember reading that she essentially accused her younger self of oversinging, and she really preferred the controlled version of her voice. Once she made that decision, she stuck with it. Personally, I disagree with Karen's assessment. I loved the dynamic range she achieved in her youth, everything from "belting" (though Karen's version of belting was quite different from, say, Ethel Merman's) down to a whisper. But it wasn't my voice, and I can understand why she felt more restraint equaled greater maturity.

@byline - perfectly stated, I agree 100% with everything you said here. I also believe that Karen made a conscious choice to sing in her upper register more frequently, as well.
 
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