⭐ Official Review [Album]: "AS TIME GOES BY" (UICY-1060)

[Cuyler]

New release today, 25 June, 2021. I never pictured Streisand releasing a cover of this but I actually really like her take on it.




The new album it comes from showcases songs and studio performances recorded over the course of Streisand’s career, but shelved for various reasons. This version of the song was recorded in 1979.

Hear Barbra Streisand sing 'Rainbow Connection' with Kermit the Frog

Barbra Streisand dropped a new track off her forthcoming album, 'Release Me 2,' a duet between her and Kermit the Frog on 'The Rainbow Connection.'

ew.com

Oh nooooo. Barbra's and Kermit's vocals both are autotuned to death. :'(

Whomever thought a vocal track from 1979 by Barbra Streisand should be autotuned should have been fired upon uttering those words as a suggestion in the studio!

*sigh*

Can I just say... I'm really appreciative of Mr. Richard Carpenter for NOT autotuning his sister's voice. Karen and Barbra deserve better imo.

 

[tomswift2002]

Really, The Rainbow Connection should’ve been finished in 81 and issued on Made In America. Even as a work lead it’s better than 70% of the songs on MIA. Herb or Jerry should’ve over ruled Karen snd Richard and told them to finish the track back then.

 

[JohnFB]

...but the reality is, they were able to take a song--any song--and make it completely, unapologetically their own--sophisticated, but not at all inaccessible. "Rainbow Connection" ceases to be a song by Kermit for kids, and it becomes a tune "adult contemporary" grown-ups and musical theory college majors alike can enjoy.

So very true! Well stated! Thank you.

 

[newvillefan]

Really, The Rainbow Connection should’ve been finished in 81 and issued on Made In America. Even as a work lead it’s better than 70% of the songs on MIA. Herb or Jerry should’ve over ruled Karen snd Richard and told them to finish the track back then.

Better than a lot of the material on MIA yes, but worthy of release on a 1981 album? God, no. It’s so old fashioned and cornball. Now, it’s a nice outtake. Back then, it would have been ridiculed.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Better than a lot of the material on MIA yes, but worthy of release on a 1981 album? God, no. It’s so old fashioned and cornball. Now, it’s a nice outtake. Back then, it would have been ridiculed.

It sure isn't any more old fashioned or corny then Beechwood 45789 ...I'd gladly replace that track with Rainbow Connection. I could have worked if Karen had agreed and it had a more polished studio version without the toy piano. Karen's vocal on this demo is remarkable.

 

[JohnFB]

... Karen's vocal on this demo is remarkable.

Well, yes, it really is - but then again that's what it is on every song she ever recorded where her voice was unaltered in any way...

 

[tomswift2002]

Better than a lot of the material on MIA yes, but worthy of release on a 1981 album? God, no. It’s so old fashioned and cornball. Now, it’s a nice outtake. Back then, it would have been ridiculed.

In 1981 it would’ve still been a current song, since Kermit’s version was only released in 1979 (and peaked at on the charts in November 1979).

But it would’ve been better than Strength of A Woman or Somebody’s Been Lying or Those Good Old Dreams. Those should’ve been left as outtakes!

 

[JohnFB]

....

But it would’ve been better than Strength of A Woman or Somebody’s Been Lying or Those Good Old Dreams. Those should’ve been left as outtakes!

Agree on Strength and Somebody's but not on Those Good Old Dreams , which I think is a really good song and a delight to hear...

 

[JohnFB]

Better than a lot of the material on MIA yes, but worthy of release on a 1981 album? God, no. It’s so old fashioned and cornball. Now, it’s a nice outtake. Back then, it would have been ridiculed.

Not so much old fashioned or cornwall as vaguely "New Agey" in it's lyrical content - instead of a frog singing this on a children's TV show it could just as easily have come out of a hippie musical of the 1960s sung by a flower child...and being ridiculed was something they lived with constantly, and even though this often irked them it never discouraged or stopped them, and releasing this would not have been any different...

 

[tomswift2002]

Agree on Strength and Somebody's but not on Those Good Old Dreams , which I think is a really good song and a delight to hear...

Those Good Old Dreams sounds as good as an old lady teacher dragging her fingernails across a chalkboard! The upper echelons of A&M should’ve over ruled and consigned it to the vaults.

 

[GaryAlan]

Uh ?
Somebody's Been Lying, Strength of a Woman and Those Good Old Dreams are not only
three of the duos more "sophisticated" songs, they are also three of my favorites.
Granting that everyone has their own tastes in music and those three songs may not suit everyone,
Those Good Old Dreams is still a great "country-pop" composition.
Returning to 1981, I recall hearing Those Good Old Dreams on the radio and it sounded fresh and I had the highest hopes for it.
Going back to 1981: Keep in mind, it would not have mattered what the duo had released at that time,
nothing was going to reverse the mindset of the radio dj's or the "image" issues of the Carpenters.

 

[Harry]

Those Good Old Dreams sounds as good as an old lady teacher dragging her fingernails across a chalkboard! The upper echelons of A&M should’ve over ruled and consigned it to the vaults.

We all have our tastes and opinions, but I consider this hyperbole - an exaggerated statement not to be taken literally. Obviously the record is not as bad as claimed.

 

[Another Son]

Love ‘Those Good Old Dreams’, ‘Somebody’s Been Lying’ and ‘Rainbow Connection’. I think ‘Rainbow Connection’ is charming and, if you choose to interpret it as such, a lot deeper than a lot of other songs from 1981. In fact, there were a lot of much daggier songs hitting the charts that year.

Carpenters’ songs weren’t trendy or as ‘progressive’ as the New Wave and New Romantic etc product that was out that year but it was not ‘progressive’, New Wave or New Romantic that Carpenters were loved for.

Given the enduring popularity of Carpenters and the massive sales of Carpenters’ compilations since then, you can bet that ‘Those Good Old Dreams’, for one, (which is usually included), is better known, remembered and loved now than some of the trendier big hits of 1981.

 

[moog]

I like "As Time Goes By" more than "Made in America," which is my least favorite album because I find it hard to listen to, knowing the hardships going on behind the scenes at the time (Karen's anorexia getting worse, her solo album being shelved, her marriage failing). At least "As Time Goes By" has some songs from happier times, and the Karen/Ella medley is a standout (and the Carpenters/Como medley). I wish they had done more duets.

 

[JohnFB]

We all have our tastes and opinions, but I consider this hyperbole - an exaggerated statement not to be taken literally. Obviously the record is not as bad as claimed.

Agreed - but then "not as bad as claimed" is faint praise indeed - or no praise at all...

Here's the lyrics of the first verse and the chorus - nicely literate and heartfelt and way above average for the genre - and with Karen singing them so warmly, what's not to love?

As a child I was known for make believin'
All alone I created fantasies
As I grew people called it self-deceiving
But my heart helped me hold the memories
As I walk through the world I find around me
Something new yet familiar's in the air
I feel it everywhere
Like a child's eyes on a Christmas night
I'm looking at you now
Findin' answers to my prayers.

It's a new day for those good old dreams
One by one it seems they're comin' true
Here's the morning that my heart had seen
Here's the morning that just had to come through
Same old stage but what a change of scene
No more dark horizons, only blue
It's a new day for those good old dreams
All my life I've dreamed of lovin' you.

 

[Chris May]

Better than a lot of the material on MIA yes, but worthy of release on a 1981 album? God, no. It’s so old fashioned and cornball. Now, it’s a nice outtake. Back then, it would have been ridiculed.

I tend to agree. The song really was a misfit for the creative theme that was going on with MIA in my humble opinion. Again, great melody and nice lyrics, but an outtake nevertheless.

 

[GaryAlan]

The standouts for me are these three songs:
Nowhere Man, California Dreaming, And When He Smiles.

Is it not true that Karen did not like Rainbow Connection, did not want it completed ?

 

[Chris May]

The standouts for me are these three songs:
Nowhere Man, California Dreaming, And When He Smiles.

Is it not true that Karen did not like Rainbow Connection, did not want it completed ?

She didn't care for her lead for some of the same reasons she didn't care for her lead on "Solitaire." The melodic scooping and falling of notes was not something Karen was terribly fond of. Both tunes required her to naturally sing this way, and she just didn't care for the end result apparently.

 

[JohnFB]

Is it not true that Karen did not like Rainbow Connection, did not want it completed ?

See the long quote from Robert Patterson in my post on the previous page - not sure who or what was his source...

He talks about her professionalism and if she didn't like SOLITAIRE and RAINBOW CONNECTION that quality was sure as hell on full display in the recordings of both these songs - if it was just that she didn't like her execution of them then her standards for herself were even higher than I thought, and certainly far higher than mine for her, because I think she nailed both...just maybe it was the sad, degenerate tale of SOLITAIRE she had a hard time with emotionally (the guy is a freakin' loser and other than the sheer joy of listening to her sing it the song is a real downer) - and RAINBOW is not a love song (lost or gained) of the kind she was very used to but some strange allegory about the meaning of life (or something like a connection of some sort) lying beyond a rainbow for dreamers and others - but who the hell really knows what it's really about, if anything? It might have just confused or bored her...

 

[Chris May]

She didn't care for her lead for some of the same reasons she didn't care for her lead on "Solitaire." The melodic scooping and falling of notes was not something Karen was terribly fond of. Both tunes required her to naturally sing this way, and she just didn't care for the end result apparently.

And while we’re on the subject, it’s also one of the reasons neither Karen nor Richard care for “I Can’t Make Music.” Same issue with the large melodic spacing between some of the notes.

 

[Lynda]

Agree on Strength and Somebody's but not on Those Good Old Dreams , which I think is a really good song and a delight to hear...

I have always liked Those Good Old Dreams and think it is a good song to start off the album.

Another song I like on Made in America is When You've Got What It Takes, particularly at the "for when you do", as overly specific or idiosyncratic as that may be.

 

[Lynda]

The standouts for me are these three songs:
Nowhere Man, California Dreaming, And When He Smiles.

Is it not true that Karen did not like Rainbow Connection, did not want it completed ?

Nowhere Man is a favourite of mine on this album. Overall, I am not a fan of Rainbow Connection.

 

[newvillefan]

The melodic scooping and falling of notes was not something Karen was terribly fond of. Both tunes required her to naturally sing this way, and she just didn't care for the end result apparently.

I’m with Karen on this one. One of the reasons I don’t care at all for the song is the melody on the line “what’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing” (repeated later with different lyric). That up-and-down, see-saw melody doesn’t suit her voice at all.

It’s been mentioned many times that Karen said to Richard she’d “come down and get him” if he ever released this song. I’ve often wondered in what context she said that to him, and why this one in particular. It’s such an odd thing to come out with, unless someone is aware of their mortality for some reason.

 

[Cuyler]

...and being ridiculed was something they lived with constantly, and even though this often irked them it never discouraged or stopped them, and releasing this would not have been any different...

Amen to that! That's one reason why I find a lot of hope and power in the Carpenters' music. I've been told that most people aren't supposed to openly admit they're Carpenters fans because X Y Z, but that never stopped me from listening to them and talking about my appreciation for them publicly. We need more lovers and dreamers who won't stop loving and dreaming because of peer pressure.

 

[Cuyler]

And while we’re on the subject, it’s also one of the reasons neither Karen nor Richard care for “I Can’t Make Music.” Same issue with the large melodic spacing between some of the notes.

I can hear it. Some of the note spacing jumps are not necessarily "natural jumps"—I'm thinking of "the lovers, the dreamers, and me" (when she holds out "me" at around 3:07, or "a lonely man" in the intro of "Solitaire," or "I can't make music." However, I thought Karen handled all of these songs masterfully, and I know fans who swear by "Solitaire" as their favorite song on "Horizon" or "I Can't Make Music" as their top two or three favorites on "Now & Then."

Karen's singing talent and Richard's arranging talent really did complement each other, imho. The casual listener and even the avid fan would never be able to tell they never cared for some of these songs that were eventually released—two of them released as singles, no less.