⭐ Official Review [Album]: "AS TIME GOES BY" (UICY-1060)
- Thread starter Chris May
- Start date
Oh thank you! Yes it was Victor Borge, I remember now. I have never seen anything but the odd snippets of the TV Specials as I haven't seeked out to watch them. It is just what I occasionally catch on a thumbnail. I am so appreciative to you for helping with the info as it was so funny and brilliant this segment and I so enjoyed watching it
.I wish some lyrics could’ve been written for Heather, would’ve been another performance worth cherishing.I loved Heather for being such a departure to have such a beautiful instrumental. I loved Richards track Time, with the backing vocals adding that extra magic to the song. Karen's Theme, Another Song, I loved these tracks that had large instrumental parts or just music. I think of Warsaw Concerto on the Live at the Palladium....what a song! From This Moment On, another track with a melodic melody and perfect vocal delivery or Sometimes from the Tan Album. This is why the instrumentals on As Time Goes By, really we're welcome. What I loved about Karen and Richard is that they went for what they liked. I watched on YouTube on the first Carpenters TV Special, Richard play a piano duet, I cannot remember the pianist name. Oh I was in stitches at how brilliantly performed this piece was, the natural comedy and it was brilliant....how is your mother? Richard always gave credit to Karen for the TV shows but he is one funny guy. I loved the duet between Karen and John Denver with Good Vibrations intermixed. Wow Karens vocal and the natural comedy between the pair when they're ballroom dancing, where he kept thrashing her shoulder into her face....I was laughing so much. Never seen any of this before. Yet I heard many of the tracks from ATGB. Richard and Karen really did have something magic that even the TV specials highlights. There is probably many magical gems from these TV specials that aren't on any album but some of them really deserved to be. Karen singing parts of Good Vibrations really sounded amazing. I know Richard was a big fan of The Beach Boys and I would of loved to hear what they could of done with as a cover, just for fun....May be one exists on a private collection. Karen just sounded so good on this song. I know Richard would of too
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
As far as I am aware, it’s only seen digital releases like CD and download.
Remember in 2001 and 2004 cassettes were being phased out by the major labels, with the exception of talking books, since the cassette was still a strong seller for talking books (2002 still had more than 50% of audio book sales on cassette). Sony’s last cassette release in North America was a various artists gospel collection in 2005. There are reports that Universal may have still been issuing some albums on cassette as late as 2009. Now then there are some countries, like India, where demand was still high up to 2009, because cassettes cost less than CD’s, so major labels continued releasing a large number of albums in those countries up until 2009 and further. So there may be cassette releases of As Time Goes By in those regions.
ullalume
Well-Known Member
It's not just you, Adam. Richard talks about it in his liner notes for As Time Goes By. I seem to recall some countries versions don't have a track by track commentary but if you go to the Carpenters official website you can still find them there.
"The steel guitar intro may sound familiar to some listeners; I liked the figure, never thought this track would be in release, and subsequently used it in our 1981 recording Those Good Old Dreams. I imagine it's all right to steal from yourself!"
Laters
Neil
"The steel guitar intro may sound familiar to some listeners; I liked the figure, never thought this track would be in release, and subsequently used it in our 1981 recording Those Good Old Dreams. I imagine it's all right to steal from yourself!"
Laters
Neil
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I came across this review today on all review.com, some of which is a bit harsh...but I get the writer's point particularly in respect to 'Nowhere Man'.
The only problem with the outtakes and rarities here are that Carpenter felt the need to go in and fix, sweeten, or totally refurnish the songs. Perhaps he just has too much free time, perhaps he is an obsessive tinkerer. Whatever the excuse, the archival value of the songs has been tampered with and that makes the songs less valuable somehow.
If indeed this set is designed with Carpenters diehards in mind, wouldn't they have liked to hear the original version of "Nowhere Man," the one-track mono version? Richard proudly boasts that he transferred the acetate disc to a 48-track, leaving him "47 tracks with which to play." Fine and dandy, but why not put the original on the disc and then follow it with the new version for comparison's sake? Or just listen to your new version at home and let the fans get a chance to hear an extremely rare and no doubt very interesting piece of Carpenters history?
As for the tracks like "The Rainbow Connection" and the "Superstar/Rainy Days and Mondays" medley, Richard drenches his sister's vocals with strings and background singers when he should have left them alone. Maybe he just doesn't understand that people don't really care about his arrangements. What they care most about are his sister's vocals. As it is, he has done Karen and Carpenters fans a big disservice by tampering with artifacts that could have made for a very interesting disc. It still might be worthwhile to have for the material from the television specials and to hear Karen's voice again, however.
www.allmusic.com
The only problem with the outtakes and rarities here are that Carpenter felt the need to go in and fix, sweeten, or totally refurnish the songs. Perhaps he just has too much free time, perhaps he is an obsessive tinkerer. Whatever the excuse, the archival value of the songs has been tampered with and that makes the songs less valuable somehow.
If indeed this set is designed with Carpenters diehards in mind, wouldn't they have liked to hear the original version of "Nowhere Man," the one-track mono version? Richard proudly boasts that he transferred the acetate disc to a 48-track, leaving him "47 tracks with which to play." Fine and dandy, but why not put the original on the disc and then follow it with the new version for comparison's sake? Or just listen to your new version at home and let the fans get a chance to hear an extremely rare and no doubt very interesting piece of Carpenters history?
As for the tracks like "The Rainbow Connection" and the "Superstar/Rainy Days and Mondays" medley, Richard drenches his sister's vocals with strings and background singers when he should have left them alone. Maybe he just doesn't understand that people don't really care about his arrangements. What they care most about are his sister's vocals. As it is, he has done Karen and Carpenters fans a big disservice by tampering with artifacts that could have made for a very interesting disc. It still might be worthwhile to have for the material from the television specials and to hear Karen's voice again, however.
As Time Goes By - Carpenters | Album | AllMusic
As Time Goes By by Carpenters released in 2001. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com
Matthew S
Well-Known Member
This sounds like someone on this forum might have written it….I came across this review today on all review.com, some of which is a bit harsh...but I get the writer's point particularly in respect to 'Nowhere Man'.
The only problem with the outtakes and rarities here are that Carpenter felt the need to go in and fix, sweeten, or totally refurnish the songs. Perhaps he just has too much free time, perhaps he is an obsessive tinkerer. Whatever the excuse, the archival value of the songs has been tampered with and that makes the songs less valuable somehow.
If indeed this set is designed with Carpenters diehards in mind, wouldn't they have liked to hear the original version of "Nowhere Man," the one-track mono version? Richard proudly boasts that he transferred the acetate disc to a 48-track, leaving him "47 tracks with which to play." Fine and dandy, but why not put the original on the disc and then follow it with the new version for comparison's sake? Or just listen to your new version at home and let the fans get a chance to hear an extremely rare and no doubt very interesting piece of Carpenters history?
As for the tracks like "The Rainbow Connection" and the "Superstar/Rainy Days and Mondays" medley, Richard drenches his sister's vocals with strings and background singers when he should have left them alone. Maybe he just doesn't understand that people don't really care about his arrangements. What they care most about are his sister's vocals. As it is, he has done Karen and Carpenters fans a big disservice by tampering with artifacts that could have made for a very interesting disc. It still might be worthwhile to have for the material from the television specials and to hear Karen's voice again, however.
As Time Goes By - Carpenters | Album | AllMusic
As Time Goes By by Carpenters released in 2001. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
CraigGA
Well-Known Member
I have never had a complaint about this disk. To this day, I enjoy it. I will agree with Newvillefan for I recently came across the original on YouTube and I thought it was breathtaking, more intimate in arrangement, which boosts Karen’s emotions, but I still like the one on the CD.
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
I came across this review today on all review.com, some of which is a bit harsh...but I get the writer's point particularly in respect to 'Nowhere Man'.
The only problem with the outtakes and rarities here are that Carpenter felt the need to go in and fix, sweeten, or totally refurnish the songs. Perhaps he just has too much free time, perhaps he is an obsessive tinkerer. Whatever the excuse, the archival value of the songs has been tampered with and that makes the songs less valuable somehow.
If indeed this set is designed with Carpenters diehards in mind, wouldn't they have liked to hear the original version of "Nowhere Man," the one-track mono version? Richard proudly boasts that he transferred the acetate disc to a 48-track, leaving him "47 tracks with which to play." Fine and dandy, but why not put the original on the disc and then follow it with the new version for comparison's sake? Or just listen to your new version at home and let the fans get a chance to hear an extremely rare and no doubt very interesting piece of Carpenters history?
As for the tracks like "The Rainbow Connection" and the "Superstar/Rainy Days and Mondays" medley, Richard drenches his sister's vocals with strings and background singers when he should have left them alone. Maybe he just doesn't understand that people don't really care about his arrangements. What they care most about are his sister's vocals. As it is, he has done Karen and Carpenters fans a big disservice by tampering with artifacts that could have made for a very interesting disc. It still might be worthwhile to have for the material from the television specials and to hear Karen's voice again, however.
As Time Goes By - Carpenters | Album | AllMusic
As Time Goes By by Carpenters released in 2001. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
I agree with all of this...and no, I didn't write it...LOL! It is rather odd that both weren't included. Putting the original and his revision would have shown what he's capable of so I would think he would have jumped at that. His tinkering messed up a lot of what's on the album. Dead on criticism.
"Rainbow Connection" should have stayed on the cutting room floor as neither of them had a clue what to do with it. She totally phones in her vocal and it feels like nothing. She did very little of this but she does it here and it's awful. The beauty of her voice can't save her clear dislike for the tune. Richard, on the other hand, gives in to all his worst impulses and the result is a total mess. Neither Karen nor Richard understood the tune and they should have stayed far away from it. The reviewer was also right that the majority of people don't care about Richard's arrangements. Harsh to say but it's dead on. Karen was and will always be the calling card of Carpenters. She made the whole thing work. If Richard had used another singer, the act would have sunk without a trace and we wouldn't even know who he is.
Ed
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
Didn't Richard once say he would never put the tune out because if he did, "Karen would come down and get" him? And then he went ahead and released it anyway. The absolute worst part of it is those God-awful background singers, they make it sound like it's from a "Carpenters for Children" album. My worst fears were confirmed when they (or an outfit sounding like them) resurfaced on the RPO album and absolutely ruined tracks like 'We've Only Just Begun".
This is the bit I found harsh as well Ed, let me explain why. Yes, the majority of the listening public might not care about the arrangements (a fact which I think drives his regular mention that the arranger is the unsung hero of the music business - basically trumpeting himself), but if the arrangements weren't there, I think they would be missed. In other words, his contribution was important to the overall sound but most people don't understand why.
You are right with this! For example: Look at "Close to you" and you can see how much Richard's arrangement adds to the Song.
Geographer
Well-Known Member
I came across this review today on all review.com, some of which is a bit harsh...but I get the writer's point particularly in respect to 'Nowhere Man'.
The only problem with the outtakes and rarities here are that Carpenter felt the need to go in and fix, sweeten, or totally refurnish the songs. Perhaps he just has too much free time, perhaps he is an obsessive tinkerer. Whatever the excuse, the archival value of the songs has been tampered with and that makes the songs less valuable somehow.
If indeed this set is designed with Carpenters diehards in mind, wouldn't they have liked to hear the original version of "Nowhere Man," the one-track mono version? Richard proudly boasts that he transferred the acetate disc to a 48-track, leaving him "47 tracks with which to play." Fine and dandy, but why not put the original on the disc and then follow it with the new version for comparison's sake? Or just listen to your new version at home and let the fans get a chance to hear an extremely rare and no doubt very interesting piece of Carpenters history?
As for the tracks like "The Rainbow Connection" and the "Superstar/Rainy Days and Mondays" medley, Richard drenches his sister's vocals with strings and background singers when he should have left them alone. Maybe he just doesn't understand that people don't really care about his arrangements. What they care most about are his sister's vocals. As it is, he has done Karen and Carpenters fans a big disservice by tampering with artifacts that could have made for a very interesting disc. It still might be worthwhile to have for the material from the television specials and to hear Karen's voice again, however.
As Time Goes By - Carpenters | Album | AllMusic
As Time Goes By by Carpenters released in 2001. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
Completely, 100% disagree with this assessment. "... that people don't really care about his arrangements." This is completely ridiculous. Sure, there are a couple of you here that really dislike Richard and any of his contributions to the Carpenters' "sound," however, the majority of us absolutely love Richard's arrangements and what he crafts with his sister.
I think people do care about the arrangements, but they don't realize it! With those people, if you asked them what they liked best about Carpenters records, they'd say "Oh, Karen's wonderful voice, of course!" But then if you took the same vocal and put it with some other arranger and asked what they thought, they'd probably say it wasn't nearly as good.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I think the opposite is true: reverse the above scenario, and put another voice with Richard's arrangement, and the songs would never have been anywhere near as successful as they were.
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
Can't go with you there. Karen's had, IMHO, the single best voice in Pop music. That still holds true. Her influence is pretty wide-reaching too. Many have claimed her as an influence. Her voice is truly stunning. Her voice often took Richard's elevator fare and made it work. As I stated earlier, Richard wouldn't have had a Pop music career without Karen. She made him matter in that context.
Karen did do a whole album (and then some if you count the outtakes) with Phil Ramone and she remains stunning there too. The only times she's less than stunning is honestly due to Richard. "Rainbow Connection" is a tune she didn't like and it shows. Add in the choir foolishness and it's a total non-starter. "(Want You) Back in My Life Again" has an utterly lifeless vocal and the tune strains to be hip in a way that nothing else in their catalog does. I'm not sure she liked that one much either given how bad the vocal is. Beyond that, Karen was never less than wonderful.
Ed
And yet, right under your avatar is a textual caricature of he singing one of her songs on her solo album:
"Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo"
That sort of indicates that you are somewhat critical of her vocal pronunciation - perhaps "less than wonderful."
Matthew S
Well-Known Member
Right…like if Karen sang while I banged on trash can lids with one hand and played an 80’s Casio keyboard with the other, they’d probably say it sucked!
Jack A.
Well-Known Member
Plus, Richard knew exactly how to craft arrangements that complimented his sister's voice. Any other arranger - even one who was trying to achieve a similar to feel to his - would have produced a different sound, one that most people would not like as well. Richard knew what would work rhythmically/melodically with Karen's voice to create a successful record. So, I agree with the point that some people might not realize that they do care about the arrangements.
They had that sibling closeness which worked to their advantage. I'd be bold enough to say that either Carpenter's talent without the other would not have worked well. They were both excellent in their own ways, but both needed the other's talent to blend and create the sound we all know and love.
They had that sibling closeness which worked to their advantage. I'd be bold enough to say that either Carpenter's talent without the other would not have worked well. They were both excellent in their own ways, but both needed the other's talent to blend and create the sound we all know and love.
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
Not at all. She's having fun with it and trying something new for her. She's at least engaged with it. Can't say the same for the twin duds, "Rainbow Connection" and "(Want You) Back in My Life Again".
JohnFB
She was born to belong to the lines of a song...
Respectfully disagree - totally. Can't let you get away with this...
It's a really good, clever melody, but saddled with fanciful, unintelliglble, new agey lyrics ("rainbows have nothing to hide", "have you heard voices," even the "rainbow connection" itself, whatever that is...)
If Karen "phoned this in" then it's a very clear connection, because she sounds smooth and rich and mellow as usual - it's definitely not a reluctant performance, not lackadaisical or half- hearted at all ( no matter how she felt about the song) - she's doing a work lead here, but she never really knew how to do that in a mediocre way - her work leads were always top flight, first class, professional vocal performances - it's the only way she knew once the singing started - although the melody deserved better lyrics this was composed by Paul Williams for a Muppet movie, and it's a delight to hear Karen's wonderful rendition (for crying out loud she would have sounded spectacular singing the Army's Manual on how to disassemble and clean a rifle!)...
And there's not much wrong with Richard's arrangement - it's restrained and appropriate for this particular children's song - and that includes the limited and tasteful use of the choir...
There are some Carpenter songs that deserve your negative criticism, but this isn't one of them.
David A
Well-Known Member
^^ Yes, this 100%
Edit to add: AFTER their fame and heyday, Karen would likely have had a better chance at a solo career, but only because the foundation was laid for her vocals as part of Carpenters first.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I think it could be argued that she did try launching a solo career after their heyday, and the resulting album still didn't get released.
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David A
Well-Known Member
True, however my supposition was based upon a healthy Karen who "got better" and had a lot longer time to explore her solo opportunities.
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