⭐ Official Review [Album]: "MADE IN AMERICA" (SP-3723)

How Would You Rate This Album?

  • ***** (BEST)

    Votes: 14 13.1%
  • ****

    Votes: 26 24.3%
  • ***

    Votes: 40 37.4%
  • **

    Votes: 22 20.6%
  • *

    Votes: 5 4.7%

  • Total voters
    107
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On the topic of polarizing material ...

I think I may have already said this Lol... MIA is like a combination of AKOH and Passage...
Maybe has the worst qualities of both of these...
In 76' they put out product, but it kind of got a lukewarm "that's fine" reaction.
Then following year you got some stuff where you weren't sure where it's coming from with the experimentation (added choral sound).
You could add it's got a hint of the 'dragginess' held over from 'Horizon'.

I like that they wanted to grow! and choose eclectic, offbeat material... it does come down to taste and moods as well.

It's a a weird balance to satisfy their buying audience and then the stuff that they wanted to do personally.

Also, it could be (maybe it's just me) the more I've learned over the years about KC's state of mind (autopsy:final hours and the new UK doc)... it's hard to ignore especially by '81. Visibly so much footage from that time available on youtube is painful to watch. Like the GMA interview... it's heartbreaking. I can listen to her though. She was very smart, sweet.

It's as if too much personal info is out there about them now. I am not sure how Karen would feel about that... if she had the chance I think she would have revealed select things...You know, some of the images and stories presented although factual are prob not how she would want it included in their history made public. I think just her being a decent person who made nice music would be more to the tune of what she'd want.

To add, Karen connected to what she was singing with raw emotion... certainly that's pronounced on MIA. She couldn't hide that. Just how she felt. Not a bad thing... perhaps at that point becomes an acquired taste.
 
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I have just put a copy of the album cover on my wall in two LP album cover frames - I can't work out how to post a picture on here though!!!
 
Been cycling through,
and playing, the
UK Carpenters' 12-cd Box Set.
And, I must say these cd's are sounding mighty clear.

Made In America
sounds as clear as ever; same, too, with Passage.
The UK Box Set was well worth acquiring, although memory eludes me as
to when I did acquire it !
 
passage definitely sounds better in the box set - bwana in particular, i find thats the one disc in remastered classics that i find the sound isn't quite right, it's a bit dull and 'muddy', well my opinion anyway!
 
passage definitely sounds better in the box set - bwana in particular, i find thats the one disc in remastered classics that i find the sound isn't quite right, it's a bit dull and 'muddy', well my opinion anyway!

I'm glad to hear that. B'Wana is crying out for a remix.
 
I never saw this ad before and admit it's pretty cool.
Radio & Records June 26, 1981 TMWWD Single Promo Ad

Carpenters%20Radio%20amp%20Records%20June%2026%201981%20TMWWD%20Single%20Promo%20Ad.jpg~original
 
I'm again in the minority as I really like MIA. To me, it is better than AKOH, Passage, VOTH, and most especially Karen's solo debacle. When I first got it upon release, it had a very fresh and updated sound to me...a "California" sound, if that makes any sense. It left me wanting for more.
 
I love the wording of that poster above..."the country has been waiting for a hit single from Richard and Karen Carpenter". In my head I carried on with "as opposed to another dud".

I'm again in the minority as I really like MIA. To me, it is better than AKOH, Passage, VOTH, and most especially Karen's solo debacle. When I first got it upon release, it had a very fresh and updated sound to me...a "California" sound, if that makes any sense. It left me wanting for more.

As much as the album has gone down in my estimation in recent years, I do agree with the comment that it's got a Californian sound. That's what I loved about it when I first heard it. As Karen said in an interview their sound had become "new and updated". Unfortunately it also suffered from weak material and thinner sounding vocals from Karen on some tracks.
 
I'm going to sound pretty superficial here, but I wonder if I'd have had a better initial reaction to the music if it had been packaged differently. Even that nice "Touch Me" ad spotlights the continued flaws (Top 40 marketing-wise) in their promoted image. That silhouetted couple looks like it's from the 1950s. And the smilin' cheek-to-cheek LP cover art. It was really hard to get past that disappointing first impression and take the music seriously as showing any growth, though some of it did, if not always in the happiest of directions.
 
I just reviewed the list of singles/B-sides from this album, including "I Believe You"/"B'wana She No Home," which preceded the album's release by 3 years. What I find striking is that "Strength of a Woman" was not released as a single or even B-side. Besides "Touch Me When We're Dancing," in my opinion, "Strength of a Woman" is the best, or strongest, song on Made in America. Another missed opportunity...
 
A Capella Without A Song.....recorded February 1980 (Interpretations Liner Notes)
Videotaping for Music,Music,Music was March 7,8,9,1980, with audio "ref disc"
of Without A Song cut on May 13,1980 (As Time Goes By Liner Notes).

I am astounded at how busy Karen was at this point in time.
After all, wasn't the solo project on-going until May 1980 ?
Didn't recording for Made In America also start around this time ?

My two cents--for as great as the 1980 Music,Music,Music Special is,
the concentration should have remained in the recording studio.
Television is the bigger drain on energy here, and that may have translated
into a weaker vocal performance on Made In America.
(If the timelines had overlapped).



And, amusingly
Billboard gave 1980's Strength of A Woman
as an R&B "single pick"
(I forgot the name of the artist)
but,
Paul Grein's review of the same song, a year later, as performed by Carpenters,
is less than flattering.
Perhaps that review played a part in to the decision to
not release the song as a single.
 
I'm going to sound pretty superficial here, but I wonder if I'd have had a better initial reaction to the music if it had been packaged differently. Even that nice "Touch Me" ad spotlights the continued flaws (Top 40 marketing-wise) in their promoted image. That silhouetted couple looks like it's from the 1950s. And the smilin' cheek-to-cheek LP cover art. It was really hard to get past that disappointing first impression and take the music seriously as showing any growth, though some of it did, if not always in the happiest of directions.

I agree with this (although my opinion of MIA is at the bottom of the Carpenters LPs, I think it should have done better sales-wise). The illustration on the jacket seems not only squeaky clean and old fashion-ey (i.e. the image the siblings kept complaining about) but the Karen herself no longer looked like the image of the LP (something people would have seen as obvious when they started promoting it). A more artistic cover (like Passage) or a good photo (like Horizon) would have worked better.

And then of course we have the music videos (which were becoming a huge part of any record's success starting in the 80s) which are not...good. Not even by early 80s standards (and yet they filmed three of them!). Mostly due, I think, due to Karen's health and obvious condition. She looks progressively worse from "Touch Me" to "These Good Old Dreams" to "Beechwood". Karen was the "face" of the band and because of her condition they literally could not do any close-ups of her and she is always photographed full-body from a distance or in an in-between shot. Compare the dangerously thin Karen of 1981 in the MIA videos to the cool Karen in the hoodie in 1977's "All You Get from a Love Song" video or even the playful Karen in the 1975 "Postman" video (nobody cares about Richard's obvious boredom in that video due to how much fun Karen's having).

I know the probable real reason (money) but given Karen's condition when they did the publicity tour in '81 if I was marketing at A&M (or Richard) I would have pulled the plug on personal publicity appearances (it didn't help interviewers were more interested in rehashing "where have you been" or still talking about their "image" than the actual album).

My two cents--for as great as the 1980 Music,Music,Music Special is,
the concentration should have remained in the recording studio.
Television is the bigger drain on energy here, and that may have translated
into a weaker vocal performance on Made In America.
(If the timelines had overlapped).

Personally I much prefer what they were doing with MMM than MIA (it was different, while MIA seemed like trying to reclaim past Carpenter sound in a different era, and also they loved standards and it showed). I would have actually preferred they spent a few more weeks recording some more songs for Music, Music, Music and turned it into a full scale-album (and it would have been the album for 1980 - thus no "three year" gap) which the special could have tied into.
Even into late 1980 (such as the Popeye premier), Karen looked to be much healthier and would have been able to do personal appearances and videos for it, the way she couldn't do in 1981

I also see a weaker (though still excellent) performance from KC in MIA, I think the combination of her health, and the bad marriage, and the bad experience of her solo album being shelved, and Richard's overproduction on MIA (drowning out her voice in some cases) had to be taking a toll on her during the 1980 recordings sessions and leaving an effect. But maybe I'm just projecting.
 
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But maybe I'm just projecting.

Project away, JBee! :) I just want to interject that "Music Music Music" was, by most accounts, their best special. You and GaryAlan seem to be in agreement about the quality of that particular special. I remember it as being terrific, too. Also, you outline the various elements that must have taken their toll on Karen --- and rightly so. It makes me sad that she had to deal with the psychological impact of all that, at the same time her physical health was in decline.

I believe that history shows an allure of Karen based in part on her beautiful voice but also in part on the underlying sadness often conveyed within that beautiful voice and the sadness that befell her personally. History has treated her kindly since her passing. I'd like to think that Karen is in Heaven, smiling about all this goodwill on her behalf. But maybe I'm just projecting...
 
My issue with 1980:
The production timeline of the Music,Music,Music Television Special.
An album usually took between 3 and 6 months, from start to finish.
The Television Special had to take--at a minimum--two months, start to finish.
And, hours of television studio time should have been spent on an album.
Music, Music, Music (at almost last in the ratings) did nothing to promote Carpenters' music.
It may have alienated more fans--no matter how good those songs were in that special--it
did not do much to garner new fans or retain seasoned ones.
Much of my assessment (of Karen's vocal weakness) stems from listening to the vocals on
This Masquerade in the Karen/Ella Medley--that it was a "cut and paste" from the 1973 vocal,
and, then the Medley continued on in the "1980 vocal".....which presents evident differences.
 
Much of my assessment (of Karen's vocal weakness) stems from listening to the vocals on
This Masquerade in the Karen/Ella Medley--that it was a "cut and paste" from the 1973 vocal,
and, then the Medley continued on in the "1980 vocal".....which presents evident differences.

I thought the "cut and paste" from 1973 to the 1980 vocal recordings showed no difference whatsoever. Amazingly, Karen sounds as rich on the 1980 takes as she does on This Masquerade. My issue is that some of the tracks recorded for MIA just months after the recording of the MMM tracks later are drastically different in terms of her vocal quality. Her timbre and vocal richness are there for some tracks and missing on others. Compared a song like Strength Of A Woman, where her lead is thin and even her vocal fry sounds sharp and scratchy, to a song like The Uninvited Guest, where she sounds so rich, full and present. What was going on with her voice around this time?
 
I thought the "cut and paste" from 1973 to the 1980 vocal recordings showed no difference whatsoever. Amazingly, Karen sounds as rich on the 1980 takes as she does on This Masquerade. My issue is that some of the tracks recorded for MIA just months after the recording of the MMM tracks later are drastically different in terms of her vocal quality. Her timbre and vocal richness are there for some tracks and missing on others. Compared a song like Strength Of A Woman, where her lead is thin and even her vocal fry sounds sharp and scratchy, to a song like The Uninvited Guest, where she sounds so rich, full and present. What was going on with her voice around this time?

I truly believe she chose to sing certain songs differently than others. Listen to her vocal on 'Prime Time Love' followed by 'Somebody's Been Lyin''. They were recorded during the same sessions and she sounds like the '0ld' Karen on the former and the wispy-sounding Karen on the latter. She had the ability to vaccillate between styles.
 
Although, one could compare "Sing",
1973 recording, 1976 Television Special and 1980's Television Special.
Each subsequent "recording" sounds weaker to my ears.
I do agree that Karen--to some extent--vacillated between styles.
But one can hardly discount weakness due to illness--as with 1981's Top Of The World.
 
I don't disagree with you about her voice sounding weaker when she was at her sickest point. I was comparing her vocal style choices from MIA.

That being said, she sure sounded great on 'Now', which we know was a work lead from April, 1982.
 
Much I do agree with, A&M Retro !
Perhaps my viewpoint stems from a side-by-side comparison of the song
Make Believe It's Your First Time.....
That is, the notes are the same notes, but, Karen's reading of the earlier recorded version
sounds much the better (IMHO) than the Made In America recording session.
 
We know when Carpenters went to Brazil it was to promote Made In America. This article show just how much promotion was put to Karen and Richard, sounds like a hectic schedule. It says A&M kept them on a punishing schedule....Karen must have fooled everyone around her because she was in no shape to do this promotion at this time.

Cashbox Carpenters in Brazil Jan 16, 1982

Carpenters%20Cashbox%20Brazil%20Jan%2016%201982.png~original
 
I thought the "cut and paste" from 1973 to the 1980 vocal recordings showed no difference whatsoever. Amazingly, Karen sounds as rich on the 1980 takes as she does on This Masquerade. My issue is that some of the tracks recorded for MIA just months after the recording of the MMM tracks later are drastically different in terms of her vocal quality. Her timbre and vocal richness are there for some tracks and missing on others. Compared a song like Strength Of A Woman, where her lead is thin and even her vocal fry sounds sharp and scratchy, to a song like The Uninvited Guest, where she sounds so rich, full and present. What was going on with her voice around this time?
I'm always a bit puzzled about what was going on with her vocals at this time. As you say, her vocals in the new sections of the Ella medley are like the Karen of old (almost) but elsewhere the timbre, richness and smoothness is lacking. With Strength Of A Woman she sounds as though she is deliberately going for a different vocal style, and for the most part it sort of works for me (though I take issue with the lyric!) But during this song she switches to her lower register during the line "when you have a need for someone else" and for me it doesn't work for some reason. There are glimpses of the Karen of old in When You've Got What It Takes when suddenly that richness kicks in just before the repeated "What a difference it makes" section starts towards the the end of the track. Same with Those Good Old Dreams, her voice during the second verse is more reminiscent of her usual richness than in the first verse. I don't think it helps that she seemed to be going for a more precise, almost Streisand approach on occasion, rolling her r's and loosing a more natural and contemporary delivery; not always, but I hear it in the Music Music Music medley of Carpenters hits and Now for example.
 
Rainbow Connection is evidence of Karen's strong vocal ability in 1980 during the MIA recording sessions. The recording never made the album, but showcase a confident and strong vocal style. MIA was mixed differently to previous albums with the negative effect of making Karen sound vocally weaker.
 
For MIA, its to bad that the Carpenters never finished in 1978 Leave Yesterday Behind, as it is way better than I Believe You, even in its current state.
 
Rainbow Connection is evidence of Karen's strong vocal ability in 1980 during the MIA recording sessions. The recording never made the album, but showcase a confident and strong vocal style. MIA was mixed differently to previous albums with the negative effect of making Karen sound vocally weaker.

Agreed. It's all in the production. Rainbow, Uninvited Guest, Make Believe, The End of a Song. . . . . . .compared to Two Lives, Prime Time Love, Your Baby. . . . .all recorded within weeks, if not hours of each other. No indication of vocal ability, IMHO.
 
Rainbow Connection is evidence of Karen's strong vocal ability in 1980 during the MIA recording sessions. The recording never made the album, but showcase a confident and strong vocal style. MIA was mixed differently to previous albums with the negative effect of making Karen sound vocally weaker.
Rainbow Connection has a great Karen vocal. Good tune to waltz to as well. Should be used in Strictly Come Dancing.
 
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