⭐ Official Review [Album]: "NOW & THEN" (SP-3519)

HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS ALBUM?

  • ***** (BEST)

    Votes: 17 19.5%
  • ****

    Votes: 49 56.3%
  • ***

    Votes: 20 23.0%
  • **

    Votes: 1 1.1%
  • *

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    87
Here is a pretty cool ad...so can you guess the correct answer and win a Carpenters Now & Then LP?

Record Mirror UK June 30 1973

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Our Day Will Come....
listening to that one today (off The Essential Collection Box Set).
Whatever my misgivings regards Medleys,
I must say this Now & Then Medley is special.
Our Day Will Come shines.....
And, the conclusion to the LP is great,
"...so fine..."
 
One of my favorite Carpenters albums. Very much nostalgic. Every time I fold that cover out, I remember riding my bicycle past the Newville house wishing beyond hope that I'd see Karen coming out the front door, smiling and waving at me. Agnes did come out one time and chew me out real well for lingering too long. It was just a couple years before she passed and I imagine she had had more than enough of lurkers and gawkers at that point.

I gave it 4 stars, due to everything being top notch besides the lack of abundance of material, which is how the oldies medley came about. Yesterday Once More is my favorite Carpenters song, however, and I still find myself listening intently to the medley from time to time on my high def system, especially the quad reel transfer to 5.1, where I have a lot of fun isolating Karen's breathtaking vocal takes, as well as her crazy drum chops. Being a fan of Karen the singing drummer above all else, I treasure everything that she has both sang and drummed on. For that reason alone, NAT will always be near the top of my list of favorite Carpenters albums.
 
So I don't get out my collectibles too often but here is a cool one from Now & Then that a friend gave me...
How many of you would have put this on your school book?
Allowing everyone to know you are a Carpenters fan to the core!
Ok stand up with me for all those who would :agree: we are stronger in groups. :agree:
NO doodling allowed on this one!!!

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^^I have not looked at my copy of this N &T Book-Cover for years !
Thanks for the scan !
By the way, a song that I have fallen in love with is
This Masquerade.
I used to sort of downgrade it (somewhere in my earlier posts),
but, as I listened anew to the 2018 RPO version, then the N & T version,
I have a newfound appreciation for the song.
It is captivating.
 
Overall I think it was a really great concept album and released at the height of the 50s and 60s nostalgia craze going on in the music industry. Tons of remakes on the radio. Almost every hit Linda Ronstadt had was a cover.
I really wish the Carpenters had recorded a full length version of “One Fine Day” my favorite cut on the album. I think it would have been a top 5 hit, they were so popular, and did amazing covers in the early to mid 70’s. So much better than the sublime Rita Coolidge version. Obviously “This Masquerade” was perhaps a missed opportunity as well. Such a sexy vocal on Karen’s part. I can’t listen to George Bendson’s version. Makes me cringe.
The quad lp version is really fun to play once in awhile. The mixes are different and the fazing of Karen’s voice on YOM reprise is really cool too. It goes around and around the speakers until it fades out.
 
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I must admit, the RPO project has gotten me to appreciate so many gems,
This Masquerade, sourced here from an obscure (?) disc :
 
Couldn't help but notice that the song Jambalaya
entered the Belgium charts at #8 on March 9, 1974.
(CashBox International BestSellers).

This song grows on me.
 
Overall I think it was a really great concept album and released at the height of the 50s and 60s nostalgia craze going on in the music industry. Tons of remakes on the radio. Almost every hit Linda Ronstadt had was a cover.
I really wish the Carpenters had recorded a full length version of “One Fine Day” my favorite cut on the album. I think it would have been a top 5 hit, they were so popular, and did amazing covers in the early to mid 70’s. So much better than the sublime Rita Coolidge version. Obviously “This Masquerade” was perhaps a missed opportunity as well. Such a sexy vocal on Karen’s part. I can’t listen to George Bendson’s version. Makes me cringe.
The quad lp version is really fun to play once in awhile. The mixes are different and the fazing of Karen’s voice on YOM reprise is really cool too. It goes around and around the speakers until it fades out.

I think George Benson's version of 'This Masquerade' is very nice, but the Carpenters' version is just on another level and it was there for them to claim as the definitive take if they'd have chosen to release it as a single. Ironically, George having a hit with it in 1976 was one of the first cases where they were on the other side of the equation and someone else had the hit when they'd recorded the song first.
 
For the critical listener this song has 3 great moments. Karen’s singing, Karen’s drumming, and Richard’s piano interlude. The piano interlude is one of the strongest improvisations ever recorded and it is skillfully played. The new instruments introduced in the RPO version bring up the orchestration to the level the song always needed for balance. Karen is at her best vocally displaying strength and emotion with a tone perfect for ballads and her drumming is complex and rhythmically intoxicating.

I wish I could have enjoyed it at 12-16 years of age as I do now. I don’t think it would have been the chart topper as Sing but it certainly would have gained respective ground with other musicians.
 
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