Anyone read this?

An excursion through the pages of the Coleman Biography reveals these comments:
Offering (80): "patchy, but passable."
Close To You (94): " Stylistically patchy, strengths outweigh its weaknesses."
Carpenters (107): "No shortage of winning material."
A Song For You (120) : " Richard immensely proud..."
Now & Then (128): "..Richard had been seeking a song to anchor an album with an oldies theme."
The Single 1969-1973: ( Mentioned in Footnote on page 165 as scaling the UK Charts)
Horizon (181) : "...Richard was never entirely happy about."
A Kind of Hush (210) : " Richard ...it wasn't too hot a collection, inferior."
Passage (230): "Carpenters' pawned their identity in favor of eclecticism."
Christmas Portrait (235): "Platform for Karen's vocals."
The Singles 1974-1978: (Not among titles in book index)
Made In America (285/6): "joyful cover art, introspection of album's mood, captured perfectly Karen and
Richard's twilight time together,mature, ambitious arrangements."
Voice of the Heart (230): "mood of songs was eerily soul searching."
Time (328): "highly creditable, melodically strong collection."
Lovelines (329): "A potpourri, average batch"
Karen Carpenter (329) : "Inferior tracks" (267) " songs wholly inappropriate for Karen"
(277) Richard: "technical success, lacked gut appeal. (But) Extremely well done, produced well, she sings well, very intricate
arrangements all very well executed." (And) "not strong enough material."
 
Hmm. I'm surprised by this. Presumably this doesn't take into account some of her backing vocals?
This type of measure takes screaming, falsetto, growling, hissing, and any other utterance (farting) as a pitch. Now, is there a measurement for control of pitch? Is Julie Andrews on the list? This is another way for the "Rock Establishment" to validate itself. Laughable.
 
Today, in an interview with Marie Osmond,
“Well, I think people think that. They go, ‘What is your chemistry?’ …
But you have to remember, John, that Donny and I didn’t work together for like 28 years.
You know, I went off and did ‘Sound of Music’ and I did ‘King and I’ on Broadway, and I had numerous No. 1 records on the country radio charts.
And I designed dolls for like 25 years and I’m co-founder with John Schneider of Children’s Miracle Network and a lot of things that I did on my own .
“And Donny did ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ and he had [the hit song] ‘Soldier of Love.’
We did our own things, and so when we came back together, I still think … ‘cause remember, the ‘Donny & Marie’ show, I was, like 15 or 14 when I started that show.
“And so I think there’s that … We say, ‘I don’t know any other sibling act, except maybe for The Carpenters, who performed together.
I always say that I loved Richard Carpenter because he never spoke [Laughs].”

Source:
http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/...-through-her-life-20150307-column.html#page=1
 
Reader's Digest Liner Notes
October 30,1978 Interview:
Karen: "..And another thing. When you mention the Carpenters, people automatically zero in on just me.
Even when our records are just loaded with voices, people only notice the lead voice. They never stop to
hear all the other stuff that's going on. On our records, it's Richard who handles production. He arranges
all the voices and instruments, conducts the orchestra, mixes and even follows through into mastering.
No one seems to notice what he does."
 
Reader's Digest Liner Notes
October 30,1978 Interview:
Karen: "..And another thing. When you mention the Carpenters, people automatically zero in on just me.
Even when our records are just loaded with voices, people only notice the lead voice. They never stop to
hear all the other stuff that's going on. On our records, it's Richard who handles production. He arranges
all the voices and instruments, conducts the orchestra, mixes and even follows through into mastering.
No one seems to notice what he does."

It is sad and must have been frustrating for both of them that this was usually always the case. Even though his credit as Producer is plastered on every single album jacket, people either didn't seem to care or weren't interested. Here was The Voice, as Richard himself has even described her on occasion.
 
But, I recall the (anger ?) Richard Carpenter expressed when the Billboard article
mentioned "Superb Jack Daugherty Production" for review of A Song For You.
And, we all know what ,then, transpired.
After that article, I do not recall Richard Carpenter's production skills being
lauded in another Billboard article (let alone, even being mentioned as producer--I could be wrong,though) .
And, note that when Jack Daugherty was credited for producer, there was no 'associate producer' credit.
Then, with Richard Carpenter as producer, Karen Carpenter was 'associate producer'.
Then, further along in years, Richard Carpenter became the only credited Producer.
Producer, Composer, Arranger, Pianist.....that is plenty to be frustrated about--if, unnoticed !
 
Then, with Richard Carpenter as producer, Karen Carpenter was 'associate producer'.

Is it just me, or is the term 'Associate Producer' really hard to define when it comes to making records? What does that mean? Did Karen invest any money towards the records so that she'd reap the rewards when it sold well? Does it mean she had a hand in the practicalities of record production, such as organising sessions or making bookings? Or was it that she was just generally by Richard's side when it came to providing moral support to him as the main producer, sort of a 'token' role in which he gave her a credit?
 
There is the interview in the 1975 July A&M Compendium--I believe that is the source, I'll look it up---
where Richard Carpenter says they don't make 'money' off the Singles, the 'real money' comes from the album sales,
so, he says, in the interview "buy the albums!".
 
Reviews of Madonna's Latest Album:

"but what’s most impressive is Madonna’s singing, which for the most part eschews the excessive vocal treatments
of R&B in favour of a simple clarity, which, on “Ghosttown” and “Joan of Arc”, recalls the purity of Karen Carpenter."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...nas-sustained-musical-relevance-10090878.html

"The way the producers recorded Madonna both bolsters the melodies and lends her depth.
They’ve honeyed her voice: Madonna hasn’t sounded this rich since the sumptuous “Evita” soundtrack.
In “Ghosttown,” her deep tone has some of the autumnal ache of Karen Carpenter."
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...a-latest-intensely-personal-article-1.2131124



"Better yet, her expressive singing reveals touching vulnerability and the vocal training she underwent for Evita 20 years ago.
On Ghosttown, in particular, her rich, warm phrasing in her lower range recalls the much-missed Karen Carpenter."
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article13124297.html#storylink=cpy
 
Reviews of Madonna's Latest Album:

"but what’s most impressive is Madonna’s singing, which for the most part eschews the excessive vocal treatments
of R&B in favour of a simple clarity, which, on “Ghosttown” and “Joan of Arc”, recalls the purity of Karen Carpenter."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...nas-sustained-musical-relevance-10090878.html

"The way the producers recorded Madonna both bolsters the melodies and lends her depth.
They’ve honeyed her voice: Madonna hasn’t sounded this rich since the sumptuous “Evita” soundtrack.
In “Ghosttown,” her deep tone has some of the autumnal ache of Karen Carpenter."
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...a-latest-intensely-personal-article-1.2131124



"Better yet, her expressive singing reveals touching vulnerability and the vocal training she underwent for Evita 20 years ago.
On Ghosttown, in particular, her rich, warm phrasing in her lower range recalls the much-missed Karen Carpenter."
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article13124297.html#storylink=cpy
This is excellent!
 
From Pakistan:
"People always talk about unsung heroes, referring to some individuals who had a helping hand in something much larger.
Rarely does it apply to someone who single-handedly revolutionised an industry."
"Being a smart businessman, Biddu signed Nazia Hassan and her brother Zohaib, to produce an Urdu album. "
By his own admission, he modeled them after the popular American brother-sister duo, 'The Carpenters'."

Entire Article Here:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1169338/biddu-the-unsung-hero-of-pakistan
 
From Jerry Weintraub:
"Founding Concerts West, Weintraub broke new ground when he presented Frank Sinatra at Madison Square Garden
in the celebrated “first around the world by satellite” concert, called “The Main Event.”
He also helped boost the careers of such renowned artists as Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond, John Denver,
The Carpenters and The Beach Boys. Weintraub went on to produce a number of high-profile television specials and movies,
many starring the musical artists with whom he had worked."

Here:
http://yearsoflivingdangerously.com/executive-producer/jerry-weintraub/
 
I was trying to find "The Official Review" thread for Richard Carpenters CD Pianist, Composer, Arranger Etc...but I guess we didn't do one?

Anyway, here is a short promo ad for that CD in Billboard mag issued Jan 17, 1998, page 66 under Reviews and Previews Singles (by Larry Flick)

I didn't realize that a CD single was made for Karen's Theme? Has anyone seen one before??

Billboard%20Richard%20Carpenter%20Pianist%20Arranger%20Ad%20Jan%2017%201998%20.png~original
 
October 15, 1976 The Desert News
Carpenters Need Polish:
"The Carpenters concert Thursday night...was mildly entertaining."
"Richard and Karen Carpenter are indeed talented musicians, but their stage performance is
anticlimactic and undemanding.With all the taped backup they used it's almost like listening
to an album at home."
"But for having to work with mellow mood music they did a fair job at putting together a show
that held the audience's interest throughout the performance."
----
"Richard and Karen went into the audience to get participation on "Sing-a-Song", but audience
response was sluggish."
----
"The show picked up somewhat with their fifties set."
"After the fifties frolic they did a brief history of their musical career."
"The show ended with a medley of some of their greatest hits."


Complete:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=ZH8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6892,3918025&hl=en
 
Karen and Richard were not stage performers. Their concerts were about listening to their music not WATCHING a floor show. They should have toured less and recorded more!
Yes, but hindsight is 20/20. In the pre Internet generation, that's how the records were promoted and sold. No blogs, youtube or websites to learn about new singers. Just good old Kasey Kasem on American Top 40. So if you didn’t actively read Billboard or listen to the radio, you wouldn't know. And honestly, how many of us as fans couldn't wait for them to come to our town on tour. :righton: It's amazing how much touring they accomplished in those early years. They really were troopers for their fans.
 
Yes, but hindsight is 20/20. In the pre Internet generation, that's how the records were promoted and sold. No blogs, youtube or websites to learn about new singers. Just good old Kasey Kasem on American Top 40. So if you didn’t actively read Billboard or listen to the radio, you wouldn't know. And honestly, how many of us as fans couldn't wait for them to come to our town on tour. :righton: It's amazing how much touring they accomplished in those early years. They really were troopers for their fans.

That's certainly true, although radio play was also a big driver in pushing record sales - hence why radio's resistance to their product caused such problems for them from 1975 onwards.

However, from a financial point of view, it wasn't a very wise move as they didn't make much back from the touring itself, even if it may have had a beneficial effect on record sales, and they didn't always tour when they had a new product to promote in order to maximise the knock-on record sales effect. 1974 was I think their heaviest touring year and yet there was no studio album to accompany it, only the Singles album which had been out for a few months and probably didn't need a tour to support it.
 
I didn't realize that a CD single was made for Karen's Theme? Has anyone seen one before??

Chris, it was released in 1998 as a single, but failed to chart anywhere. The strangest choice for a single. Does the 'P' in the catalogue number denote 'promo'?

Record Label: A&M
Catalogue No: AMCDP00590
Country of Origin: USA

Does anyone remember this being broadcast on Japanese TV with Richard playing live in the studio, to a backdrop of Karen images? It was really moving and the audience response was terrific. I can't remember if it was on youtube or I had it on a DVD buried somewhere.
 
That's certainly true, although radio play was also a big driver in pushing record sales - hence why radio's resistance to their product caused such problems for them from 1975 onwards.

However, from a financial point of view, it wasn't a very wise move as they didn't make much back from the touring itself, even if it may have had a beneficial effect on record sales, and they didn't always tour when they had a new product to promote in order to maximise the knock-on record sales effect. 1974 was I think their heaviest touring year and yet there was no studio album to accompany it, only the Singles album which had been out for a few months and probably didn't need a tour to support it.
That is odd, isn't it, about 1974. By the second half of the 70's, with Management 3, they focused on TV more. Perhaps that was more to appease their loyal fan base.
 
Management Three did the same thing with each of its clients:
John Denver, Dorothy Hamill, Carpenters....
Television exposure Weintraub's modus operandi.
Sadly, television is hardly the arena in which to place
a woman with Karen's affliction. Richard despises most
of the television specials--and, it shows.
(A Reviewer, April 1974 :"perfection is awfully boring").
Sherwin Bash should never have been fired.
As for the amount of money from Carpenters' touring,
the public needed to see and hear the duo 'Live', that sells (more)
records. Thus, even if the financial rewards were not great for touring,
that touring helped to 'sell' more records. The TV shows--well,
I can not imagine Joe Q. Public going out to a record store
the next day--after seeing a TV Special--excited to buy an album.
Would have been even more embarrassing than it already was!
 
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