Jamesj75
Well-Known Member
Transcript of interview with Herb Alpert: http://www.wnyc.org/story/193354-herb-alpert/transcript/
"Herb Alpert:When I signed the Carpenters in 1970, they had an album that didn’t sell. I mean, the first album was zero.
Alec Baldwin: Describe the first album. Why was it zero? Was it too reliant on Richard Carpenter?
Herb Alpert: No. It had Karen but it was very soft. It was very delicate. It wasn’t really radio-friendly.'
Alec Baldwin: Got it.
Herb Alpert: So a year later, I gave them "Close To You." They recorded it and it was really light again. I said, 'We need a little bit more energy on this one.' Karen thought she was a drummer, and she played drums and she was good. But she wanted to record and when I listened to the recording I said, 'No. It’s a little too light. We need some more oomph.' They recorded it again and it still wasn’t quite there, so finally we got the Wrecking Crew. I don’t know if you know that name. Those are the guys that did most of the sessions in L.A. – Hal Blaine on drums, Tommy Tedesco on guitar, and Carol Kaye. The third recording was the charm."
Alec Baldwin?!?! At first, I thought it was a typo, but then I realized that you, GaryAlan, are far too polished to make such a mistake, given your enthusiasm and attention to detail, in generously and regularly giving us these great links to stories involving the Carpenters. Thank you for all you do!!!
Getting back to Alec, it's refreshing that he likes Carpenters' music. Who knew? I guess he's not that bad after all... But maybe if he listened to Karen's serene and soothing voice a bit more often, it might help with his apparent anger-management issues...