Anyone read this?

This was a nice find when I was browsing online today, an original invite to the "comeback" party celebrating Richard and Karen's achievements at the Bel Air hotel in June, 1981.

 
I sent @Chris May the pictures last January from the party, that were published in the Hollywood Reporter from the dinner party. I like the one with Herb giving Karen an air kiss on her cheek, and the odd picture with Agnes and Karen’s ex. It looked like a fun event with the A&M brass and friends. Maybe they’re in the new book.....
 
I read an online article today that says Karen auditioned and practiced drumming for an all-girl Southern California group in the 60's called "Female Species". Don't recall ever hearing about this before. If you go to the Twitter page @CarpentersQuote (KC and RC), you will find a tweet from 5 days ago that has a link to the story of the history of this band. It says Karen answered a help wanted ad for a female drummer and played with them for a couple of months until her obligations to Spectrum/Summerchimes forced her to leave the band.
 
I read an online article today that says Karen auditioned and practiced drumming for an all-girl Southern California group in the 60's called "Female Species". Don't recall ever hearing about this before. If you go to the Twitter page @CarpentersQuote (KC and RC), you will find a tweet from 5 days ago that has a link to the story of the history of this band. It says Karen answered a help wanted ad for a female drummer and played with them for a couple of months until her obligations to Spectrum/Summerchimes forced her to leave the band.
Sounds entirely bogus. That Karen would drop/leave Richard at this critical formative time (when she would have been about 17), in response to a "help wanted ad," is just not credible. Had it really happened, other fans among us would have spotted it long ago.
 
Sounds entirely bogus. That Karen would drop/leave Richard at this critical formative time (when she would have been about 17), in response to a "help wanted ad," is just not credible. Had it really happened, other fans among us would have spotted it long ago.
I can believe it. Remember, she wanted to be a drummer, not a singer, especially at this point. And part of the story that the Female Species tell is that Karen said she couldn't play with them on the same nights the Richard Carpenter Trio was playing (but didn't tell them this earlier, so they were kind of peeved about that). And only rehearsed with them for two months- they don't mention if they played out anywhere with her.

In "Little Girl Blue," it is mentioned she briefly drummed in another all-female band, "Two Plus Two" without Richard, so why not (briefly) with another one?
 
I can believe it. Remember, she wanted to be a drummer, not a singer, especially at this point. And part of the story that the Female Species tell is that Karen said she couldn't play with them on the same nights the Richard Carpenter Trio was playing (but didn't tell them this earlier, so they were kind of peeved about that). And only rehearsed with them for two months- they don't mention if they played out anywhere with her.

In "Little Girl Blue," it is mentioned she briefly drummed in another all-female band, "Two Plus Two" without Richard, so why not (briefly) with another one?
Sounds legit to me!
 
I’m reading an autobiography at the minute of a UK TV/radio personality called Chris Evans, who was really successful on TV in the 1990s and 2000s. In his book, he tells two stories that made me smile, one related to Carpenters and the other - sort of.

In the first, he writes about his love for Charlie Chaplin and the evolution of the studios in Hollywood that Chaplin originally owned (and which later became A&M Records), before Jim Henson bought the lot:

Jim Henson was equally autonomous [as Charlie Chaplin] with his legendary Muppet productions almost half a century later; the beautifully ironic connection being that he bought the old Chaplin studios to use as his base. My favourite part of this story is that whereas in Chaplin’s day there was a giant statue of his tramp standing proudly on the roof for all Tinseltown to see, when Jim moved in he erected a similar-sized statue of Kermit the Frog. And best of all - in homage to the studio’s former illustrious owner - Henson also dressed the world’s favourite amphibian as Charlie’s tramp, complete with black suit, funny shoes, cane and bowler hat. This cleverest of tributes can still be seen atop the studio roof today.

To this day, I’d never realised Jim Henson had “dressed” Kermit that way - I just always saw the statue of a giant frog. Was the statue always this way? I’m sure I’ve seen photos of Kermit without the Chaplin suit...

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The second is a great Carpenters-related anecdote about the time he met U2’s lead singer Bono in the south of France, who invited Chris to his villa:

The drive back to Bono’s house was right up there in my top ten celebrity journeys. There in front of the main door was parked his gleaming black BMW convertible, roof down, all set and good to go. A turn of the key, a growl of the exhaust and the screech of rubber and we were off into the balmy Mediterranean air with the lead singer of one of the greatest rock bands in the world as our chauffeur.

Did it get any better than this? Well yes, it actually did.

As we exited the village of Saint-Jean, Bono turned up the car stereo and started singing along at the top of his voice to The Carpenters’ Greatest Hits. This was another one of
those moments - of which there have been many because I have been very lucky. The surreal ones are the best and they don’t get much more surreal than our night with Bono.
 
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With their most successful album turning 50, the Carpenters turn out to be more than just soft-rock siblings​

By Nathan Weinbender

Excerpts:
"When Carpenters landed in record stores in May 1971, its blockbuster status was a foregone conclusion. A couple months earlier, the group had won the Grammy for best new artist, beating the likes of Elton John and Anne Murray, and the LP's lead single, the Paul Williams-penned "Rainy Days and Mondays," had already shot up to No. 2 on the Billboard charts."
----
"It's easy to heap all this praise on the Carpenters 50 years removed from their creative peak, because they're revered now. I grew up with their music and know many of their songs by heart, having heard them over and over again on cassette tapes and oldies stations. But they were something of a punchline at their peak, a shorthand for edgeless, sexless soft rock, projecting a skim-milk innocence that was at odds with the political turmoil of their era."
---
Complete Article, Source:
 

With their most successful album turning 50, the Carpenters turn out to be more than just soft-rock siblings​

By Nathan Weinbender

Excerpts:
"When Carpenters landed in record stores in May 1971, its blockbuster status was a foregone conclusion. A couple months earlier, the group had won the Grammy for best new artist, beating the likes of Elton John and Anne Murray, and the LP's lead single, the Paul Williams-penned "Rainy Days and Mondays," had already shot up to No. 2 on the Billboard charts."
----
"It's easy to heap all this praise on the Carpenters 50 years removed from their creative peak, because they're revered now. I grew up with their music and know many of their songs by heart, having heard them over and over again on cassette tapes and oldies stations. But they were something of a punchline at their peak, a shorthand for edgeless, sexless soft rock, projecting a skim-milk innocence that was at odds with the political turmoil of their era."
---
Complete Article, Source:

And then there is this:

"Just last week, a clip of Karen behind her drum kit, slapping the skins in a jazzy rendition of "Dancing in the Street," went viral on Twitter, being viewed nearly 4 million times and retweeted more than 30,000 times. People are still discovering that she and Richard were more than just toothy grins and harmless vibes, that there was real artistry behind their work."
 
My first purchase of any Carpenters music. I was talked into buying it by my best friend. I intended to buy something else. I couldn’t play it enough. Couldn’t get enough of that sound with all the harmonies. I was in my high school’s Chamber Singers, so it was the right album. at the right time if my life. Then the obsession started, and the passion is still here today, 50 years later. Just received the 2 Brazilian releases with reverse stereo on Saturday. The reviews are spot on in the albums section. Thanks to all who contribute here.
 
"Just last week, a clip of Karen behind her drum kit, slapping the skins in a jazzy rendition of "Dancing in the Street," went viral on Twitter, being viewed nearly 4 million times and retweeted more than 30,000 times. People are still discovering that she and Richard were more than just toothy grins and harmless vibes, that there was real artistry behind their work."

I’ve never been fond of that clip. She’s recorded on a terrible mic and the arrangement doesn’t suit her voice at all. The later one they did was so much better, just wish there had been a full version of the song.
 

Arts Reconsideration: The 1971 Project — Celebrating a Great Year in Music (May Entry)​

Excerpts:
" Carpenters was loved by millions, reaching no. 2 on the Billboard album charts and spanning multiple hits.
And although “the tan album” is enshrined in my memory, it’s not all gold. Tracks like “Druscilla Penny” and “Saturday” have aged badly,
as much due to John Bettis’s stupid sexist lyrics as Richard Carpenter’s forgettable vocals. Even Karen misses the mark here. Despite her game efforts,
the Burt Bacharach-Hal David Medley is the kind of middle-of-the-road pablum that Bill Murray would soon be parodying on Saturday Night Live."
---
"Certainly, Karen’s crystalline voice provided more than emotional clarity, appealing to this then-burgeoning music fan on an aesthetic level.
But the rippling “For All We Know,” beautiful as it may be, is not what I remember. No, it’s the heart-piercing power of “Rainy Days and Mondays,”
a theme brought home by the heartbreak of “Superstar,” that stays with me. That latter track still takes my breath away.
Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell had crafted a masterpiece. But as voiced by Karen Carpenter? This was loneliness turned into art."

Source:
 
I’ve never been fond of that clip. She’s recorded on a terrible mic and the arrangement doesn’t suit her voice at all. The later one they did was so much better, just wish there had been a full version of the song.
Well, if it's the video recorded from "Your All American College Show," I agree it was not their musical sweet spot -- but Karen was so cute in her white mini and boots at 17, that all is forgiven. So cute that John Wayne wanted to give her the "Mattie" role in True Grit, but it was too late. Just as well, since a movie would have disrupted their career trajectory.
 

Arts Reconsideration: The 1971 Project — Celebrating a Great Year in Music (May Entry)​

Excerpts:
" Carpenters was loved by millions, reaching no. 2 on the Billboard album charts and spanning multiple hits.
And although “the tan album” is enshrined in my memory, it’s not all gold. Tracks like “Druscilla Penny” and “Saturday” have aged badly,
as much due to John Bettis’s stupid sexist lyrics as Richard Carpenter’s forgettable vocals. Even Karen misses the mark here. Despite her game efforts,
the Burt Bacharach-Hal David Medley is the kind of middle-of-the-road pablum that Bill Murray would soon be parodying on Saturday Night Live."
---
"Certainly, Karen’s crystalline voice provided more than emotional clarity, appealing to this then-burgeoning music fan on an aesthetic level.
But the rippling “For All We Know,” beautiful as it may be, is not what I remember. No, it’s the heart-piercing power of “Rainy Days and Mondays,”
a theme brought home by the heartbreak of “Superstar,” that stays with me. That latter track still takes my breath away.
Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell had crafted a masterpiece. But as voiced by Karen Carpenter? This was loneliness turned into art."

Source:
Many, myself included, think "For All We Know" is their greatest recording, along with "Superstar." But we all have our favorites, with so many to choose from.
 
Well, if it's the video recorded from "Your All American College Show," I agree it was not their musical sweet spot -- but Karen was so cute in her white mini and boots at 17, that all is forgiven. So cute that John Wayne wanted to give her the "Mattie" role in True Grit, but it was too late. Just as well, since a movie would have disrupted their career trajectory.
She actually DID read for the part, but she obviously didn’t get it. Screen tests were generally filmed, but I’m sure they’re long gone now. Could you imagine if something like THAT would surface?l
 
Just published on the U.K. Guardian newspaper website (which will appear in the print edition tomorrow), as part of a series they do every week:

The Carpenters’ 20 greatest songs – ranked!
Thanks for letting us know about this. Can't believe it - it's only been posted on the Guardian website 3 hours and there are already 8 pages of comments! Some great choices (Road Ode, Another Song, All I Can Do, This Masquerade) and huge omissions (Only Yesterday, I Need To Be In Love, A Song For You). Too much good stuff to narrow it down!
 
Totally agree with 1&2! Glad other favorites made the list as well. Definitely arguable though. Only Yesterday is a huge fan favorite that’s left off.
 
Just published on the U.K. Guardian newspaper website (which will appear in the print edition tomorrow), as part of a series they do every week:

The Carpenters’ 20 greatest songs – ranked!
Some of the songs such as Aurora/Eventide I wouldn't have included in the top 20 greatest songs. Where for example is I Need to be in Love? I'm not sure what the criteria was for this Top 20. Thank you for posting, an interesting read.
 
Harry Langdon's photo wrongly captioned, Another Song wrongly dated, and the choices ... BUT, all the comments! The British people are still so fond of Carpenters, it's heart-warming to see :)
 
Just published on the U.K. Guardian newspaper website (which will appear in the print edition tomorrow), as part of a series they do every week:

The Carpenters’ 20 greatest songs – ranked!

Wow, great article! The writer really delved into the deep cuts for this. And #18...yet more recognition for this amazing solo track.

One observation really stood out for me in the comments: where is A Song For You?
 
I like the way the author writes. Brilliant observations. And it’s nice to see Hush acknowledged for its charm.
 
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