Carpenters and Bryan Adams sound alike?
- Thread starter andywithaz
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jfiedler17
Well-Known Member
Wow, now that is an analogy I've never heard before!! I'm a big Bryan Adams buff and have just about all his albums, but I've never picked up on that before, but when I think about it, there are a couple Adams songs that I can actually hear in my head as Carpenters records. "Let Him Know" from Cuts Like a Knife definitely would work as a Carpenters tune; "What's It Gonna Be" and "The Only One" from the same album I can also hear as Carpenters records. "The Best of Me" - insanely underrated song, by the way; shoulda been a Top 40 hit - could have sounded phenomenal sung by Karen ('specially the "This is love, and I've learned enough to know..." part and the key jump at the end). "Cloud Number Nine" may have sounded excellent by R&K, though they may have had to raise the key.
But then there are also a ton of Bryan Adams songs that wouldn't have worked for R&K at all. Karen would have sounded absolutely ridiculous singing, say, "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You."
And though Bryan and Karen would have made about a very unlikely duet pairing (Karen's silky smooth voice next to Bryan's instantly-identifiable raspy vocals; woulda made for an even starker contrast than when Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes teamed up), it woulda been quite a fascinating pairing and I actually think it may have worked. Imagine "I Finally Found Someone" with Karen taking Barbara Streisand's place or "When You're Gone" with Karen taking Sporty Spice's part.
Jeff F.
NP: The Corrs "Long Night" (speaking of songs that would have sounded phenomenal sung by Karen ...)
But then there are also a ton of Bryan Adams songs that wouldn't have worked for R&K at all. Karen would have sounded absolutely ridiculous singing, say, "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You."
And though Bryan and Karen would have made about a very unlikely duet pairing (Karen's silky smooth voice next to Bryan's instantly-identifiable raspy vocals; woulda made for an even starker contrast than when Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes teamed up), it woulda been quite a fascinating pairing and I actually think it may have worked. Imagine "I Finally Found Someone" with Karen taking Barbara Streisand's place or "When You're Gone" with Karen taking Sporty Spice's part.
Jeff F.
NP: The Corrs "Long Night" (speaking of songs that would have sounded phenomenal sung by Karen ...)
Dave
Well-Known Member
Yes, good analogy... Both Bryan and The Carpenters seemed to be after the "young audience" (Adams was one of my sister's favorite's, along with Corey Hart...) and marketed by A&M as "today's young sound", least after the Buying Public boosting sales of each artist kinda "spoke for itself"...!
Dave
Dave
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
aughalone:
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
"Sunglasses At Night" is a kitsch classic! The monophonic keyboard panning left to right in the opening, the cheesy oh-so-80's Simmons drum machine complete with cymbals that decay almost instantly, the sound effects...LOL! I'll just barely mention Corey Harts affected delivery. His earnestness makes the song one of the best bad songs ever recorded. He believes!!!
...and yes. I own a 45rpm of it...LOL! What can I say? I absolutely adore bad music and this one's so bad it's positively indispensable.
Ed
andywithaz
Well-Known Member
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
jfiedler17
Well-Known Member
ThaFunkyFakeTation said:
Being the diehard '80s music buff I am, I, too, have a 45 copy of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night"
... and "Never Surrender" ... and "Boy in the Box" (for anyone who's never heard this one, this one's got some of the absolute worst rhymes of any song that ever hit the Top 40) ... also, "It Ain't Enough" and "Everything in My Heart" ... did I mention I also own 45s of "I Am By Your Side," "Can't Help Falling in Love," and "In Your Soul"?
Jeff F.
... who's going to go hide for a while now
...
Dave
Well-Known Member
Well, Bryan Adams' hits have the urgency in his voice and delivery that Karen's had in those Carpenters' songs...
Did a few "comparisons" on what key-songs Bryan Adams sang and what Carpenters songs that they "almost" or just really MIGHT compare to:
Cuts Like A Knife -- Almost like We've Only Just Begun; Adams' husky voice and one of the most "uptempo ballads" or something just "midtempo", which like "We've Only Just..." was nearly the fastest song or tempo that Karen sang...
Run To You -- Adams' Let Me Be The One, only THIS was a hit... Wonder why "Let Me..." was just "also-ran" album filler; I think both songs convey the same message...
Heaven -- This has to be Bryan Adams' Close To You, when the "1st person" IS finally "close to you", just like how "they long to be"...
Straight From The Heart -- First Bryan Adams song I ever heard; maybe this was when his career was just starting... Didn't help that in the same year The Allman Brothers had a song with almost the same title, that same year I never heard, but heard of... The Carpenters song it compares to? A Song For You, in the sense that it has that direct sincerity, even coming from the "ragged, road-weary writer", but still coming "From My Heart, To Yours..."
Summer Of '69 -- Ah, nostalgia...! This one TRULY smacks of the Carpenters' Yesterday Once More...
Somebody -- A good "answer song" to Rainy Days and Mondays -- as there is the longing and need for "somebody" in the "world of loneliness"... Or maybe a Goodbye To Love, without the guitar-solo, though as a "Power-Ballad", it's a far-cry from the "original", that the Carpenters helped pioneer...
...With some "actual analogies" of Bryan Adams VS. Carpenters songs, as the topic calls for...
Dave
Did a few "comparisons" on what key-songs Bryan Adams sang and what Carpenters songs that they "almost" or just really MIGHT compare to:
Cuts Like A Knife -- Almost like We've Only Just Begun; Adams' husky voice and one of the most "uptempo ballads" or something just "midtempo", which like "We've Only Just..." was nearly the fastest song or tempo that Karen sang...
Run To You -- Adams' Let Me Be The One, only THIS was a hit... Wonder why "Let Me..." was just "also-ran" album filler; I think both songs convey the same message...
Heaven -- This has to be Bryan Adams' Close To You, when the "1st person" IS finally "close to you", just like how "they long to be"...
Straight From The Heart -- First Bryan Adams song I ever heard; maybe this was when his career was just starting... Didn't help that in the same year The Allman Brothers had a song with almost the same title, that same year I never heard, but heard of... The Carpenters song it compares to? A Song For You, in the sense that it has that direct sincerity, even coming from the "ragged, road-weary writer", but still coming "From My Heart, To Yours..."
Summer Of '69 -- Ah, nostalgia...! This one TRULY smacks of the Carpenters' Yesterday Once More...
Somebody -- A good "answer song" to Rainy Days and Mondays -- as there is the longing and need for "somebody" in the "world of loneliness"... Or maybe a Goodbye To Love, without the guitar-solo, though as a "Power-Ballad", it's a far-cry from the "original", that the Carpenters helped pioneer...
...With some "actual analogies" of Bryan Adams VS. Carpenters songs, as the topic calls for...
Dave
jfiedler17
Well-Known Member
Dave said:
I'm doubting that the Carpenters ever would have got around to doing something as hard-sounding as "Cuts Like a Knife", but that is still one of Bryan's major hits that I can easily mentally imagine Karen singing. If only for the verses ("Driving home this evening ...") and B-section ("I took it all for granted, but how was I to know ..."). For a song as gritty as "Cuts" is, it's got a pretty gorgeous melody and one that Karen might've tackled nicely.
Dave said:
It was actually from his third album, but "Straight from the Heart" was his first 45 to crack Top 40. (His only single to chart on the Hot 100 before that was "Lonely Nights" which never got past the lowest fifth of the chart.)
Funny, but I've never heard that Allman Brothers song, either (and it was one of their four Top 40 hits, too); it's totally MIA on radio these days, and it's mysteriously absent from just about every Allman Bros. hits compilations).
Jeff F.
Interesting comparison but I do not see it. I have all Bryan Adams Albums as well as the Carpenters collection and to me they are like night and day (Adams and The Carpenters). As far as I am concerned the only thing Bryan Adams and The Carpenters share in common is their record label both were under A&M (Don't know if Bryan Adams is still with A&M/Universal I think he is). 
andywithaz
Well-Known Member
Dave
Well-Known Member
I agree-this takes apples & oranges to a whole new level! Comparing Bryan Adams to Karen Carpenter is like comparing Pat Benatar to Frank Sinatra.Possibly,this individual has Karen confused with Mary-Chapin Carpenter.Interesting comparison but I do not see it. I have all Bryan Adams Albums as well as the Carpenters collection and to me they are like night and day (Adams and The Carpenters). As far as I am concerned the only thing Bryan Adams and The Carpenters share in common is their record label both were under A&M (Don't know if Bryan Adams is still with A&M/Universal I think he is).
The only thing Bryan & Karen had in common was the fact that they were both with A&M-and they had the two biggest selling A&M albums of 1984: Bryan's "Reckless" and Karen's "Old-Fashioned Christmas".
Maybe Bryan will switch over to jazz someday-and record "Rainy Days" and "This Masquerade" for his first jazz album.Then,we can continue this discussion.
BTW-this is an old thread from ten years ago.
Yeah, I th0ught of the A&M connection, too. But, hey, if he can record with Tina, why not Karen? It would have been interesting, to say the least.
I think Karen would have surprised us had she been around. There was so much for that voice to investigate! I remember in People Magazine that Karen was about to have her hair streaked bronze. Just imagine a psuedo-new wave Karen Carpenter in 1983. So close....but Heaven got her instead.
I think Karen would have surprised us had she been around. There was so much for that voice to investigate! I remember in People Magazine that Karen was about to have her hair streaked bronze. Just imagine a psuedo-new wave Karen Carpenter in 1983. So close....but Heaven got her instead.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
Exactly!
Dave
Well-Known Member
Well, seeing as how this week's AOTW and the Carpenters Forum IS like a "Big Long AOTW" (the way a teenager's Saturday Night party makes his/her parents complain about the house turning into a Big New Years Eve) that's why I had the yen to resurrect this Thread...
(And besides, how else can I express my new-found Melanie-Led Zep' kick?!)
"(Lay Down) Candles In The Rain", "Whole Lotta Love"; "Look What They've Done To My Song", "????? (Can't think of one) ?????", by "What's Her Name" and "Those Guys"...!
-- Dave
(And besides, how else can I express my new-found Melanie-Led Zep' kick?!)
"(Lay Down) Candles In The Rain", "Whole Lotta Love"; "Look What They've Done To My Song", "????? (Can't think of one) ?????", by "What's Her Name" and "Those Guys"...!
-- Dave
andywithaz
Well-Known Member
Yeah, this thread is from 10 years ago. I actually don't remember making it... Was I hacked?
Anyway, I think some of you are comparing Byran to Karen and that's not what I meant. What I meant to convey was that I think (or thought at the time) that Bryan's sappy 80s rock ballads remind me of the Carpenters, and I think if Karen had lived and the Carpenters continued to make music, they'd have a similar sound.
Anyway, I think some of you are comparing Byran to Karen and that's not what I meant. What I meant to convey was that I think (or thought at the time) that Bryan's sappy 80s rock ballads remind me of the Carpenters, and I think if Karen had lived and the Carpenters continued to make music, they'd have a similar sound.
Just in case you really thought there was no link between Frank Sinatra and Pat Benatar...
http://xenophilia.com/learning-to-sing-testing-frank-sinatras-microphone/
Harry
http://xenophilia.com/learning-to-sing-testing-frank-sinatras-microphone/
Harry
Hey, if Pat Boone can do a cover version of Metallica's "Enter Sandman", anything is possible.
And no, it's so out there that I can't make this up: look up Boone's No More Mr. Nice Guy album. "Exit light, enter night, take my hand....we're off to Neverneverland."
Natesmommy77
Active Member
I still don't see the connection here-maybe your confusing Bryan Adams with Oleta Adams! I'm familiar with most of Bryan's recorded output-and he is 100% rock-all the way.Again,it's like night & day-no comparison!
Bryan's raspy voice & brash singing style is more akin to the likes of Tina Turner and Kim Carnes.
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