At what point did it become acceptable to play along to a backing track? I know the Carpenters avoided it like the plague unless they were lipsyncing completely, but it seems like a song like AYGFLIALS or Occupants could be doable as long as the seven or eight band members were the only ones who had to play live.
Carpenters on Carson (November 1973)
- Thread starter AM Matt
- Start date
-
- Tags
- 1973 carpenters
STEVE@ENGLAND
Member
Calling Occupants:
I don't think a stripped-down 'live' version would do the song justice; but, it's do-able
(Without the bombast, it doesn't seem particularly difficult.)
All you get from Love is a Love Song:
This has a lot going on. It's do-able, but would take a lot of rehearsing.
Was it ever performed 'live'?
Was any track (from Passage) - apart from Don't Cry for me, Argentina - ever
performed 'live'? If not, why spend weeks/months recording an album & go on
tour (presumably to promote the album) - only to perform the one 'new' song?
Can anyone (on the forum) shed any light?
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
The answer to your question is no. Likely because they were running low on batteries by 1977/1978 and so didn’t have a lot of capacity for creating a new show with new material, and also the fact that a lot of the tracks on Passage had quite complex arrangements or productions that might not have translated well live - B’Wana, I Just Fall In Love Again, Calling Occupants, Man Smart, Woman Smarter, All You Get From Love Is A Love Song being cases in point. Two Sides has much of Karen singing two-part harmony with herself so that might not have worked either. That said, they could have easily added a new track like Sweet, Sweet Smile.
They were also limited on time: their MGM set list was short, designed to be performed twice-nightly. For the most part the material they chose had been done to death.
Carpenters Setlist at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
Get the Carpenters Setlist of the concert at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV, USA on July 12, 1978 and other Carpenters Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
Last edited:
STEVE@ENGLAND
Member
Thanks, newvillefan ... That makes sense.
I've never been able to envisage Karen/Richard performing B'wana She No Home 'live' -
though I Just Fall in Love Again seems perfectly do-able.
I asked this question based on a concern I have about their set-lists from 1975.
I believe only 2 (maybe, 3) songs from Horizon were performed 'live', namely:
Only Yesterday; Please, Mr. Postman; Solitaire
There's a question mark with Solitaire.
Richard says it was never performed 'live', yet , someone (on Google) claims it was
performed at a Carpenters' concert they attended in 1975.
If it was performed 'live', I'm assuming it got quickly dropped from the set-list due
to the 'Sedaka debacle'.
A similar concern arises with the A Kind of Hush album, namely, only 3 songs
appear to have been performed 'live':
There's a Kind of Hush; I Need to be in Love; Breaking Up is Hard to Do
... the latter performed (with Sedaka) at the Riviera 1975.
It seems, then, that Karen/Richard performed, at most, only seven new tracks
'live' (from the three studio albums released between 1975 - 1977.)
I may be naive - but only seven tracks from three albums???
Surely, that might have detracted the longer-term fans from attending the
concerts (if they believed that they'd', more or less, be seeing the 'same old
show'.)
Any insight/facts would be welcome.
Thanks.
Portlander
Well-Known Member
Nine of their biggest hits all wrapped up into a medley and a short 40 minute concert, they really needed to take a reprieve from touring. I don't think any artist or band could get away with a limited set list like that from the mid eighties on and I'm a veteran of well over 100 concerts. Sherwin, Sherwin, Sherwin!
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
Spot on! To this day I don’t know how they got away with their set lists being so short, even well before 1978. Had I paid a ticket for a show like that, I would have felt very short-changed.
Portlander
Well-Known Member
When I saw them in Chicago (1976) the show was probably an hour in duration but it was my first concert ever so I had nothing to compare it to. It was an amazing performance and Karen was absolutely gorgeous! Did I ever mention that I got spent 20 minutes alone with Karen and Richard 4 hours prior to the concert? 
Last edited:
byline
Well-Known Member
After we saw them perform in Terre Haute in October 1972, I remember saying how much I admired Karen as a drummer, and my father replied, "She isn't very good." I was shocked and asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, if she was any good, she wouldn't need another drummer to back her up." *sigh*
My parents were both music majors who graduated from Indiana University's School of Music. My father was a high school band director who by that time had gotten his master's and PhD in counseling so that he could teach at the university level. So he knew a little something about music. Sadly, I revised my opinion somewhat because I trusted him to give me the correct answer. It still shocks me a little that he would have said that. I know better now.
My father was a good man, but sometimes he had tunnel vision. An old argument between my parents was when my mom insisted there had always been women composers, including those eras considered the exclusive domain of men. My father replied, "Well, if they were any good, we'd know about them." End of story, as far as he was concerned. That infuriated my mother. And, of course, she was right.
Last edited:
