Desert Island Disc

Which two original studio albums would you be stranded on a desert island with - and why?

  • Offering

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • Close To You

    Votes: 9 25.0%
  • Carpenters

    Votes: 8 22.2%
  • A Song For You

    Votes: 18 50.0%
  • Now & Then

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • Horizon

    Votes: 12 33.3%
  • A Kind of Hush

    Votes: 2 5.6%
  • Passage

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Christmas Portrait

    Votes: 4 11.1%
  • Made In America

    Votes: 2 5.6%
  • Voice Of The Heart

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • An Old Fashioned Christmas

    Votes: 1 2.8%
  • Lovelines

    Votes: 5 13.9%
  • As Time Goes By

    Votes: 1 2.8%

  • Total voters
    36

newvillefan

I Know My First Name Is Stephen
Imagine if you were stranded on a desert island and you only had 2 albums, which would you choose that would represent the totality of their career?

Fellow member @arthowson posted the above in the thread about Lovelines and it gave me the idea to post a poll on the subject.

You can choose two original Carpenters' studio albums to be stranded on a desert island with (no live albums, no compilations, no anthologies, no solo albums). Which would you choose to take with you and why?
 
Last edited:
A Song For You: I love the harmony and the songs. I can’t stop listening to the title song along with a few others and it contains more favorites than the others. It’s a perfect album.

Horizon: Karen is at her best and it was never better. All the songs are hits to me and even though it’s on the heavier side it shows the dexterity and treasure of Karen’s ability to sing any style of song.

These are my go to albums when I need refreshed. Christmas Portrait is my third favorite.
 
Hard for me to choose, but I went with A Song For You and Lovelines. The former is the first album of theirs that I ever heard and it's magical to me. Not the hits, but the album cuts: A Song For You, Intermission, Crystal Lullaby and Road Ode. Just a magical listening experience. I wish I'd been around when it was released. I even love the inner sleeve artwork, featuring the broken valentine, the car, the couple that seemed to be rowing :laugh:. What an album.

carpenters_asongforyou2.jpg


Skip to Lovelines. I couldn't ever be without this album. Maybe because it's a pot pourri of songs melded together from all the later aspects of their career. Beautifully produced and compiled.

Offering gets an honourable mention. I adore the album for its innocence and energy. It's Richard and Karen starting out, full of energy and ambition. A marvelous period piece.
 
I would have to go with Horizon and Lovelines. I was going to go with Horizon and VOTH but I went with Lovelines because this way I could also get some of her solo tracks almost like a 2 fur 1. :wink:
 
CLOSE TO YOU and their eponymous album CARPENTERS. There's no way I could survive on a desert island knowing that I would potentially never again be able to hear great and timeless songs such as Rainy Days and Mondays and We've Only Just Begun.
 
Horizon & Now And Then... These are at the peak of Karen's vocal talent. She sounds incredible on these albums (she does on all albums but these especially)

Horizon is serious Carpenters whilst Now & Then is fun Carpenters!
 
I chose The beige self titled Carpenters album And Lovelines although for me it's impossible to choose only 2 or even one but for me these two really stand out because they both contain most of my favorite standout songs that being said "Made in America" and "Offering ( aka Ticket to ride") and all the others would have been a several way tie because they are all Great and contain many favorites too nevertheless I understand preferences will vary and they won't be everybody's choice
 
A Song 4 U because it's arguably their best work and I love it.

MIA because I simply could not live without TGOD and When it's Gone.
 
AS4U because it's my favourite album.
Hard to choose between Now and Then or Horizon, but went for now and then. Always had a soft spot for it and i think Karen's voice sounds the best on it.
 
I chose ASFY and "Horizon." Then after looking at the poll results, it looks like those are the two favorites so far.

I consider the period from ASFY through YOM to "Horizon" to be their artistic peak. ASFY was such a full album, that one or two tracks could have been dropped and it would still be an incredible album. Plus "Goodbye To Love" is my favourite Carpenters song of all time.

With "Horizon", the Carpenters "sound" and production techniques were, to me, perfected. My two criticisms were the true-to-the-1940s arrangement of "I Can Dream, Can't I", which I wish they has done a more current arrangement using K & R's backing vocals and the "Aurora"/"Eventide" interludes, which seemed like a "way" to have 5 songs on each side of the LP. Despite this, the rest of "Horizon" is absolutely excellent.
 
Oh MAN! What a great poll and a tough decision. No matter which way I turn I am leaving something behind I would miss dearly.

It came down to 4...Close to You, Carpenters, A Song For You, and Christmas Portrait. Unlike some others here, I don't seem to tire of most of their smash hits of the first few years. I couldn't imagine not being able to listen to Rainy Days & Mondays, We've Only Just Begun, or Superstar...and if I was on this island over the Holidays I'd dearly miss Christmas Portrait. Aggghh! Depending on these choices I may be without Hurting Each Other, Yesterday Once More, This Masquerade, Only Yesterday, All You Get from Love is a Love Song, I Need to be in Love...so many more...

This is painful Hah!

But the ship is sinking and I must grab but two. Ok, I choose Close to You and Carpenters. They resonate most with my youth and I just can't imagine passing on those early hits.
 
How depressing, only two?!

A Song For You - Chock full of hits. Not a bad track on the album. Karen's voice and Richard's arrangements never sounded better.

Christmas Portrait - Since I'm stranded on an island, I need some inspiration to keep going. Ave Maria and Christ Is Born could help with that. AND my favorite Christmas song of all time, Karen's rendition of I'll Be Home For Christmas :cry:.
 
The first pick is easy - A Song For You. It's their best album, and it's good for multiple listens because of the variety and humor it brings to the table.

The second choice for me would be between Ticket, Close to You and Now and Then. I think I would have to scratch N&T right off due to the oldies medley - while I don't get tired of hearing that NOW, if I was on a desert island I might. That leaves Ticket and Close. I would have to go with Close to You -- it has more of my favorite songs and again, has that variety that I like so much about A Song For You.
 
But the ship is sinking and I must grab but two.
Don't forget to also grab a CD player, and a generator and gasoline to power it. I hope there will be enough room in the lifeboat! :laugh: Assuming of course, that you won't be stranded at an all-inclusive resort...

If I had to flee a sinking ship, I'd grab my phone (which has the entire Carpenters catalogue loaded on the micro-SD card), and a solar-powered USB charger... but, in keeping with the spirit of this exercise, I would delete all but "A Song For You" and "Lovelines" before jumping overboard... happy Stephen? :laugh:
 
Don't forget to also grab a CD player, and a generator and gasoline to power it. I hope there will be enough room in the lifeboat! :laugh: Assuming of course, that you won't be stranded at an all-inclusive resort...

If I had to flee a sinking ship, I'd grab my phone (which has the entire Carpenters catalogue loaded on the micro-SD card), and a solar-powered USB charger... but, in keeping with the spirit of this exercise, I would delete all but "A Song For You" and "Lovelines" before jumping overboard... happy Stephen? :laugh:

No need, there will be an abandoned tiny military base from the 80's, on this island, with a working generator (but no communications, of course). An old turntable with some big old-school speakers. So glad I grabbed VINYL :uhhuh:
 
Close To You and A Song For You. It was easy for me as they are my two favorite albums by them. Plus, I actually think they work well together. They complement one another really well with the way they flow and their energy.

The song I would miss the most, given this decision, would be This Masquerade.
 
I guess if "The Singles" were on this list it would have been too obvious...lacking the ability to choose a compilation, I went with the same as most everyone else (ASFY and Horizon) but it was a close call between Horizon and Lovelines. And I'd be missing a lot of essential Carpenters tracks... :sad:
 
I thought about Christmas Portrait but then the only thing to decorate would be sea weed and shells with some green leaves.

No need, there will be an abandoned tiny military base from the 80's, on this island, with a working generator (but no communications, of course). An old turntable with some big old-school speakers. So glad I grabbed VINYL :uhhuh:

Yeah but I've heard that military base is run by the "others" and that once they capture you they will strap you to a chair with headphones and force you to listen to Neil Sedaka on vinyl with full volume for hours on end and they will only stop if you promise to bring them back one of your Carpenters albums never to hear it again..so think about your 2nd choice wisely....wait...this is the Lost forum, right?
 
I voted for A Song For You, the very first album I owned and Horizon, because it was the peak of Karen's singing voice and because of it's production quality.
 
I voted for Carpenters - I love Rainy Days and Mondays, I couldn't give that song up. For All We Know is another favorite from that album. Then it would be a toss up between Close To You and A Song For You. So many good songs (not just the popular ones) it would be tough to choose.
 
Back
Top Bottom