Favorite Worst Single

Simon, you make this difficult with the multiple choices! But Here Goes:

Those Good Old Dreams - I love the catchy melody of the song, the Karen/Richard harmonies, and lead vocal (sung very sweetly by Karen). I like the video of the song with the photos of their childhood tied-in.

Ticket To Ride - Was not a big hit, but it charted. Their first real public exposure and put them on the map, so to speak. I like what they did with the song to make it their own and really showed their early creativity. Karen had that "brashness" to her vocals back then and she played drums on the track (which is another big plus for me).

Now - A final goodbye from Karen. It is absolutely lovely. It went on a little too long (IMHO), but lovely nonetheless.

 

I couldn't vote. I kept changing my mind.

 

"Ticket to Ride" is a legendary effort and a great pick as the first appearance of our duo! Unlike @Harry, I didn't hear it on the radio and was unaware of it until after the "Close to You" phenomenon. It's an incredible remake that takes the Beatles' song in a different, but welcome, direction. I think that a re-release of the song as a single during the 1971-1975 period could have significantly improved upon its chart performance.

Speaking of taking a song in a "different, but welcome, direction," "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" was a fresh look, with some new lyrics, on the Manilow smash. I also picked "Honolulu City Lights," also a remake --- imagine that! --- as it's an enjoyable listen. And it's clearly in contention for best single packaging --- the original sleeve was beautiful.

 

"Ticket to Ride" should have been a bigger hit. It probably didn't chart any higher than it did because the Carpenters were a new, unknown group when it was released. Had it been released a few years later after the Carpenters were established, it might have been a monster.

 

I'm such a Goofus fanatic !
So, that one, an easy choice for me.
Little Altar Boy and Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again....
love them !

 

According to Wikipedia, it actually hit #9 in New Zealand.

I went with (Want You) Back In My Life Again, Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore & Honolulu City Lights.

I'm surprised that you didn't list Something In Your Eyes & If I Had You, which only appeared on the American A/C chart (#12 & #18 respectively, according to Wikipedia), and yet you included Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore which only hit #12 on the American A/C chart, or Those Good Old Dreams, (Want You) Back In My Life Again, I Believe You, Goofus & Ticket To Ride which were all, according to Wikipedia, Top 20 American A/C hits.

 

I only voted for one because it was a no brainer for me: Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again. It outshines all the rest on that list.

 

I like them all but the treasure is Tryin To Get The Feeling Again for me. Ticket To Ride is nice in the Singles collection but I think it's only a fan favorite and non fans hate they did a remake of a Beatles song and it may have done damage if it was released again with the newer version.
The two Christmas songs would be my next favorite and I love the ninth chord overdubbed harmony in I Believe You. Your Baby has that Lou Christie sound and Honolulu has that Your Hit Parade ballad sounding period in pop music.

 

I'm fascinated Craig. In layman's terms, can you explain where and what this "ninth chord overdubbed harmony" is in I Believe You?

 

The ninth chord can be heard on the note "ooh ooh I believe you", where Richard and Karen made up the chord using their overdubbed harmonies. You can hear it at 0:51 on the below video:

 

Cheers Stephen but perhaps if you tell me where the example is in the actual song it'll help me.

 

At 0:31 into the song and then each time they sing the same line after that throughout (0:59, 2:08 and so on). The chord is constructed by Richard and Karen singing all the constituent parts.

 

Thanks Stephen

 

I voted for "Ticket To Ride". I was stuck between Ticket To Ride, Goofus, Ave Maria, and The Rainbow Connection. They're all just such beautiful songs!

 

"Honolulu" is a bit underrated I think.
Cool how they both felt inspired after a trip to Hawaii and nice for fans as an outtake from '78.
The way she hits "again" before the chorus. And the outro too "bring me back again". How she croons on the verses. Quite nice. There's a lot good going on there.
I can see how "You're baby" may take the cake as far as posthumous release goes on this list. Especially if you're anti-choir intrusion and more sold on classic KC and RC overdubbed sound.

 

Honolulu City Lights is a gem when you listen to the the unpolished version on YouTube without the OK Chorale. I remember how excited I was when I found a DJ who gave me his promotional copy with the record sleeve. I have since passed it on to another.