"Goodbye To Love" single review

[ScottyB]

Again, remember the 45 in the house, but don't recall radio airplay.
This is one of my all-time favorites.
Didn't know it at the time,
but during the mid-80's to the mid 90's....all those great power ballads that were being played...
likely had their rooted origins in the arrangement of this song.
It has been reported that "Goodbye To Love" was the prototype to the power ballad.


Simon Frith, the British sociomusicologist and former rock critic, identifies the origins of the power ballad in the emotional singing of soul artists, particularly Ray Charles, and the adaptation of this style by performers such as Eric Burdon, Tom Jones, and Joe Cocker to produce slow-tempo songs often building to a loud and emotive chorus backed by drums, electric guitars, and sometimes choirs.[13] According to Charles Aaron, power ballads came into existence in the early 1970s, when rock stars attempted to convey profound messages to audiences.[14]

Aaron argues that the power ballad broke into the mainstream of American consciousness in 1976 as FM radio gave a new lease of life to earlier songs such as Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" (1971), Aerosmith's "Dream On" (1973), and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" (1974).[14] The Carpenters' "Goodbye to Love" (1972) has also been identified as a prototype of the power ballad.[15] Notable power ballad examples include Nazareth's version of "Love Hurts" (1975), Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" (1984),[13] Scorpions' "Still Loving You" (1984), Heart's "What About Love" (1985),[16] Whitesnake's "Is This Love" (1987), and Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (1988) (Source: Wikipedia)

 

[theninjarabbit]

Two words: Guitar solo! And they got "hate mail" for going hard rock...well, I say bring it!! The backing vocal arrangements are great too.

 

[GaryAlan]

And, with me--first hear (sometime in early 1970's),
I thought to myself, and felt---still do--
Absolutely Brilliant Song !
A big thanks to Richard Carpenter for penning this tune !

 

[motownboy]

This is my all time favorite song by Karen & Richard and certainly one of their most ambitious and artistically successful recordings.

 

[Harry]

I have mixed feelings about "Goodbye To Love", mostly because of where I was at the time it was popular. I had left school and was working in a drug store, and I mostly got to control the radio station that we listened to. It wouldn't have mattered really which station, because "Goodbye To Love" was everywhere except the beautiful music station that you'd typically hear in a card/gift/drug store. But I always tuned it to the pop FM station that skewed softer.

Whenever "Goodbye To Love" got to the heavy guitar part, the older lady in the store would start yelling, "Oh, turn that racket off! That's awful." If she was near the radio, she'd switch to the Muzak-y station, so I had to keep a sharp ear out for whenever "Goodbye To Love" played so I could turn that part down - or even switch the station myself until that part was over. I understood the sentiment - it was common among all of the older folks who thought Carpenters were a sensible, safe act.

So while I like the song, the recording, and its myriad remixes, I have those memories of having to run to the radio every time it came on. By the way, we know Carpenters don't get much regular airplay these days in the US. I wonder if any station actually plays this record as part of its regular Carpenters rotation.

Harry

 

[Toolman]

I don't remember being shocked by the guitar part, despite its novelty. I was more impressed by how Karen could sing so many words at a stretch without taking a breath. And, I recall thinking that the long chorale outro made this song sort of the Carpenters' "Hey Jude". It has been one of my favorite singles of theirs from first hearing.

 

[Mark-T]

What a great description of the song! Carpenters "Hey Jude"! AWESOME!

 

[song4u]

I was shocked back when I read about the guitar solo resulting in hate mail.

When I attended my second Carpenters concert, they were performing the oldies medley. After the show, I heard the 'older' woman in the row in front of us say "Well that was just a bunch of noise!" And at 14, I was wondering why I got teased for listening to this 'soft' music that someone considered a bunch of noise. No accounting for taste.

 

[ScottyB]

I have mixed feelings about "Goodbye To Love", mostly because of where I was at the time it was popular. I had left school and was working in a drug store, and I mostly got to control the radio station that we listened to. It wouldn't have mattered really which station, because "Goodbye To Love" was everywhere except the beautiful music station that you'd typically hear in a card/gift/drug store. But I always tuned it to the pop FM station that skewed softer.

Whenever "Goodbye To Love" got to the heavy guitar part, the older lady in the store would start yelling, "Oh, turn that racket off! That's awful." If she was near the radio, she'd switch to the Muzak-y station, so I had to keep a sharp ear out for whenever "Goodbye To Love" played so I could turn that part down - or even switch the station myself until that part was over. I understood the sentiment - it was common among all of the older folks who thought Carpenters were a sensible, safe act.

So while I like the song, the recording, and its myriad remixes, I have those memories of having to run to the radio every time it came on. By the way, we know Carpenters don't get much regular airplay these days in the US. I wonder if any station actually plays this record as part of its regular Carpenters rotation.

Harry

I actually heard "Goodbye To Love" recently over a local grocery store airplay. I don't know if it was part of a radio station playlist, or part of a typical (I don't know what you would call it) overhead playlist. Even tho I was quite pleased with hearing it, thinking of it as a song that was somewhat annoying to an older generation never really crossed my mind. I still feel it is a great song, and definitely a bridge between soft rock and hard rock, something which would definitely be experienced by several artists thru the 80's and early 90's.

 

[ScottyB]

I was shocked back when I read about the guitar solo resulting in hate mail.

When I attended my second Carpenters concert, they were performing the oldies medley. After the show, I heard the 'older' woman in the row in front of us say "Well that was just a bunch of noise!" And at 14, I was wondering why I got teased for listening to this 'soft' music that someone considered a bunch of noise. No accounting for taste.

Noise? OMG...she should listen to what's being considered as music today!

 

[JBee]

I believe Tony Peluso (who called Karen one of the greatest singers ever in one of the documentaries) also referred to his solo in the song as a fuzz rock guitar in the middle of a Doris Day song. That's not an offense to Doris I think (another one of the greatest singers ever) but without the guitar solo the song does come off that way. I think its arranged that way by Richard so the guitar solo comes off as huge surprise after Karen's rather detached (rather than mournful) singing. In that way it completely works.

 

[GaryAlan]

Entire:
Old music: The Carpenters – Goodbye to Love (Live at the Palladium) »
Old music: The Carpenters – Goodbye to Love (Live at the Palladium)
"Going to see the Carpenters might have been a badge of shame – until they started playing and the magic began."
"By the time they reached Goodbye to Love I realized it would be safe to admit going to the concert after all."
"A melancholic ballad, it is made even more poignant in retrospect. "
"......something quite amazing happened.
"From out of the assembled ranks of orchestra and band members a guitar player abruptly stood up,
taking the spotlight to play a terrific solo that surely should have been a feature anywhere else but in a Carpenters song."
"Tony Peluso might not have been as good as Clapton, he might not even have been terribly cool,
but he and the Carpenters won at least one new fan that night."

 

[Guitarmutt]

Does anyone else feel that Karen's vocal (moreso before the first guitar solo) is rather bland and detached? I think she was concentrating more on the intricate breathing the song required and didn't much emotion into the words she's saying. I hear it more at the end though.

There is pain and heartbreak, but there is also resignation. Listen to the words. She is saying she'll never find anyone ever again. And she is resigned to her fate believing there is no one for her. I've been there: sort of a quiet passive wondering without hope. Without despair. It just is. That is what the song conveys to me.

Then, boom, that last solo, so often cut out for some stupid reason, rises up and lifts me up just as life often does mysteriously. Music can often convey aspects of life difficult to say with words. And life, in its mystery and wonder can push you on to better things despite all your worst fears. Even better, life can give hope when you've all but given up. That is what 'Goodbye to Love' means to me.

The detached vocal conveys hopelessness, and the guitar is hope lingering around the edges waiting to come back in.

 

[Moritat]

I've never posted any comments to the Carpenters thread, but feel the need to here. From the point of view of someone who is not a huge Carpenters fan, I must say that "Goodbye To Love" is one of two Carpenters songs I consider to be brilliant. (The other being "Superstar"). Yes, the song has an outstanding melody and lyrics, but the arrangement is what makes the song so unique. A rock guitar solo in the middle of a ballad shouldn't work, but it does! Whoever arranged this really knew what they were doing. As far as any so called Carpenters fans who objected to this less conservative arrangement, I think these were people who weren't open to creativity. A long career can't be sustained on playing it safe 100% of the time.

 

[Geographer]

What I really like about this song (and it is one of my favorites) is that it does not follow the typical song formula of first verse, chorus, second verse, repeat chorus, third verse, final chorus. Add to that Richard's amazing arrangement and Karen's vocals (which don't sound "phoned in" to me at all), and it's an amazing work.

 

[Nancy J. Limauro]

I met the Carpenters in person in 1973 in New Haven Ct. I love the A&M Artists..

 

[BarryT60]

Does anyone else feel that Karen's vocal (moreso before the first guitar solo) is rather bland and detached? I think she was concentrating more on the intricate breathing the song required and didn't much emotion into the words she's saying. I hear it more at the end though.

I hear what you're saying... and kind of understand the almost robotic delivery of the third line... - but at the same time - I think that perhaps what you're hearing may simply be that beautiful melody that is being so eloquently delivered- note by complex note. Make sense?

It is indeed a dreadfully sad lyric - but in contrast - a really pretty melody. This person has thrown their hands up and it's a foregone conclusion that all is indeed lost. But the sentiment is so beautifully delivered - and beautifully sounding.

That juxtaposition may be the allure of the whole song.

Guitarmutt above says he hears hope, particularly, at the end with the guitar, & those harmonies with the ahh's... I tend to agree that ending is almost a celebration, rather than the singer cynically creeping away in morbidity.
Sort of expanding on the line: "There may come a time when I will see that I've been wrong..." Hope springs eternal.

 

[JBee]

. A rock guitar solo in the middle of a ballad shouldn't work, but it does! Whoever arranged this really knew what they were doing. As far as any so called Carpenters fans who objected to this less conservative arrangement, I think these were people who weren't open to creativity. A long career can't be sustained on playing it safe 100% of the time.

Given GtL's success on the charts (#7 on the top 40), how much it surprised the critics (and the C's own fans), and how it became a big staple of the Carpenters concerts, I was really surprised Richard never tried something like it again (rock guitar/power ballad). Sure, they used guitar in later songs but to never such a memorable extent. Horizon, AKofH, Passage, Made in America, all of these albums could have USED another Goodbye to Love. Especially as the Carpenters were slipping off the radio in the later 70s.

And a selfish part of me thinks that if the Carpenters had a few more Goodbye to Love-style top 20 power ballads under the belt, the case for their non-inclusion in Rock Hall of Fame (when similar acts like ABBA are in) would be harder to make.

 

[newvillefan]

And a selfish part of me thinks that if the Carpenters had a few more Goodbye to Love-style top 20 power ballads under the belt, the case for their non-inclusion in Rock Hall of Fame (when similar acts like ABBA are in) would be harder to make.

As John Denver said "They'll never be a part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...and neither will I".

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I was a radio disc jockey and program director in the 1970s. "Goodbye to Love", along with "Superstar", gave the Carpenters some credibility with rock audiences. Unfortunately, they followed up with "Sing" as the next single. Skipping "Sing" and releasing "Yesterday Once More" next would have helped in terms of image. "Sing" was a big hit, but it played a big part in making the Carpenters terminally uncool at the time.

 

[Mark-T]

I always liked Sing but thought it would have been better as a compilation selection for a kid's album. Maybe for a benefit.

 

[Martin Waters]

As a young guy, I worked at radio stations in the early-mid '70s -- all through the time Carpenters had their biggest hits. But I was a newscaster, not a DJ. And I'm trying to remember whether A & M issued a shorter version of "Goodbye to Love" for radio stations -- fading out sooner at the end after the start of the big fuzz guitar (How great is that! But that stuff will happen when you have a singing genius working with an arranger-musical idea genius!) I googled briefly, but didn't find anything. The guitar part on the end runs about a minute and the running time of the song is 3:50. Top-40 stations often looked for ways to shorten anything longer than three minutes, anyway, and, as folks here have commented, this proto-power ballad sound on a Carpenters song was "controversial." Good for A&M for issuing the whole 3:50 as the single. Another record company might have done it differently. Or maybe by then the Carpenters were so far on top of the world that they had a veto? With semi-old-age now fading my memory, I may be recalling that some radio stations either faded it out faster manually or made a tape cartridge of it that was shorter. It was common practice then, especially in the big markets, to routinely put the records on carts -- no pops, no clicks, no sticking, no wearing out, no DJ's bumping the turntable, etc. Anyone have a better memory about this?

 

[KJKennedy]

I totally agree about 'Sing' - and in fact DID show up on a 2002 children's LP as a cover by Ivy. It was a VH1 benefit LP titled 'For The Kids' with lots of alt acts. Sarah McLachlan also did 'Rainbow Connection' on it.

 

[Made In America]

There is pain and heartbreak, but there is also resignation. Listen to the words. She is saying she'll never find anyone ever again. And she is resigned to her fate believing there is no one for her. I've been there: sort of a quiet passive wondering without hope. Without despair. It just is. That is what the song conveys to me.

Then, boom, that last solo, so often cut out for some stupid reason, rises up and lifts me up just as life often does mysteriously. Music can often convey aspects of life difficult to say with words. And life, in its mystery and wonder can push you on to better things despite all your worst fears. Even better, life can give hope when you've all but given up. That is what 'Goodbye to Love' means to me.

The detached vocal conveys hopelessness, and the guitar is hope lingering around the edges waiting to come back in.

First, I will get this out of the way and say that I loved this record from the first time I heard it on the radio in 1972. Such great memories that summer.

I was just a kid and thought the strange sounds in the middle guitar solo were an error they left in the record. But I embraced it as part of the overall great record. Competition on the charts was tough at the time and I ended up not buying this single like I had with "Superstar" the year before and "Sing" the following year. My money that month was spent on "Long Cool Woman" by the Hollies, "Motorcycle Mama" by Sailcat, and "Beautiful Sunday" by Daniel Boone.

My interpretation of the ending was anything but hopeful. It was like mourning the death of love at a funeral with the church-like feel of an organ and choir. It was so incredibly effective and brilliant. I learned to appreciate that aspect as I grew older and "Goodbye To Love" periodically shows up in my list of the top 100 recordings of the 70's.

 

[Michael Hagerty]

As a young guy, I worked at radio stations in the early-mid '70s -- all through the time Carpenters had their biggest hits. But I was a newscaster, not a DJ. And I'm trying to remember whether A & M issued a shorter version of "Goodbye to Love" for radio stations -- fading out sooner at the end after the start of the big fuzz guitar (How great is that! But that stuff will happen when you have a singing genius working with an arranger-musical idea genius!) I googled briefly, but didn't find anything. The guitar part on the end runs about a minute and the running time of the song is 3:50. Top-40 stations often looked for ways to shorten anything longer than three minutes, anyway, and, as folks here have commented, this proto-power ballad sound on a Carpenters song was "controversial." Good for A&M for issuing the whole 3:50 as the single. Another record company might have done it differently. Or maybe by then the Carpenters were so far on top of the world that they had a veto? With semi-old-age now fading my memory, I may be recalling that some radio stations either faded it out faster manually or made a tape cartridge of it that was shorter. It was common practice then, especially in the big markets, to routinely put the records on carts -- no pops, no clicks, no sticking, no wearing out, no DJ's bumping the turntable, etc. Anyone have a better memory about this?

I was there, too....as a jock and program director/music director. There was no company-issued edit of "Goodbye To Love". Some stations might have carted it with an early fade, but I never heard it....and anytime one of my jocks got out too early, he got an earful from me.