Herb Alpert Interview w/Carpenters mention

I'm a little surprised to read that he didn't "like" their music seeing that he and Richard have had a close bond for 50 years. Seems a little harsh especially after scoring a big hit in 1968 with "This Guy's In Love With You" which is softer and more easy listening than some of the Carpenter songs.
 
I'm a little surprised to read that he didn't "like" their music
He didn't say he didn't like their music. He said their music wasn't the KIND of music that he normally liked.

He may have had a feeling their first album was going to be a poor seller after hearing their demos, but he was willing to give them a chance to find the 'right song.' That was the way A&M operated. And how fortunate that is... if the Carpenters had signed with one of the majors, it probably would have been "one and done" for them. In those days, if you didn't get a hit with your first album, you quite often didn't get a second album.
 
He didn't say he didn't like their music. He said their music wasn't the KIND of music that he normally liked.

He may have had a feeling their first album was going to be a poor seller after hearing their demos, but he was willing to give them a chance to find the 'right song.' That was the way A&M operated. And how fortunate that is... if the Carpenters had signed with one of the majors, it probably would have been "one and done" for them. In those days, if you didn't get a hit with your first album, you quite often didn't get a second album.

It's even worse now. You don't get a hit on the first single and it's over...if the single out even comes out.

Ed
 
Funnily enough, this subject ties into something I was reading in Randy Schmidt's recent Carpenters discography book, where there's a quote from Richard expressing surprise that after signing them, A&M didn't really get involved in shaping what the debut album would be like or what songs would be included, but pretty much left him to it.

Of course, in the end it didn't matter, but you would have thought A&M would have wanted to up the chances of there being a hit on it. Although many of the songs on Offering were quite enjoyable, they didn't sound like hits, and a number of them didn't even sound very current for an album released right at the very end of the 1960s - hardly surprising, as they were beefed-up demos that were a couple of years old by that stage.
 
He didn't say he didn't like their music. He said their music wasn't the KIND of music that he normally liked.

He may have had a feeling their first album was going to be a poor seller after hearing their demos, but he was willing to give them a chance to find the 'right song.' That was the way A&M operated. And how fortunate that is... if the Carpenters had signed with one of the majors, it probably would have been "one and done" for them. In those days, if you didn't get a hit with your first album, you quite often didn't get a second album.

It was Jerry Moss who always sneered at them from afar despite them being the label’s top sellers by far. Was it just he couldn’t see himself as “uncool” by not even trying to like them or was it just to not get them too comfy with them by complimenting what they did? The whole label was embarrassed by their image and it’s sad that even they followed and focused on the public perception instead of the music.
 
Interview Excerpt:
Herb Alpert:
"All the big decisions we both made by just the two of us. So, there was nothing like a Board of Trustees who voted on whether I should sign
The Carpenters, say. I’d heard Karen’s voice and met Richard; so I met them in my office.
It wasn’t the kind of music I made, or even liked,
but there was something about them...her voice, and their willingness to make the kind of music they loved.
I peeked my head into Jerry’s office, which was right next to mine, and I said, “I’m going to sign these Carpenters. I love them.”
And he says great. That was it. Done."

Another recent interview:
Was that your mission with A&M, to find people who carried that kind of authenticity?
Herb Alpert:
"We were never looking for the beat of the week. We were looking for Cat Stevens. People who had that extra something. The Police. Even the Carpenters. I signed them. They were not the kind of music I would normally listen to, but I felt their realness. I understood that that was the music they wanted to make, and they did it with love and care."
Source:
https://www.popmatters.com/herb-alpert-2019-interview-2640921806.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4
 
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