Karen's Version of "Druscilla Penny"

[Mark-T]

OK- I just ragged on this song a couple of posts ago. But it's Richard's lead vocal.
I know we all have a great admiration for both of them and their skills.
BUT...
Which song by Karen would you consider to be her worst song?
Her "Druscilla Penny", if you will.
(Don't shoot me, I'm only curious...)
I think its a hard one, and I'll have to give it some thought before I respond to my own question.

Mark

 

[Karenannefan]

'Man smart, woman smarter'

Has to be one of my least favourites.

 

[Mark-T]

Calling Occupants- great orchestration, strange words and dreary vocals.
Karen seems disinterested...
Man Smart is next.

(Just for the record, I like Bwana and Sweet Sweet Smile quite a bit!)

Mark

 

[amit1234]

Did karen do a lead vocal on "Druscilla Penny"?

Where can I find it?

 

[Mark-T]

Not that I know of.

 

[Murray]

"Man Smart, Woman Smarter"

The worst song she ever recorded, and the only one that I regularly skip over. It's so noisy that it gives me a headache!

BTW, my distaste for this song has absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics, and that ridiculous, obviously false title. Honest!!...

Murray
...oink oink...

 

[Tony]

Although "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" wouldn't come close to making my list of favorites, I don't hate it. If for no other reason, I appreciate it because Karen sounds as if she's having fun. I just wish she had more fun in her all-too-short life.

And for what it's worth, "Passage" is one of my favorite C's albums; I loved the variety. And Mark, I too enjoy "Bwana She No Home" a great deal. Our sweet Karen does a wonderful job of sounding appropriately bitchy on that song, and I love it when she sings "I don't care if you drive my 350, honey. Don't let 'em steal my chrome." But I digress.

To get back to the question posed in this thread, my votes goes to "Still in Love With You". It makes me cringe, and I can't bear to listen to it. That has to be my least favorite vocal performance by Karen.

Tony

 

[Mark-T]

I wasnt even considering her solo album!
In that case, I'd pick "Remember When Loving Took All Night"- I just hate this song... I skipped it on "Lovelines" and on the solo album as well.
The lyrics are cheap, and the music grates on my nerves. Even Karen's usually outstanding performance comes off poorly.
So, "Occupants" for the duo, "Remember" for the solo.

Mark

 

[mr J.]

Karen's worst recording?There's more than a few of those.I agree with the comments above-"Man Smart,Woman Smarter","Calling Occupants",and "Still In Love With You" are probably the worst 3."There's A Kind Of Hush","Beechwood","Honolulu City Lights","Sailing on the Tide","Da Doo Ron Ron" and"Sweet Sweet Smile" would be the next batch of klunkers.Of course,Richard did some pretty awful tunes as well:"Saturday","Drusilla Penny","Deadman's Curve","The Night Has a Thousand Eyes","Your Wonderful Parade".Personally,I don't pay too much attention to K&R's worst recordings.I don't even listen to them.I'd rather concentrate on Karen's BEST recordings!

By the way,I forgot to list "On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada" in the 3 worst recordings above.That one's a super-stinker!

 

[Only Yesterday]

Most annoying: SOMEBODY'S BEEN LYING!!! I really can't get into this song, Karen's voice never sounded so weak and I don't know...

Worst part: "It isn't easy letting go..." and that annoying backing vocals overdubbed in the very end of the song, that sonds so bad and outdated.

I could swear it wasn't a Carpenter's song!!!

 

[davidgra]

There is only one vocal performance of Karen's that I intentionally skip over because of the *performance* (not the quality of the song) -- "Ticket to Ride" (1969 version).

Karen sings slightly under the pitch throughout that song. The re-recording of the vocal in 1973 fixed the problem completely and turned it into a wonderful performance.

Now, there are songs I skip over because I can't stand the *song*. "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" is definitely up on that list, as is "Goofus." Another song I've never cared for is "I Can't Make Music," even though Karen's vocal is fine. I just don't like the song.

David

 

[Rudy]

'Man smart, woman smarter'

Has to be one of my least favourites.

Knowing a couple of different Harry Belafonte arrangements of this song, this arrangement is terrible. The original lyrics are just about gone and the meaning of those remaining is lost, the original melody is gone...horrible. It's such a mess that Tom Scott (?) has to play for the last few minutes to fade out of the mess they created. Belafonte's version is sort of a timely commentary on male/female relationships; this one says nothing. I don't know what this version tries to accomplish, other than to fill up space on an album. The last verse of Belafonte's version from Calypso is as follows, with tongue sligthly in cheek:

"Aaaaaah, I treat a girl independently,
She was makin' believe on me
And then the baby born and I went to see
Eyes was blue
(.....suuuuuuuuure....)
....It was not by me!"

At least "Goofus" paid a little respect to the song when they covered it. This one? That's why they made skip buttons on CD players. It's hard to say that anything they've done is terrible, but since they were at a low point when this album was made, it's understandable. It could have been a fun little romp had any thought been put into it. (And I'll admit I was hugely disappointed the first time I heard it...it was nothing like the song I knew so well!) The only thing that I see that could have been a problem were some of the lyrics...although what I quoted above is about the "worst" of what you'd find on a late 50's pop music LP.

 

[fraykis]

Hey, folks.

In terms of Karen's vocal performance, there aren't too many I can think of...but there are two performances that are HALF-awful.

"Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore" sounds great through the first verse, the nice backing vocals, the no-frills first chorus, and the second verse. But then, Karen starts to sound positively drunk as she doesn't that vocal hiccup on the word "more". It's like, "MAH-oh-ore.....wore....". It just goes downhill from there with that "give it up" line...I keep expecting this to be followed with an emphatic "STOP!". I don't know, she just sounds kind've lazy on this song.

"It's Really You" strikes a great mood in the beginning, and the verses sound fantastic. Then it starts to climb higher, with Karen struggling to get the notes. When it gets to the "it's really you, it's really me" part, it barely sounds like her! I was shocked the first time I heard the second line in the chorus, "all the things we EV-er wanted to be"! I can understand why Richard made his comments about the solo session songs being out of her range (although, ironically, I would apply that same criticism to some of the "Made In America" songs).

 

[PJ]

How Strange ....Two Least Favourite Carpenters Tracks Before this Topic were :

Goofus -Terrible Corny Lyrics & Grating Music -and Yet One of Karen's Favourites

Man Smart, Woman Smarter -Lyrics are Awful , Track Just Goes On & On -Actually Prefer 1978 TV Special Version -Probably Due to Shorter
Length and Crisper Harmonies ....

Certainly Richard Should Have Sung Lead Vocals on Casa Rosada and Used University Choir for Backing Vocals -Combination would Have Been Far Better and Allowed Argentina to Be Fully Appreciated

Druscilla Penny is Very Dated in Terms of Production , Vocals and Final Tracking ....Certainly Hope Archive Karen Lead Vocal Exists from Studio or Live Sources

Lovelines Divides Me -Sometimes I See this Track as Innovative and Karen / Ramone Striving to Move Forward -Other Times I Find This Too Repetitive abd Drawn Out .......

Overall Carpenters , Solo , Production and Other Projects are Still Excellent - With Other Acts Music and Sound Date or Sound Awful 10 ..20...Years On

Peter

 

[CraigGA]

There is only one I dislike. It is When It's Gone from the Made in America album. I feel like a drum is hitting my head through the whole song. It is overly boring and repetative.

For the record: Bwana She No Home is one of my favorites. I always felt it would have tested the waters if it was a single from Passage. It would have certainly made people look at Passage instead of passing it by as another boring Carpenters album, since A Kind of Hush let so many down. Not that A Kind of Hush is bad, it was just overly bland. Passage was daring, but who knew or would want to find out with a single claiming a 'dirty old shame' as the first single and akward kiddie like words in a jingle in the main part of the song. That phrase kills that song.

I enjoy Passage. I think it showed the Carpenters as creative musicians. It even showcased musicians that were or become legends of their own.

Craig

 

[Geographer]

To chime in on this topic, I would have to vote for "Goofus," "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," "Lovelines," and "Crystal Lulaby" as their worse. "Breaking Up" is corny and shrill...'coma down doobie do down down? What's up with that? It just sounds stupid. "Crystal Lulaby," also has stupid pre-puberty lyrics, but the music and arrangement are excellent as is Karen's singing, of course. But the lyrics just ruin the whole song. Should have been an instrumental or at least had all new lyrics written for it. John Bettis missed the mark with this one.