Man Smart, Woman Smarter

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I was listening to this song today in the car on my way home & couldn't get over how many different sounds I was hearing. Especially after Karen sings the last words in this song & then all the instrumenets start playing.

Here are the instruments listed on the inside of the album cover:

Bass
Drums
Piano
Tack Piano (What is that?)
Steel Drums
Percussion
Baritone Sax
Tenor Sax
Electric Guitar
Conga (What is that?)


So what are some of the things that you hear when all the instruments are playing for over 2:00 minutes after Karen sings?

I swear I hear what sounds like: a Jewharp (you play in your mouth) a phone ringing, whistles, a Cuckoo-clock, train horn blowing, I hear what sounds like a car drag racing (wheels turning sharp around a curve) I also hear other noises I can't describe.

Are all these coming from the exact instruments that are listed?

Take a really hard listen & tell me you don't hear these things too.

...who hopes I'm not going crazy hearing these things, online....

 

[DAN BOLTON]

A tack piano is a honky-tonk piano...has an old-time "tinny" sound, like in a saloon. Often, thumbtacks were placed in the hammers to get the sound, metal-against-metal as they hit the strings.

A conga is a big drum, sort of an overgrown bongo, about 3 feet tall.

I imagine that a lot of the sounds you hear on the recording you mention came from sound effects recordings. Herb Alpert took a sound engineer to the bullring in Tijuana to get crowd noises for THE LONELY BULL and other recordings, but a lot of those sounds you mention are generic enough to be found on sound effects records.

Dan

 

[Rick]

I love this song and the creative use of sound effects and synthesizer.
I especially like the version from the "Space Encounters" television special where Karen duets with Suzzanne Somers. Suzzanne is only fair as a vocalist, but Karen is excellent on this song and sings a few extra verses not on the "Passage" recording.

 

[PJ]

Yes -strangely I prefer Space Encounters version than the Passage original .....perhaps due to crisper backing vocals and being so much shorter ....

Good to have this version released as a rarity on a future rarities set or download from future Carpenters official website .....

Peter

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I have not seen the tv special Space Encounters: I only saw a small clip from Ran's old Carpenters site. So I have not heard the complete version of Karen & Susanne singing this track.

So the version from Space Encounters is longer? Interesting. Is it really that much better than the passage version? Did the TV version have all that instrumental parts play for like 3:00 minutes or did they cut it off after the chorus?

...who only has MMM Special & Christmas Portrait on VHS, online...

 

[PJ]

Chris :

This version of Man Smart.....is shorter overall with some different lyrics , more harmonies and without the long instrumental playout .....just better than the Passage original

Peter

 

[Dave60640]

I just had to agree with Peter.
I like the "TV" version better (sans Suzanne Summers)

And maybe it's worth a different thread; but I REALLY liked the melody that fell immediately afterwards (sans the robot schtick.)

-Dave (dancing in the old-fashioned way)