Poll: Your Favorite Least Favorite Carpenters Track

Which Is Your Favorite Of These (3) Carpenters Tracks?

  • Goofus 1976

    Votes: 17 34.0%
  • Man Smart, Woman Smarter 1977

    Votes: 11 22.0%
  • I Believe You 1978

    Votes: 22 44.0%

  • Total voters
    50
  • Poll closed .

John Adam

"A House Is Not A Home"
Trying to put a positive spin on things. I hope it is difficult and a bit of fun for you! :)

These seem to be three of the later 70's more "unloved songs" the Carpenters recorded. Might be a chance to give them some appreciation by voting for your favorite, and if you care to comment on why you love/tolerate/don't dislike, this song feel free to do so. Poll ends in 30 days. Thank You!
 
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I never knew I Believe You was disliked as the other two, and don’t actually feel it belongs in the poll, so I choose MSWS. I have always liked it and enjoy the verse heard only on the TV special Close Encounters. I think it’s typical of the time period it’s recreating. It’s certainly not my favorite but it is one I enjoy!
 
I never knew I Believe You was disliked as the other two, and don’t actually feel it belongs in the poll, so I choose MSWS. I have always liked it and enjoy the verse heard only on the TV special Close Encounters. I think it’s typical of the time period it’s recreating. It’s certainly not my favorite but it is one I enjoy!

Feel free to suggest the songs you feel should be here. I've read a lot of comments over the years and these three songs don't get a lot of love. It's just one guy's opinion, nothing more! :)

And they feature full-on "Karen" vocals.
 
I usually stay away from "least favorite" topics, but this one is different. (Refreshingly!)

"Goofus" is my choice. I've never considered it a lesser track - I liked it the moment I heard it on A KIND OF HUSH. If it hadn't been included here, my next choice would be "I Believe You." Unlike so many of our posters here, I have no problem with the track, find it pleasant enough, and am not frightened by freckled little girls.

The least of these track in my opinion is "Man Smart, Woman Smarter". It's got way too much saxophone in it for my tastes, and not enough "Carpenters".
 
Voted for MSWS. Mostly for the extended sax solo. I am normally a fan of songs from the Great American Songbook era, but "Goofus" is not one of them. Have to agree with Murray on IBY; even with the RPO version, I can't wait for it to end. It only runs 3:54, but seems oh, so much longer.
 
If I had the time I would find all those posts that showed how people really disliked "I Believe You" I remember hearing things like she's not believable "every time that we make love...every act of love will please you" and "fill my body with your soul and freckled little girl"....yup I remember some real dislike for this song. So I'm with Murray...it belongs here.

I don't hate the song "I Believe You" I just don't really like it much...however with the RPO and Karen's vocal being more isolated without any reverb I enjoy it more.

Man Smart, Woman Smarter I feel should not have been put on an album, it should have been left as a one off from the tv show only.

My fav of the bunch goes to GoOfUs...I've always loved the song the moment I heard it...maybe because it's not so serious and Karen can have some fun and it's sorta upbeat in a goofus kinda way. :laugh: I can identify with this song that makes me a goofus guy. :cool:
 
I usually stay away from "least favorite" topics, but this one is different. (Refreshingly!)

Thanks Harry! :) And thanks for participating in this thread. Yours and everyone's opinion here is valued. I think the results of this poll will be interesting for us all.
 
If I had the time I would find all those posts that showed how people really disliked "I Believe You." I don't hate the song.......I just don't really like it much...

It's early on, but so far it is showing at the bottom, being the least favorite of the three choices. Thanks for participating!
 
Goofus gets my vote. At least it's fun!
Man Smart...sounds like a prison riot.
I Believe You - A very good Karen performance ruined. The sappy lyrics sound like something a bunch of giggling 4th grade schoolgirls came up with at a slumber party.
 
I Believe You - A very good Karen performance ruined. The sappy lyrics sound like something a bunch of giggling 4th grade schoolgirls came up with at a slumber party.
I have a hard time believing that a "bunch of giggling 4th grade schoolgirls" could've come up with such a line like "every time that we make love...every act of love will please you" and "fill my body with your soul and freckled little girl" that is pretty much about sex and what can come from it. People complain about Karen's solo album having songs about sex, like Making Love In The Afternoon, but really, she started singing about it with I Believe You.

Anyway, I went with Goofus.
 
What a fun poll!

I went for Goofus, partly because it's a dud of a track and made a sleeper album even more sleepy, partly because it broke their run of top 40 singles on Billboard, and partly because of the annoying key change that accompanies the line "Cornfed chords appeal to me/I like rustic harmony/hold the note and change the key".

Man Smart, Woman Smarter is a track I can't listen to without "hearing" the God-awful Robert Palmer version. That said, at least it's got a jaunty rhythm to it and is unusual for it's lengthy, rambling ending with all the sound effects. I swear I can hear the long screaming sound of a jet engine plane crashing at one point!

I Believe You shouldn't even be on this poll. Where are Crescent Moon/Noon, Piano Picker, Druscilla Penny...?
 
No idea why 'I Believe You' has been included in this poll - it's light years ahead of the other two tracks, which are both out-and-out duds. 'Druscilla Penny' deserves the dubious honour of being the third member of this trinity.

I think the wording of the poll is also a bit confusing - are you asking for people's favourite of these three 'bad' tracks? Looking at the voting, I think some may have thought you were asking for the worst of the three.
 
If this is taken in a little different turn, how many would have rather heard Thank You For The Music as the single release in 1978 instead of I Believe You, or would that be also added to this list, taking Richard’s point that anything released would be disliked?
 
If this is taken in a little different turn, how many would have rather heard Thank You For The Music as the single release in 1978 instead of I Believe You, or would that be also added to this list, taking Richard’s point that anything released would be disliked?

I wouldn't - 'Thank You for the Music' was a bad fit for them judging by the live performance and it's a track that was rightly shelved. 'I Believe You' wasn't going to be a hit in 1978, but nothing else they recorded that year was either - albeit that none of it was as bad as 'Goofus' or 'Man Smart, Woman Smarter'.
 
Goofus...is a great song ! Is it a hit song ? Perhaps not.

I Believe You...
is boring !
It is a love ballad, but that does not automatically elevate the song to "hit" status.
In fact, that is exactly what it sounds like: elevator music.

I applaud the duo selecting Goofus to record !
Great arrangement, great harmony.

But, when I listen to Carpenters, or Dorothy Moore, or Barbara Mandrell,
performing the song...I Believe You....
I never hear a spark !

Just my two cents.
 
In answer to the question posed:
Which is your favorite of the three tracks ?QUOTE]

In answer to that question, my vote goes to I Believe You. It's light years ahead of the other two in terms of production values, arrangement and orchestration.

The poll headings are misleading hence the confusion over voting. My eye caught the words "Your Favorite Least Favorite Carpenters Track, but the sub-heading is "Which Is Your Favorite Of These (3) Carpenters Tracks?".

Simplifying the titles may make voting more accurate :)
 
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The poll question is perfectly executed. All one has to do is read it to understand it. And there is the ability to change your vote.
 
The poll question is perfectly executed. All one has to do is read it to understand it. And there is the ability to change your vote.

People can misread things quite easily though when a mixture of positives and negatives are used. As has clearly happened for some here. I don't think there's anything problematic with highlighting that point.
 
And there is the ability to change your vote.

That's just what I've done to make my result more accurate, although I Believe You isn't actually my favourite least favourite song from the choice...because it's not even one of my least favourite tracks :laugh:
 
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