"Rainy Days and Mondays" & "Superstar" singles reviews

[ScottyB]

I guess it's time for the next ones. I thought I would combine the two of these together in one thread, seeing that both of these songs are often paired together anyway.
I remember Rainy Days as an AM radio hit in the summer of 1971. My family was in the first year of our annual camping trips, and a portable radio was always playing. I recall this song being popular at this time, along with Carole King's "It's Too Late" , the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" & Paul McCartney's "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was starting to generate significant airplay. The "Rainy Days" single was ultimately the premier purchase by a family member.
I remember hearing "Superstar" on the car radio during a family trip to Maine (from Connecticut). It was a late autumn trip, because I remember that it was a night drive, but still relatively early in the evening. I remember being completely "spellbound" by this song. It was actually the first song that I had ever heard that I fell completely in love with. That voice. That arrangement. And even tho I was only 9 years old at the time, I was totally awestruck by this song. It still remains one of my all-time favorite songs, and it is my all-time favorite Carpenters song. And I remember it being popular around the same time as Cher's "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves" and Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashion Love Song."

OMG! What a great period for music!

 

[Joe P.]

I guess it's time for the next ones. I thought I would combine the two of these together in one thread, seeing that both of these songs are often paired together anyway.
I remember Rainy Days as an AM radio hit in the summer of 1971. My family was in the first year of our annual camping trips, and a portable radio was always playing. I recall this song being popular at this time, along with Carole King's "It's Too Late" , the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" & Paul McCartney's "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was starting to generate significant airplay. The "Rainy Days" single was ultimately the premier purchase by a family member.
I remember hearing "Superstar" on the car radio during a family trip to Maine (from Connecticut). It was a late autumn trip, because I remember that it was a night drive, but still relatively early in the evening. I remember being completely "spellbound" by this song. It was actually the first song that I had ever heard that I fell completely in love with. That voice. That arrangement. And even tho I was only 9 years old at the time, I was totally awestruck by this song. It still remains one of my all-time favorite songs, and it is my all-time favorite Carpenters song. And I remember it being popular around the same time as Cher's "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves" and Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashion Love Song."

OMG! What a great period for music!

I was 6 in 1971 and I felt (and still feel) the same way.

I remember reading very similar sentiments on YT a few years ago... was that your comment?

 

[Harry]

I recall the seemingly long wait from when the CLOSE TO YOU album came out until the next album, CARPENTERS. I managed to fill in the time with a Christmas gift to me of OFFERING and I spent a good deal of time in early 1971 acclimating to that album while still experiencing the joys of CLOSE TO YOU. Toward the end of 1970 we got both "For All We Know" and "Merry Christmas Darling", so there was already something extra out there in Carpenters-land.

Still I hungered for more, and as "For All We Know" was trending down the charts, by May it was time for something new - and we got a single and an album at the same time, "Rainy Days & Mondays" and the CARPENTERS album.

Mirroring the track placement of the singles on CLOSE TO YOU, the new album featured it's second single at the start of side one and placed its lead single at the end of side one. "Rainy Days & Mondays" was an instantly likable single and the airplay it got was immediate and frequent. But there was also this amazing song on the second side of the album called "Superstar". From the moment I first heard it, I knew it had "hit" written all over it. The radio station I listened to, a soft-rock format, played "Rainy Days" of course, but it also featured the album as an album of the week and gave "Superstar" some early spins while "Rainy Days" was still climbing the charts. I remember how great the "Superstar" track sounded on the radio and hoped against hope that it would be the next single, and within four months, it was!

Having the new album meant that I didn't need to spend more money on these two singles and it wasn't until more recently that I acquired both of them. It was an amazing time to be a Carpenters fan.

Harry

 

[theninjarabbit]

"Superstar" and "Rainy Days" were some of the first songs I heard as a new Carpenters fan -- the songs I had at the time were "Top of the World", "Sing", "Close to You", "Rainy Days and Mondays", "Superstar", and "Yesterday Once More". Like all of you have said, the two subject songs are incredibly powerful and still remain so at every listen. Quintessential tracks if you ask me.

The particular version of "Superstar" I enjoy, aside from the original, is the 1985 mix with the "heavier" drum sound. "Rainy Days", in my opinion, sounds its best on 45 single. The way the single version sounds, especially on my turntable, is surreal -- those background voices surround you.

 

[Don Malcolm]

I think these two tracks are really what made the Carpenters into immortals. They had excellent momentum after their first two big hits, but the next single releases were merely solid but unspectacular follow-ups, good enough to keep the momentum going. The key (for me, at least) is that Karen brings more of her "edge" to these songs (though this is more pronounced on "Superstar") and the combination of her two parallel styles is what cements her as a timeless and singular artist.

That, and Richard just keeps on upping his arranging skills--both tracks are "total productions" that nail every detail. I loved "Rainy Days" because of the brilliant chorus, but "Superstar" just absolutely floored me from start to finish--and still does. What a masterpiece!!!

 

[Toolman]

Nothing new to add to the comments above, which describe my reactions to these two perfectly. "Superstar" was the one that solidified my life-long appreciation for the duo. I'm not remotely as informed on mixes as many others here are, but my gut feeling is that the single version of "Superstar" was more powerful than some of the anthologized mixes, mostly in regards to the prominence of the drums and backing vocals. Although the medley they performed on the first TV special was nice, it also demonstrated one of the traps I felt they were falling into by that point -- holding back a bit, opting for a softer sound even when the originals employed some force.

One of the things I remember about "Superstar" is the confusion people were having when requesting the song. It was, "Can you play 'Long Ago and Far Away' by the Carpenters?" I'm a little surprised Richard didn't add something parenthetically to the title that matched the lyric.

Anyway, two of the best from two of the best.

 

[GaryAlan]

Nice analysis, Toolman !
The vocals for Television Special 1976, Superstar/Rainy Days
( according to Liner Notes in As Time Goes By) were recorded September 26th.
Richard states:
"If it were possible for Karen to improve on her original leads to these songs, she does it here..."

Thus, I have to believe that the 'softer' approach was a goal at that time.
The same tack was used in the London Palladium Show: a comparison can be had between the
BBC 1971 and BBC 1976 renditions of those songs.
Unfortunately, the songs lose much of their forcefulness.