⭐ Official Review [Single]: 12. "YESTERDAY ONCE MORE"/"ROAD ODE" (1446-S)

[ullalume]

I enjoy the original 45 / Singles'73 mix best. This was the first single I ever bought and I had to choose between Seals and Croft's Diamond Girl and Carpenters' Yesterday Once More. But when listening to the radio, the enterance of the song was so smooth and vocally pure and by the time the part when Karen sings "but they're back again, just like a long lost friend" I was hooked. So, I chose Yesterday Once More, and like many of you, I have bought many of them with the many different remixes through the years. As mentioned, I like the one on the Singles 1969-1973 best, and to my ears at the time was the same as the 45 version. The Now and Then version sounds incomplete in comparison, but I like it too. My favorite part is when it gets to the part when he's breaking her heart, it can really make me cry... I think this is their best song. A great trio of Karen, Richard and John. I have been hooked on Karen's voice ever since and with the Singles album I learned of all songs that I was not aware of at time was credited to them and actually them. Plus, I was just starting to listen to Casey Casem's American Top 40 back then and was pleasantly surprised at their record breaking charting status! It was a pinnacle song and the pinnacle of their career!
One part of Chris's Download interview surprised me with reality that the family did not consider Karen the talent in the group for without Karen there would have never been a pinnacle peak. Her voice was the trumpet that magically carried their songs, and I believe from all we have read, that Richard felt this too, and he perfectly arranged the songs (as if a magic flute) to frame her voice, perfectly. It was her voice that sold the records! It was certainly her voice that captured me and bended my decision to choose Carpenters over Seals and Crofts. Now, I like most of what Richard has done over the years, for he truly is the author of the Carpenters' sound, but it was Karen's voice that I craved and still do crave and it is her voice that will continue to make me reach into my pocket to hear. This song has everyone at their best and to me, molds this song as the best of the best!

Well said, Craig. It also is probably the most "auteurish" of all Carpenters songs. Written by Richard and John. Co-produced by Richard and Karen. Both siblings on backing vocals. Richard on Keyboards. Karen on Drums. Arrangment by Richard. I mean outside of Offering this is as "Carpenters" as it gets.

 

[AM Matt]

The song "Road Ode" is my favorite by a nose over "Yesterday Once More". Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[Don Malcolm]

Warning up front: a good bit of what follows here is extremely wonky stuff and might well seem "over the top" with respect to our standard context of discussion. As I've watched these threads develop, however--and we are now only one single away from completing the first disk's worth (only "Top of the World/Heather" left to go)--I felt that there were some larger-scale matters that were emerging from the voting...particularly as it related to the earlier work we did with the Top 20 Poll.

So I have collated all that data and will present it here in what I hope will not be too bewildering a chart. (As I said, wonky!)

First, let's note that these two exercises (A's vs. B's, and Top 20) clearly don't measure the same thing. But there are some interesting reverberations between them. As you'll see at the bottom of the chart, the percentage of votes cast for "A" sides in each polling effort is almost identical (83% in the "A's vs. B's", 81% for the Top 20 poll).

NOIR OF THE WEEK: Selections from the Blackboard: CARPENTERS DIAGRAM »

I’m having trouble linking this table directly into the text here, so I will ask that you try to access the link (stored at a dormant blog site that’s about a different subject entirely...) and try to bring it up alongside this text in a separate window.

The first thing this data shows is a confirmation of what we already know—that the single “Yesterday Once More/Road Ode” is the greatest in the Carpenters’ history. The A-B poll shows only one B-side with higher percentage support (represented via the opposite value, “A Side%”). That’s “Wonderful Parade,” which polled strongly against “Ticket To Ride” but didn’t receive a single vote in the Top 20 poll.

“Road Ode” received the second highest such percentage in the A-B (30%, just remember to take the remainder from 100% minus the “Aside%”). The B-side with a higher percentage of the vote is "Your Wonderful Parade." paired with a relatively weak A-side ("Ticket to Ride"). However, “Road Ode” has the highest number of votes of any B-side in the Top 20 poll--a total of 11, which, interestingly enough, ties it with “Yesterday Once More.” It is significantly ahead of the next-highest polling “B-sides” (“This Masquerade” with 7 and “All of My Life” with 6).

How to characterize the strength of these singles numerically followed from this. The Top 20 poll is clearly a more encompassing measurement of quality, so I decided to weight it heavily as part of a formula that would glean an abstract value that measured the voters’ overall preferences. I wound up weighting the Top 20 poll at seven times the A-B poll and that produced the weighted results (“w/A” and “w/B”) you see at the far right of the chart. By that measure, the “Yesterday Once More/Road Ode” 45 is the strongest of all, with its overall total of 174 points edging out “Superstar/Bless the Beasts” (which totaled 167, mostly on the strength of the “A” side, the highest-ranked track in the C’s oeuvre).

The A-B discussion prompts another way to slice the data for the Top 20 poll, which is to compare the vote totals for A’s vs. B’s. When we do that, we see that of the votes cast for songs that were on singles, the A-sides got 76% of that vote. So the average slips a bit as we move toward the later singles (we are at 81% through the first twelve, roughly half the output of the C’s in term of 45 releases).

But there are also songs that received voter support that never got released on a 45. Top example of this, of course, is “A Song For You.” All in all, 51 non-singles received a total of 134 votes, about 35% of the total votes cast. So it’s a 65-35 vote split between songs that were on singles vs. songs that weren’t.

The average voter listed 10 A-sides, 3 B-sides, and 7 non-singles in their Top 20. Of our voters, the closest to this average turns out to be yours truly, with a 10-4-6 split. (Of course, my ballot is anything but representative: remember, it lists 7 tracks from the Close to You album…which means that most of my “non-singles” are from that record!) The range here is rather widespread: James and JBee list 14 A-sides in their Top 20, while GuitarMutt, Geographer and Mr. J had only 5.

The average vote total for A-sides (votes/sing) was a bit more than seven (7.23), while B-sides averaged just a little more than three (3.05). The average vote/song for non-singles was very close to B-sides (2.63), so perhaps we see that Richard’s focus on hit 45s still links strongly with what we think of as the C’s best work, his later emphasis on “oldies” as 45 fodder notwithstanding.

I think maybe we can pinpoint this single as the pinnacle of the C’s career, even if “Road Ode” didn’t quite receive its due at the time. It really is a watershed moment, as the A-side signals a more overt emphasis on nostalgia, while the B-side (included mostly, I think most of us suspect, as a way to funnel some extra royalty $$ to two loyal long-term bandmates) provides us with the last vestiges of that Spectrum connection. Today most of us see “Road Ode” as a stand-alone gem, rescued from a strange limbo in which it wasn’t quite allowed to reveal everything it had to offer. But great as “Yesterday Once More” is—and it ruled the summer of 1973 in a way that really was like no other summer hit I can remember—“Road Ode” is equally magnificent, a song given an instant and infinite reference point for the real world locked inside appearances, a song that yearns for home as much as “Yesterday Once More” yearns for the past.

This is one poll where if Chris had provided a third option--"equally great: can't pick between them"--we might have seen the vote totals approach 70-75% in the "throw a blanket over them" choice. Eight of the participants in the Top 20 poll clearly felt that way, for these eight (including, of course, yours truly) placed both songs in their personal Top 20.

Apologies for wonkiness and for not finding a way to bring the tabular data directly into the post....hope you find this of some interest!

 

[Mark-T]

FASCINATING! Thank you!

 

[tomswift2002]

I went with Road Ode. While both songs are great, I've just found that Yesterday Once More[/o] has appeared on so many compilations, and it is nice to hear Road Ode, because it doesn't appear on that many compilations.

 

[Harry]

I've just found that Yesterday Once More[/o] has appeared on so many compilations, and it is nice to hear Road Ode, because it doesn't appear on that many compilations.

I believe this to be the case in many of the votes for which side of a single is preferred. Most of us are super-fans who've heard all of the Carpenters songs over and over and over. With seemingly every compilation starting with "Yesterday Once More" and then tossing "Superstar" and "Rainy Days..." back to back, it becomes somewhat tiring to hear over and over again. Add that to the fact that if you DO hear a Carpenters song on the radio, it's going to be one of the big hits.

A b-side, I feel, isn't really meant to be in competition with the a-side of most singles. It's there because a slab of vinyl needs something on its other side rather than being blank. So a b-side starts its life as an underdog, an afterthought, not meant to be thought of in the same light as the main a-side. Of course there are the stories over the years of b-sides that turned out to be the big hit because DJs flipped the record over, and those stories are always fun. Heck, we've had it in the A&M world with Herb Alpert's "A Taste Of Honey" becoming the hit over its intended a-side "The Third Man Theme". And there's even been debate over Carpenters "Your Wonderful Parade" and whether or not it was an intended a-side.

But by and large, Carpenters singles were generally pretty well delineated as to what the a-side is supposed to be. Anyone around in 1973 was thrilled to hear "Yesterday Once More" as the new single. And as fond as many of us are (and I am) of "Road Ode", it was just a great album track from the prior album.

I'm not trying to talk anyone out of their preferences - not at all - but I just thought I'd put a bit of perspective on it. We've had many discussions among ourselves over the years and have stated that the well-worn single tracks are great, but it's more refreshing for us to hear the lesser songs, the more-forgotten tracks, and to revel in those. I've seen many such discussions among fans of other acts - the A&M stuff like Herb, Sergio, et al - and groups like ABBA or The Beatles, where the tried and true and over-anthologized tracks begin to pale next to the favored album tracks and b-sides.

Harry

 

[tomswift2002]

Recently I've been wondering if in Canada and the UK, even though it wasn't released as a single (but it was a B-side), if the song Happy might've been played more on the radio in Canada and the UK, hence its inclusion on both 1978 compilations, the Singles 1974-1978 and Record 1, Song 4 of The Carpenters Collection (The Carpenters Collection (1978) » )? Happy even made the By Request album in 2000 over in Japan, so I'm figuring the song must've received airplay somewhere, and in all three countries it was a B-Side!

 

[Toolman]

With seemingly every compilation starting with "Yesterday Once More" and then tossing "Superstar" and "Rainy Days..." back to back, it becomes somewhat tiring to hear over and over again.

Admittedly, one of the pleasures of the PBS "singles" compilation for me was being able to hear "Superstar" and "Rainy Days..." as separate songs within the context of a hits package. Not that the imposed medley aspect wasn't brilliant, but I don't necessarily always want to hear them linked. Found it interesting that you brought that up.

 

[GaryAlan]

Well, I did listen to this 45-Single today.
And, as much as I love Yesterday Once More,
I am not quite sold on Road Ode--at least, not as it is on the 45.
Two issues with the song prevent it from going over-the-top for me:
(1) I am not a fan of extended flute solos.
(2) The very end sounds a bit chopped-off. A very sudden stop. Not to my liking.
Was it simply edited from the LP and "fitted" to the 45 ?

My two cents:
the combo Goodbye To Love/Crystal Lullaby is the "watershed" Carpenters Single-45 .

 

[newvillefan]

(2) The very end sounds a bit chopped-off. A very sudden stop. Not to my liking.
Was it simply edited from the LP and "fitted" to the 45 ?

Yes, the single version of Road Ode is just an edit of the album version, faded before it goes into A Song For You (Reprise).

Road Ode »

 

[natureaker]

To choose between the two songs is very hard for me. But overall, I'd have to say Yesterday Once More is the stronger one of the two. I'm not too sure, as it was a very hard decision to make, as I love both songs dearly. Yes, I admit that Road Ode is a beautiful song, but something about Yesterday Once More makes me like it more the Road Ode. Maybe it's the vocals, the instruments, or something else about it that has hooked me from the start.

 

[Don Malcolm]

Yes, the single version of Road Ode is just an edit of the album version, faded before it goes into A Song For You (Reprise).

Which is what complicates the discussion in this context. I am referencing the 1990 remix when alluding to how the song now has the opportunity to stand alone--and there is clearly not 100% consensus about the efficacy of that remix (either due to perceptions of quality, or because of long-held associations with the original version due to how it was placed into context on the original A Song For You LP). But I think Richard did us a favor by remixing it and giving it a clean ending, as it clearly had one initially; for it to spend eternity as a "linked track" that clearly sounds awkward on its own (as Gary referenced about the 45 version...) would have been a disservice to listeners--who should have a chance to hear the song in a standalone configuration and make up their minds about it.

What is clear from the two voting efforts is that in our context here, "Yesterday Once More" is (rightfully, IMO) seen as the stronger song, stemming from its incredible reception in the summer of 1973 (as it defined a viable raison d'être for invoking and honoring the songs of the past). In the context of the available versions of the two songs being evaluated WRT the C's overall output, however, it seems that the two songs are viewed as being more or less of equal quality.

And finally, a (hopeful) clarification about "watershed" moments. "Yesterday Once More" is the first (and easily the best) evocation of the C's looking backward with respect to music/music history--it prefigures an approach that was only implicit in their work up to that point. "Road Ode," in both of its manifestations, is evoking their earlier work (which is why some of us like to refer to it as "the last Spectrum song") with its myriad of influences, including bonafide rock-and-roll. From this point on, that aspect is either missing or filtered into a more overtly MOR arranging style (with a few notable exceptions from the Passage LP--"Bwana," "Man Smart, Woman Smarter," "Calling Occupants"--which have endured a mixed reception, from time of release until the present day).

Comparing Karen's vocals on these songs to "Road Ode" might help clarify what I am driving at here. We have the last vestige of the "old Karen" on "Road Ode"--there is still a connection to the early "belter" component in her singing here, which is smoothed out from this point forward. (Even "Only Yesterday," which uses the "basement" range to such great effect, has a noticeably more smoothed-out upper register in the choruses.) "Bwana" is a nicely-arranaged up-tempo track and Karen is just fine on it, but she's breathier and the emotional landscape of her singing is noticeably more ambiguous.

As I hear it, "Road Ode" is the last time she is as emotionally engaged on a track with significant "up tempo" elements as she is on ballads and mid-tempo songs. And that (IMO, at least) is a watershed moment. "Goodbye to Love" would be a watershed moment if Richard had shown more than just the occasional desire to use rock guitar in his arrangements--but he really didn't follow up on it (possibly because the song had experienced some backlash from portions of their audience). I think from our vantage point today, this 45 embodies that shift from synthesizing past influences to directly replicating those influences.

 

[Mark-T]

Nice thoughts here! I was just thinking that I love her deep register notes, but I also enjoy her breathier ONJ type vocals. Her voice just covers all the bases for me!

 

[BarryT60]

Recently I've been wondering if in Canada and the UK, even though it wasn't released as a single (but it was a B-side), if the song Happy might've been played more on the radio in Canada and the UK, hence its inclusion on both 1978 compilations, the Singles 1974-1978 and Record 1, Song 4 of The Carpenters Collection (The Carpenters Collection (1978) » )? Happy even made the By Request album in 2000 over in Japan, so I'm figuring the song must've received airplay somewhere, and in all three countries it was a B-Side!

Only Yesterday remains a favorite of mine - but I do recall vividly, a conversation with a program director at one of the top stations in Nashville, that he had heard from A&M that Happy may have been promoted for radio play as OY had peaked. Perhaps he just loved the song? Maybe he was hoping it would turn out that way - or maybe it was indeed something that was discussed in the A&M circles... Not sure - but his conversation seemed so earnest - I almost was waiting for Happy to show up on the charts somewhere...
Did anyone else ever hear this angle?

 

[GaryAlan]

Interesting tidbit:
Billboard Magazine, January 5, 1974 (page 31):
"Jambalaya" by the Carpenters outranked
"Yesterday Once More" by the A&M recording pair for the first time among
the top 20 best-selling singles at the Shinseido chain of record stores in Tokyo
during the third week of December. The single was No. 1 at the Otsuki music store
in Osaka the previous week. It was released here by King Record on Nov. 25."

"Jambalaya" by the Carpenters outranked "Yesterday Once More" by the A &M
recording pair for the first time among the top 20 best-selling singles
at the Shinseidd chain of record stores in Tokyo during the third week of December.
The single was No. 1 at the Otsuki music store in Osaka
the previous week."

 

[Carpe diem]

Watching/listening to Karen perform YOM on the Budokan (1974) concert documentary is bliss...Road Ode, wonderful song but can't get over on Side A.

 

[David A]

[SNIP]

On a separate note, there's a nice piece of trivia about this song in the interview I conducted with Hal Blaine and Joe Osborn. Joe went on to tell the story about how the song was assembled rhythmically in two sections and how remarkable Karen's time was to be able to match the second take with the first perfectly, with no click. For those who haven't heard it, here's a link to that interview:

Chris, if possible would you clarify something in this interview? I want to make sure I understand what was being said. At around the 18:40 mark, Joe and Hal begin talking about the events that culminated in Karen moving from behind the drums to front the duo. I had always heard that Richard was actually one of the principal drivers for Karen to move out front; but it sounds like Joe Osborn is saying that Richard (and Agnes) was actually against that - at least at first - due to what sounds like jealousy - Richard is the artist and star, and Karen is "just the drummer".

I understand that this is Joe and Hal's remembrance after many years, and may not reflect actual events, but they seem in agreement on this and go so far as to say "It was a shame". I had never heard this angle on what transpired with Karen's move up front.

 

[Chris May]

Chris, if possible would you clarify something in this interview? I want to make sure I understand what was being said. At around the 18:40 mark, Joe and Hal begin talking about the events that culminated in Karen moving from behind the drums to front the duo. I had always heard that Richard was actually one of the principal drivers for Karen to move out front; but it sounds like Joe Osborn is saying that Richard (and Agnes) was actually against that - at least at first - due to what sounds like jealousy - Richard is the artist and star, and Karen is "just the drummer".

I understand that this is Joe and Hal's remembrance after many years, and may not reflect actual events, but they seem in agreement on this and go so far as to say "It was a shame". I had never heard this angle on what transpired with Karen's move up front.

I think what was going on during that time was the group "Carpenters" was just that. It was viewed as a group that was technically being fronted by Karen on the records and on stage, but Richard acted as the chief producer/arranger/decision maker. We know from history and those close to the inner-circle that many decisions were made by committee at a close, familial level - at least early on. The family dynamics definitely played a part here, which is what Hal and even more so Joe is eluding to.

It wasn't until their concerts began selling out that management pushed to move Karen out in front, something that Richard agreed to as he could see the bigger "picture" with regard to their career and record/concert sales, ultimately taking on the arduous task of seeing it to fruition.

 

[David A]

I think what was going on during that time was the group "Carpenters" was just that. It was viewed as a group that was technically being fronted by Karen on the records and on stage, but Richard acted as the chief producer/arranger/decision maker. We know from history and those close to the inner-circle that many decisions were made by committee at a close, familial level - at least early on. The family dynamics definitely played a part here, which is what Hal and even more so Joe are eluding to.

It wasn't until their concerts began selling out that management pushed to move Karen out in front, something that Richard agreed to as he could see the bigger "picture" with regard to their career and record/concert sales, ultimately taking on the arduous task of seeing it to fruition.

Thanks, Chris. And thanks for allowing the stray from the thread's intent (I try not to do that, but then it seems silly to start a new thread every time I have a simple question or seek a clarification). That makes sense, in particular the point that the real push for Karen to front the group was after their concerts began selling out. I can see how at that point, as you say, Richard realized it essentially had to happen, irrespective of any personal feelings about it. Prior to that, any mention of Karen fronting may well have been viewed as unwanted advice.

'Sing' is one of the best children's songs ever, as performed by the Carpenters. There, back on thread (and I mean it, too )

 

[David A]

'Sing' is one of the best children's songs ever, as performed by the Carpenters. There, back on thread (and I mean it, too )

Oh jeez, I messed that up - nothing like trying to get back on-thread, and mention the WRONG thread *sheesh*.

'Yesterday Once More' is one of the very few Carpenters smash hits that I have gotten a bit tired of hearing. Not sure why. Still, being tired of it has no bearing, really, on what I think of the song as a Carpenters tune, and for many years it was one of my top 5 favorites.

Side A for me. Road Ode is a nice song and I like Karen's melancholy vocals, however for whatever reason she really emphasizes that inflection she at times uses on the "o" vowel, that I don't care for when it's used this demonstrably and repeatedly.

 

[CraigGA]

Oh jeez, I messed that up - nothing like trying to get back on-thread, and mention the WRONG thread *sheesh*.

'Yesterday Once More' is one of the very few Carpenters smash hits that I have gotten a bit tired of hearing. Not sure why. Still, being tired of it has no bearing, really, on what I think of the song as a Carpenters tune, and for many years it was one of my top 5 favorites.

Side A for me. Road Ode is a nice song and I like Karen's melancholy vocals, however for whatever reason she really emphasizes that inflection she at times uses on the "o" vowel, that I don't care for when it's used this demonstrably and repeatedly.

I think it’s the drummer in her. Rhythm with syncopation drumming techniques going off in her head while singing the vocal line combined with adding the poetry rhythm in the phrasing while singing. I think it adds color!

 

[Graeme]

I think it’s the drummer in her. Rhythm with syncopation drumming techniques going off in her head while singing the vocal line combined with adding the poetry rhythm in the phrasing while singing. I think it adds color!

I wondered if it was the Matt Munro influence that's mentioned in Ray Coleman's biography. She employs it a lot in this track.

Love Road Ode. It's got an edge to it (lyrics and arrangement-wise) and has a great flute solo. It's on all of my playlists and it's a track I never tire of. It employs most of the usual Carpentery trademarks and yet is a bit different somehow. I have to use my UK Treasures version though on playlists to ensure it doesn't end abruptly.

 

[GaryAlan]

Either I had forgotten this, or I have never read this (I am old, you know)
but, here is Joe Osborn talking of
Yesterday Once More:
"Karen played drums on this one. She had a jazz trio before she even knew she could sing.
After we did this track, I had already moved to Nashville when Richard called me and said
we had to do the first half of the song over, though he liked the second half.
He wanted to play the first half and splice it together, because he didn’t want to redo the last half.
I said, “Richard, I don’t know if you can.” Going from the front and cutting it in the middle…
if the tempo varies any, it’s not going to match. Unless you did it to a click, which we didn’t.
He said, “Let’s just try it again anyways.”
It’s a real testament to Karen’s time, because it cut together perfectly."

Here:
www.notreble.com/buzz/2012/07/19/stories-behind-the-songs-joe-osborn/

 

[Another Son]

. He wanted to play the first half and splice it together, because he didn’t want to redo the last half.
I said, “Richard, I don’t know if you can.” Going from the front and cutting it in the middle…
if the tempo varies any, it’s not going to match. Unless you did it to a click, which we didn’t.
He said, “Let’s just try it again anyways.”
It’s a real testament to Karen’s time, because it cut together perfectly."

Here:
www.notreble.com/buzz/2012/07/19/stories-behind-the-songs-joe-osborn/

I never would have guessed that the backing track was two parts spliced together. I guess that's concealed by all the layers on top of the basic track.

I think it's difficult to play at a perfectly steady tempo.

 

[adam]

Yesterday once more.chart facts
Australia. 9
Argentina.11
Belgium.5
Canada. 1
Germany. 21
Hong kong.1
Ireland. 8
Israel.1
Japan.5
malaysia.1
Netherlands.7
New zealand.2
Norway.6
Singapore.1
UK. 2
USA.2
Zimbazwee.6