I can't imagine it doing worse than Solitaire peaking at #17, so I'm sure it would have done very well. Perfect companion summertime single with OY.
⭐ Official Review [Single]: 17. "ONLY YESTERDAY"/"HAPPY" (1677-S)
- Thread starter Chris May
- Start date
I can't imagine it doing worse than Solitaire peaking at #17, so I'm sure it would have done very well. Perfect companion summertime single with OY.
Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
I just realized I never voted on this one...even though I really enjoy Happy...I had to vote for Only Yesterday.
“I’ve found my home here in your arms...no where else on earth I’d really rather be” When Karen sings that I get goosebumps because I always remember that part in the video and when she picks that flower. This is how I like to remember her.
“I’ve found my home here in your arms...no where else on earth I’d really rather be” When Karen sings that I get goosebumps because I always remember that part in the video and when she picks that flower. This is how I like to remember her.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
That's because "Only Yesterday's" album version is extended - you get more of it. Both "Solitaire" and "Postman" are the same length in their single and album versions.
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
I love that we get the full modulated chorus on the album. The edit cheats us out of it.
Ed
Both stone cold classics too! I never actually noticed that before but now it's all I'll be able to hear.
Carpe diem
Well-Known Member
TheOneBeatleManiac
Well-Known Member
I love both songs, and perhaps "Only Yesterday" is the better of the two, but I love "Happy" a lot, and hear it more often nowadays, so I'll give the vote to this one.
It has some unusual chorus that it's typically more rhythmical than the verses but does not go quite high in the range, only at "Happy is/all I want..." and at the very end at "Falling in love with you". The verses have an interesting melody that soars a bit first, and then descends slowly and beautifully. I think the arrangement is subdued enough throughout the song (given that it's a bit faster than most of the songs on this album) and works quite well, and i don't think its overproduced or busy, maybe the reverb its what makes it sound heavy. I'm not sure if I'm wrong on this, but Karen is playing drums on this one, isn't she?
Anyway, I love this song so much, it is quite an interesting deviation of the usual explosive chorus, and a subdued yet more uptempo than most of this album songs...happier if you will.
It has some unusual chorus that it's typically more rhythmical than the verses but does not go quite high in the range, only at "Happy is/all I want..." and at the very end at "Falling in love with you". The verses have an interesting melody that soars a bit first, and then descends slowly and beautifully. I think the arrangement is subdued enough throughout the song (given that it's a bit faster than most of the songs on this album) and works quite well, and i don't think its overproduced or busy, maybe the reverb its what makes it sound heavy. I'm not sure if I'm wrong on this, but Karen is playing drums on this one, isn't she?
Anyway, I love this song so much, it is quite an interesting deviation of the usual explosive chorus, and a subdued yet more uptempo than most of this album songs...happier if you will.
Mark-T
Well-Known Member
Good catch!
P.S. I just realized it’s also used at the end of the ‘live’ version of ‘There’s A Kind Of Hush’ from the Palladium album.
Martin Medrano
Well-Known Member
Jamesj75
Well-Known Member
I agree with your commentary, Mark. "Only Yesterday" has always been a favorite of mine. I recently did an Internet search of "underrated songs from the 70s" and came across a link by Spotify. This lengthy playlist has some GREAT (some perhaps forgotten) tunes, including one by the Carpenters: you guessed it: "Only Yesterday!"
Without A Song
Well-Known Member
"Only Yesterday" has been my favorite Carpenters tune ever since I first heard it. Right from the first drumbeats it hooked me. It's one of Karen's best vocals and to top it off it's written by John Bettis and Richard. I always feel cheated, though, when I don't hear the full version of the song. If it's not at least four minutes long, I don't want to hear it.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I’ve always thought Only Yesterday to be one of their most underrated singles. It never gets played on the radio nowadays but I remember when the eponymous hits collection was released in the UK in 1990, that a double A-side single was also released, which featured this track and it got huge amounts of airplay at the time. It was, in fact, the song that started it all for me: the first Carpenters song I ever heard in the summer of 1990. At the time, I thought it was a contemporary chart act with their latest single. Only later did I learn the truth, but my obsession and love affair with the duo had already begun and lasts to this day.
CraigGA
Well-Known Member
In 1975 when Only Yesterday hit the top 10 right after Postman’s number 1 and Horizon had not yet been released, it felt as if the new album was going to have more edge and turn a little away from the softer sound. Well, we ended up with a softer sound but it was exquisite and seemed to define their presence as stellar artists. I was surprised when Solitaire was released as a single for I thought Love Me For What I Am was more contemporary and fit the theme of slower songs released that year by other artists. As exciting as Only Yesterday was, there was not another song that followed its strength for the rest of the albums released while Karen was alive. Yes, there were beautifully pleasant songs, but another Bettis / Carpenter was needed. Thankfully, the Christmas album ended up cementing their legacy as true artists, which was also reflected in outtakes that were released after Karen’s passing. One exception: Passage- I really did enjoy Sweet Sweet Smile and thought I Just Fall in Love Again was a missed opportunity.
Recently there was a thread on here that asked how often we listen to Carpenters, and some of us old-timers responded that it really wasn't all that often, myself included.
THIS thread put "Only Yesterday" in my head while at lunch, so when I got to my car, I dug out the SWEET MEMORY disc I made for the car and found "Only Yesterday" as the lead track on the third disc. It was good to hear that one today, and it was followed with "Ordinary Fool". I sat there mesmerized as it played. It's usually not a song I grab on to, but it sounded great today.
THIS thread put "Only Yesterday" in my head while at lunch, so when I got to my car, I dug out the SWEET MEMORY disc I made for the car and found "Only Yesterday" as the lead track on the third disc. It was good to hear that one today, and it was followed with "Ordinary Fool". I sat there mesmerized as it played. It's usually not a song I grab on to, but it sounded great today.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
That’s it in a nutshell. So true. This was the end of their absolute creative and commercial peak. And it was the first Carpenters song I ever heard. I consider that a lucky find.
Jamesj75
Well-Known Member
Stephen, it's thoroughly enjoyable to read about the genesis of your Carpenters fandom and its direct relation to "Only Yesterday." I apologize if somehow I missed (or forgot) an earlier such description by you. One very cool aspect of this site is the way a discussion of a particular song (or album) reignites an appreciation and passion among us and sparks us to revisit and relisten to said song (or album). When it comes to Carpenters' catalogue, there is truly an embarrassment of riches, so much so that perhaps at times it's overwhelming. Yet when we focus on a specific song (or album), the brilliance and transcendence are that much more enlightening and enveloping...
Don Malcolm
Well-Known Member
I'd venture to say that "Only Yesterday" is a return to the C's early peak, putting all of their strengths into one glorious four-minute package. The greatest songs are literally the ones you never want to end, and "Only Yesterday" is right up at the top of that list, with songs like "Good Vibrations" and others possessed with an aural magic that never fails to engage even if you listen to them ten times in a row. My top three Carpenters songs will vary, but one of them will always be "Only Yesterday"--absolute and total pop perfection!
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