⭐ Official Review [Single]: 20. "I NEED TO BE IN LOVE"/"SANDY" (1828-S)

Which side is your favorite?

  • Side A: "I Need To Be In Love"

    Votes: 40 78.4%
  • Side B: "Sandy"

    Votes: 11 21.6%

  • Total voters
    51
(1) The Single-45...time 3:25, which, having just listened, sounds perfectly fine. (love the harp !).
(2) The album....time 3:47, piano intro is a nice addition; sounds "slowed" from the single.

The length discrepancy is entirely due to the piano intro being chopped off the single. The remaining part of the song is the exact speed of the album version.
 
Our radio station played it only by request. There seemed to always be a comment about the choir from the DJ. Only Yesterday was the last to enter the top 10 in my hometown chart. Solitaire got the, now that’s beautiful comment but it was a hard summer sell. There’s A Kind of Hush rocketed up but stalled around 14. I even remember seeing Sheet Music for I Need To Be In Love on sale in Musicland, so it did get some push. I just think fans were hoping for a more contemporary feel and less of an easy listening tug. Besides the chorus I felt it had a nice summer alternative feel.
 
Again, I chose INTBIL. Definitely. I'm sure some folks will not like this, but I think the Carps generally struck out with the songs that have names as a title: Eve, Druscilla Penny, and Sandy.
 
It Was hard deciding which of these two to vote for because I Love both songs but I finally decided on "I Need To Be in Love" as i first heard it on the 1985 Yesterday once more collection. And it became an instant favorite. The lyrics stick with me because I can totally relate to them. It should have been a bigger hit than it was but by the time it was released Disco was Starting to Dominate and Tastes were Changing. And that being said However I Give Sandy An Honorable Mention.
 
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I remember buying this single (at 16) and thinking it was a bit boring, even for the Carpenters! I felt Richard might've gone with the choral backing to evoke a "quasi-spiritual" tone to compliment the very personal, "confessional" lyrics. Even as a teen, I wasn't surprised it wasn't a big hit. The fact that it was Karen's all time favorite speaks volumes about how the lyrics reflected her own life. I've always liked "Sandy" (not so much lyrically). It might've made a better A-side!
 
So I'm currently up to the album "A Kind of Hush" in needle dropping my original Lp's and listening to the track "Sandy" today made me realize that if this song was really written by Richard and John about Sandy Holland (Karen's assistant) then why not have Richard take the lead vocal on this track. Richard basically stopped performing any solo tracks after some of the earlier albums. This track would have been a perfect venue for him to record Sandy as a vocal lead with Karen performing the backing vocals. The lyrics would also have meant something more to me seeing why the song was written. For me, I just can't get into this song and I think it's because Karen is on lead...**Yikes I never would have thought I'd ever say that....:hide:
 
The thing that annoys me about "Sandy" is the pulsating, ping-ponging of the backing instrumental back and forth between left and right channels. That was a dubious studio technique back in the 70s and 80s and it was always annoying to me. (See Art Garfunkel's "I Only Have Eyes For You" for another example.)

"Sandy" sounds ever-so-much better, folded-down to mono.
 
Funny- that Garfunkel song is one of my all time favorites, and I love the dreamy feel that technique evokes.
 
So I'm currently up to the album "A Kind of Hush" in needle dropping my original Lp's and listening to the track "Sandy" today made me realize that if this song was really written by Richard and John about Sandy Holland (Karen's assistant) then why not have Richard take the lead vocal on this track. Richard basically stopped performing any solo tracks after some of the earlier albums. This track would have been a perfect venue for him to record Sandy as a vocal lead with Karen performing the backing vocals. The lyrics would also have meant something more to me seeing why the song was written. For me, I just can't get into this song and I think it's because Karen is on lead...**Yikes I never would have thought I'd ever say that....:hide:
I’ve just never liked all the words to Sandy. The songs music lyric has a wintry feeling and even though the lyric says winter the other lyrics make it feel like a rainy spring. These are just my feelings. It just needed more polish for Karen. By 1976 they were past the days of Richard leads like Drucilla Penny or Turn Away. Karen was the lead and focus of the group and all money was on her.
 
The thing that annoys me about "Sandy" is the pulsating, ping-ponging of the backing instrumental back and forth between left and right channels. That was a dubious studio technique back in the 70s and 80s and it was always annoying to me. (See Art Garfunkel's "I Only Have Eyes For You" for another example.)

I rarely listen to the song because that effect makes me feel nauseous and really starts to irritate after a while.
 
Aside from “Ordinary Fool” and “Good Friends Are For Keeps”, what other tracks were cut from AKOH that never made the album?
 
I liked the album a lot upon its release in 1976. But it’s the one LP I hardly ever play today. It’s so sleepy and mellow and it was the first one where they started to struggle.
‘Sandy’ is a pretty song, and I like the background vocals (especially towards the end). But it’s too lullaby-sounding, as is the rest of the album. I picture Glinda The Good Witch conducting with her magic wand. The edge was missing, but thankfully they got it back on the next LP. Big time!
 
Richard said in the 40th box set that he was basically not pleased with the choice of material used on AKOH. He said only 3 songs stand out for him, I Need To Be In Love, One More Time and Sandy. I would agree with the first 2 but not the last. I feel that "You" is a much better track than Sandy.
I’ve said many times that my album favorites are Boat To Sail, One More Time, and I Cant Smile. If you add that to the 2 hits that’s only 5 songs. The time period is crying for more of Richard and John songs like we had in 1973. Their biggest hits were the ones they wrote.
 
Aside from “Ordinary Fool” and “Good Friends Are For Keeps”, what other tracks were cut from AKOH that never made the album?

No completed tracks that we know of. From the Buried Treasures list, however, you'll find Box Office Movie King and Magic In The Music, but there's no information as to whether they are complete, partial vocal or basic rhythm track only. Regarding the former, Richard commented on his website that "one other song of Palma [Pascale]'s considered was "Box Office Movie King"". Of course, "considered" could mean anything. The fact it shows up on the list suggests at least some work was done on the track. They also "considered" Thank You For The Music until Richard decided to shelve it half way through.
 
Even as late as 2002, the Liner Notes for The Essential Collection cd-set:
we read of Sandy...
"an album cut that has worn well with me over the years, as I still like the melody and chord progression..."

I am not technically inclined-- musically-- so the aforementioned "chord progression"
has not ever really entered my consciousness....the song remains, for me, a weaker cut from the
Kind Of Hush album.
 
"Sandy" and "I Have You" are probably my least favorite cuts on Hush, but they're not bad songs. That's my issue with the Hush album. Looking at the tracks individually, they're pretty good. But because the entire album moves at pretty much the same pace, at the same volume, with similar arrangements, there's a overriding sameness that brings down the whole project. Imagine "Sandy" appearing on another Carpenters LP, like maybe Passage. Now it's a bit more distinctive. Not sure that makes any sense, actually...
 
I guess I am again in the minority. I actually like "Sandy." Not sure why, exactly, either. There's just something about "Sandy." My vote for tracks to jettison off of AKOH would be "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," "Can't Smile Without You" (although the single mix has grown on me a little over the years), and "Goofus." Had Richard replaced those three with songs of the caliber of "Only a Fool" and "Where do We Go From Here" (which I know was recorded later), or some that were more up-tempo, it potentially could have been one of my top 5 favorite albums of theirs. But those three songs just kill that album IMHO.
 
Sandy had a smooth jazz feeling (similar to This Masquerade) that served Carpenters well. If only Karen were still drumming (on Sandy), it would've made even more sense (as would've Goofus).
 
June 5,1976 CashBox:
CARPENTERS (A&M 1828)
I Need To Be In Love (3:25)
(Almo/Sweet/Harmony/Hammer & Nails/Landers-Roberts — ASCAP)
(R. Carpenter, J. Bettis, A. Hammond)
"A beautiful string introduction here, then Karen Carpenter’s voice slips in with a
sweet ballad melody. The power builds in this song and culminates with the chorus,
which is a real hook. This will add at pop and MOR stations everywhere, and should
achieve a serious measure of chart success
."

Richard Carpenter
:
"To be frank, I always felt the song, performance, and arrangement were strong and commercial,
and was a bit perplexed when, in the U.S., it peaked only at
#25. "
Carpenters •• I Need To Be In Love
 
Of some interest in comparing this totally Carpenter/Bettis 45-Single
(that is, both Sides of this single are Carpenter/Bettis penned--inc, Hammond)
with the earlier totally C/B Single:
1972: Goodbye To Love/Crystal Lullaby.
1976: I Need To Be In Love/Sandy.

Quite a difference.
 
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I found this version of "I Need to Be in Love" by Albert Hammond on YouTube. It's nice to hear the composer/writer of a song perform their own work:


I like the simplicity of the piano intro into the second verse. I tend to think that this version is influenced by Karen's vocals. It sounded a little different when he and John Bettis were talking about how it sounded before they brought it to Richard. The lyrics to the second verse are certainly moving and I have always liked them.
 
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