⭐ Official Review [Single]: 7. "SUPERSTAR"/"BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN" (1289-S)
- Thread starter Chris May
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GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Here is a question for those who were blessed with attending a Carpenters' concert :
Has anyone seen a concert where
Bless The Beasts And Children
was performed ?
I ask this, as one of the comments on Youtube refers to an early concert where the song was performed.
There does not appear to be any audio or video from the era to support this.
Perhaps it was performed a couple of times and then dropped from the song lineup ?
I would love to hear a live version.
Has anyone seen a concert where
Bless The Beasts And Children
was performed ?
I ask this, as one of the comments on Youtube refers to an early concert where the song was performed.
There does not appear to be any audio or video from the era to support this.
Perhaps it was performed a couple of times and then dropped from the song lineup ?
I would love to hear a live version.
Okay, golden-eared folks, get out your headphones and check this out:
In the 1991 remix of "Superstar", there are two or three "ticks" in the opening. I say two or three because I think one is kind of covered by the rest of the mix. These ticks sound to me just like a tick on a vinyl record would sound, and they occur more toward the left of the stereo. Get out your CDs of either LOVE SONGS or INTERPRETATIONS or GOLD GREATEST HITS and listen carefully at around :06, :09, and :12 into the song.
I'm not sure about the one at :06 - if it's there, it's buried in the mix, but the :09 and :12 are clearly there. The question is, what in the world happened to this 1991 remix that would put ticks into the mix? These ticks are not present in the original, not in the 1985 remix, not in the SACD 2004 remix, nor the RPO remix.
The 1991 remix got a lot of mileage on compilations over the decade or so before the SACD remix and I'm surprised that these ticks somehow leaked through Richard's quality control.
I found this as I was listening to a version of GOLD, the one with "[K2]HD Mastering" to help someone who was looking for that disc. I thought I was hearing things when the ticks appeared. Just for the heck of it, I brought the track up in Audacity to see the waveforms at these points. Turns out that with a quick click on the "repair" function, these ticks disappear, just like they would if it were a vinyl problem.
Then I went to check out the other mixes and copies of the 1991 remix and they all have it.
In the 1991 remix of "Superstar", there are two or three "ticks" in the opening. I say two or three because I think one is kind of covered by the rest of the mix. These ticks sound to me just like a tick on a vinyl record would sound, and they occur more toward the left of the stereo. Get out your CDs of either LOVE SONGS or INTERPRETATIONS or GOLD GREATEST HITS and listen carefully at around :06, :09, and :12 into the song.
I'm not sure about the one at :06 - if it's there, it's buried in the mix, but the :09 and :12 are clearly there. The question is, what in the world happened to this 1991 remix that would put ticks into the mix? These ticks are not present in the original, not in the 1985 remix, not in the SACD 2004 remix, nor the RPO remix.
The 1991 remix got a lot of mileage on compilations over the decade or so before the SACD remix and I'm surprised that these ticks somehow leaked through Richard's quality control.
I found this as I was listening to a version of GOLD, the one with "[K2]HD Mastering" to help someone who was looking for that disc. I thought I was hearing things when the ticks appeared. Just for the heck of it, I brought the track up in Audacity to see the waveforms at these points. Turns out that with a quick click on the "repair" function, these ticks disappear, just like they would if it were a vinyl problem.
Then I went to check out the other mixes and copies of the 1991 remix and they all have it.
CraigGA
Well-Known Member
I used to say that Superstar was my favorite side, but I have without exception always loved Bless the Beasts and the Children and after today’s analysis I have to say I adore both of them almost equally. Karen sounds best in Superstar and although it can almost be heard as a solo, she always gave credit to Richard for its success, while as a band Bless the Beasts sounds heavenly.
There are a number of clips from the 1972 Academy Awards show on You Tube in perfect quality, but Carpenters appearance has yet to surface. It most definitely exists.
Interesting. You think it’s the click track from Karen’s headphones?
On this one Hal actually clicked his sticks - and typically wherever the lead track is dead (i.e. an intro, reintro etc.), it would be entirely muted so as to avoid any audible leakage. I haven't listened yet, other than to a GOLD version I found on YouTube and can't hear anything. I'll pull out copies of the above mentioned discs and see if I can figure it out.
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
Was the 91 remix released on vinyl anywhere in the world?
Or maybe Richard had an acetate version made in 91.
Or maybe Richard had an acetate version made in 91.
crescentnoon
Well-Known Member
I went on the Oscars.org website and filled out the form from the contact us page and requested they add this clip to their 1972 Awards page. Probably won't happen but worth a shot.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Here is a blog which provides two links to scholarly analysis of the song Superstar:
2or3lines.blogspot.com
The blogger adds, among other things: "First, Karen Carpenter is a great singer.
Second, Richard Carpenter is a great arranger. And third, the Carpenters’ “Superstar” is a perfect pop record."
The scholarly-journal articles are well worth perusing, especially the second one with audio samples to augment the analysis:
Carpenters – "Superstar" (1971)
Loneliness is a such a sad affair And I can hardly wait to be with you again Back in the seventies, my friends and I thought that t...
2or3lines.blogspot.com
Second, Richard Carpenter is a great arranger. And third, the Carpenters’ “Superstar” is a perfect pop record."
The scholarly-journal articles are well worth perusing, especially the second one with audio samples to augment the analysis:
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
NPR's 50 Favorite Songs Of 1971, Carpenters, "Superstar"
"Inspired by Rita Coolidge and written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett,"Superstar" — initially titled "Groupie (Superstar)" — tells the all-too-common tale of male rock stars taking advantage of impressionable young girls.
The song went through several incarnations before landing on the perfect one. Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, Bette Midler, and Coolidge herself all took their shots at it, but it was transformed by Richard Carpenter's arrangement. His lush instrumentation of harp, piano, oboe and French horns heightens the song's dramatic nature. Then, there's Karen Carpenter's absolutely undeniable vocal performance, which is alleged to have been done in one take.
She perfectly captures the lonely and sad state of someone who has yet to fully come to terms with being forgotten by the person they thought they loved.
—Ryan LaCroix."
Source:
NPR's 50 Favorite Songs Of 1971
Critics widely consider 1971 one of the best years in music history. For NPR's 50th anniversary, public radio stations turn back the clock and reflect on the year's best tracks.
www.mtpr.org
JohnFB
She was born to belong to the lines of a song...
At the end the blogger also states this:Here is a blog which provides two links to scholarly analysis of the song Superstar:
The blogger adds, among other things: "First, Karen Carpenter is a great singer.Carpenters – "Superstar" (1971)
Loneliness is a such a sad affair And I can hardly wait to be with you again Back in the seventies, my friends and I thought that t...
Second, Richard Carpenter is a great arranger. And third, the Carpenters’ “Superstar” is a perfect pop record."
At the very end of the song – after Karen sings her last note – Richard has one final surprise for us. The strings play one more chord, and then another. The last chord in particular is so soft that you may have never noticed it before, but it is as unexpected and sublime a final chord as I have ever heard.
[bolding mine] He's absolutely correct about this. I always listen for this last orchestral chord. There's an ever-so-slight pause before it happens. It's insertion here was a stroke of genius!
He used the same soft, sweet, drawn out final chord at the end of "You're The One" also...
Perfectly conceived closures to two of his very best arrangements - and two of Karen's finest recorded vocal performances.
John Tkacik
Well-Known Member
Superstar is the song that started my love affair with the Carpenters. From (They Long To Be) Close To You through Rainy Days And Mondays, I enjoyed hearing their songs on the radio but it was this song that just blew me away as to how talented they were. Would certainly include this song on a sample of Carpenters recordings to anyone who has never heard any of their songs.
JohnFB
She was born to belong to the lines of a song...
Absolutely! It would be very interesting to see what other songs the devoted and knowledgeable fans here would include on an "Introduction to the Carpenters" CD for the newbees to their music...among select others I would now include "Close to You", a song I've just recently learned to love, principally because of Richard's subtle but brilliantly conceived arrangement - it took me 50 years to realize just what a great musical concept this song was...
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
On all the vinyl rips I’ve ever heard of this version of the song, the opening piano has always sounded to me like they were played on an uneven turntable.
Like the turntable was getting up to speed after a few notes or so... Yeah, mine sounds that way too.
For some reason though, the Japanese Single Box version got that part right. It's still a needledrop though and has a small phasing error and some noise on the loud parts.
Cuyler
Bright colored pinwheels go 'round in my head.
The noise on the loud parts is the big reason why I'm sad about the A Song for You version. (Not sure if the record has that noise too, but the CD does.)
Cuyler
Bright colored pinwheels go 'round in my head.
Does your Japanese Single Box version sound like this one?
(but less muddled, of course.)
Or does it maintain the xylophone/glockenspiel (?) intro and outro?
Cuyler
Bright colored pinwheels go 'round in my head.
ugh it's a dream of mine to find a decent copy that doesn't have so many pops and clicks...
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