Singles That Shouldn't Have Been Singles
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gregnewyorkcity
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Oh, my. Goofus (what were they thinking, release that and not Karen's LP? Insanity). Beeechwood. I despise Siing when the kids come in. I think Strength of a Woman is a very strong song, esp when those drums hit into the last chorus. I love love love Baby It's You from CTY. Yes, It's Gonna Take seems a little lackluster after all that came before it. And I despise what Richard did to Make Believe It's Your First Time -- it's as if he became the cliche they were always accused of (those choruses!). Aside from Counting Occupants, I love Passage, but it's really a concept album, not a singles album, and showed a lot of innovation.
BarryT60
Well-Known Member
I remember when I was young.... (well this would have been 15 - the summer of '76, I would call A&M in L.A..... I'd ask for the marketing department and quiz the person who'd answer the phone on what the next Carpenters single might be.... when albums were going to be released... that sort of thing.... For this season, I was trying to surmise which the next single would be on Hush - and had a nice girl on the phone.... She said: (and I'll never forget this.... "Guess?" (In retrospect, I think she was passively aggreeing with all of us here....) I guessed: YOU.... she said 'no'. I then guessed "Can't Smile Without You", she said 'no'. I went on.... Sheepishly, "One More Time"? (thinking that would be a sleepy single, particuarly, since INTBIL was such a somber ballad and wasn't going top 10.... again.... "no". "I Have You?" No. Each time, my mind was playing tricks on me - and I'd tell myself, well.... I suppose Boat To Sail would be great! So - I said "Boat To Sail?" "NO!!" I was stunned. I had no more picks - and I vividly recall forgetting Goofus was even on the LP to allow that a guess..... Then finally, I said it with a goofy question mark in my voice - and she said.... Yup! Again.... stunned.
But like a good little groupie, I called my radio stations and begain requesting that dud of a single - - and frankly, never heard it on even the slowest tempo easy listening station in Nashville.
I'll always think YOU was the one from that album that would have changed the course of the Carpenters Singles track record in '76.
Likewise, I flet the same way about I Just fall In Love Again on Passage. A winner by all accounts - and to this day ....a favorite.
Dave
Well-Known Member
'Beechwood', I thought was a good tune--just one that got dated from having probably come too late! (Wouldn't an album like Horizon or A Kind Of Hush been more appropriate for it?)
'Goofus' must have been a lost bet on a bid to do the Grand Old Opry, the more I think about it (and the back of that Pat Boone album w/ 'Jambalaya', showin' him singin' there gets me now thinkin': "Ummmm, 'Goofus'? Now, What If?"--Naaahhh!!!!)
-- Dave
'Goofus' must have been a lost bet on a bid to do the Grand Old Opry, the more I think about it (and the back of that Pat Boone album w/ 'Jambalaya', showin' him singin' there gets me now thinkin': "Ummmm, 'Goofus'? Now, What If?"--Naaahhh!!!!)
-- Dave
In my humble opinion, I think the problems started with "It's Going To Take Some Time". I would have picked "A Song For You". I think it could have been another "Superstar" with the proper edit of the middle instrumental section and maintained their "cool" image and made a great launch for the "Song For You" album. Michael is spot on with following that with "Goodbye To Love" and adding "I Won't Last A Day Without You" at this point. I think both singles would have performed better at that stage and given Karen and Richard a little breathing room for recording "Now & Then". Lead with "Yesterday Once More" followed by "This Masquerade". Legacy fully intact.
The "Singles 1969-1973" gets released with "Top Of The World" as a huge single. They are at their career peak but they are put on an exhausting tour leaving them with no energy to record a follow up. There should have been a new single (not Postman) for Summer of 1974 to ride on the coattails of the success of "The Singles" (remember how it spent months and months at #1 in the UK!).
So Horizon should have been "Only Yesterday", "Tryin To Get The Feeling" (a recording so good that it shows how badly their choices were at this time) and perhaps "Please Mr. Postman" as a third(?).
"A Kind of Hush" shows how Richard was aging and how out of touch (and exhausted) he had become. There is really nothing there to save except "I Need To Be In Love" with deserved a better, more modern arrangement without the OK Chorale. I love the song but the choir just overwhelms it and makes it feel old before its time. I always wondered how it would have sounded with just Karen and Richard in a more stripped down recording.
"Passage"......well it's just all down hill from here..... "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" would have been bigger if it followed "Horizon" released with stronger singles. "Calling Occupants" should have been relegated to album cut. "I Just Fall In Love Again" could have followed but I think it would have performed weaker than the Anne Murray version
Anyways, this is just my thoughts. All hindsight I guess.
The "Singles 1969-1973" gets released with "Top Of The World" as a huge single. They are at their career peak but they are put on an exhausting tour leaving them with no energy to record a follow up. There should have been a new single (not Postman) for Summer of 1974 to ride on the coattails of the success of "The Singles" (remember how it spent months and months at #1 in the UK!).
So Horizon should have been "Only Yesterday", "Tryin To Get The Feeling" (a recording so good that it shows how badly their choices were at this time) and perhaps "Please Mr. Postman" as a third(?).
"A Kind of Hush" shows how Richard was aging and how out of touch (and exhausted) he had become. There is really nothing there to save except "I Need To Be In Love" with deserved a better, more modern arrangement without the OK Chorale. I love the song but the choir just overwhelms it and makes it feel old before its time. I always wondered how it would have sounded with just Karen and Richard in a more stripped down recording.
"Passage"......well it's just all down hill from here..... "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" would have been bigger if it followed "Horizon" released with stronger singles. "Calling Occupants" should have been relegated to album cut. "I Just Fall In Love Again" could have followed but I think it would have performed weaker than the Anne Murray version
Anyways, this is just my thoughts. All hindsight I guess.
RainyDays
Active Member
- I can see everyone's confusion over "Going To Take Some Time" -- it's more low-key and simpler than previous singles -- but I really enjoy it and I hear it a lot. So I think it's a solid single. Though if four singles was too much (is it?), I would have replaced it with ASFY which is simply beautiful; even with the sax removed, and for radio it would have had to be.
- I wonder if 'This Masquerade' would have fared well as a single?...
- All You Get...as i've said in the past, shoulda' been a hige hit single, and you might be right about the timing of it.
BarryT60
Well-Known Member
Although I love both Take some Time and Lovesong. I agree that "Time" should have been an album cut.. and Won't last A Day should have been the single at that time. As for Lovesong, I loved it - and still love it. It's fun, crisp, and engaging - to be sure... However, I remember thinking even back at the time that it didn't compare to what was out there commercially in the upbeat song comparisons... For me - as much as I loved it - and I did - it felt "over produced" and a little glitzy for top ten.... I truly believe I Just Fall In Love Again could have been the big one - for that era of their music.... Everyone loves a love song - and a slow dance... LoveSong had a very un-dancable rhythm - for it's time.
BarryT60
Well-Known Member
Back to Goofus.. I didn't even like it as an album track!
As for It's going to take some time, Back in the day, I loved it.... i loved the drum breaks on it - - and tried to immulatge every thump (was a young drummer atthe time), but the bridge did go just a little "elevator"... Won't Last A Day & an edited Song 4 You - for me - would have been smarter singles....
As for It's going to take some time, Back in the day, I loved it.... i loved the drum breaks on it - - and tried to immulatge every thump (was a young drummer atthe time), but the bridge did go just a little "elevator"... Won't Last A Day & an edited Song 4 You - for me - would have been smarter singles....
RainyDays
Active Member
Time was in demand as a single because Carole King's version at the time was so popular.
RainyDays
Active Member
I actually really like GOOFUS for some reason. It has a kind of charm to it, or at least Karen's voice that makes it fun to hear. It's alright as a single, though, but obviously not one of the strongest ones. Did it get any airplay back in '76?
A further memory of that sleepy, Sunday morning occurred to me as I was just listening to "It's Going To Take Some Time". I remember the exact moment in the song that I came to the realization that this "wimpy" cover of Carole King's great tune was in fact Carpenters. It was about 38 seconds in, on the second backing vocal chorus singing "...next time" where you could clearly hear that Carpenters sound with Richard and Karen harmonizing with each other. At that exact moment I realized that I was hearing a Carpenters rendition of the familiar song. It would have occured at about 25 minutes past the hour, probably 8:25 AM on the week preceding the release of A SONG FOR YOU.
The radio station I listened to then had an semi-hourly album of the week feature where they played a track from that weeks featured album, usually a new one. They were heavy into playing Carpenters stuff at the time and any time a new recording came in, they got it on the air right away. This album of the week thing usually started on a Friday afternoon, so I probably heard a couple of other tracks before actually obtaining the album later that week.
So this would have been the single released around the time of the album release, since both "Bless The Beasts..." and "Hurting Each Other" had already been out as singles, so right after I heard this as an album cut, it immediately went into the hot singles rotation.
"Ah, what memories..."
Harry
The radio station I listened to then had an semi-hourly album of the week feature where they played a track from that weeks featured album, usually a new one. They were heavy into playing Carpenters stuff at the time and any time a new recording came in, they got it on the air right away. This album of the week thing usually started on a Friday afternoon, so I probably heard a couple of other tracks before actually obtaining the album later that week.
So this would have been the single released around the time of the album release, since both "Bless The Beasts..." and "Hurting Each Other" had already been out as singles, so right after I heard this as an album cut, it immediately went into the hot singles rotation.
"Ah, what memories..."
Harry
I'm on record as liking the track too. It's a fun record, not very serious, but then again neither is "Doo Wah Diddy" or "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". In my memory there were no occurences of radio play for "Goofus". By that time, the radio station that I mentioned above had changed to a progressive rock format, and the soft-rock station in town didn't play "Goofus" in my memory.
Harry
Toolman
Simple Man, Simple Dream
In my neck of the woods, it got a lot of Adult Contemporary airplay. My mother listened to an AC station on her clock radio in the kitchen and always cranked it up full blast for my benefit whenever a Carpenters song came on (love ya, Mom). But I also remember them cutting off the song early, right before the tuba, fairly often -- "Goofus has been lucky....for me." Cut. They did the same thing with "I Believe You", frequently cutting it before the false end preceding the drum break.
I never heard 'Goofus' ONCE on Top 40 radio back in '76. That got me to thinking of other singles I never heard on the radio by Carpenters during their hey dey:
'Sweet Sweet Smile' (though they played it a LOT at Kaufmann Stadium during Kansas City Royals games)
'I Believe You'
'Those Good Old Dreams'
'Beachwood'
I only heard the original version of 'Ticket to Ride' on the radio one time. I was taking driver's education class, and was on the freeway for the first time during the summer of 1978. I almost ran off the road that they were playing it.
I DID hear 'Back In My Life Again' a few times in the fall of '81, as well as 'Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore' in early 1984. 'Make Believe It's Your First Time' was on a lot during the fall of '83. I also remember a top 40 station playing 'When You've Got What It Takes' as their pseudo jingle during the summer of '81.
And I remember hearing Karen do a plug of Kansas City's Top 40 FM station, KBEQ-104, in the fall of 1977. They always played it as they led into the single version of 'Occupants'. She said, 'This is Karen Carpenter, and Q-104 plays the hits!' I wish I had a tape of that now.
'Sweet Sweet Smile' (though they played it a LOT at Kaufmann Stadium during Kansas City Royals games)
'I Believe You'
'Those Good Old Dreams'
'Beachwood'
I only heard the original version of 'Ticket to Ride' on the radio one time. I was taking driver's education class, and was on the freeway for the first time during the summer of 1978. I almost ran off the road that they were playing it.
I DID hear 'Back In My Life Again' a few times in the fall of '81, as well as 'Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore' in early 1984. 'Make Believe It's Your First Time' was on a lot during the fall of '83. I also remember a top 40 station playing 'When You've Got What It Takes' as their pseudo jingle during the summer of '81.
And I remember hearing Karen do a plug of Kansas City's Top 40 FM station, KBEQ-104, in the fall of 1977. They always played it as they led into the single version of 'Occupants'. She said, 'This is Karen Carpenter, and Q-104 plays the hits!' I wish I had a tape of that now.
RainyDays
Active Member
I never heard 'Goofus' ONCE on Top 40 radio back in '76. That got me to thinking of other singles I never heard on the radio by Carpenters during their hey dey:
'Sweet Sweet Smile' (though they played it a LOT at Kaufmann Stadium during Kansas City Royals games)
'I Believe You'
'Those Good Old Dreams'
'Beachwood'
I only heard the original version of 'Ticket to Ride' on the radio one time. I was taking driver's education class, and was on the freeway for the first time during the summer of 1978. I almost ran off the road that they were playing it.
I DID hear 'Back In My Life Again' a few times in the fall of '81, as well as 'Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore' in early 1984. 'Make Believe It's Your First Time' was on a lot during the fall of '83. I also remember a top 40 station playing 'When You've Got What It Takes' as their pseudo jingle during the summer of '81.
And I remember hearing Karen do a plug of Kansas City's Top 40 FM station, KBEQ-104, in the fall of 1977. They always played it as they led into the single version of 'Occupants'. She said, 'This is Karen Carpenter, and Q-104 plays the hits!' I wish I had a tape of that now.
I Believe You was hardly recognized by the general public at the time, I believe (he he), and the two tracks from MIA simply did not fare all that well overall. Back In My Life was more contemporary so I can see why it was played more. But it's cool read about how the original Ticket to Ride was being played almost nine years later!
RainyDays
Active Member
Yeah exactly, it fits a soothing audience-friendly single well in that respect. Upbeat, easy, and enjoyable -- and perfect for the beach.
"I Believe You" was released in October around the same time as "Christmas Portrait". I remember a full page ad in Billboard announcing it. But then I had to search all over San Francisco to find it which I finally did 2 weeks later. It appeared to get no promotion from A&M at the time. Suddenly in January '78 it appeared under "ChartBound" in Billboard and finally debuted. A&M also appeared fairly ambivalent about "Christmas Portrait" which was unbelievable. Most of the duo's problems can be laid at the feet of A&M and their management.
RainyDays
Active Member
I would love to get my hands on that ad! I'm not sure if they even thought much to try and make it big. It was kind of stranded on its own for a bit, and then just went nowhere for three years, until MIA. It's a great song too, so it's too bad that it wasn't noticed more.
BarryT60
Well-Known Member
RainyDays
Active Member
Yeah that's the story I've heard. But was the only real way to "get" the single through the fan club? I'm sure sales in shops didn't have it in high demand so it might've been hard to get it?
I know we would love to hear the outtake of "Thank You For The Music" (and almost did on "As Time Goes By") but I think it would have had a worse fate than "I Believe You". I find the song to be wonderfully theatrical but not commercial at all. Even Abba did not release it as a single from "The Album" despite needing a third single release from that record (they went with "Eagle" in a couple of countries and moved on to the "Voulezvous" album).
RainyDays
Active Member
Yeah, that would be great, thanks! I'm sure I'm not alone in the joy of (re)discovering Carpenters nostalgia! I'll look online too for a scan of it.
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