Small parts of Carpenters songs that hook you

Murphy,
I ,too, can not tolerate the change in Sax Solo for
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.( The 1974 solo was brilliant; 1984 contrived.)
Why, oh why, was the original sax solo altered ?
 
While, listening to Goofus last night, one line seemed to really grab me for some reason. The line "I like rustic harmonies" grabbed me and I kept rewinding the whole song just to listen to that 1 line!
 
I've always loved the way she sings the word "Rome" on the song Trains and Boats and Planes :love:
and the last line... the trains and the BOATS and planes.... - - really just beautiful... we've said it hundreds of times - but I'll say it one more... the maturity and finesse Karen incorporated in those intimate interpretations are so beyond her years - it really just continues to demonstrate her true inborn and clearly brilliant artistry...
 
New "moment" in the Chevy this morning....

"Sorry if some....drop it....times, I look past...raise it..you

There's no-one be.....drop it .....you're eyes....."

I frickin' love this thread.
 
I frickin' love this thread.

Oooo, I can definitely second that! :D (Hopefully I put in the quotes correctly...)

As for another addition to this thread, the very beginning of Ticket To Ride gets me every time. Especially the "He's got a ticket to ride, and he don't care" part
 
Thanks, Harry. I inadvertently left out the "You" part.....as I did the "yond" in "beyond." My brain was moving a bit quicker than my fingers (a rare phenomenon these days!)
That darned song, ABSOLUTELY should have been a single. Talk about changing history. It would have put them right back in the top ten on my humble opinion. Every time I hear it - I just love it even more.
 
The backing vocals at the start of the song "Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do". If those weren't there, I probably would've listened to the song less honestly.
 
In Bachard/David Medley (not even gonna bother typing out the whole title) towards the end, the "woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah" part I absolutely love! Grabs me every time!
 
Sandy.....
not a big fan of the song...
but,
Karen lingers on the lyric(s)
"....ease...", ".....away...." (first stanza),
and especially "....mine...." (second stanza)
in great form.
 
That darned song, ABSOLUTELY should have been a single. Talk about changing history. It would have put them right back in the top ten on my humble opinion. Every time I hear it - I just love it even more.

I love the song but I don't think it would have been a success as a single...I guess I'm in the minority on that one. It's too slow and ploddy for me and the melody in the verses see-saws up and down too much.

One song that I always obsess over is Boat To Sail. Karen's vocals in the instrumental break are absolute heaven. I'd love to hear them a capella with all the instrumentation stripped back.
 
One more snippet I heard over the weekend...

The line: 'No Other Love Have I' at the end of the Como medley.... There's just something so sublime in Karen and Richard's harmony - - and fully exemplified in this 5 word phrase... Just lovely...
 
Listening to "The Rainbow Connection" for the first time since I've heard so much about it. The instrumental opening at the beginning instantly caught my attention. So amazing! :love:
 
I've been listening (again) to the karaoke album on the drive to and from work lately, and I realize anew that so many of the Carpenters' songs are just filled with little hooks, especially those harmonies, that captivate me. I've said it before, but the background vocals in "Close to You" around the 2:15 mark grab me every time and always get repeated plays.

And another thread about "(A Place to) Hideaway" prompted me to revisit that song and I was taken, as I always am, with those exquisite harmonies—"Save them for a rainy day"—which are ear candy of the sweetest kind.
 
I always marvel at Richard's attention to detail in the arrangements. It's sometimes the tiniest things he does that make a world of difference, with my latest "discovery" found in the chorus of Superstar. Cleverly interposing the lyric's "shuffle" rhythm with the "syncopated" rhythm of the brass, we hear:

"Don't you remember you told me you loved me Ba-a-by(Da)-da-da-da. Da. Da. Da-da-da. Da(You)-Said you'd be coming...

That last 'Da' - a long, drawn-out note sounding a mere fraction before the 'Said...' - both underscores and ties-in the following lyric line rhythmically to the brass, critical to maintaining the listener's interest.
 
I always marvel at Richard's attention to detail in the arrangements. It's sometimes the tiniest things he does that make a world of difference, with my latest "discovery" found in the chorus of Superstar. Cleverly interposing the lyric's "shuffle" rhythm with the "syncopated" rhythm of the brass, we hear:

"Don't you remember you told me you loved me Ba-a-by(Da)-da-da-da. Da. Da. Da-da-da. Da(You)-Said you'd be coming...

That last 'Da' - a long, drawn-out note sounding a mere fraction before the 'Said...' - both underscores and ties-in the following lyric line rhythmically to the brass, critical to maintaining the listener's interest.
I never tire of the brass section in the chorus of "Superstar". I especially play the album version over and over to hear it. "Superstar" is one of the songs in the Carpenters' repertoire where I fully appreciate Richard's attention to detail: the arrangement always excites me.

Another one of those moments is in "Yesterday Once More" -- the digital electric piano during the second stanza (in the remix, more prominent in '85).
 
Today, I was listening to Crescent Noon on my phone (I know, how predictable) and the piano intro caught my ear, but there was something that I felt was a little different. I'm not 100% sure what exactly was different, but it definitely got me to repeat the beginning part of the song.
 
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