Song For You : The actual song

Kristopher

Active Member
I always loved this song as a little kid in the 90s. The album itself was one of the most played CDs I grabbed from my moms collection. However I used to play the title song over and over again.

One time I brought the CD to school (with permission) and played it during art class, as my teacher loved Carpenters. She said she loved the title song and how it was very popular, despite not being a single. She remembers it being requested on the radio and being played.

Why on gods green earth was this not released as a single? This album is seriously like Carpenters Rumours. This song had so much radio potential and could have easily been edited for single release if time was an issue.

This is one of their greatest songs in my opinion, and will never understand how this one was missed. It’s just so pretty and mesmerizing I still play it on repeat to this day. I wish there had been a 45 with this as the B-Side.
 
Why on gods green earth was this not released as a single?

Primarily because it’s over 4m30s long and would likely have not received much airplay at the time. It’s also nearly impossible to edit down to a more sensible length for radio, unless you chop out the entire sax solo and and last refrain (as they did on the Bob Hope Show), which ruins the song. Every time I watch that clip, I feel sorry for Bob Messenger, standing there with his sax waiting for a solo spot that never comes.

This album is seriously like Carpenters Rumours.

There’s one key difference in that Richard and Karen weren’t going through a divorce at the time :laugh:
 
It did get an A-side single release in the Phillipines and Australia.

I looked for the Australian 7” on Discogs and eBay as well as searching generally online, but no trace of it anywhere. Was it definitely released there? The Philippines one I did find - catalogue number AM-70223A. The B-side is “Top Of The World”.
 
I looked for the Australian 7” on Discogs and eBay as well as searching generally online, but no trace of it anywhere. Was it definitely released there? The Philippines one I did find - catalogue number AM-70223A. The B-side is “Top Of The World”.
Considering that the Phillipines one was released by Festival Records Australia, it was probably released in Australia as well.
 
I think only Philippines, but maybe a fan from down under could verify that please. I think the Filipino people were even more fanatical about Carpenters than than Japan. Japan being a more affluent country, out dozens of compilations there, a few extra singles, and live album. Theur fans could afford to buy them there. The Philippines being a poorer country, would be a more singles oriented market, hence the huge amount of 45’s made and released only for their country. Most probably couldn’t afford to buy a whole album. There are a quite a few that we will probably never see. I’m sure the pressings were small, maybe a few thousand at most, of each one. I just lucked out getting the ASFY copy last month. They are in stereo, poorly made, and only say 45 at the top. No stereo mention at all on the label.
 
They are in stereo, poorly made, and only say 45 at the top.

Would you recommend tracking one down Ken and buying it if the opportunity came up, or is the sound quality poor? I’d love to have this in my collection. A real rarity as far as Carpenters singles goes.
 
Absolutely! I think it’s worth tracking one down, just for the sake of having it in your collection. Mine is very listenable; probably listened to a 100 times before I did is all. I think it’s not pressed on regular vinyl either. It sounds like those styrene promo singles from the 70’s. The sound quality fades on them after being played a few times. The play back is very bright. I’m still really glad I bought it! Fun to hear the album version of TOTW on the flip side.
 
Absolutely! I think it’s worth tracking one down, just for the sake of having it in your collection. Mine is very listenable; probably listened to a 100 times before I did is all. I think it’s not pressed on regular vinyl either. It sounds like those styrene promo singles from the 70’s. The sound quality fades on them after being played a few times. The play back is very bright. I’m still really glad I bought it! Fun to hear the album version of TOTW on the flip side.
You also have to remember that Festival was probably using masters that were a couple analog generations away from the original US masters. And Festival might’ve introduced an additional generation themselves if they just copied it from the album master they had, so some of the audio quality is probably from that. As far as I know, digital masters were not in wide circulation in the 70’s—-and it was probably cheaper to use analog.
 
I think only Philippines, but maybe a fan from down under could verify that please. I think the Filipino people were even more fanatical about Carpenters than than Japan. Japan being a more affluent country, out dozens of compilations there, a few extra singles, and live album. Theur fans could afford to buy them there. The Philippines being a poorer country, would be a more singles oriented market, hence the huge amount of 45’s made and released only for their country. Most probably couldn’t afford to buy a whole album. There are a quite a few that we will probably never see. I’m sure the pressings were small, maybe a few thousand at most, of each one. I just lucked out getting the ASFY copy last month. They are in stereo, poorly made, and only say 45 at the top. No stereo mention at all on the label.
That explains seeing the white label with the A&M logo 45 of “Happy” I saw in Mexico as a kid. I was confused for years wondering if that was a single or not. I know Mexico had exclusive singles like This Masquerade, it’s still played on oldies stations there.

My aunt had a 45 of Happy and the B-Side was the same song. If Happy was truly a single for a poor country where singles sold more, then it rightfully belongs on Singles 1974-1978.
 
Absolutely! I think it’s worth tracking one down, just for the sake of having it in your collection. Mine is very listenable; probably listened to a 100 times before I did is all. I think it’s not pressed on regular vinyl either. It sounds like those styrene promo singles from the 70’s. The sound quality fades on them after being played a few times. The play back is very bright. I’m still really glad I bought it! Fun to hear the album version of TOTW on the flip side.
So cool to have "A Song For You" single with "Top Of The World" on the B side. 😍
 
I think only Philippines, but maybe a fan from down under could verify that please. I think the Filipino people were even more fanatical about Carpenters than than Japan. Japan being a more affluent country, out dozens of compilations there, a few extra singles, and live album. Theur fans could afford to buy them there. The Philippines being a poorer country, would be a more singles oriented market, hence the huge amount of 45’s made and released only for their country. Most probably couldn’t afford to buy a whole album. There are a quite a few that we will probably never see. I’m sure the pressings were small, maybe a few thousand at most, of each one. I just lucked out getting the ASFY copy last month. They are in stereo, poorly made, and only say 45 at the top. No stereo mention at all on the label.
I’m quite sure that ‘A Song For You’ was never on a single in Australia, neither ‘A’ or ‘B’ side.

‘Top of the World’, on the other hand, was a Number One single quite a while before it was released as a single in the US, (backed with ‘Love Is Surrender’). It entered the Australian charts on February 5th, 1973 A&M AMK 4977, eight months before it reached the US Top 100, and spent 25 weeks on the charts, becoming the 14th biggest hit of the year.

By the way, I didn’t ever hear that Festival Records Australia had anything to do with the Phillipines.
 
I don’t think this would’ve been suited for a single - if doesn’t have a great hook or powerful momentum that Rainy Days and Superstar did. It’s exquisite but it’s more gentle and quiet as opposed to catchy and exciting. Plus the time wouldn’t work.

It’s kinda like Solitaire being a single as opposed to Desperado; the former is very slowly unfolding but given their career momentum at the time it went to a respectable #15, but I think Desperado, which moves at a brisker clip with soaring vocals, would’ve gone higher on the charts because it aurally grabs more.
 
^ Part of an overall modernization of the forum. The old names were apparently too long to display nicely on cell phones.
 
Been hearing the remix of this lately after a long time and it really polishes and opens up the whole thing. Karen’s performance on this is almost unlike anything she’s ever sounded like before or after. So much soul, but as elusive as ever. More than any other version of the song this one is addressing the listener personally, Karen to you.

I know your image of me is what I hope to be..” is of the most chilling statements she ever sang, knowing all we do now.
 
I've always appreciated Richard's decision to leave the alternate lead vocal take in on the last phrase of verse two on the remix as well, where Karen gives it more of the blues-type inflection, making it sound a bit more organic.

I suspect it was not utilized in the original album mix because of Karen's relaxed pronunciation of the word 'cause, making it sound more like "cuth."
 
If that album had come out just a few years later, a single with a length over 4 minutes wouldn't have been a big deal... Elton John released a number of singles that were over four or even five minutes long, and even some "minor" artists were having hits with 4-minute-plus tracks.

That said, I have never thought "A Song For You" would have been such a great single, at least in the US. It is an amazing song, no doubt about that, but it is pretty slow and doesn't have a real "hook" in it like most pop singles do. I just have a feeling programmers might have been soft on it.

Of course, programmers jumped all over "You Light Up My Life," which is even slower, so what do I know, I guess.
 
If definitely got some airplay on AM Top 40 playlists back in ‘72. And for good reason. It’s in my all-time Top 5 of favorite Carpenters tracks. The intimacy of Karen’s voice and the way it’s recorded and mixed make it sound like she’s sitting right next to you.
 
It wouldn’t have been suited for Top 40, it’s too languid, and as said before, just doesn’t have the hook needed. It transcends the album in terms of quality and it’s place in pop history, but fit best at the time on an intimate setting for an LP, not, say, a car radio. Eons better than It’s Going to TST as both a song and recording, but the latter was still more suitable for airplay. If they “goofed” in 1972 it was not putting out Wont Last a Day instead.
 
Yeah, I agree. As much as I love the song and the record, it doesn’t scream ‘hit’ like ‘Hurting Each Other’ or ‘Goodbye To Love’ do.
 
It wouldn’t have been suited for Top 40, it’s too languid, and as said before, just doesn’t have the hook needed. It transcends the album in terms of quality and it’s place in pop history, but fit best at the time on an intimate setting for an LP, not, say, a car radio. Eons better than It’s Going to TST as both a song and recording, but the latter was still more suitable for airplay. If they “goofed” in 1972 it was not putting out Wont Last a Day instead.
Well it did get a 45 release in the Oceania regions.
 
Easily one of the most important and significant Carpenters' songs in their entire catalog (imho).
The brilliant bookending for the Song For You album (complete song beginning side one, the Reprise concluding the album).
The arrangement is awesome. The lead vocals, awesome. Background vocals, awesome.
It got great exposure when the greater-public heard it in the closing of the highly-rated 1989 CBS-TV Movie.
 
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