Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
Music Week UK
April 05, 1975
April 05, 1975
🎶 Album Sides THE ALBUM SIDES [Poll]: "HORIZON" (SP-4530)
- Thread starter Chris May
- Start date
JohnFB
She was born to belong to the lines of a song...
Side 1 - really like 3 songs here - like only 1 a lot on side 2 - Karen's vocal during the first 60 seconds (the opening 2 verses) of "Only Yesterday" is truly compelling - i play this in a loop sometimes ...this is right up there with her best - "
Lynda
Well-Known Member
The song that made it easy for me to choose Side 1 over Side 2 is "Solitaire". I've never been able to warm up to Solitaire. It makes me sleepy and impatient to the point that I change the track immediately when it comes on (unless it's playing in the background and I'm not consciously aware it's on).
JohnFB
She was born to belong to the lines of a song...
Had to run & couldn't finish this post before...the 3 songs on side 1 I like are ONLY YESTERDAY, DESPERADO & I CAN DREAM..., and on side 2 SOLITAIRE...DESPERADO AND SOLITAIRE salvage this album because they are both among Karen's finest vocal performances, showing that she could sing with power in addition to her usual senuous beauty...
This would put Desperado on two sides, but Two Sides is on VOICE OF THE HEART. Confused yet - me too!
Doh!
JohnFB
She was born to belong to the lines of a song...
You mean you don't have the album reissue with Desperado on both sides? It's "back" by popular demand.
Not sure how or when I fell into the habit of using the ellipsis in place of periods, but it sometimes gets confusing...
Cuyler
Bright colored pinwheels go 'round in my head.
I'm shocked that I voted with the majority, side two.
Side one should have been a slam dunk for me because of "Only Yesterday." But side one is a little disjointed to me. It starts off strong, slows down with a nice cover, speeds back up, then slows down again. As a whole, I don't think it's as strong as side two, which is full of soft ballads (and one nice pep-in-your-step Peluso/Bettis original) and feels generally more cohesive to me. Each track flows nicely from one to the next. So, as a whole, although I love the whole album from start to finish, I voted for side two because of its cohesiveness.
Even though "Happy" is maybe the "different" song on side two, I've never felt that it interrupted the flow. In fact, I think if "Happy" and "Desperado" were switched (in order to have an upbeat side one and a slow, piano-heavy side two), that would have actually made side one a little too manic and side two a little too sleepy.
Side one should have been a slam dunk for me because of "Only Yesterday." But side one is a little disjointed to me. It starts off strong, slows down with a nice cover, speeds back up, then slows down again. As a whole, I don't think it's as strong as side two, which is full of soft ballads (and one nice pep-in-your-step Peluso/Bettis original) and feels generally more cohesive to me. Each track flows nicely from one to the next. So, as a whole, although I love the whole album from start to finish, I voted for side two because of its cohesiveness.
Even though "Happy" is maybe the "different" song on side two, I've never felt that it interrupted the flow. In fact, I think if "Happy" and "Desperado" were switched (in order to have an upbeat side one and a slow, piano-heavy side two), that would have actually made side one a little too manic and side two a little too sleepy.
Cuyler
Bright colored pinwheels go 'round in my head.
Upon further reflection, the one song that does not fit on this album (for me) is "I Can Dream, Can't I." Fans with a Horizon LP will notice that the personnel is dramatically different only on this one track, and it ended side one on such a low note. I can imagine this is an unpopular opinion, but this song is one that I sometimes skip when it comes on.
Cuyler
Bright colored pinwheels go 'round in my head.
Of course, multiple times. But personally, I'm not too sure how I feel about Joe Mondragon, Alvin Stoller, Bob Bain, Pete Jolly, and Frank Flynn on instruments and Sue Allen, Allan Davies, Gene Merlino, and Jerry Whitman on background vocals. For all intents and purposes, to me, "I Can Dream, Can't I" is only a Carpenters song in that the lead is sung by Karen and it appeared on a Carpenters album.
Again -- I know my opinion is an unpopular one, but when I listen to the Carpenters, I prefer the Carpenters.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
^^
Richard Carpenter:
"I am particularly fond of I Can Dream Can’t I which features a beautiful arrangement by veteran Billy May, done in authentic ‘40s style."
Source:
Richard Carpenter:
"I am particularly fond of I Can Dream Can’t I which features a beautiful arrangement by veteran Billy May, done in authentic ‘40s style."
Source:
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Cuyler
Bright colored pinwheels go 'round in my head.
Could you add a source to your citation? I have no doubts that Richard said this quote, but it's always best practice to cite sources for quotations.
I'm listening to the quad mix now. I like the little bits on the piano--those parts are hair-raising, for sure. The guitar in the right channel is a little clunky, since it just strums once per beat.
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
I think that’s from the Japanese Treasures CD. I don’t have it near me right now to check.
I Can Dream fits the drifting, languid feel of the album. Karen’s Horizon vocals are dreamy and her vocal chords more relaxed than ever which makes the song perfect for inclusion here.
The album isn’t notable for variety and some of the tracklisting should’ve been rearranged if you listen to it straight through, but the sameness in sound and texture (no matter what order) is fascinating, cohesive, and unifying in a way that their artistic ethos is crystallized when they were at the dividing line between their rise and fall.
The album isn’t notable for variety and some of the tracklisting should’ve been rearranged if you listen to it straight through, but the sameness in sound and texture (no matter what order) is fascinating, cohesive, and unifying in a way that their artistic ethos is crystallized when they were at the dividing line between their rise and fall.
