TV-Specials - Soundtrack albums

Which TV-Special would have made the best album?

  • Very First Television Special

    Votes: 3 21.4%
  • Space Encounters

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • Music, Music, Music

    Votes: 10 71.4%

  • Total voters
    14

Simon KC1950

Well-Known Member
I thought this would be interesting and would have been a welcome edition to my collection ! I'm not too sure how common it was for musicians TV Specials to have an accompanying soundtrack LP not being born until 2000, when TV Specials like that became a thing of the past. I thought of this from being a fan of Nancy Sinatra; her TV Special from 1967 "Movin' With Nancy" was a huge success and an album came out with the same name, including all the songs from the special and the performances from her guests Lee Hazelwood, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis jr. and of course Frank Sinatra. It's great (I'd recommend you watch it on YouTube). So I was wondering why the Carpenters never released a sound track album, especially considering how successful their first was, not to mention the quality of the material from the 5th. So here's how they could have looked:

"The Carpenters Very First TV Special"

Side One:
1. We've Only Just Begun - short intro
2. Top Of The World
3. These Are The Jokes Folks
4. Close To You - Spike Jones style
5. Karen Carpenter Drum Solo:
Strike Up The Band/ S'Wonderful/Fascinatin' Rhythm

Side Two
6. I Can Dream Can't I - short interlude
7. Poems, Prayers and Promises - John Denver
8. Superstar/Rainy Days And Mondays
9. Tab Picker - Richard & John Denver
10. Coming Through The Rye / Good Vibrations - Karen with John Denver
11. Piano solo/comedy piano - Richard with Victor Borge
12. Gonna Cut Away - Karen with John Denver
13. Carpenters Hit Medley:
Sing / Close To You / For All We Know / Ticket To Ride / Only Yesterday / I Won't Last A Day Without You / Goodbye To Love


"The Carpenters: Space Encounters"

Side One:
1. Sweet Sweet Smile
2. Fun, Fun, Fun
3. Dancing In The Streets
4. Just The Way You Are - John Davidson
5. Goofus
6. Close Encounters / Star Wars

Side Two:
7. Little Girl Blue
8. Piano Picker
9. Man Smart, Woman Smarter - Karen with Susanne Sommers
10. Medley:
Dance In The Old Fashioned Way / Boogie Nights / I Could Have Danced All Night
11. Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft


"Music, Music, Music"

Side One:
1. A Song For You - short intro
2. Without A Song
3. I Got Rhythm
4. Ain't Misbehavin' - Ella Fitzgerald
5. Dizzy Fingers
6. You'll Never Know - John Davison (Or RCs recording)

Side Two:
7. Karen & Ella Medley
8. Richard Piano Solo
9. When I Fall In Love
10. You're Just In Love
11. How High The Moon - Ella Fitzgerald
12. Medley:
Sing / Knowing When To Leave / Make It Easy On Yourself / Someday / We've Only Just Begun

Thoughts?
 
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I like all of them, so it was difficult to decide. Richard has released some these on projects since then, (As Time Goes By and The Essential Collection) and Dance In the Old Fashioned Way and Man Smart Women Smarter are the ones still remaining that I would like to have. I believe copyrights were the issue.
 
You might as well say that both Christmas Portrait and An Old-Fashioned Christmas were part-soundtrack/part-studio album, as many songs from both albums originally appeared on The Carpenters At Christmas & Carpenters Christmas Portrait and were recorded at the same time. Plus Christmas Portrait (LP) had Carol of the Bells which seems to have been recorded for the 1974 Perry Como Special, and the slow version of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

The 1978 Christmas Portrait special had these songs:

Christmas Waltz (Christmas Portrait LP)
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (CP LP)
Jingle Bells (CP LP)
Big Brothers/Little Sisters (unreleased Carpenters/McNichols duet)
Merry Christmas Darling (CPLP)
Christmas In Killarney (unreleased, Gene Kelly lead)
The Nutcracker Suite (An Old Fashioned Christmas LP)
Toyland (unreleased Richard Carpenter lead)
Angel In The Christmas Play (unreleased Karen/Engel/McNichol lead)
Adeste Fideles (unreleased)
Stille Nacht (unreleased)
Fum Fum Fum (unreleased)
Ave Maria (CP LP)

The 1977 Carpenters At Christmas had these songs:
Sleigh Ride (CP LP)
Winter Wonderland/Silver Bells/White Christmas (edited version of CP LP version)
It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well Little Children (CP LP)
Christmas Song (Chestnutes Roasting On An Open Fire) (CP LP also issued as a 45 in support of the TV special)
Kuklapolitan Medley
Christ Is Born (CP LP)
O Holy Night (AOFC LP, but different piano on LP from TV version)

In total, that's 10 tracks from the Christmas Portrait LP and 2 tracks from An Old-Fashioned Christmas, just on the 2 Carpenters specials.
 
^^^
While it would be all nice to have video and the rest of the audio, it doesn't seem like that is going to happen. Too many companies at the table waiting for their cut. It would end up losing money. Unless Richard does this on his own dime. Most of these audio performances have been cherry picked already. But hey, I'm in. Nothing more I'd like than to have this in my "released" library.
 
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