Unreleased Carpenters Tracks?

[karencarpenterfans]

According to a Japanese "Mook," this is the list of songs that were recorded, but unreleased, or were planned to be have been recorded, but never were (some have been released since). This magazine was seemingly authorized (to an extent) by Richard, but I would love to know if anyone knows if this list has any validity to it. The songs that have surfaced or been released in some capacity are bolded. I will have to make a playlist of this list of songs if I can find any of the originals!

Don't Leave Me (?)
Sebastian (?)
I Believe In You (?)
Strike Up The Band (?)
Sunday Afternoon (?)
Just Somebody (?)
Why Don't They Understand (?)

And When He Smiles (71)

Hurting (75)
Try To Win A Friend (75)
Where Is Love (75)
Love Is Coming Back (75)

I Can't Stay Mad At You (77)
Real Love (77)
Come And Be Kind (77)
Savin' It Up For the Minute (77)
Runaway (77)
Second Thoughts (77)
Stay Young (77)
I Can't Smile (77)
I Finally Got It Right This Time (77)
We Won't Be Back Tomorrow (77)


Just Fall In Love (78)
Love Song (78)
Magic in the Music (78)

Leave Yesterday Behind (79)
Lately (79)
What Are You Doin' For Love (79)
Thank You For The Music (79) - only performance has surfaced
I'll Be Seeing You (79)
Rainbows In Your Eyes (79)
Auld Lang Syne (79)
I Don't Need You (79)
Better World (79)
Funny Faces (79)
All The Way (79)
Mad (79)
Love Me Like The First Time (79)
Yours Sincerely (79)

Peter Pan Moon (80)
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (80)
I Don't Want My Arms Around You (80)
Sweet Talkin' Guy (80)
Play A Simple Melody (80)
You Made Me Feel Love (80)
You're Just In Love (80)

All Good Things I Remember (81)
All My Life (81)
Rainbow Connection (81)
Once In A Lifetime (81)

Stop Me (82)
Love You Through & Through (82)
Fool Me (RC Vocal, 82)
Fallin For Love (82)
Some Guys Have All the Luck (82)

How High The Moon (83)
Slaughter on 10th Ave. (83)
Ain't Misbehavin' (83)
Dizzy Fingers (83)
A Wedding Prayer (83)
Lord's Prayer (83)
Love As Old As The Heart (RC Vocal, 83)
You'll Never Know (83)

 

[tomswift2002]

And When He Smiles—-the version released came from the mono BBC 1971 Concert video master, with some added strings in 1999 to stereoize the track.. According to Richard’s liner notes for As Time Goes By, there does exist a rhythm track done in studio, however, Karen was playing drums on that track, so there is no work lead vocal or any studio vocals for the song (although, with today’s technology he could possibly extract Karen’s voice from the 2-inch quad videotape mono audio to have on a separate track and try to synch it up or just redo the whole backing track).

You’ll Never Know has unofficially surfaced on YouTube.

 

[newvillefan]

Stop Me (82)
Love You Through & Through (82)
Fool Me (RC Vocal, 82)
Fallin For Love (82)
Some Guys Have All the Luck (82)

I came across this track today, sung by Carpenters tribute singer Toni Lee, who mentioned in an interview that it was one of the last things Richard and Karen worked on in 1982. Seems the title checks out. Very pretty song that I could imagine Karen singing, but very much in the same vein as ‘Now’ and ‘You’re Enough’ - another schmaltzy, forgettable track that they seemed intent on doing that would have made zero impact on the charts in 1982 had they released it.

 

[Another Son]

'I Finally Got it Right This Time' is a title on lists of unfinished or unreleased Carpenters songs, reportedly partially recorded in 1977 or 1978.

Here's a version by B. J. Thomas, another artist who I like. This would have been great as a Carpenters song and would have suited Karen's voice. The chorus would also have been perfect for those trademark Carpenters harmonies.

 

[Without A Song]

In 1982 the Carpenters' fan club newsletter said the album Karen and Richard planned to record after "Made In America" would feature a couple of songs with Richard singing lead. I've always wondered about the recording session where "Now" and "You're Enough" were recorded. I seem to recall reading that 4 songs were worked on during that session. Were the other two songs ones where Richard sang lead? If so, what are their titles?

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I came across this track today, sung by Carpenters tribute singer Toni Lee, who mentioned in an interview that it was one of the last things Richard and Karen worked on in 1982. Seems the title checks out. Very pretty song that I could imagine Karen singing, but very much in the same vein as ‘Now’ and ‘You’re Enough’ - another schmaltzy, forgettable track that they seemed intent on doing that would have made zero impact on the charts in 1982 had they released it.

I agree with your assessment. I can imagine this awash in elevator strings and the kind of overproduction which had long become Richard's stock and trade. Both of them were lost at sea from a commercial standpoint. "Made in America" made that point quite clear and they were apparently content to give the public more of the same on the proper follow-up they'd have made had Karen lived.

Ed

 

[Nemily]

Very pretty song that I could imagine Karen singing, but very much in the same vein as ‘Now’ and ‘You’re Enough’ - another schmaltzy, forgettable track that they seemed intent on doing that would have made zero impact on the charts in 1982 had they released it.

Hey ! I like their schmaltzy 🤷‍♀️

I agree with your assessment. I can imagine this awash in elevator strings and the kind of overproduction which had long become Richard's stock and trade. Both of them were lost at sea from a commercial standpoint. "Made in America" made that point quite clear and they were apparently content to give the public more of the same on the proper follow-up they'd have made had Karen lived.

Ed

Maybe they weren’t lost so much, consider this….maybe it was more about the evolution of their genre. I see K&R as trailblazers who had set a new path and were at the right place in the right time. Very few artists have put together the astonishing string of quality and success they had from 1970 to 1975.

The C’s transition in the late 70’s from when they were Pop’s reign supreme act to later 70's when they were Adult Contemporary with a lapse in sales, was I'm sure an unsettling time for them.

A possible reason IMO for the transition could be partly due to the time-period. Enter Generation X. Maybe commercial success happens when an artist is relatable/popular at a given time-period with a given audience.

I think there was absolutely a place for them to thrive in the genre of Adult Contemporary, standards and/or Variety, had they instead had the presence of moment from 1976 to 1978 to embrace any of those markets or if they had remained true to their original blueprint (although no denying they did hit the target directly with Christmas Portrait).

Despite a weak track or two (I'll take em' all), I know everyone agrees that K&C’s legacy remained resilient. Their faithful's are strong in numbers, generation after generation supporting that Carpenters are in fact, the ‘classiest band to ever grace the plant’ and Karen’s is the greatest recorded voice we will ever hear.

 

[3Favorites]

Vikki Carr has a version of "I Finally Got It Right This Time. It was suppose to be on what would have been her last English language album. It was not released in the 1970's, but finally got a release on the CD "Love Again." That CD also includes the entire "lost" album and a lot of other bonus songs.

I love the song as Vikki does it. Would like to hear the Carpenters version too.