Week #34: "Carpenter/Bettis", Pt. III

[Chris May]

This week's poll features part 3 of our songwriters series thread dedicated to Richard Carpenter and John Bettis.

Please vote for your favorite song and tell us why you picked it. -Chris

 

[Dave]

"Those Good Old Dreams" is what I voted for here, as my favorite; it has a neat "country groove" to it... Just seems to gently come "cropping out" at you...

"Sandy", I think is a close second; had it on a '45', once, and I enjoy the neat flute "passages" that you hear coming from it...


Dave

 

[Mark-T]

"I Need to Be in Love"- haunting and so personal...

 

[jfiedler17]

This one was a no-brainer for me: "I Need to Be in Love." One of the most beautiful ballads I've ever heard - by any artist. The lyric is superb, and the melody even better. I really have to teach myself this one on piano one of these days.

Jeff F.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

This was probably the hardest to vote on, there are great lyrics here to these songs.

I ultimately voted for "I Need to Be in Love"

However these songs are equally as great lyrically & production wise
"At the End of a Song" (I can play this on the piano-song means alot to me for this reason)
"Look To Your Dreams" (Excellent lyrics on this so fitting in todays crazy world we live in)

 

[Jeff]

GOODBYE and I LOVE YOU gets my vote. Here again K's lower register, the arrangement and harmonies rope me in at every listen.

Jeff

 

[Murray]

There are many excellent songs in this group, but I had to vote for "I Need To Be In Love". Not only is it my favorite Carpenters song, the desire to play it myself is the reason I learned to play the piano.

 

[aaflyer98]

Wow...this was a very tough one for me, since I like this time period of the Carpenters very very much. I voted for "At The End Of A Song". I think that song is stunning. The writing is amazing on this one and it's tailor made for Karen. I wish Karen had finished recording the background vocals on this one instead of the choir, but, it's still a great song. A very close 'second place' would go to "I Need To Be In Love" and "Those Good Old Dreams". Love those two songs a lot!

 

[enigma]

I went with I'm Caoght Between A Goodbye And I Love You I just love everything about this song from Karens voice to Richards arrangements. It did have a bit of competition but won out relatively easily I never tire of this song!

 

[Bruno]

Love me for what I am.

Bruno
in a hurry

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I agree with Bruno. "Love Me For What I Am" has an amazing lyric, great lead vocal, and the backgrounds are just incredible - especially at the end ("...so let me gooooooooo"). Gosh, I love that...LOL!

Ed

 

[bluebird1111]

Love Me For What I Am

Universal lyric. Excellent production values. Luscious vocal.

Mark

 

[Chris May]

Although not my favorite recording in the bunch, I picked "I Need To Be In Love" for it's incredible lyric and catchy melody. I have always been fond of "Look To Your Dreams" and "At The End of a Song" as the runners up. -Chris

 

[nc-mediafan]

Another tough choice! Although I adore "Love Me For What I Am" (my favorite cut on Horizon), I had to choose "Sandy". The orchestration is great and Karen's vocal glides gently above the melody.

 

[thestitch]

I just HAD to go with "Look to Your Dreams", only because it has such personal meaning to me. The lyrics are just as pertinent and meaningful today as the day it was written. There are so many others in this list that are so perfect, that it's even harder to come up with a second choice. I've always been fond of "Sailing on the Tide", too. "I Need to Be in Love" is so appropriate for both Richard and Karen's lives. "At the End of a Song" is the same.

Marilyn,
who thinks this gets harder every week!!