What Carpenters' albums/songs are almost perfect to you if it weren't for small details?

[Mark-T]

I wish there were 2 versions. I like the existing version, but would also love a version with only K&R.

What i wish I’d said.
Regardless, the song is still mesmerizing almost 50 years later.

 

[JohnFB]

What a superb concept - Carpenters on BBC in 1971 opening the concert with their cover of the Beatles' rocking tune "Help!" - in theory a great opener, more than likely getting immediate attention and rousing the audience and ingratiating themselves to Brits in the viewing public - and then the music starts and Karen begins to sing - horrors! It's not live! Her voice - where is it & what is that sound we hear? It sounds as if she singing through a large metal culvert under some busy motorway. The same with the backup vocals. Why? They should have saved themselves the trouble and just played the over-produced track from the record as a warmup for the crowd. How unfortunate, how inauthentic...With their awesome talent one would have expected better, realism, kicking ass on a live performance...WTF! I wonder how Karen Carpenter would have sung this song...

 

[Jack A.]

"All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" is a great tune, but I've personally never been a fan of the wrench-turning sound that plays throughout most of the song. I get that it adds to the percussiveness of the recording, but did it have to be a wrench?

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

"All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" is a great tune, but I've personally never been a fan of the wrench-turning sound that plays throughout most of the song. I get that it adds to the percussiveness of the recording, but did it have to be a wrench?

It's not a wrench...LOL! It's a guiro. A stick is dragged up and down the body of the guiro to create the sound you dislike. I don't recall hearing it after that first verse myself. Is it still there after the first verse?

Ed

 

[Jack A.]

It's not a wrench...LOL! It's a guiro. A stick is dragged up and down the body of the guiro to create the sound you dislike. I don't recall hearing it after that first verse myself. Is it still there after the first verse?

Ed

I didn’t realize that was an actual instrument making that sound After looking up what a guiro looks like, I can hear how that sound probably works. To me, it sounded like the “ratcheting” sound a wrench makes, and my mind is kind of being blown that all this time I’ve thought there was someone standing in the studio ratcheting one into the mic.

I think I can still barely hear it in the second verse, but I actually can’t tell for sure.

 

[newvillefan]

It's not a wrench...LOL! It's a guiro. A stick is dragged up and down the body of the guiro to create the sound you dislike.

Here’s what Ed is talking about - you can see it being played in the opening seconds of the promo video.

 

[Someday]

I always liked that music video - it feels contemporary and so far away from the horror cheese of the TV specials. Makes Carpenters look cool

 

[Jack A.]

Here’s what Ed is talking about - you can see it being played in the opening seconds of the promo video.

Interesting. Thanks for enlightening me.

(Insert “The More You Know” GIF here)

 

[kprather]

Here’s what Ed is talking about - you can see it being played in the opening seconds of the promo video.

Here's another example, Karen trying to teach Carol Burnett how to play it, with predictable results. Fast forward to 3:20.

 

[Brendon McMahon]

Here's another example, Karen trying to teach Carol Burnett how to play it, with predictable results. Fast forward to 3:20.

Love the comedic timing of Karen shining through in this excerpt... would have been interesting to see more of a skit with Karen and Carol

 

[1969]

I always liked that music video - it feels contemporary and so far away from the horror cheese of the TV specials. Makes Carpenters look cool

A plus is they were wearing regular clothes, nothing fancy. The only thing that would've made it even better is if Karen were drumming, too.

 

[newvillefan]

I always liked that music video - it feels contemporary and so far away from the horror cheese of the TV specials. Makes Carpenters look cool

A plus is they were wearing regular clothes, nothing fancy. The only thing that would've made it even better is if Karen were drumming, too.

I’ve always loved it. Probably my favourite of all the official promos they did. Karen looks well, they’re dressed casually, look relaxed and it’s like we’re in the studio with them as if they’re doing a live take. To top it all off, it’s just a fantastic summer tune and one of my all time favourite songs. I’d love to know who directed this video compared to the horrors of the early 70s and early 80s. Most of the time their promos were not good…either their general dress sense was terrible or Karen looked terrible.

As an aside on this topic - when I was 16 I had a dream about Karen. She came to meet me in the local park where I’d spent all my childhood years. She looked exactly like she does in this video, right down to the rainbow on her t-shirt. She held my hand and we walked through the park. I can still vividly remember it as though it was yesterday, even though it’s over three decades later. It was probably at the end of another day that I’d had ‘Their Greatest Hits’ VHS on endless repeat at home, driving my parents and younger siblings mad

 

[newvillefan]

Love the comedic timing of Karen shining through in this excerpt... would have been interesting to see more of a skit with Karen and Carol

I have to say, I never liked Carol Burnett's comedic style. The humour, especially in that clip with Richard and Karen, is hammy and forced and she just isn't funny...to me anyway. Maybe that’s just the difference between US and UK humour, especially at the time.

I will though say I absolutely loved this tribute she did to her best friend Julie Andrews. Very moving. You can tell they are very close friends.

 

[LongAgo]

That long goodbyeeeeeee is pretty much what I said to this recording way back when...what a freakin' mess this is with Karen moving seemingly at random in and out of multiple voice tracks - here she's singing by herself, there she's singing with Karen No.2, then by herself, then with what sounds like 2 other Karen's, then back to her solo self, etc., etc...this is simply totally artificial and totally unlistenable...what the hell was she thinking going along with this assault on good taste and good music? Apparently, there were two sides to Karen Carpenter - the woman with the spectacular voice and the woman who insisted on sabotaging that voice.

JohnFB, You should know by now Karen did not make those decisions and was 99% of the time over ridden any time she questioned something. Karen deferred to the arranger/producer. That was his job. He was in charge. He was the genius.

 

[LongAgo]

Karen and Richard didn't sing any of the backing vocals on this track. The four parts were sung by studio vocalists Gene Merlino, Jerry Whitman, Sue Allen and Allan Davies.

And THAT killed it for me. Beautiful song, arrangement, and perfect lead vocal though.