What song of theirs did you not fancy one bit and now it is your FAVORITE song?

cam89

Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,

What song of theirs did you not fancy one bit and now it is your FAVORITE song?

For me, in the summer of 1988, I bought the twin tape (2 albums on one cassette) of the Carpenters, The Singles, 1969-1973 AND The Singles 1974-1978...so at this point, I had heard the whole Singles 69-73 by heart but on an 8-Track and even though it was great, the sound quality was not as great until I heard the cassette version and was BLOWN away at the sound and clarity....And then I listened the second Singles album day in and day out. Except I could NOT stand the song Solitaire....I just thought it was BORING BORING BORING....it just dragged on...A second song I disliked as well was All You Get From Love Is a Love Song....didn't do anything for me at all...

Skip years later and I gave SOLITAIRE a good listen and then began to appreciate her vocals as being soooo sublime, with her being a masterful vocalist at getting the best out of her crystalline vocals...it IS a gorgeous song, very range-y but shows it off to great advantage....and for me, I think it is the BEST vocal she ever laid down (with Ave Maria, Trying To Get The Feeling Again)....

All You Get From Love Is a Love Song also grew on me...and it is irresistible ear candy! The vocals and background vocals...the instruments...just stunning....

My thoughts,
Cameron
 
It took me a long time to think through this one. I would have to say, If We Try, because the first time I heard it I was playing on a kiddie type system with no fidelity. On it, Karen sounded strained, with horns too loud and weak background voices (missing depth Richard created) accompanied by a tonight show type band. On a nicer system it sounded better but I still had reservations. Then, when I bought a decent surround system with costly speakers, the sound changed. I finally heard the clever harmonies with the background voice stacks, the horns more subdued, since now I could hear more harmonics and not just percussion, and the band sounded full with strength, conviction, and skill. And, Karen no longer sounded strained but expressive and more mature. She always sounded older and aware than her age, it was just more descriptive in places. Now, I like it and it fits on my personal charts with Guess I Just Lost My Head and I Believe You.
 
For me i didn't like the song one love because i thaught that it was too draggy at first but i gave it a chance and now i can't stop listening to it. There's just something about Karen's voice in this track that catches my ear.
 
I know you're asking for one, but I'll boil it down to three...Sing, Rainbow Connection, Ordinary Fool. Not in my top five of their songs but I have since done a one-eighty regarding them. Genius in the arranging (for example; the toy piano on Rainbow Connection) and Karen's vocals just keep revealing some beautiful little nuance or inflection that I didn't know was there at first.
 
For me it was Goodbye To Love. I was one of those OMG people. What are they doing, or thinking? That guitar solo is so not them! Then they released it as a single. Hearing it on the AM radio, and with my all time favorite picture on the single sleeve, I was won over. Now it’s my all time favorite song by anyone.
 
I did not like I can dream cant eye, thought was so out of place and old fashioned m however has grown on me over the years and really do think the vocals and production are Sublime
 
I'm not a good candidate for responding to this post, because I have no grand conversion stories. I interpret "do not fancy one bit" to mean "no redeeming features, really dislike." For me, those are the songs that I skip when listening to a Carpenters record (such as Drusilla Penny, Love Me for What I Am, Gufus, Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Can't Smile without You, Strength of a Women). And there has never been a case where a song on my skip list became a favorite. On the other hand, there are songs I was lukewarm about that I've grown to appreciate more. This includes Calling Occupants and Don't Cry for Me Argentina.
 
Songs that are skipped are unlikely to ever become a favorite.
 
I remember really disliking When It’s Gone on first hearing the 1981 album, thinking it was boring beyond belief compared to some of the fun, summery tracks on side A. Now I’m older, it’s become a firm favourite thanks to Richard’s exquisite arrangement and Karen’s haunting, wistful reading of the song. Listen to it with a good pair of headphones and it’s like being a kid in a candy store; it’s a delicious, sublime assault on the ears, so much so that it’s difficult to know what to focus on once it gets into its stride. There’s so much going on in that track it’s unreal. A stunning jewel in Made In America’s crown.
 
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Being oh, so familiar with the original version of "Still Crazy After All These Years", and not being a fan of it :hide:, I avoided listening to Karen's solo recording. How dumb was I?! I should have known the greatest voice of her generation (all-time?) could make a song I "didn't fancy one bit" stellar. As others have mentioned, her reading of "It's all gonna fade..." Shiver.
 
Songs that are skipped are unlikely to ever become a favorite.
Yes, of course. What I should have said is, "songs that I tend to skip after having listen to them a number of times." I will also go back to songs after a long period of time, and give them a shot again. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I clicked on a YouTube video for Can't Smile Without.
 
For me it has always been "Close To You" and "We've Only Just Begun". Growing up, I never cared for either one of these monster hits too much, but now I'm finally starting to enjoy them just a little more. I know, I know....what took me so long?
 
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