Dave
Well-Known Member
Yes, Valentine's Day's coming & we're observing the anniversary of Karen's passing...
So, who's "We've Only Just Begun" (Paul Williams, Roger Nichols) is YOUR "#1"????
Andy Williams' version is my fav', by far... It's from his album Love Story (the only original album issued on CD not included in Collectibles 2-fer reissue program) I like how it was included on the 3-CD Andy Williams Sings Songs Of Love... It starts off with an exuberant drum beat & catchy "ooooohhhh" of a chorus, and augmented with some cool saxophone playing & a percussive break between each refrain; Artie Butler surely must get a bounty of credit for that clever arrangement! (What I consider "Definitive, 1st Place"!)
Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & The Raiders does a sweet take on it, on his Silverbird, coming on almost immediately, as the second song right after the kick-off title track... Also arranged by Artie Butler... (Oh, man, how he must love it!) (My Pick for "2nd Place"!)
I like the soulful treatment Billy Eckstein gives his version... Quite unique & Artie Butler arranged his take on it, too... (Shaking thunder from EVERYONE who'd dun it, so far!) ("3rd Place"!)
Carpenters, as shop-worn as it is, I do still love (as I did buy a '45' of it b/w "For All We Know"--my first 'Carps record...) so it ranks 4th! (Although it ranks w/ "Yesterday Once More", as my definitive favorite Carpenters song...)
Paul Williams seems so wishy-washy, (yes, it's a DEMO!) & Jerry Vale, I thought was just going through the motions (especially w/ that annoying chorus, even if the background singers might have been the same ones hired behind Walter Wanderley's When It Was Done & Jimi Hendrix's Midnight Lightning)
Well, Andy Williams' wife Claudine Longet seems to be a version I have a soft spot for... Oooohhhh's & Aaaaaahhhh's by Nick DeCaro (he arranged hers) & guitar-work in the right spots! (I guess she makes "FIFTH"!!!!)
So what version--WHO'S?--is what turns you on most?
Dave
So, who's "We've Only Just Begun" (Paul Williams, Roger Nichols) is YOUR "#1"????
Andy Williams' version is my fav', by far... It's from his album Love Story (the only original album issued on CD not included in Collectibles 2-fer reissue program) I like how it was included on the 3-CD Andy Williams Sings Songs Of Love... It starts off with an exuberant drum beat & catchy "ooooohhhh" of a chorus, and augmented with some cool saxophone playing & a percussive break between each refrain; Artie Butler surely must get a bounty of credit for that clever arrangement! (What I consider "Definitive, 1st Place"!)
Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & The Raiders does a sweet take on it, on his Silverbird, coming on almost immediately, as the second song right after the kick-off title track... Also arranged by Artie Butler... (Oh, man, how he must love it!) (My Pick for "2nd Place"!)
I like the soulful treatment Billy Eckstein gives his version... Quite unique & Artie Butler arranged his take on it, too... (Shaking thunder from EVERYONE who'd dun it, so far!) ("3rd Place"!)
Carpenters, as shop-worn as it is, I do still love (as I did buy a '45' of it b/w "For All We Know"--my first 'Carps record...) so it ranks 4th! (Although it ranks w/ "Yesterday Once More", as my definitive favorite Carpenters song...)
Paul Williams seems so wishy-washy, (yes, it's a DEMO!) & Jerry Vale, I thought was just going through the motions (especially w/ that annoying chorus, even if the background singers might have been the same ones hired behind Walter Wanderley's When It Was Done & Jimi Hendrix's Midnight Lightning)
Well, Andy Williams' wife Claudine Longet seems to be a version I have a soft spot for... Oooohhhh's & Aaaaaahhhh's by Nick DeCaro (he arranged hers) & guitar-work in the right spots! (I guess she makes "FIFTH"!!!!)
So what version--WHO'S?--is what turns you on most?
Dave