Best "Carpenters" Single (Poll)

"I Believe You" is another favorite.

 

Many fans prefer the solo version on the Karen Carpenter album. Richard's production is very lavish on the Carps take.

 

I think so, yeah. He was certainly right to do it, no? Great bridge and Karen sings it beautifully.

Ed

 

Karen didn't do I Believe You solo. She did Make Believe It's Your First Time solo. I agree. The solo version is far better. Bob James knew what to do with that tune and Richard took it to the elevator.

Ed

 

Just yesterday I listened to Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition. I'm always impressed by how many hits and deep cuts they have.

Karen was a superb singer and Richard a great arranger. I voted for We've Only Just Begun because it was my first Carpenters favorite.

 

Can't ever go wrong with Richard's lush arrangements and vocal harmonies.

 

He was referring to "Make Believe It's Your First Time".
I edited that post and replaced that song with "I Believe You". Lol

 

@JohnnyQuest changed his post. He put MBIYFT originally. The swine!

 

Told you!

 

Voted Superstar. Just a great arrangement of that song, but 'Calling Occupants' should have been on the list. Last major hit in the UK and rare occasion in their later career that they deviated from very safe MOR and bland material. Up to 1974 they were great.

 

Not always...LOL! Awful tune with equally bad vocal from Karen. She couldn't care less.



Ed

 

Oh, I quite like that one. She sounds like she couldn't care less on There's A Kind Of Hush to me. Very bland performance.

 

That's actually one of my favorite songs from "Made in America".
Love the cheesy 80's synths and drums. Lol

 

So you end you looking like the Rhodes Scholar. LOLOL! I mean...that's terrible...

Ed

 

As if I haven't got enough problems, right?!

 

Voted for "We've Only Just Begun". Karen's vocals (and their vocal harmonies) are truly stellar. I also love Hal Blaine's drums and Joe Osborn's bass.

 

Really?! The harmonies get it over but it's just awful and desperate to me. I can just hear Richard painting by numbers here. He compounded the sin by having the equally unhip Daryl Dragon program synths on it. Karen's vocal is just wretched and she's totally disconnected from it. The vocal doubling on it (the whole thing!) makes her sound like Dot Matrix from "Spaceballs" sans accent.

Really, that whole album is a disaster and my least favorite of their albums by a long shot.

Ed

 

"Superstar" would be my next choice. Karen's vocal, wow. And one of Richard's best arrangements.

 

Agreed. Totally preposterous coming from them but they totally committed, spent a ton of money, and created their largest production ever. How can you not like Karen's vocal here?

Ed

 

One of the few moments they toyed with Rock. Who'd have thought of that tune as a ballad? Inspired move that fits the lyrics perfectly. That ending "think I'm gonna be sad" is brilliant.

Ed

 

Do you know if Richard did the vocal arrangement on "We've Only Just Begun" or was it in Paul Williams/Roger Nicols' composition? I would think it was Richard, but I don't know for sure (and think perhaps you do?)

 

OMG! My sides! Lmao
It's my second favorite album right behind "A Song For You".

 

LOL! Yeah, it was totally Richard. He did them all. He did all the arrangements for everything until "Passage".

Ed

 

Voted for Rainy Days, but Masquerade is my all time favourite

 

The only song I don't like on MIA is the Wedding Song. It's like someone forcibly pouring treacle down your throat!