The Carpenters. Studio/Live/Solo/Selected Compilation Albums Poll.

So what you are saying is you are not generally a fan of 70's pop music because you didn't grow up with it, not that the Carpenter's take on them are bad, right?

 

Please stop making us laugh.

 

What a difference 5 years makes.

I'm 50 and I remember the Carpenters being all over the radio in the early '70s. All their singles.

About the only album that holds water for me nowadays is "A Song For You", and part of that (for me) is nostalgia as my sister played that one a lot in 1973-74.

 

This is not insane at all- read my post above to understand why.

Incidentally, Nat King Cole's Christmas Album is his best-selling album-and "The Christmas Song" is his signature song. Bing Crosby's Christmas album is his best-selling album-and "White Christmas" is his signature song.

 

Being that Christmas songs are only played one month a year (or two months by some misguided radio stations [my opinion!]), and the other songs can be played all year, I side with the argument that the Carpenter's secular sides are more well-known than the Christmas ones.

 

Well, maybe if you'd explained it like that in the first place...

Even so, you pushing the Carpenters Christmas albums as their greatest works doesn't sit well with me. I don't think it's the case at all. And I still say their classic hits are better known than any of the Xmas stuff whether you're 40 or 60.

 

Or cry. It's a toss up.

 

I think he's saying he's not a fan of pop music at all. Hence his total refusal to accept the Carpenters as the great 70s pop act they clearly were and were thought of by most of their fans.

 

Maybe. We obviously appreciate 70's pop music for what it is, and certainly the Carpenters were a part of that.
I guess I'm just trying to understand where he is coming from. Then I can take it or leave it for what it is.

 

At least the debate has resurrected this thread a bit.

 

It has. As long as it remains a friendly place of discussion. I almost abandoned this one. It was getting annoying.

 

Most of it's been alright..

 

Gotcha.......

 

My favourites are;

A Song for You
Horizon
A Kind of Hush
Karen Carpenter

Have all their studio albums except for "Ticket to Ride" on CD. I need to find that and their Christmas album.

 

Not at all-I do like some 70's pop music very much,including a good chunk of KC's output. What I'm saying is that If I wasn't as knowledgeable about KC's recording career as I am,I might have never known that many of those early 70's singles were actually hits. Some of them have not received any radio airplay since the 70's. And,even on the compilations,some of the hits are selectively omitted in favor of more substantial album cuts. What was popular 45 years ago-and what is popular(or classic) today are two different things altogether.

 

Yes-Karen was a part of that. But,Karen is considered a legendary vocalist today-she's not pidgeonholed to the 70's pop "box",as many 70's artists are. Being labeled a "70's pop singer" is a bad thing-not a good thing.And,it doesn't accurately describe KC's recorded output-as a good chunk of it was timeless pop and jazz standard material-and some of their recordings were made in the 1980's,also.

 

Thank you for helping me understand your point of view.

 

I like the "Christmas Collection" from A&M (1998) which gives you both albums on CD with liner notes from Billboard's Paul Grein.

 

I like everything up to Passage except for the first album (they sound lost in the studio) and A Kind Of Hush (which sounds phoned in). But all the other albums in this time frame got a vote from me.

 

Here in the US,the Christmas albums are regarded as her finest work. I don't know what the situation is in other international markets-possibly there are different albums and recordings that are more critically acclaimed. I'm speaking strictly about the US.

As I mentioned earlier,Horizon is also a best-selling disc(present tense-not past tense)and a big fan-favorite. Some may rank Horizon a little above Christmas Portrait-and some may rank Christmas Portrait a little above Horizon. Many do consider this a masterpiece.

Here in the US,the best-selling studio albums are Christmas Portrait,Christmas Collection,Close To You and Horizon(in that order).Again,this is present tense-not past tense.

 

Can you provide the source for your data? I checked a few websites and from what I found, after The Singles compilation (RIAA certified sales 7 million), Carpenters' best selling albums are Carpenters (4 million) and A Song For You (3 million). Next is the Yesterday Once more compilation and the original albums Close To You and Now And Then, all RIAA certified for 2 million in sales. Then Horizon and Christmas Portrait come in with 1 million in sales each. Granted, this data seems to be last updated in 1998 but I find it difficult to believe that Carpenters fans have become so enamored with Horizon within the past two decades that it's sold three times as much as it did in the two decades or so following its release.

The only reason I tried to verify your claim is that yours is perhaps the opinion I've read that claims that Carpenters' fans hold Horizon and the Christmas recordings as the Carpenters' peak. Don't get me wrong -- I quite like Horizon, but I would definitely put it below Carpenters and A Song For You.

https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=carpenters#search_section

 

I had to vote for everything. You know me, I own everything the Carpenters ever released -- multiple copies, in almost every format. The only album I didn't vote for here is Richard's second solo album, which I really don't care for.

 

Again,present tense,not past tense. I'm talking about which albums are moving the most amount of copies today-not which albums sold the most 45 years ago. The Tan album will(probably) always be her all-time best-selling studio album,but most of those copies were sold in the 70's-that album isn't a big seller today. The Singles 1969-1973 will remain the all-time best-selling title in her catalog-but it's been out-of-print for almost 20 years(in the US).It's not selling any longer.

Christmas Portrait has sold approximately 3 million copies in the US-and is long overdue for RIAA recertification. At some point,CP will surpass total sales for A Song For You.

 

The Carpenters' only presence in American media these days is around the holidays. You would never know from American pop culture today that the Carpenters were once one of the biggest acts in the 1970s. It would not surprise me at all to find that the Christmas albums outsell the rest of their entire catalog in 2017.

I suspect their brand of music is seen as too sweet and even too "white" for popular entertainment today.

 

Live In Japan is wonderful.