It’s got you layin’ up nights, just waiting for the music to start…

My first Carpenters album. It's a
little worse for wear these days.

So… as is consistent with my music addiction, I have a tendency to make myself various CDs of the tunes I’m in the mood for during a week. And yes, I tend to make about 1 (sometimes 2) official mix CDs a week. This last week, I made a CD of the music I listened to the summer before I went into 9^th grade. Okay, so that’s been a little while ago and some people are impressed that I can remember the music I was listening to at that time, but music has always been an important part of my life and my life has definitely had a soundtrack. Besides, during my early teenage years, I didn’t have too big of a variety of music. At that time in my life, I mostly listened to the Carpenters and the Partridge Family – with a little bit of Judy Garland soundtracks, one Petula Clark CD, and The Beatles CD – Past Masters Vol. 2, because I wanted the song “Let It Be”.
 
Okay, so I was a bit of a dork. But honestly, I maintain my love for The Carpenters. The Carpenters have been a staple in my music collection for as far back as I can remember. I knew their albums because of my mother and I picked out my first “grownup album” out shortly after I turned 6. It was The Carpenters Singles 1969-1973. My favorite song became “Hurting Each Other” and I used to play it over and over. At 6, I obviously didn’t understand the feelings behind the song, but I knew it was a beautiful song – and I still love it. And there’s something about her voice when she’s singing just before the chorus “Oh why should it be”… It’s strange, but it’s one of those moments that I can listen to over and over.
 
So, yeah… My love for The Carpenters started ages ago and it ebbed and flowed during various stages in my life. I really only had the one album until my serious obsession began at age 11. I don’t really remember what kicked off the obsession, but I remember dusting off my old cassette tape and popping it into the stereo and I was hooked all over again. I listened to that tape so many times throughout that year and the following Christmas I got a CD player and a Carpenters two-disc compilation album: Yesterday Once More. That’s another album I listened to pretty much non-stop for months – my favorite song during that time was “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” – and this song kicked off my fixation for getting the album, Passage (which was out of print at the time). Over the following couple years, I sunk most of my allowance into buying Carpenters albums (though, The Partridge Family received a great deal of my allowance money as well… I had it bad for Keith Partridge). I think a lot of my favorite Carpenters songs during this time tended toward their non-hits: “Let Me Be The One” (from Carpenters), “Maybe It’s You” (from Close To You), “Love Me For What I Am” (from Horizon), “Boat to Sail” (from A Kind of Hush), “Where Do I Go From Here?” (from Lovelines), “I Can’t Make Music” (from Now and Then),  “I Won’t Last A Day Without You” (from A Song For You), and “Turn Away” (from Ticket to Ride)…

I learned quite a few of their songs on the piano during this time too. “Hurting Each Other” was the first song I learned by them. And I remember sitting at the piano with my headphones on, trying to play “Flat Baroque” along with the recording… Richard is a much better pianist than I am, let me tell you! I could play most of the “Bacharach/David Medley” with the recording though (and here’s another little music-related secret of mine: I kind of have a thing for medleys).

Somewhere along the line, during my high school years, I didn’t listen to them so much.  I didn’t seriously start listening to the Carpenters again until a few years back… I don’t really know why I didn’t… It might have been the “non-cool factor”, or maybe I had too much other music to listen to, or maybe I just burned myself out on them in my early teenage years. Whatever the reason, I looked them up on youtube a few years back and was hooked all over again. Being an adult at this point, I heard them again with fresh ears – and a new perspective. Yes, I knew all the songs like the back of my hand, but I heard them differently than I did before (and even found some songs I hadn’t known before – outtakes from Karen’s solo album). I had a better understanding of music and what real talent is. Now, I know they get a lot of crap. “They’re too sugary, too sentimental, too melodic”.  They’re definitely not rock and roll, but… I don’t know if I can really consider them a guilty pleasure because, really, I’m pretty proud of being a fan of theirs. I’m proud of knowing all their music!
 
So no, not a guilty pleasure (the Partridge Family on the other hand, might fall into that category - but that's a subject for another time…). Why not? Because, no matter what anyone says – they were extremely talented individuals. Karen’s voice is what always gets mentioned – and it rightfully should. It was incredible. She had nearly a 4 octave range. She had impeccable phrasing, resonance, and consistently perfect pitch. No vocalist has ever matched her vocal quality- the haunting, sadness and the natural mellowness. She never screeched (like so many vocalists are apt to these days). She always produced a lovely pure and rich tone.
 
But it wasn’t just Karen’s voice – She was an astounding drummer… after trying to play the drums, I became aware of just how fantastic she was and how much natural talent she possessed on the drums…  She’s also the whole reason I wanted to play the drums.
 
Of course, you can’t over look Richard’s contributions – and amazing pianist, composer, and arranger. It’s the combination of the 2 that make them what they are. And the layers and layers of Carpenters voices in each recording? Nothing can quite compare to that.
 
My Recommendations –
Albums: A Song For You, Close To You, and Carpenters
Songs:   Hurting Each Other
                Goodbye To Love
                Let Me Be The One
                We’ve Only Just Begun
                All You Get From Love Is A Love Song
      

And here’s a little clip from their appearance on The Tonight Show. Karen really rocked on the drums.