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Tasteful Musicians of DL! Please critique the sound of this Carpenters song.

Written hy David Pomeranz and a hit for Barry Manilow, I just discovered Karen Carpenter’s working lead of “Trying to Get the Feeling Again.” I think it’s amazing.

I’d love for you to listen and give your thoughts.

One way or another.

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by Anonymousreply 76September 17, 2020 6:07 PM

Nice arrangement. The verse is sort of strange, but the chorus is conveniently hummable. Karen carpenter was clearly the First fan of vocal fry.

by Anonymousreply 1August 1, 2020 2:40 AM

Sounds better than most pop hits now

by Anonymousreply 2August 1, 2020 2:40 AM

Very different than Manilow's version.

by Anonymousreply 3August 1, 2020 2:47 AM

I don't think it's a good fit for her lush lyrical voice at all.

The verse is written to be sung almost spoken and hearing it sung in her voice doesn't help it, plus she sounds a bit flat on a couple notes in the verse. This type of song is just not what Karen's voice did best, although this is an ok cover.

by Anonymousreply 4August 1, 2020 2:53 AM

Thanks for this: it's the first time I've heard it.

by Anonymousreply 5August 1, 2020 2:57 AM

Barry's was definitely more commercial; this was nice.

by Anonymousreply 6August 1, 2020 2:59 AM

Just about any song that The Carpenters covered was better than the original. This one is passable but not their greatest work. Anne Murray had a big hit with "I Just Fall In Love Again" and The Carpenters version of it was gorgeous, better than Anne's who did a good job.

by Anonymousreply 7August 1, 2020 3:00 AM

My God, she looked horrible here. Was this shortly before sh e died?

Manilow despite having a lusher, more commercial arrangement gives it more dimension. Karen sounds sad here and we know she was a trainwreck--it's poignant yet off putting.

by Anonymousreply 8August 1, 2020 3:03 AM

As a young gayling. The Carpenters were my FAVORITE singing group. I kinda think Richard made me tingle down there...i find Karen's life so sad...

by Anonymousreply 9August 1, 2020 3:06 AM

R7, I don't think their songs were covers. They usually did the song first, before the artist who had the hit (This Masquerade, I Just Fall In Love Again, Can't Smile Without You, etc) . They just didn't release those songs as singles, or as in the case of "Tryin To Get The Feeling", they had only done a working demo, but not a finished song.

by Anonymousreply 10August 1, 2020 3:07 AM

As a gayling I loved her but now the nasal whine makes her unlistenable for me.

by Anonymousreply 11August 1, 2020 3:11 AM

I don’t think this is the right thing, I’m not musical, but it sounds like she singing it in the wrong key for her voice. There’s a harshness here that’s doesn’t come through on her other lead vocals.

by Anonymousreply 12August 1, 2020 3:17 AM

R12 I always wondered if Richard was gay. He seemed to be that way.

by Anonymousreply 13August 1, 2020 4:09 AM

R13 I meant R9 As a young gayling myself it just seemed to me that Richard might be gay.

by Anonymousreply 14August 1, 2020 4:11 AM

Recorded in 1975 and released by RC in 1994.

It’s such a different sound for her. Something does seem off, and I have weird mixed feelings about it that I wish I could describe in musical terms (key, tone, etc). Still, I think it’s great. Thanks for the comments — helps me sort it and break it down.

Lots of rumors Richie Rich was not straight. Alarming side note: He did married his first cousin and had like five kids. Covered in detail in many previous DL Carpenters threads.

Her incredible voice goes without saying. She was also considered an excellent drummer - she could play the more complicated time signatures, Buddy Rich style. Rolling Stone named her best drummer of 1975, FWIW.

Heartbreaking end. I think the excellent Todd Haynes barbie film gets to the heart of the matter., asking “Why? Why did this woman die?”

by Anonymousreply 15August 1, 2020 4:46 AM

The Manilow version is superior

by Anonymousreply 16August 1, 2020 5:49 AM

[quote]R9 I find Karen's life so sad...

A poor little rich (white) girl who couldn’t keep a sandwich down?

Give me a damn break.

by Anonymousreply 17August 1, 2020 6:01 AM

I love her rendition of Leon Russell's "This Masquerade."

by Anonymousreply 18August 1, 2020 9:09 AM

Karen’s voice was at its peak in the years they recorded “Now and Then” (1973) and “Horizon” (1975). I wish there had been more unreleased material during this period.

by Anonymousreply 19August 1, 2020 9:13 AM

R17 Ain’t nobody rich growing up in Downey, CA.

by Anonymousreply 20August 1, 2020 9:53 AM

Agree that this melody isn't suited for Carpenter.

My appreciation of Carpenter has increased over the decades. Even singing a "happy" song like "Top of the "World", Carpenter has me wondering when the other shoe will drop. To my ear her voice is never absent poignancy and sadness, and, oh, do I love it.

Otoh, the great Marilyn McCoo's sound, other than on her yet to be equaled interpretation of "One Less Bell to Answer" transports me for a few moments into pure bliss.

The 70s; what a decade for the best and worst of pop music.

by Anonymousreply 21August 1, 2020 10:58 AM

Della, McCoo had amazing pipes and "One Less Bell" is a tour de force. Check out this live version.

Re OP's post I agree the verse melody is odd an nearly a-tonic. The chorus is ok, but shy of memorable. Not her best work. OTOH, I love her version of "I Can't Make Music".

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by Anonymousreply 22August 1, 2020 11:32 AM

Oh fuck it, I'll post it.

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by Anonymousreply 23August 1, 2020 11:34 AM

r22, wasn't she the only talented one in the "Fifth dimension"?

by Anonymousreply 24August 1, 2020 12:45 PM

r22, Thank You for posting that.

Streisand's is the greatest pop voice I've ever heard, but even she doesn't, in her take of OLBTA, surpass McCoo's, as you so aptly put it, tour de force performance of it.

McCoo owns OLBTA.

by Anonymousreply 25August 1, 2020 12:47 PM

Karen was at her best singing downbeat songs like this one.

by Anonymousreply 26August 1, 2020 12:55 PM

Gorgeous, yes R22, but that ain’t LIVE, no way no how.

by Anonymousreply 27August 1, 2020 12:59 PM

Passionless. Though if they changed the pronouns back to 'she' and 'her' it might work (wink).

by Anonymousreply 28August 1, 2020 1:09 PM

That song was inherently nothing special to begin with. I never get tired of listening to her voice though.

by Anonymousreply 29August 1, 2020 1:17 PM

Marilyn McCoo is very underrated, I love her voice. Love Karen's too of course, but in this song she does that corny accent, "made muh knees start to quiver," yuck. Also good point about the vocal fry, but at least she was original with it.

by Anonymousreply 30August 1, 2020 1:19 PM

[Quote] Karen sounds sad here

When did she not sound sad?

by Anonymousreply 31August 1, 2020 2:28 PM

she sounds like a karen after being told that she can't speak with the manager

by Anonymousreply 32August 1, 2020 3:29 PM

Suicide queen Karen Carpenter could take any song and turn it into a funeral dirge. Love her!

by Anonymousreply 33August 1, 2020 3:51 PM

I suspect that this Karen, sadly, lacked the "balls" to ask for the manager and that was part of her problem. having a castrating bitch for a mother didn't help.

by Anonymousreply 34August 1, 2020 6:02 PM

[quote] When did she not sound sad?

For the last time 🙄! I wasn’t sad. I was pooped. POOPED!!!

by Anonymousreply 35August 1, 2020 6:58 PM

🤠 Sounds like the country western version, with a touch of violin added as a lame attempt to class it up.

It's Criminal.... She murdered the lyrics and tortured my eardrums.

by Anonymousreply 36August 1, 2020 7:08 PM

Nobody beats George Benson's version of [italic] This Masquerade.

by Anonymousreply 37August 1, 2020 7:12 PM

Sounds like she was high on appetite suppressants.

by Anonymousreply 38August 1, 2020 7:27 PM

R34 I suspect that this Karen, sadly, lacked the "balls" to ask for the manager and that was part of her problem. having a castrating bitch for a mother didn't help.

I agree. My partner was the director of an eating disorder hospital — across the board, anorexic females have at least one thing in common, and that is a controlling mother. Cue Agnes.

Karen Carpenter was the sound and became the superstar. Her jealous crybaby brother was known only as her piano player to many people by the late 70s. This really pissed her mother off.

I think she felt guilty about her immense talent and fame in that it totally eclipsed Richard. Staying in that family dynamic was a no-win for her. Asking for what she wanted - new management, production sound, etc., would have been like acts of betrayal. She was backed into a corner. Just a tsunami of factors going against her.

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by Anonymousreply 39August 1, 2020 8:38 PM

That's such a misrepresentation. They were Carpenters, not "Karen Carpenter and her brother."

by Anonymousreply 40August 1, 2020 8:43 PM

The tone of Karen’s voice here is “really? you expect me to sing this shit?” She sounds like she knows this song is beneath her.

The Manilow version always sounds like a closeted gay man, desperate for advice from his doctor. He should’ve run off with the doctor at the end of the song.

by Anonymousreply 41August 1, 2020 8:54 PM

[Quote] The tone of Karen’s voice here is “really? you expect me to sing this shit?” She sounds like she knows this song is beneath her.

Then why did she record those songs for her solo album?

by Anonymousreply 42August 1, 2020 8:57 PM

Poor Richard ...... He never ever quite "Got the Feeling."

Not even once.

by Anonymousreply 43August 1, 2020 9:46 PM

R27 you're about the vid, esp the end. I think there's another one out there that is live fur reel, and she's still amazing.

by Anonymousreply 44August 1, 2020 10:16 PM

R43: But I'm guessing he's got the royalties and hasn't had to really work in decades. He married his cousin, btw.

by Anonymousreply 45August 1, 2020 10:31 PM

R40 It wasn’t my intent to misrepresent, but I can see how my comments came off that way. I am a Carpenters fan, and I think Richard is brilliant.

Books and documentaries have stated that, after they skyrocketed to fame, Richard felt his contributions as songwriter and arranger were starting to get overlooked, e.g., a reviewer of a concert once referred to him as The Carpenters’ piano player.

by Anonymousreply 46August 1, 2020 10:32 PM

Agnes Carpenter was a fire-breathing cunt who openly favored Richard and was nothing but critical of Karen. Karen was never good enough. Then The Carpenters became famous and Karen got all the attention for her immense talent and vocal skills. Richard and Agnes were NOT happy about that. Cue Karen's anorexia.

The late Karen Ramone was the wife of producer Phil Ramone and a close friend of Karen's and she laid it all out in several interviews. She never held back about the fucked-up family dynamic.

by Anonymousreply 47August 1, 2020 10:41 PM

Karen's anorexia didn't necessarily have just one trigger. Her figure was criticised in the press.

by Anonymousreply 48August 1, 2020 10:58 PM

Were you alive when they were famous? Look at the camera time Richard gets here. Carpenters were sold as a duo (after a brief attempt at selling them as a band). Richard was not left in the dust.

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by Anonymousreply 49August 1, 2020 11:00 PM

The tune required higher notes than Karen's regular key so she was back further from the mic. I can hear a physical "distance" in the recording. She's not as close, thus sounding more intimate, to the mic, as her more famous songs. She's a natural crooner.

by Anonymousreply 50August 1, 2020 11:38 PM

"Tryin' To Get The Feeling" wasn't a complete Carpenters song. It was just a demo they were working on, but after Karen died , A&M started releasing anything they had in the vaults. The lyrics are very different from Manilow's version, but they were the original ones.

The Carpenters also did "Can't Smile Without You" (as an album cut) way before Barry, and much, much better.

by Anonymousreply 51August 2, 2020 1:42 AM

I love their version of Ticket To Ride, it's better than the Beatles.

by Anonymousreply 52August 2, 2020 1:56 AM

The part where Karen goes "(h)oh!" is pure cheese. And phony as fuck.

by Anonymousreply 53August 2, 2020 2:09 AM

R47 is right on.

R49 that clip is from 1971 (and yes I was alive). It post-1974 or so when Richard was becoming almost invisible to the audiences. Nobody wanted his autograph by then — it was all Karen.

He was not happy. Trying to give him more attention on him, their managers suggested he take the stage first - Ladies and Gentleman, Mr. Richard Carpenter! He wore his Liberace outfit and conducted the band for a few minutes.

In addition, a very large mirror was placed above his keyboard so the audience could see his hands on the piano. When Ag would take her seat, she would tell her friends to focus on that mirror.

It was too much. So she died.

by Anonymousreply 54August 2, 2020 2:18 AM

[Quote] It was too much. So she died.

You should script the biopic.

by Anonymousreply 55August 2, 2020 2:25 AM

I think she did a lovely job on this song, it was just a work demo.

by Anonymousreply 56August 2, 2020 2:42 AM

"I suspect that this Karen, sadly, lacked the "balls" to ask for the manager"

But she always asked for a 'barf bag'.

by Anonymousreply 57August 2, 2020 2:51 AM

She is stunning.

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by Anonymousreply 58August 2, 2020 4:08 AM

NOT HERE:

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by Anonymousreply 59August 2, 2020 5:47 AM

R59 That interview is pretty sad. Richard comes across as a dick and she’s so obviously trying to hide the truth.

by Anonymousreply 60August 2, 2020 6:54 AM

[quote]Agnes Carpenter was a fire-breathing cunt

LOL

Thanks for the laugh to start my day!

by Anonymousreply 61August 2, 2020 10:54 AM

Karen’s being a condescending, dismissive cunt in that interview (rolling her eyes, lying) when the journalist has real questions and concerns.

by Anonymousreply 62August 2, 2020 2:48 PM

R62, it's hard to put up with stupid questions when you are just really really hungry.

by Anonymousreply 63September 16, 2020 11:29 PM

Sounds like pure and total shit.

I'm surprised at how bad it is

She's usually a much better and more expressive singer than Manilow, who I mostly can't stand, but something about this is just way off, from the very first note.

by Anonymousreply 64September 16, 2020 11:56 PM

I never thought I'd hear all of this love for Barry Fucking Manilow (!) on DL.

by Anonymousreply 65September 17, 2020 12:22 AM

Karen Carpenter-one of the all time great voices. This rendition is not my favorite; the styling seems off to me. My personal favorite of hers/theirs and probably the most basically arranged song is "Sing".

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by Anonymousreply 66September 17, 2020 12:35 AM

Here’s a compilation of her playing the drums. Quite impressive:

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by Anonymousreply 67September 17, 2020 1:03 AM

The Carpenters were much better as studio performers than as live performers.

Karen's technique was to sing at a low volume and have the technicians turn the volume way up on her recordings.

Karen could sing well within her ability but she wasn't a "belter" and she didn't have a huge range....

I think those limitations show on this song

by Anonymousreply 68September 17, 2020 1:35 AM

[Quote] My personal favorite of hers/theirs and probably the most basically arranged song is "Sing".

I might find Sing tolerable if they took off those fucking kids.

by Anonymousreply 69September 17, 2020 5:02 AM

I don't remember where I read this, but shortly after this was released an article comparing this interpretation with BM's was that there is a feeling in Barry's that he may possibly "get the feeling" again, but with Karen's, all hope is lost.

by Anonymousreply 70September 17, 2020 2:28 PM

Karen never had the feeling in the first place. Her singing was all about fantasy.

by Anonymousreply 71September 17, 2020 3:06 PM

Suicide queen Karen Carpenter could take any song and turn it into a funeral dirge. Love. Her.

by Anonymousreply 72September 17, 2020 4:10 PM

It’s been awhile since I read the little girl blue book, but during the filming of the carpenters TV movie Richard was continuously trying to soften Agnes’s image of being a cold hearted cunt. Richard did marry his 1st cousin and it freaked Karen out when they started dating. She was adopted a birth so Richard and Karen grew up with her as a first cousin. When Karen pointed this out Richard got angry and justified it by saying she wasn’t a blood relation.

I wonder if Karen ever actually recorded rock with you for her solo album. It was offered to her first but she didn’t think the song was her and when she went to the off the wall recording sessions It confirmed this in her mind.

by Anonymousreply 73September 17, 2020 4:43 PM

This is a really trippy listening experience for me. Until this thread, I didn’t even know this song had lyrics!

Growing up, I only knew the uptempo instrumental version by Hubert Laws, which of course is a jazz classic.

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by Anonymousreply 74September 17, 2020 5:45 PM

Manilow version beats Carpenter version:

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by Anonymousreply 75September 17, 2020 5:54 PM

The Neumann U87 sounds especially warm on Karen's voice.

by Anonymousreply 76September 17, 2020 6:07 PM
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