Songs You Wish They Had Rerecorded

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Mark-T

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As we know, Richard and Karen rerecorded some of their songs later in their career. Obvious ones are Top of the World and Ticket to Ride starting it off.

What song from their pre-Singles 1969-1973 album do you wish they would have rerecorded and why?

My choice is "A Song For You". I love the song and especially the arrangement, but I would really like it much better in Karen's "Horizon" style vocal. A bit more smoky and less angst, less rock.
 
They also rerecorded Can't Smile Without You. But anyway yes Baby It's You from a 1980 perspective vocally.
 
I think I'd have to say: none. I liked the original recordings just the way they were. My preference has always been for Karen's early, more raw vocals. That's when "Carpenters" grabbed me. They sounded great and really needed no updating.

Yes I can appreciate the fixing of "A Song For You" to get rid of the squeaky door or "Bless The Beasts..." to get rid of the tape burbles. And yes, I still get goosebumps on the re-done "Ticket To Ride", but could have lived happily ever after with the original. I didn't need "Top Of The World" redone, but it's a good replacement. I didn't care for the redone "Merry Christmas Darling" or the remix of "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town." They were fine the way they were.

Still, I love hearing a new remix, whether I like it or not.

Harry
 
Not being a huge fan of medleys, I'd have liked them to cut full-length versions of "Make It Easy on Yourself" from the tan album and "End of the World" from "Now and Then". The "Music, Music, Music" update of the Bacharach/David song was incredible...and still just part of a medley...

Otherwise, I agree with Harry on all points.
 
Or, an entire rendition of:
'Old- Fashioned love Song' (from Carol Burnett Show)
coupled with 'Any Day Now' (from Concert) would be fantastic.
(Rather than re-recorded vocals, I would go for new arrangements for some of the songs !).
Replacing some choral parts with only Karen and Richard background vocals would go
a long way toward perfection (to my ears).
Sadly, the only vocal I would completely redo is 'Now'.
Understanding it is a work lead, and a fine one at that, but
I perceive a weakness which quite depresses me.
I'd like to eliminate all Medleys in favor of entire songs.
 
'Someday' .........this was recorded before Karen's vocal talents had matured, we had a taste of that maturity with a re-recording of 'Someday' which was included in the closing medley of their TV special 'Music Music Music'.
 
Chris, thanks for reminding me about the great song "Someday".
This must have been special to the duo, as we have the Offering track,
the beauty of its inclusion in Music, Music, Music, followed by the
instrumental cut on Richard Carpenter's second solo album.
Not to forget these words from Richard Carpenter:
"Someday" I agree, is a heck of a song; I co-wrote it!
But between Karen never being satisfied with the lead and the harp sweep into the second verse being distorted,
something that rarely happened on our records, and it never really turning out the way Karen had planned singing it
(she was quite young, 19 and had a cold at the time) and me not being absolutely delighted with the production work
and the flute solo that's on it not being played very well, well that's why.
Karen and I were planning on redoing two songs from the first album that were always near and dear to us
, "Someday" and "Eve".
 
I think I'd have to say: none. I liked the original recordings just the way they were. My preference has always been for Karen's early, more raw vocals. That's when "Carpenters" grabbed me. They sounded great and really needed no updating.

I completely agree with Harry. I also favor the earlier years and love the original recordings just as they are. If I had a K&R recording "wish" it would be to have more songs from them that we've never heard them perform. I wouldn't waste that wish on remakes of stuff that was absolutely fine (even if not perfect) to begin with.

Sadly, the only vocal I would completely redo is 'Now'.

Really? Wow! "Now" is one of my most favorite Karen vocals ever. (And probably my absolute favorite post-1973.) It still touches my soul ever single time I hear it. It sounds darn near flawless to me.
 
As we know, Richard and Karen rerecorded some of their songs later in their career. Obvious ones are Top of the World and Ticket to Ride starting it off.

What song from their pre-Singles 1969-1973 album do you wish they would have rerecorded and why?

My choice is "A Song For You". I love the song and especially the arrangement, but I would really like it much better in Karen's "Horizon" style vocal. A bit more smoky and less angst, less rock.

GREAT topic! The hard part about the 20/20 hindsight rule is that they simply "were where they were". I don't know if they could have created a version like you mentioned in '72, without first passing thru the other years - which of course meant experience, studio and technological enhancements, etc. Does that make any sense?

BUT, since this is a "what-if" kind of thread, I wish on the whole that the stuff that Earl Dumler played (i.e. oboe, English horn etc) would have been less 'obbligato' as it is termed in music - which simply means "exactly as written" in the early years. If you listen to For All We Know off of the original mix from the tan album, you hear the oboe play the intro line the first time, then it harmonizes with itself the second time (playing thirds). Listen to subsequent remixes (post-'91) where those two oboe tracks have been re-recorded - they are much sweeter and less shrill. Something Richard obviously caught and corrected in later years. My point is, the performances were stiffer on the earlier takes and over the years when Richard had time and the resources to make the corrections, he did.
 
Fascinating information, Chris.
It had never dawned on me that "the earlier performances were stiffer..",
as I always had the opposite inclination in regards to the Oboe tracks on 'For All We Know' !
(I rarely enjoy those 'post-91' remixes, preferring the earlier mixes.).

As for my earlier commentary in regards to the song 'Now', my opinion is clouded and,
perhaps, psychologically tainted, given these words from
Richard Carpenter:
(in April 1982) " Karen looked like h..., worse than when she went to New York." (Coleman, page, 308)
Then, this, " this recording from April 1982, flawless work lead." (Essential Liner Notes)
and "Karen's voice was never lovelier" (40th Liner Notes).
I am only suggesting that:
(1) If Karen had been in better health in April 1982, or the song re-recorded when she was physically stronger,
then, the song would be much stronger to my ears--as it is, Karen's voice seems weaker than I had ever heard it.
(2) The arrangement has always faltered with me.
Arrangement is far too weak (IMHO), the Choir ,the flute, and the awful guitar strain (notice at 58 sec.)
(Sax solo is great, though.)
Thus, as this is "songs you wish they had re-recorded", those are my stated reasons.
It being a work lead, I wonder if they intended a do over ?
I am not implying that I do not like the song, it is a pretty song,
I simply believe it could be so much more than it already is.
 
Listen to subsequent remixes (post-'91) where those two oboe tracks have been re-recorded - they are much sweeter and less shrill. Something Richard obviously caught and corrected in later years.

But were they changed for the better, or were they changed for the sake of making a change? I trust Richard's judgement generally, but some of the changes are jarring to someone used to the original way. Those sweetened oboes don't sound better to me. They sound "different." - And I was happy with them the way they were.

Harry
 
But were they changed for the better, or were they changed for the sake of making a change? I trust Richard's judgement generally, but some of the changes are jarring to someone used to the original way. Those sweetened oboes don't sound better to me. They sound "different." - And I was happy with them the way they were.

Probably just to make it "sweeter". The original performance on those oboe overdubs (remember, those lines were ORIGINALLY played on acoustic guitar by Jose Feliciano and they'd had a fallout with his manager) were very straight, almost zero vibrato and not as "pretty" as the re-takes ended up sounding in '91.
 
"The hard part about the 20/20 hindsight rule is that they simply "were where they were". I don't know if they could have created a version like you mentioned in '72, without first passing thru the other years - which of course meant experience, studio and technological enhancements, etc. Does that make any sense?"

Makes perfect sense- and I do agree with you, Chris.
Please don't misunderstand- I love the earlier recordings too (especially those on the Close to You album). Karen's voice just became so sophisticated and nuanced over the years. The warmth and "presence" she could display was the ultimate vocal intimacy... and I am so drawn to it. Perhaps that's why "Ordinary Fool" is my favorite song of theirs.
 
I'm with the crew that prefers most of the original recordings...
However, IF I had the chance to have them finish something from a medley, it would most certainly be 'It's Impossible' from the Perry Como Special. One of my favorite songs, and sung impeccably by Karen.
 
I am reminded of the Newspaper article:
An Overdose of Pretty, by McNally in the 1976 Milwaukee Journal (Schmidt Reader page 177).
As much as I adore the re-recorded 1978 Merry Christmas, Darling, I am more drawn to the raw 1970 vocal.
That being said, if I did not have the 1970 as a comparison to the 1978 vocals, I would call the later vocal "perfection".
Had Karen not re-recorded the vocal in 1978, I would have said the 1970 vocal was perfect !
As Mstaft aptly sums up:"they were where they were" at any given moment in time.
 
Ah, yes, thanks for the correction !
I should have attributed that last line to Chris May.
Indeed, Chris, it does make sense !
 
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