I'm sure many of us get a little dewy-eyed at times when we're filled with joy listening to some Carpenters magic. But has anyone had to reach for the Kleenex upon a first listening of their songs??
Well, today I finally discovered the Perry Como 1974 Christmas special featuring the Carpenters. Until now, I'd never heard any Carpenters performance of the all-too-familiar standard Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, so I wasn't expecting anything particularly special.
Somebody should have warned me!! By the time I got to the song's 1 minute mark, I simply had to pause the video, and replay it again and again from the start, lest I was imagining things. Everything I'd want in a new Carpenters song, was there. Everything. A bright opening, a jazzy arrangement with a laid-back feel, Karen's voice produced front and centre, hers now at the pinnacle of perfection, harmonies - layered, unusual - arriving at the perfect moment. How refreshing!
And Karen's treatment of the lyric! I always thought this was a kids' song. Wrong. To my ears it's one of the most sensual renditions of any song she's attempted, maintaining that wonderful combination of womanly maturity and girlish temptation in her voice which I've always found so appealing. And she looks fantastic.
[Easy to say in retrospect, but kicking-in after the horns in the lead break, Richard's piano played with a little syncopation may have been the better choice, perhaps including only a little of the harsher sax towards the end.]
Anyway, here is this Christmas gem:
Well, today I finally discovered the Perry Como 1974 Christmas special featuring the Carpenters. Until now, I'd never heard any Carpenters performance of the all-too-familiar standard Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, so I wasn't expecting anything particularly special.
Somebody should have warned me!! By the time I got to the song's 1 minute mark, I simply had to pause the video, and replay it again and again from the start, lest I was imagining things. Everything I'd want in a new Carpenters song, was there. Everything. A bright opening, a jazzy arrangement with a laid-back feel, Karen's voice produced front and centre, hers now at the pinnacle of perfection, harmonies - layered, unusual - arriving at the perfect moment. How refreshing!
And Karen's treatment of the lyric! I always thought this was a kids' song. Wrong. To my ears it's one of the most sensual renditions of any song she's attempted, maintaining that wonderful combination of womanly maturity and girlish temptation in her voice which I've always found so appealing. And she looks fantastic.
[Easy to say in retrospect, but kicking-in after the horns in the lead break, Richard's piano played with a little syncopation may have been the better choice, perhaps including only a little of the harsher sax towards the end.]
Anyway, here is this Christmas gem:
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