A New Year's Treat! The Carpenters "We've Only Just Begun" Vocal ANALYSIS!
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- Опубликовано: 31 дек 2023
- For a song about endless possibilities, what better way to celebrate than on New Years Day? I absolutely adore Karen Carpenter's smooth and sultry vocals, and want to ring in the new year in style!
Join professional opera singer Elizabeth Zharoff, as analyzes The Carpenters performing "We've Only Just Begun" for the first time.
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Performed by The Carpenters - Words and Music by Paul Williams, Roger Nichols
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I definitely recommend watching the original video without interruptions. Here's the link: • We've Only Just Begun
Show The Carpenters some love: / @carpenters
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Elizabeth Zharoff is an international opera singer and voice coach, with 3 degrees in voice, opera, and music production. She's performed in 18 languages throughout major venues in Europe, America, and Asia. Currently based somewhere between Los Angeles and Tucson, Arizona, Elizabeth spends her days researching voice, singing, teaching, writing music, and recording TONS. She also plays Diablo and Dungeons & Dragons.
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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
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Игры
It's been said many times before, but whenever I hear Karen's voice, it always comes to mind. "We don't know what heaven looks like, but because of Karen Carpenter, we know what it sounds like."
Amen, brother Scott.
Brilliantly put
Yep. Heaven on a popsicle stick!
Preach it. Her voice all these years later still gives me goosebumps.
TORI HOLUB - WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN
She had NO training as a singer. She was a drummer. Yet, she was pitch perfect and instinctively knew what to do with the vocals. When to draw a note out, when to hit hard and when to softly make a point or turn into another verse. She was a gift from Heaven. The Perfect voice.
She did sing in a choir in school. It's not bad to get training. But it's what you do with it that counts. She took it and ran.
Brilliant production behind it.
She had just a great feel for what a song needs from her. They used to call her "one take Karen". She rarely had to do a do over.
I was surprised recently to read that, in a 1975 Playboy magazine readers' poll, she was voted the best rock drummer of the year. I realize a reader's poll isn't definitive, but I somehow never even knew she was a drummer.
Actually, she did receive vocal training - in the classical style - while at college. She was trained as a soprano (and was able to hit some amazingly high notes) but found that singing in her lower, chest voice was far more appealing to others listening to her. She was also able to sight-read. One example of her sight-reading ability is featured in the Carpenter's recording of "Trying to Get the Feeling Again." The vocal was a scratch-take that was originally intended to serve as a guide for the other musicians - and would be replaced with the "real vocal" later. Though the song never made it to the intended album (Horizon), it was released decades later on the album "Interpretations." If you listen to it closely, you'll hear Karen flip over the sheet music just after completing the first chorus. She was unfamiliar with the song and was reading the melody and the lyrics for the first and only time.
I am an unapologetic lover of the Carpenters. I am today a retired 66 y.o. ex shipyard worker who loves me some Carpenter's. Karen's voice simply brings happiness and pleasure.
Me too mate. I'm covered in tattoos and sing Carpenters songs at the top of my lungs in my car. Their music is for everyone.
If there ever has been a pure and perfect female voice, it was Karen Carpenters!!
I grew up listening to the Carpenters. I think Karen has one of the most beautiful voices in the world. I love her vibrato- when someone sings with a really fast vibrato it sounds ‘forced’ to me. Hers is slow and smooth and natural. And she was a heck of a drummer, too!
Me 2
This song reminds me of preschool and the end of the Viet Nam war.
1975 Playboy magazine's annual opinion poll voted her the Best Rock Drummer of the year.
My youth too. We had ballroom dance lessons on the Carpenters (quickstep) Such nice memories and with Karen's brilliant warm voice.
@@erlaedSpeaking of Nam...find and watch the Ed Sullivan segment taped outdoors, pure live, at the Walter Reed army hospital in 1971. Bacharach medley. Karen is singing and drumming stunningly and simultaneously...
I’m a metalhead and grew up listening to the Carpenters. Karen had the voice of an angel ✨
Right now I’m imagining Karen and Chester singing a duet.
Me too. I'm a hard rock/thrash metal guy, but I can listen to the Carpenter's. I appreciate good musicians and voices. Reminds me of growing up in the 70s. They'd come 0n my mom's car radio.
Agreed
And then there's her drumming... ruclips.net/video/GVBtjaHxR7Y/видео.html
Same. I hope she reacts to their song top of the world to
This song was written by Paul Williams as a jingle for Crocker bank. Richard Carpenter heard the song on the commercial and contacted Williams about covering it. Williams only wrote about 60 seconds of the song, so he he had to finish it before Richard could arrange the song for the Carpenters sound. We've Only Just Begun is on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Yep, Paul "Little Enos" Williams. One of the most underrated composers of our time.And not a bad actor.
Her voice was perfection. In my opinion the greatest female singe of my lifetime(I am 62) she was also a great drummer. Not just as a gimmick but really a great drummer. So VERY sad what happened.
Voted number one rock and roll drummer in 1975 I think.
Love Karen, but Linda Ronstadt and Ann Wilson have to be recognized
I agree. There has never been and will never be anyone who can do what she could do.
Mine favorite too. Not sure about Karen's status as a drummer in 1975, but Carpenters were the #1 group of that year.
@@DonMachado Her drumming has been praised by fellow musicians Hal Blaine, Cubby O'Brien and Buddy Rich, and by Modern Drummer magazine. In 1975, she was voted the best rock drummer in a poll of Playboy readers, beating Led Zeppelin's John Bonham.
Karen is possibly the only singer in history where you could extract a random single note from a song and most of the world (who'd heard her before) would recognise her voice instantly.
As amazing as Karen's voice is, her brother is an incredible composer and arranger. Everyone focused on Karen, with few realizing that Richard wrote the songs specifically for her voice, and yet was seldom recognized for his own musical skills. They were "The Carpenters", but Richard always seemed to be a side note, in spite of the fact that without him, there wouldn't have been The Carpenters. I miss Karen because her voice was just so beautiful, and all we have now are these recordings from decades past. Over the years Richard has continued to do his thing, but always in the background. He has written amazing songs for so many people. The two of them were a perfect combination, and their voices blended so well together.
I agree, Karen's brother Richard Carpenter managed to create a beautiful fusion of Pop and Film Scoring to produce all the timeless hits The Carpenters charted with.❤🎹
It's kinda like Billie Eilish and Pinneas Eilish. Phineas was the composer and song writer of "Billie Eilish" and was just like Richard Carpenter an afterthought.
I hear he was his mother's favorite.
@@nondescriptbeing5944 Possibly but it may have been more a case of their parents investing their time and resources into Richard's prodigious musical talent, often to the detriment of the nurturing relationship their daughter should have enjoyed. Realising this, Karen experimented with musical instruments in an effort to become part of what was going on and settled on the drums, eventually becoming so proficient that Richard recruited her as drummer in his jazz trio.
I believe that Richard was quick to realise that showcasing Karen's voice was the path to success after a couple of flirtations with his first love, jazz. The pop group he later formed with college friends and Karen as drummer and occasional singer was soon disbanded when, in his own words after he wrote an arrangement which required Karen to sing in a lower register than before, "magic happened." Carpenters (never THE Carpenters) was born and after the first couple of hits were pretty much Karen solos, he chose not to change a winning formula by remaining in the background, probably without ever appreciating how much farther his sister's prodigious and enduring voice would relegate his contribution in the public's perception.
The best female vocalist ever, in my opinion. There is nothing like that voice. Incredible.
Agree! 100%
Imagine being five years old and getting into the car with your mom. As she drives down the street, she turns on the radio and this song is playing. You've never heard it before because it's brand new and just released. It's a sunny day, the sky is blue, and the grass is vivid green. Life is full of possibilities. Years pass and you're just a few months away from graduating high school when you see on the news that the lovely lady who sang this is gone. It's heartbreaking but life is still full of possibilities. Life goes on. Then one evening, when you've got more years behind you than ahead of you, you sit alone in the wee hours, missing all your friends who have left this world, haunted by all your "could'ves, would'ves, and should'ves", while this beautiful song floats on the air. Your whole life plays out before you and you wonder where the time went. It lends a different feel to this song and yet, life is still full of possibilities.
Listen on RUclips to Tori Holub's cover of 'We've Only Just Begun'. Karen has been reincarnated as a BLONDE!!!!
You only have to hear Karen sing one song to totally understand why, decades after her leaving us, she is still remembered. R.I.P
My older daughter had terrible colic as an infant, and the only relief I got was playing songs from the Carpenters. Karen’s soothing voice saved my sanity.
I remember those Colic days with my eldest daughter too, even 21 years later. Tough times for all. Hours and hours of walking the living room floor with a screaming bundle. Nothing having any real effect for alleviation. Poor little thing. Character building for the exhausted parent though...
My mum would use white noise to sooth me as a baby ( I was a very poorly baby had numerous visits to hospital) fans, vacuum cleaner, and the washing machine were my preferred sounds but if all else failed the carpenters Lp on the record player would calm me and make me sleep ,my mum would also sing the songs to me at bed time as we didn't get a portable record Deck until 1985. I think I was very lucky to grow up listening to a very diverse and rich variety of music .
@@kirstygunn9149 good call by your mum.
Tried all of those, didn't work!
What did it in the end was Dr Brown's vented baby bottles (probably).
As an older guy now I often cry a little whenever I hear her voice. She was always a secret favorite when I was into hard rock and punk. One day, shortly after she passed, some friends and I were playing the "build a band out of those who are gone" game and I announced that she was now the only drummer I'll ever choose. I got stares, and at least one person's downturned mouth and slow head shake in agreement let me know that I was not alone.
Nice one!!!! Soooooo many people are shocked to learn that K.C. was a drummer, and a darn good one at that 🤯🤩❣️❣️❣️
@@michelleleeginger5225 Both Hal Blaine and Buddy Rich Praised her.
Indeed, I would never admit I listened to her, but, I did, in private.
Right there with you, Paul.
Right there with you! Led Zeppelin and prog rock for me but Karen Carpenter...
Released 53 years ago. And it’s as beautiful and as powerful as it was in 1970. Truly a voice for the ages.
A few months into 2023, I fell into yet another conversation about music with one of our managers at work and he told me how much he loved and missed hearing Karen Carpenter sing. So this summer when I was asked to play some solo instrumental guitar pieces for his retirement party, I learned this song. After I played it, this man whom I've known for thirty years and seen him only joking or dead serious about work, sat there looking at me with tears in his eyes and his wife by his side and said "You have no way of knowing this, but that's the song we had someone perform for us at our wedding." Thank you, Elizabeth, for reminding me of one of the best moments of 2023. Happy New Year!
Incredible story.
Thank you!
Love it when music becomes something magical. Great story.
I think Karen Carpenter had the most pure voice of any pop singer in history. A songbird if there ever was one.
Richard to me is one of the best arrangers of all time. Karen sings like an angel with love and pain. The combination of these siblings is unique in music history.
IIRC, Richard did a lot of work with Mike Post.
And to think Karen was only 19 when she recorded this. Sounds like a mature singer in her 30's or 40's. Such a pure and beautiful voice with perfect pitch and very novel annunciations. One can only wonder how far she would have gone musically and how she would have carried her early successes into her later years.
You nailed it
She definitely doesn't sound like a 19 year old singing
I read once that John Lennon came over to her, at some sort of event with a lot of musicians, and said, “I just want to say that you have a lovely voice, love.“ Can you imagine hearing *that* from *him* ?
Barbra Streisand also said something to Karen that was almost similar to Lennon's. The story goes that Streisand met the Carpenters at some social gala, took Karen aside, and said to her: "You have a marvelous instrument. Please don't waste it."
Re the Lennon encounter, KC is said to have turned to her companions and said "he couldn't have meant that"...
I like this fantasy sequel (which requires a conclusion that Lennon "Imagined" wrong!)...Heaven, February 1983. John, there since late 1980, sees Karen arrive and beelines over. With a look of mixed admiration and reproof, he tells her, "I did mean it, you know, dear..." And then he whips out some drumsticks, hands them to her, and off they go to jam.
Wasn’t she going into a restaurant and John was coming out when he said that? I remember reading something along those lines.
@@apreciouslife13 According to what her date Nicky Chinn said, they passed John Lennon as they were leaving an LA restaurant. John made a beeline to Karen and said something along the lines of "I just wanna tell you, love, that I think you've got the most fabulous voice" and walked on. Soon after Karen said to Nicky, "Did John Lennon really say that? John Lennon??? He couldn't have meant that!"
That's the part of Karen's personality that is just so heartbreaking. When it came to her talents and the impact her gift had on others, she had a very low opinion of herself when it came to reciprocating the praise from her peers, especially those who saw her as the real deal.
Karen Carpenter was not the “voice of a generation”. She was A Voice Of ALL generations.
Totally agree. Class of One. There is Karen then everyone else.
Absolutely true. I grew up with Karen's voice. I still have yet to hear a female voice that can compare 50 years later.
Well said
Yes
For a pop and rock voice, she was quite unique and the very best, but listen to jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. You will be equally impressed with them as well.
Her voice ALWAYS gives me goosebumps.
Chills up my spine! Like an angel.
She gives my goosebumps goosebumps...
Karen Carpenter had a stunningly beautiful voice. Her tragic personal life just made me love her singing even more. For me one of the best female singers of all time.
The vocal harmonies were sung only by her and her brother in multiple layers. That's why they fit so well. Their voices complemented each other perfectly.
As great as she was, that need for perfection was part of what killed her. They would be in the studio for long periods of time recording these layered vocal parts over and over and over. When they were touring, they never took any liberties with their live performances. It had to be perfect just like the recording. It was hard on her and also on the musicians in their band, who were admonished for any little mistake they made. It also left little room for creativity and spontaneity.
I'm no music expert but I have always maintained Karen Carpenter had one of the most incredible and beautiful voices....EVER. She is reported as saying "the money is in the basement" referring to her lower voice. If you are in a Christmas music mood her Christmas songs are gorgeous. Last edit: she is one hell of a good drummer too!
She was amazing, I so glad that I got to experience to hear this music as it happened.
My favorite xmas albums , besides peanuts!🥴 are hers, Linda ronstadts and Sarah mcglocklin
Some of my all-time favorite Christmas music is by the Carpenters! They are just sublime.❤
I was born in 1963. Grew up listening to great music. We lost many performers way too early. I cried for two. John Lennon and Karen Carpenter. Her loss was especially sad for me because she gave so much joy to millions yet died without experiencing much joy in her own life. I still tear up listening to her voice. Truly one of a kind. So glad you have gotten to enjoy her voice.
One of the most meaningful compliments I’ve heard in my lifetime (at 60 now), was paid Karen.
Neal Peart (percussionist) RUSH said: “In my opinion she’s one of the best drummers, in the world.” RIP Neal 🙏
Her voice is SO pure. It's like a warm blanket wrapping around your soul.
I've said it before many times and will continue to say it: Karen Carpenter is the greatest female vocalist of all time. Despite her sadness and terrible way she died, she remains the voice that so many of us fall in love with every time. She might be the only singer ever that can soothe your soul while break your heart at the same time. RIP Karen "Angel" Carpenter.
Well, let’s dismiss all the vocal experts then.
Yes please. Karen is perfection.
Was going to pretty much write the same thing. she left us way to soon, but is singing with the angels.
k d lang would have to be included as one of the best female singers of all time as well.
Great phrase. I get emotional every time I hear her voice and her brother’s arrangements. Just so blessed to have been a child during the 70’s.
Karen's voice is remarkable for its astounding depth, fullness and melancholy while possessing brightness and clarity. Her phrasing is pure genius - as impeccable as Frank Sinatra. A voice so filled with deep authentic emotion that can turn bright with optimism smoothly and convincingly.
I've been a metal fan and metal musician for four decades but Karen Carpenter's voice made me fall in love with music when I was 5 years old and remains one of the purest and sweetest sounds I've ever heard.
And then there's her drumming... ruclips.net/video/GVBtjaHxR7Y/видео.html
same
An amazing talent, I wonder what she would be doing musically today if she had been able to stay with us….. one old metalheads perspective 🙁Rip Karen
I'm an 80's guitar player and I love hearing her sing . Her voice resonates deep for so many.
Karen's voice was full of melancholy longing and underlying pain and sorrow - it hits you right in the deepest part of your soul. She was an angel brought to Earth for an all-too-brief stay.
Very well said.
@@karyn354
Thanks. I'm a pretty good writer sometimes 😎
That's how most good souls end up on this crappy Earth ,full of pain ,suffering and an early death !
It totally sucks that good people end up like that !
@@gregorygant4242
Well, hopefully they're rewarded in the afterlife.
@@gregorygant4242 She died of anorexia. She needed more professional help.
Karen was the perfect alto voice, but she comfortably and beautifully sang soprano and tenor. And even some baritone notes. Effortless magic.
Yes! Her lower range overlapped the upper range of the male baritone!
IIRC ... she had a range of 5 octaves
The breaks in her voice are so natural, like she just lets them happen. Soft, but rich, and also crystalline. Have lived my whole life never hearing another voice quite like hers and I was a little kid when they came on the scene. Btw she did have vocal training in college check out the recording of “Crescent Noon” composed by Richard while they were both students at Cal State Long Beach. She started playing drums in band in HS.
Her voice. "White lace and promises, a kiss for luck and we're on our way" Yep, it's a wedding song. And her voice, did we mention her voice?
I lost my Mom this year. Karen Carpenter was one of her favorites… especially her Christmas album. I’ve been listening to her a lot over the holidays as a tribute to Mom. One of the most angelic and pure voices the world has ever known. Like my Mom, she left us way too soon. RIP to both of these lovely ladies.
I'm sorry for your loss. Music has a way of bringing back memories.
For your mother 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Sorry about your loss. I lost my mom almost 9 years ago and Carpenters was one of her favorites too. ❤
Sorry you lost your mom. Hearing the Carpenters is bitter sweet. My parents listened to them and it reminds me of them but they are gone and it just reminds me how much I miss them.
My mom's favorite as well. Family Christmases always had The Carpenters Christmas on repeat. I lost my mom nearly 10 years ago but I play it to this day to begin the holiday.
Kudos to Richard who was an INCREDIBLE arranger and musician. Karen's voice always takes center stage, but Richard's arrangements and the great musicians they worked with built the stage, the scenery, and lighting.
I'm 63 and have ever been considered 'soft' by anyone who has ever met me. Usually it's the exact opposite. But whenever I hear a Carpenter song I feel a tear forming realizing that Karen is no longer with us. The most beautiful voice ever.
Karen Carpenter was an Angel 😇 sent from Heaven and left us way too soon! One of the most beautiful voices ever heard! The compositions are the direct result of her brother Richard Carpenter who really played to Karen’s strengths as a singer! I LOVE ❤️ the music of The Carpenters! RIP Karen!
I’m a drummer and I tell you Karen was right in there with all the great jazz and rock drummers of her day! I loved that she played traditional grip with the left stick on the snare and the hand speed she demonstrated around the kit! Of course most know her for her outstanding alto vocals but don’t be fooled because Karen was also a marvelous drummer! I learned a lot by watching her performances! Hats off to Karen Carpenter: drummer and singer 🎤🥁extraordinaire!
An absolute legend ❤
1950-1983,nervous anorexia
@@michelelaraia7358 makes me cry thinking about it! Remember it’s not how a person dies but how they lived!
Guessing you have seen it, but in case not...check out the 1971 live outdoor Carpenters medley of Bacharach tunes, taped at Walter Reed army hospital for the Ed Sullivan Show...
I was a teenager when The Carpenters were singing, and they were our secret passion. It should be Mum and Dad music, right? Sweet, soft, ballady stuff. But all the headbangers and metalheads would listen to them in secret because they were so freakin' good! And they have endured half a century and will continue to do so for the same reason. Thank you for such a joyful reaction. Have a freakin' good New Year!
A lot of metalheads & headbangers were also diggin the Bee Gees in secret. Another group of incredible singers.
Yup, I listen to Disturbed, then show my grandson their Sound of Silence, then move him to the Carpenters, so he has tastes from everywhere
@@ctgblue Show him the original Simon & Garfunkel version of Sounds Of Silence as well.
Richard Carpenter was a genius arranger. The strings and horns add so much. Yes, Karen was an all time great, but these arrangements make the Carpenters who they are. And these overdub vocals- holy cow! This is what made Abba who they are, the layering of vocals.
This was actually written and composed by Paul Williams
Your reaction brought tears to my eyes, as this music usually does. It goes straight to the heart. I count myself as very fortune to have grown up with this gorgeous music and to have seen the Carpenters twice in the 1970s when Karen was still drumming. I feel sorry for the youth of today. They have no idea what they're missing by not having this type of perfection on the radio.
I am a metalhead but grew up hearing The Carpenters in my house. My parents wedding song is For All We Know. I get a smile in my face anytime I am listening to my music in shuffle and a Carpenters song pops up in between a Fear Factory tune and Iron Maiden
A metalhead myself, Halford specialist.
Carpenter is mandatory study material as a vocalist, so much to say about it…
The phrasing, breath control, vowel modifications etc.
Anyone with just a sprinkle of musical taste would appreciate The Carpenters, their music is as close to perfection as it gets.
Queen, status quo, rush, Judas Priest and… the carpenters. Fantastic voice
Same with me - can listen to Maiden and Fear Factory for days, but due to childhood influences The Carpenters have always been my guilty pleasure. It's a good lesson how all you need for good music is a good melody.
@@davewalker9528
My study list as a vocalist - Goddess Kate Bush, Karen Carpenter, Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio, Freddy Mercury, Robert Plant, Peter Gabriel, Ian Gillan.
It’s so strange this song started as a California bank commercial. And Richard was responsible for all the arrangements. And Karen started as a gifted drummer, not a singer. Absolutely beautiful! 😎
Yes and was written by Paul Williams. Richard really knew how to arrange : )
You can find the original commercial by searching for 'The Crocker Bank 1970'. I remember those ads from my childhood in L.A.
Just goes to show the brilliance of Paul Williams as a lyricist.
@@stephensams709 Paul had written lots of songs in various genres for a lot os people. He was once asked about writing for The Carpenters, "Aren't The Carpenters rather vanilla?", suggesting they were bland. Paul replied "And isn't vanilla a wonderful flavor?" I love that quote, not just politely deflecting but embracing the style. Sometimes we want Metallica, sometimes we want The Carpenters, and both are good.
You can see the commercial. Search 'Crocker Bank the wedding'. It's actually a surprisingly good commercial. They knew what they were doing.
The woodwind at the beginning is a b-flat clarinet.
Paul Williams was one of the writers of the song and the vocalist on the Crocker National Bank commercials
She is a true National Treasure
You mentioned that it was a perfect song for weddings. Not only was it a hit at wedding receptions, it was quite often played at school proms and graduations. Karen and Richard together are just pure perfection and their music is timeless. I wish that Karen was still here to know how much joy that she and her brother have given to the world.
She had a once in a lifetime voice, probably my all time favourite. Perfect, and SO emotive and soulful and pure. Superstar is the one that floors me everytime.
Superstar is the one…⭐️🥺
Karen or Linda Ronstadt were the female voices of the 1970s.
Superstar is my favourite too
Superstar was done in one take from Richard's scribbled notes on a napkin... o_0
@@lauraallen55 amazing!
Congratulations! You are now on your way to what we've known all along. Karen is an Angel. Now listen to her "Superstar" performed with an orchestra, conducted by Richard.
On a side note, Paul Williams and Roger Nichols wrote this song to be used for a southern California bank, for a commercial ad.
@@billleffler5981 Lloyds Bank in the UK produced a TV ad in 2020 using the song, recorded by English singer-songwriter Bat For Lashes - cool name, but her recording was not a patch on Carpenters' version! Still, it was interesting to see and hear the song come full-circle, as it were.
Karen and her brother's voices harmonize so well they sound ethereal.
Her voice is such a warm comforting sound. It’s cuddling under a blanket watching a fire. Wings of Pegasus did an analysis of her voice and she was hitting the notes live more accurately than she was on the record, which was already spot on.
Wings of Pegasus is an excellent analyst, too.
Yeah, I watch his channel too. He did an amazing analysis on Arethra Franklin I really enjoyed too. He's great.
Excellent analogy to the blanket and fireplace. I would add that Carpenter's vocals were as SMOOTH as a hot toddie, on X-Mass eve, after all the kids are put to bed, and "Santa" has done his duty.
AND, her tones could ALSO be sooo sensual, at the same time. Holy Schnikes !!
01/07/2024
My mom used to play the Carpenters to help me settle down for a nap when I was a toddler in the 70s, I still get such a lullaby feeling of happiness when I hear any of these songs.
Kudos to your mom for playing a song to give you great memories of your childhood.
Anytime I hear the Carpenters I think of my mom. She would play them on the stereo when cleaning the house and sing along with them. I miss her very much.
I adored them when i was very young, then thought they were too sappy, when i was an adolescent, and I've come full circle on them , as a mature adult. She is among the all-time great vocalists, in spite of having minimal formal training. It's sad that her story ended so young 😢
"That woodwind" is a clarinet... Richard used a lot of orchestral winds, especially oboes, in his gorgeous pop arrangements along with the usual strings. They complement Karen's voice, which resonated with the same beauty and elegance of the tonewoods of a fine guitar or Stradivarius violin. My favorite song of all time. Of special note, Karen and Richard provide those lush dense harmonies and perfect melodies without the benefits of modern pitch correction. Truly astonishing upon analysis. Karen was known for nailing most of these cuts on the first take as well. The immortal Paul Williams originally penned this song as a jingle for Crocker Bank. Richard heard it while watching TV and adapted it for pop release. It works for a bank in that the ad campaign was targeted at newlyweds and people making their start in the world.
I think it’s a clarinet over a flute playing in unison.
It is an alto flute. I have played one many times (although they are rare).
@@mnelson0528 The personnel roster credits longtime Carpenter friend and band member Doug Strawn of Canton OH on clarinet. In addition to studio work, he also toured with them as a multi-reed player. He met Karen and Richard at Cal State, they were all in the same choir. Strawn eventually got Richard a job playing piano at Disneyland, where he worked as a member of a barbershop quartet called the Dapper Dans. When Carpenters were signed to A&M in 1969, Strawn asked to become part of the group and they brought him on, where he stayed until Carpenters broke up as a group in 1979. He retired from touring in 1983, went back to Disney in Orlando, became the radio voice of Donald Duck for 2 years, and again worked his way up through the Disney system to become director of entertainment, then retired with his wife to open a cafe. He passed in 2017.
@mnelson0528 as a former flutist turned alto singer, I also thought "alto flute," but if you watch live videos it's a clarinet.
@@jpet71 The instrumentation used on a live performance isn't necessarily the same as what was used on a recording session.
You hit the nail right on the head, Elizabeth. "Perfection". As succinct a description of her voice as anyone ever offered. Nothing more need be said.... except, of course, that we miss her dearly, and our world is deminished by her absence. Thank you, Karen.
Karen's voice is perfection. So soothing and relaxing. My parents would play the Carpenters when i was young and now at 43 she is still one of the sweetest sounding female vocalists ever.
Yes. Richard and his musical arrangements mixed with Karen’s magical gifts was just a combo like I’ve never heard since.
If you haven’t already, I recommend doing a deep dive into Superstar. Karen’s vocals are so exposed during the verses, and-as expected-she nails it.
SUPERSTAR is THE Carpenters song I always go back to. It sounds like she is living the words, not just singing them. Such emotion!
Best woman singer ever , only second to herself ! No one comes close , and the best woman drummer of all time , hands down !!!
At the very beginning of the song, Karen sings, “We’ve only just begun…to live.” As she holds the vocal on “live,” you’ll notice a little cry in her voice as it tails off.
Very impressive and emotional.
It's called a vocal fry...
Absolutely awesome Voice...... It just warms my soul like no other. She will always be missed, and we were gifted to have heard her.
This song was for Crocker Bank. You can find it if you Google bank commercial we’ve only just begun. Her voice is perfection. She was known as one take Karen because most times it only took one time recording something… not multiple takes. She was that good. Also she was self conscious because of her little lisp. I think it just makes her that more special. RIP gone way too soon 😢
I believe the instrument is a clarinet. Richard and Karen did their own backing vocals also. I was fortunate to have seen them in concert twice. Once at McCormack Place in Chicago in 1972 where they were dressed to the nines, and once in Raleigh in 1974 at a more casual setting. They were consumate professionals and it showed in their works. A once in a lifetime voice.
Internet sleuthing confirms that it was a clarinet, played by the late Doug Strawn on the original recording. Just sounds a bit synthesized due to style of mic used according to people who are far more knowledgeable than me.
Ah, okay. Perhaps that's why I thought it was an oboe at first.
You are blessed to have seen them perform live.👍👍👍 I never had that opportunity, maybe in the next life.
Sounds like a clarinet to me too, if one plays wind instruments for a while it becomes impossible to miss the distinct overtones. But I wouldn’t be able to get all the nuances with voices, so no blame on the charismatic voice whatsoever 😊
I was born in 1969 and had such a happy childhood and the Carpenters were part of the soundtrack in my early years. It always makes my happy hearing their music because it takes me back to that blissfully happy time of my early childhood. They are not a guilty pleasure for me, I feel no guilt enjoying their music as much as I do. Their music is a straight up total pleasure to listen to.😊
Same here, born in 69, and The Carpenters were a part of my Childhood
Karen has one of the most soothing voices ever.
I’m a 70s rock type of guy, but The Carpenter’s sapping orchestration and Karen’s magnificent singing was always one of my favorites. “Rainy Days and Mondays” is sublime. She does a duet with Ella Fitzgerald that is wonderful. To go back to Nat King Cole, his “Orange Coloured Sky” is genius. I love your sheer delight, pleasure and enthusiasm of great music.
Shout out for Orange Colored Sky (by Delugg and Stein), a fun, jazzy standard that’s hard to sing accurately!
The face she makes on the cover of this single compilation always makes me smile 😊
I usually nearly exclusively listen to metal and rock but Karen Carpenters voice would probably make me listen to quite about anything. RIP drummer girl 😢
I think the photo was part of a Rolling Stone photo shoot.
Extraordinary phrasing and the ability to crimp a one syllable word into five syllables; Karen was the motivation for a generation of singers.
I cannot tell you I've heard this sing since 1970 but watching you appreciate this all these years later let's me think the world will be Okay after my generation has exited Stage Left😊😊😊
I looked it up and I can't believe Elizabeth hasn't listened to kd lang yet. She is another one with a truly beautiful voice. An appropriate start would be her singing Roy Orbison's "Crying" at the tribute for him. That or the MTV performance, the first may be a bootleg but it was more impressive because of her reception. I think it was the first time she came to broad American attention and apparently there was a 4 minute standing ovation. Then her "Hallelujah" at the opening of the 2 010 Olympics.
Fantastic singer 😊
The carpenters started as a jazz band and she was just the drummer. It really shows in their version of the song "Masquerade" Oh and yes this was the song for a Bank commercial that was offering home loans to young couples.
I'm in my 50's and started to rediscover my childhood and the Carpenters. Don't forget she was a tremendous drummer 🎉🎉
the music of my care free childhood, these type of music is the vibe of a lifestyle , an era that im thankful i got to experience
Karen's voice was just 'Honey' to so many. Combined with Richard's sublime arrangements they were an incredible combo.
For me it was the emotion in her voice that hit me the hardest, and that from a boy in his early teens rocking out to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple etc. Such a sad loss to the world of popular music. I would love you to listen and comment on Karen's vocals in what was to be her final song...'Now'.
She was a really great jazz drummer as well. Before they forced her out front, she used to drum and sing simultaneously, flawlessly, seemingly without effort.
This is true!
I read somewhere that she was rated the #1 drummer of the 70’s!
@@jeremyyip1945 In a 1975 Playboy readers poll. She ranked 11 in the 100 best drummers in the world. Just above John Bonham of Led Zeppelin who ranked 12.
@@jeremyyip1945 …by non-drummers. She was a very good drummer though. As great and innovative as say John Bonham in that era, no… but she did have good jazz chops.
It was that voice though, God given natural talent that didn’t take years to develop, she just had it.
She had the sweetest voice. And she was extremely talented on many instruments.
I am so glad you like the Long Beach State band mates where this music was born. I lived in Long Beach during this time and we were all so proud of our Carpenters. The bank was United California Bank and Richard heard the commercial and called Paul Williams and said please tell me there is a whole song. Williams said yes and it became the Wedding song of the next 20 years.
This song was my high school senior class theme song back in 1977. Karen was an angel in disguise. No other person had a voice like hers. Melts my heart every time I here her.
My senior class song in 1976 was Long and Winding Road though Still Crazy After All These Years was second by a a few votes.
Totally awesome way to begin 2024 on the best music appreciation channel on RUclips. Listening to Karen Carpenter sing is like getting a warm hug from a loved one.
Karen Carpenter has been my favorite female vocalist since the beginning of their career. I am now 75 years old. No one better.😊
I will love Karen Carpenter forever
Karen’s voice is the centerpiece but I think Richard had a vision to showcase it. Picking songs, arranging etc. Perfection
Karen's voice is so pleasing that she sings one of the most depressing songs ever written - Goodbye to Love - and it still makes me happy. (Due credit - Richard had heard the title as a reference in an old movie, but there was no song to go with it, so he wrote a song to fit the title). Of course Superstar is also quite a downer song by its lyrics, but she makes it so delightful.
I miss Karen so much......She was soooooo special ... R.I.P. Karen...'' WE LOVE YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely one of those voices that I'll never come again I grew up listening to the Carpenters here when Karen passed it was a devastation and actually my mother turned me on to The carpenters and I am grateful
The combination of Richard’s arrangements and Karen’s voice is perfection!
This was the song my wife and I danced to at our wedding. I’ve always loved Karen’s voice. Losing her was a true tragedy. She had so many more years of beautiful music ahead of her
It was played at many weddings in the 70s, along with Paul Stookey's "Wedding Song," Jefferson Airplane's "Today," and "Never my Love" by The Association.
Arguably, one of the finest contemporary female singing voices ever. Karen took over your heart with her voice, I have to admit, I can't listen to her singing without a tear in my eye, that's the power she possessed, not with decibels, but heartfelt clarity, her voice reaches inside of you, rendering you helpless, it's that beautiful. Richard's arrangement of course, plus his own great harmonies, highlighted Karens talent even more so. You're analysis is beautiful in itself, the joy in your face & smile is infectious, plus of course your skill in pinpointing every phrase & nuance, just brilliant!
The Carpenters will forever bring a smile to my face and warm feelings inside, but there is always a tear for Karen.
Karen was not only a fantastic singer but a talented drummer too.
Underused in their material too - they usually had Hal Blaine do the drums on the recordings.
Karen was one of the most perfect voices I ever heard. She had the most beautiful phrasing ever plus a fantastic legato. Her pronunciation is always clear and she's always insise the song,,she never sings from outside.
I’ve seen her voice on a pitch sequencer. She had the most perfect pitch and could repeat it live as perfect as she could record it. NO OTHER artist comes close, today or ever, to being as pitch perfect as she was. A colossal loss for the music community.. 💔
This is such a heavy song. Paul Williams was a genius with the lyrics and with the way Karen sings it and how it is arranged, makes it carry so much more emotion than the popular music of then and now. It is a close to perfect song for me. Just wonderful. Great choice!
Hard to imagine "Little Enos" being the genius behind this song!
@@lesterawilson3 Looks like a legend and an out-of-work bum look a lot alike, Daddy.
I love how you are helping me rediscover music from my youth.
Gosh, you hear everything; it's a real pleasure to listen to your descriptions of what's happening in different parts of the song. :)
Karen's voice is something from another world, just divine. i'm in tears everytime I hear her singing
Great reaction, Elizabeth (as usual). I'm a 60-year-old classic rock fan, but The Carpenters have always been one of my guilty pleasures :)
Same brother!