So nice to hear/see the artistry of Richard Carpenter highlighted. He has taken back seat to his incomparable sister all these years but The Carpenters would not have had that overall heavenly feel without him. Both these siblings were musical geniuses.
The legendary Hal Blaine on drums and Joe Osborne on bass. Coupled with Karen’s greatest voice ever and Richard’s beautiful arrangement you’ve got the perfect pop song. Thanks for this, Scott in Philly.
Karen's voice on this never fails to give me goosebumps such clarity. We need to mention this was all done on analogue equipment and reel to reel tapes, how you were easily isolating and highlighting sections wasn't at all simple back in those days. Loving going through your reviews loving your style!
Yes, actually it was that simple back then. They were using the same set of tracks that this lady is using, aka the multi-track masters. No they couldn't jump back and forth in time instantly like this lady can, they had to allow the tape machine to rewind or forward the tape, but yes, they could "solo" a desired track the same way done here.
Fun little fact. We've Only Just Begun started life as a jingle for a bank. Richard saw the commercial and made some calls to confirm who the writers of the song were. He contacted Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, and turned that jingle into arguably one of the Carpenters biggest hits!
Hi Emma, thank you for presenting this. It highlights the genius of Richard's musical arrangements & Production. He was a true prodigy in Pop Music & his work has stood th test of time!
The mono piano is the actual original piano from the 1970 version. The stereo piano is a re-recording Richard did in 1985 for a remix that was issued in 1986 (and was used for other compilations later on - it contains a few flourishes not present on the original piano track). Richard did a lot of these piano re-dubs for re-releases and compilations, especially through the 1990s because he didn't like the sound quality of the piano (most of the time, the piano was recorded in mono and sometimes sounded very boxy)
One of the few singers that makes me tear up when I hear her voice. It's the combination of beautiful delivery, perfect vibrato, and a deep sadness which permeates everything she sang.
I love this song so much, it was amazing to hear it completely broken down. Karen has the most incredible voice. Thank you for this, Emma. I look forward to more tours! X
These songs resulted from two musical geniuses of the 1970s, Karen's voice as lead singer, and both Richard's backup vocals AND his ability to arrange their songs into the worldwide hits they were. His productions often used over-dubbing technics which were a rarity of that time. Where he got these visions was a product of his genius.
So glad I found this - years after you produced it. One of my all-time favorite songs, and absolutely the best Carpenters song. So great to hear the stems, taken apart and had light shone on them. Thank you for this...
Please continue to educate snd share the voice and arrangements of this amazing duo, esp. to your generation. Karen is in my opinion the greatest female contralto in the history of music. Her voice touches my soul, restores my faith and takes me to plains of calmness and happiness. No other singer has ever had this effect on me. It is magical.
Hal Blaine. Someone once said, "The biggest shock I ever had in my life was when I found out that my 10 favourite drummers were all Hal Blaine." He played on so much in the 70s. The Beach Boys, The Monkeys, Simon and Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, TV Themes, Movie Music... My hero!
Hal Blane, who played on most of the Carpenters songs, was also the drummer on about 5000 songs mostly from the late 50s through the 70s. He played on too many big songs to name. Karen Carpenter is arguably the best female vocalist of all time. Her range is incredible and her voice is like butter. Her brother Richard is one of the most under rated composers, arrangers harmonizers and keyboard players. He was a genius who knew how to showcase his sister's incomparable voice.
Emma this is awesome thanks for the great breakdown of the tracks and i loved the Hal Blaine groove. Karen Carpenters voice just melts your heart..so good.
Thanks. These days, groups that can harmonize are a novelty. Growing up, I listened to The Carpenters, Simon & Garfunkel, Journey, Queen, The Eagles, Styx, and so many other bands that had real singing musicians! What a concept. I've always said that if I had a band, we'd have to truly be able to play & sing live. Also, Karen Carpenter had one the most naturally & effortlessly beautiful voices in recording history. I've got their 'Best of'. tavi.
First video of yours I’ve seen and it won’t be the last. Learned so much - and appreciate your bringing this great music to a wider audience. Truly grateful!
Richard was the genius and total brains. The wrecking crew are just technicians. Frank Lloyd Wright is the genius architect, the brick layer, no matter how good he is, is just labor.
Hey, Sounds Like Emma, thanks for uploading this Carpenters stems tour. I'm only seeing this today. Wow!! I have a newfound respect for what Richard Carpenter did to arrange "We've Only Just Begun" and Karen's vocals are so understated but swells with emotion at the same time. And the harmonies? I could listen to KC and RC harmonize all day long. Do more Carpenters if you can.
Great reaction and analysis. Im on my late 60s, so remember KC very well on the radio and TV specials. You mentioned their great harmonies. Every female harmony in all of her songs was hers as well, sang, then dubbed into the song by Richard. They were most successful in early/mid1970s when she received 4 grammys. She began, with her brother Richard, by playing drums. Recognized by 1975 Playboy poll as rock drummer of the year. KC's voice, especially contralto, was the best female voice - ever. No auto-tune, gimmicks, or screaming. Her studio nickname was 'one take', since she always sang a song once in studio without a single re-take. She sang to you with mesmerizing emotion, perfect pitch and enunciation. Her voice made you listen to her. She had no professional voice training. Paul McCartney stated that KC had an angelic voice and sang Ticket To Ride better than the Beatles. John Lennon told her at an LA restaurant "you have a fabulous voice. luv." She never knew true love, nor how good she really was. KC was a one in more than a generation female vocalist. She had a few friends, including Dionne Warwick. She had serious onset of anorexia in 1975 that continued the rest of her life. She died Feb 1983 at 32yo due to complications from anorexia.; [Some facts taken from the documentary; 'Only Yesterday']
Amazingly this song was composed for a TV commercial for the Crocker bank! There are 3 different commercials with different parts of this song as a background, showing a pair getting married, the guy getting a new job, and the pair moving to a new house. And the bank would help them with that (in reality they didn't, it was more a savings/investment bank than one issueing credit to young people, and the commercials were short-lived). The version in the commercial was rough, but Richard Carpenter contacted the composer to make his own version. Which is the amazing work we have here.
I never noticed before and I am a former school music teacher, lol: The opening 4 bars seem out of tune between the clarinet and the piano, then straightens itself out. Background vocals using a Major triad with major 7 and a 9th on top. The singing by the Carpenters on these is stunning and effortlessly in pitch, blending, and even the vibrato is matching well when they use it. How many screaming guitar bands know wtf a chord like that is and can they sing that in perfect tune like here, no auto tune? Not very many no matter how fast their fingers or how technically good on each instrument they are is my guess. One Note: when we study the computer charts and listen and watch, we may be missing the musicality part, of dynamics pp to fff, the up and down in volumes for musical variety and interpretation, so sorely missed in most pop and rock tunes. Carpenters paid attention to details musically that most did not. And are we now listening with our eyes on a computer chart, rather than our ears and our "heart? " Hal laine on drums? Or was it Karen...she was THAT good you know! Probably Joe Burns on Bass, he really "discovered them before Herb Alpert did. that's how the GOT to Herb Alpert of A and M records and Tijuana Brass fame. Richard Carpenter is a genius pianist and arranger. I have tremendous respect for him, a tragedy he lost his sister, more than I could describe except I lost my younger brother 2 years ago to a heart attack.
Nice video, I like you identifying the overdubs, Unlike today. most of the tracks still have DYNAMICS. The drums you can hear this in particular (for example, his snare is notably louder, which allows all the complexity of the drum part to "sit back"). Compression has become such of a fashion with modern production. It's one of the things that make life easier for a producer, but reduce the quality of music hugely. Of course they still did compression then with microphones and various techniques, but its super-advanced tasteful production really. Of Course these were musicians that could really PLAY also. I mean by this, their sense of taste and dynamics, partly how they trained themselves, learning to play acoustically, - it's better source material that people work with than people have these days.
Thank you so much for showcasing Richard and Karen’s incredible talent. Richard’s beautiful arrangements and of course, Karen’s heavenly voice. Simply beautiful!
The compressor does that. I like how we can hear the breaths she takes, and you can also hear that on some of her live tracks. She took fast deep breaths and she was a little loud with those. At first Richard used to edit out some of those breath noises, but later he realized they contributed to desired intimacy. Compressing a track reduces the volume of the louder portions, thereby reducing the average volume of the track, so then you can turn the volume of the track up louder on the mixer. One effect of that is it increases the volume of softer sounds, making them more audible than they would normally be. Being too aggressive with the compressor causes the vocal to sound "processed," and I have heard it used that way on some tracks on "Made in America." Given that Karen is such an excellent singer, that "processed" sound is not right for her, detracting from that "warm" and "intimate" sound she's so good at. Poorer singers may need that sound, with Alan Parsons using a heavily compressed sound, e.g. "I am the Eye in the sky." Jeff Lynne of ELO used that sound to simulate the sound of a telephone call on "Telephone Line," in fact he seems to have been inspired to write an entire #1 song based on the effect. John Lennon did not like the sound of his voice on tape and would ask for heavy processing, and you got that heavily compressed sound from him on some tracks, including "Revolution" and "Lucy in the sky with diamonds." Because of the care taken by George Martin, the results there were always stellar. In "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," the verse is heavily compressed and then the chorous is not, giving a shocking "screaming" quality to the chorous, to great effect.
Karen Carpenter was such the ultimate and perfect vocalist/musician who had that unique sound which in my opinion, can never be repeated. Thank you for sharing this video.
Just discovered you channel. I love music and the carpenters. I enjoyed watching and learning about this song and the arrangements. I am not that music savvy, and love to learn everything I can on behind the making of arrangements. I hope you will do more songs from them and other artists. Quick request would be to look into ABBA and do the same treatments shown here as you just did. Thank you for the lessons learned here.
Thank you Emma, I have learnt an incredible amount from you about these two wonderful songs (We've Only Just Begun and Stayin' Alive). I had never imagined there was so much to discover there, but the way you drill down into them and lay everything out shows that they have the complexity of a Mahler symphony. And your obvious love for this music, and joy and enthusiasm in wanting to reveal its hidden beauty, are infectious and irresistible. I hope you do lots more of these when you can!
Thank you for demonstrating this. Amazing how much work went into creating these songs. By the way, John Carpenter wrote Horror Films, you meant Richard Carpenter LOL. John C wrote the 1983 horror Film 🎦, "Christine" about a demonized 1957 Plymouth. Excellent author; completely different person. I'd like to hear a break down of their "A Place to Hideaway" , one of their most beautiful works they were justly proud of 😇 😎
John Carpenter is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s.
Emma is a very perceptive musician! Exactly right about Hal's playing. It's busier than one would have thought, rhythmically straight, yet there's a hint of swing that makes it even more musical. The one thing that has always bothered me is the clarinet, which is sharp throughout.
This is amazing. Please make more like this on Carpenters music. And Little River Band. I’m curious how their harmonies were constructed in more detail than what you can hear like this. LOVE IT
THIS is the next best thing to time traveling to the sessions, which I would’ve given my right arm for back in the day! THANK YOU for sharing this delicious ear candy!!
That was a fantastic breakdown of my all time favorite duo, thanks for doing that. I was lucky enough to see them in 1974, yeah I just aged myself. She was an awesome drummer in her own right. You just didn't see many females behind the drums back in the day. I was 11 and I begged mom to let me play drums. I joined band and not only would they bar females from playing drums but any percussion instrument! I settled for clarinet but taught myself by ear to play their songs. (The melody) KC's voice was as close to pitch perfect as one could get. I was devastated that February day in 1983 when they announced her passing! I think of all the beautiful music we've all been deprived of. SMH. R.I.P. Karen Carpenter. 😔❤
The Carpenters did not write Superstar. It was written by Delaney Bramlett. Delaney and his then-wife Bonnie recorded the song a few years earlier as “Groupie”. Completely different arrangement. It’s fascinating to compare Richard Carpenter’s arrangement with Delaney Bramlett’s original.
I grew up with music all around me and The Carpenters were definitely in there and played their part in the musical diversity I enjoy today. Those harmonies are just like silk being brushed over your ears.
Richard the arranger. Bang up job, he did in every song. Thank you Emma. You've given The Carpenters a wonderful spin I've seen on no other reactor. Fil, from Wings of Pegasus, is also interesting to listen to in his reactions. But yours is..., special. That's quite the program you've got. Fascinating. "...god dam good...". Concise and well said!
I love this so much, but is there any way you can flash the name “RICHARD” every time you say “JOHN”? John Carpenter was a movie director. Richard Carpenter is an important figure in the kind of pop music you’re celebrating, and deserves to have his name clearly stated throughout.
Richard, and I did back in 1970. I have a similar problem, my tongue is held down by skin. He became my hero as he got past it and had the #1 song in the country with his sister. It inspired me to not worry about it and deal with it. Surgery at the time wasn’t an option and I’ve lived with it all my life.
Its amazing that there were so many tracks on this song, considering it was recorded in 1970. I wonder if the just kept recording submixes from 8 track onto another 8 track, or were 16 track recorders available in 1970?
Hi Andy, surprised to see you here! 16-track recorders came out in 1968 (Ampex MM1000, I believe). I'm a lot less clear on when 24-track recorders came out, 1970 would surprise me. I'm counting 20 tracks here, but haven't worked out if they're just 16 tracks broken out into more. For instance, it looks like Karen's double and the clarinet could've shared a track.
Fascinating! Absolutely Fascinating analysis! If only my music appreciation courses could have been this thorough, this much fun and this engaging! Who knows where I may have wound up in a career. I grew up listening to The Carpenters. Relishing every hit and every album release in real time. I always knew they were genius. I just never understood how. Where did you come from? Thank you!
I remember along with many others when songs like this emerged & it would simply blow your mind. I consider it to have been an absolute pleasure growing up to music like this & so many others. Great tribute Emma. Keep up the good work. Your work , opinions & offerings are one of the bright aspects of modern social media in what at time seems like a sea of dross….Drum on 👍
Listening to an interview with Richard, Karen recorded her doubles without listening to the original. That would explain the difference between the 2 or 3 doubles in terms of vowels, crescendos, etc. Richard said they always knew how long to hold notes, cut-offs, etc. but singing along with yourself did not work for Karen OR Richard.
Later in the duo's career much of that sumptuous multitracking went away, replaced with backing groups like The OK Chorale. But Richard revisited the multitrack harmony on his own for the intro to the second Christmas album (released after Karen's death) and for his 1987 solo album Time, especially the track directly in tribute to Karen, When Time Was All We Had. Incidentally the idea wasn't Richard's: he was inspired by similar work done by Les Paul and Mary Ford circa 1950...
The OK Chorale is absolute muzak garbage and any track on which they appear is trash, and the same goes for any Carpenters track were Richard did not do the arranging and orchestrating himself. He used Peter Knight to horrible results. I don't consider such tracks as "Carpenters." I deduce several things from that. We know that Richard felt overworked and felt the need to cut back on his responsibilities. I've heard him say "I was wearing too many hats" and also "If someone else can come in and do the arranging and orchestration, yeah, sure, get them in here." So we know that. But Richard had to know, better than anyone but by everyone anyway, that his arranging skills could not be replaced by outside contractors, so he knew full well that using outsiders would not give the same quality result. I mean he could have gotten superstar talents like Bacharach, Roger Nichols, Leon Russel, and Henry Mancini, and even then Richard had already proven that they can not do what Richard does. But anyway who could afford them, so Richard hired 5th rate schlock meisters. That proves what we also already knew, that Richard had quit, and "Carpenters" was done. It also shows something somewhat surprising, that Richard was willing to sacrifice his own stellar reputation, as well as that of The Carpenters, in order to fulfill quota and produce product, and make money. "Somewhat surprising" because Richard knew he was not willing to put in that work anymore, but there were contracts to be honored and money to be made, for just a little while longer, and how much is reputation worth when looking at several score million dollars available down the pike. But the most surprising thing to me is that on some level Richard must have thought that the styles of Peter Knight and the OK Chorale were good, and that's why he hired them. But I really can"'t believe that the man that invented a new, modern, superb style of such stupendous easy listening music could believe those hacks were good, so it must have just been about making that money. Maybe not so surprising after all.
Emma, Saying "Richard Carpenter is the piano player of the Carpenters" is like saying Jonas Salk was a scientist! Richard Carpenter WROTE all of those Vocal arrangements!
I just discovered your ch (RUclips algorithm) and I’m impressed with your analysis. The only other breakdown I’ve heard was Chris May’s which only covered how they stacked their harmonies. You go much deeper. I was a recording engineer back in the 70’s-80’s and I’m very curious how you obtained these multitracks?
John Carpenter 🤪 Hi!! I love this!! I agree!! Karen’s voice is beyond beautiful!!! I have the same reaction that you do!! Can you tell me about Bob Messenger? He did the solo on “A Song For You”. What else? There is really nothing written about him and nothing mentioned anywhere about his involvement with the duo. I absolutely LOVE how you separated each amazing sound here!!! You ROCK!!❤️
A few comments on the drum section. This was actually a session drummer. Karen does play live most of the time but they use a session drummer in the studio who does his best to play in the same style that she plays. I was learning to be a drummer in those days and I have to attribute much of my style to Karen and her Ghost double. You also mention how intricate and therefore how hard the strong part is but when you play that way all the time it actually just flows.😢
I've been listening to the Carpenters for over 50 years, and i really enjoyed this analysis. But if you want to hear Richard (not John) Carpenter go wild with an arrangement, have you heard "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"?
Carpenters are the epitome of having Chef's Kiss musicality. Richard added a Cabasa during the last bars of Superstar (groupie). A FRIGGN CABASA - only someone with the finest ear, musical intelligence and respect for detail could ever add a cabassa effectively to that song. Did it need a cabasa, No but it adds just enough texture that it would sound wrong without it. You should do a whole series of multitrack videos on them - there's nothing like this on RUclips and THIS is proper music appreciation worthy of these two people. Karen Carpenter was the drummer. She didn't do every drum arrangement but she did most of them and PLAYED DRUMS LIVE ON STAGE WHILE SINGING THIS SONG. Their studio musicians were the Wrecking Crew - the greatest POP studio musicians of all time. So much content to mine there - this is a great video. Led Zeppelin also did some amazing mutlitrack innovations in production
Richard Carpenter 😁
So nice to hear/see the artistry of Richard Carpenter highlighted. He has taken back seat to his incomparable sister all these years but The Carpenters would not have had that overall heavenly feel without him. Both these siblings were musical geniuses.
The legendary Hal Blaine on drums and Joe Osborne on bass. Coupled with Karen’s greatest voice ever and Richard’s beautiful arrangement you’ve got the perfect pop song. Thanks for this, Scott in Philly.
Karen's voice on this never fails to give me goosebumps such clarity. We need to mention this was all done on analogue equipment and reel to reel tapes, how you were easily isolating and highlighting sections wasn't at all simple back in those days.
Loving going through your reviews loving your style!
Yes, actually it was that simple back then. They were using the same set of tracks that this lady is using, aka the multi-track masters. No they couldn't jump back and forth in time instantly like this lady can, they had to allow the tape machine to rewind or forward the tape, but yes, they could "solo" a desired track the same way done here.
Fun little fact. We've Only Just Begun started life as a jingle for a bank. Richard saw the commercial and made some calls to confirm who the writers of the song were. He contacted Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, and turned that jingle into arguably one of the Carpenters biggest hits!
You’ve got a long way to go. Let us help you get there. Crocker Bank
Hi Emma, thank you for presenting this.
It highlights the genius of Richard's musical arrangements & Production. He was a true prodigy in Pop Music & his work has stood th test of time!
The mono piano is the actual original piano from the 1970 version. The stereo piano is a re-recording Richard did in 1985 for a remix that was issued in 1986 (and was used for other compilations later on - it contains a few flourishes not present on the original piano track). Richard did a lot of these piano re-dubs for re-releases and compilations, especially through the 1990s because he didn't like the sound quality of the piano (most of the time, the piano was recorded in mono and sometimes sounded very boxy)
the Carpenters are my music gods, anything you review on them is magic
One of the few singers that makes me tear up when I hear her voice. It's the combination of beautiful delivery, perfect vibrato, and a deep sadness which permeates everything she sang.
Well said. She is the only singer that ever made me cry. I still can't listen to "I won't last a day without you" without getting a little
Verklempt.
I love this song so much, it was amazing to hear it completely broken down. Karen has the most incredible voice. Thank you for this, Emma. I look forward to more tours! X
These songs resulted from two musical geniuses of the 1970s, Karen's voice as lead singer, and both Richard's backup vocals AND his ability to arrange their songs into the worldwide hits they were. His productions often used over-dubbing technics which were a rarity of that time. Where he got these visions was a product of his genius.
Lovely to hear all the individual tracks of this classic! Blaine really gets funky for the bridge with Osborn. What an arrangement!
They were just incredible. Karen's amazing clear vocals, and RICHARD's vocals, piano and arrangements
So glad I found this - years after you produced it. One of my all-time favorite songs, and absolutely the best Carpenters song. So great to hear the stems, taken apart and had light shone on them. Thank you for this...
Wow this is amazing. The best female vocalist that ever has lived imo and a fantastic drummer too. Karen did all the drumming on the early tracks.
Just on the first album. After that she didn't record much drums at all.
Actually, Hal Blaine did most of the drum tracks on their 2nd, 3rd and 4th albums.
Karen did Offering/TTR and Now & Then, except Jambalaya was Hal.
I absolutely LOVE how you allowed us to hear the sounds individually!!!! They were the BEST!!!!! Thank you for doing this!!!!!❤️
Please continue to educate snd share the voice and arrangements of this amazing duo, esp. to your generation. Karen is in my opinion the greatest female contralto in the history of music. Her voice touches my soul, restores my faith and takes me to plains of calmness and happiness. No other singer has ever had this effect on me. It is magical.
That lovely voice was blessed with perfect pitch. A very rare gift indeed….
Hal Blaine. Someone once said, "The biggest shock I ever had in my life was when I found out that my 10 favourite drummers were all Hal Blaine."
He played on so much in the 70s. The Beach Boys, The Monkeys, Simon and Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, TV Themes, Movie Music...
My hero!
Not to forget former Mouseketeer Cubby O’Brien on the drums
Love it. Thanks for this wonderful journey. My respect to the Carpenters is increasing every time I watch deep analysis like this. Subbed!
Hal Blane, who played on most of the Carpenters songs, was also the drummer on about 5000 songs mostly from the late 50s through the 70s. He played on too many big songs to name. Karen Carpenter is arguably the best female vocalist of all time. Her range is incredible and her voice is like butter. Her brother Richard is one of the most under rated composers, arrangers harmonizers and keyboard players. He was a genius who knew how to showcase his sister's incomparable voice.
This song is in the Grammy Hall of Fame for "lasting quality."
Emma this is awesome thanks for the great breakdown of the tracks and i loved the Hal Blaine groove. Karen Carpenters voice just melts your heart..so good.
Thanks. These days, groups that can harmonize are a novelty. Growing up, I listened to The Carpenters, Simon & Garfunkel, Journey, Queen, The Eagles, Styx, and so many other bands that had real singing musicians! What a concept. I've always said that if I had a band, we'd have to truly be able to play & sing live. Also, Karen Carpenter had one the most naturally & effortlessly beautiful voices in recording history. I've got their 'Best of'. tavi.
First video of yours I’ve seen and it won’t be the last. Learned so much - and appreciate your bringing this great music to a wider audience. Truly grateful!
Wow, just wow. Now, what they made sound so subtle, underneath shows all their talents along with the Wrecking Crew....sound so sublime.
Richard was the genius and total brains. The wrecking crew are just technicians. Frank Lloyd Wright is the genius architect, the brick layer, no matter how good he is, is just labor.
Great content. I look forward to what you have to offer to this platform.
Hey, Sounds Like Emma, thanks for uploading this Carpenters stems tour. I'm only seeing this today. Wow!! I have a newfound respect for what Richard Carpenter did to arrange "We've Only Just Begun" and Karen's vocals are so understated but swells with emotion at the same time. And the harmonies? I could listen to KC and RC harmonize all day long. Do more Carpenters if you can.
Thank you so much for doing this! Richard was a genius. Karen...just amazing.
Great reaction and analysis. Im on my late 60s, so remember KC very well on the radio and TV specials. You mentioned their great harmonies. Every female harmony in all of her songs was hers as well, sang, then dubbed into the song by Richard. They were most successful in early/mid1970s when she received 4 grammys. She began, with her brother Richard, by playing drums. Recognized by 1975 Playboy poll as rock drummer of the year. KC's voice, especially contralto, was the best female voice - ever. No auto-tune, gimmicks, or screaming. Her studio nickname was 'one take', since she always sang a song once in studio without a single re-take. She sang to you with mesmerizing emotion, perfect pitch and enunciation. Her voice made you listen to her. She had no professional voice training. Paul McCartney stated that KC had an angelic voice and sang Ticket To Ride better than the Beatles. John Lennon told her at an LA restaurant "you have a fabulous voice. luv." She never knew true love, nor how good she really was. KC was a one in more than a generation female vocalist. She had a few friends, including Dionne Warwick. She had serious onset of anorexia in 1975 that continued the rest of her life. She died Feb 1983 at 32yo due to complications from anorexia.; [Some facts taken from the documentary; 'Only Yesterday']
I have loved the Carpenters from the beginning I have never seen anyone break it down. They did this all analog!
Amazingly this song was composed for a TV commercial for the Crocker bank! There are 3 different commercials with different parts of this song as a background, showing a pair getting married, the guy getting a new job, and the pair moving to a new house. And the bank would help them with that (in reality they didn't, it was more a savings/investment bank than one issueing credit to young people, and the commercials were short-lived).
The version in the commercial was rough, but Richard Carpenter contacted the composer to make his own version. Which is the amazing work we have here.
This is the best reaction and breakdown of this song and The Carpenters work I've ever seen. Thank you, really loved watching and listening to this 🌞😁
Hello 👋🏻, I just found your channel and it is FANTASTIC!!
I never noticed before and I am a former school music teacher, lol: The opening 4 bars seem out of tune between the clarinet and the piano, then straightens itself out. Background vocals using a Major triad with major 7 and a 9th on top. The singing by the Carpenters on these is stunning and effortlessly in pitch, blending, and even the vibrato is matching well when they use it. How many screaming guitar bands know wtf a chord like that is and can they sing that in perfect tune like here, no auto tune? Not very many no matter how fast their fingers or how technically good on each instrument they are is my guess. One Note: when we study the computer charts and listen and watch, we may be missing the musicality part, of dynamics pp to fff, the up and down in volumes for musical variety and interpretation, so sorely missed in most pop and rock tunes. Carpenters paid attention to details musically that most did not. And are we now listening with our eyes on a computer chart, rather than our ears and our "heart? " Hal laine on drums? Or was it Karen...she was THAT good you know! Probably Joe Burns on Bass, he really "discovered them before Herb Alpert did. that's how the GOT to Herb Alpert of A and M records and Tijuana Brass fame. Richard Carpenter is a genius pianist and arranger. I have tremendous respect for him, a tragedy he lost his sister, more than I could describe except I lost my younger brother 2 years ago to a heart attack.
Nice video, I like you identifying the overdubs, Unlike today. most of the tracks still have DYNAMICS. The drums you can hear this in particular (for example, his snare is notably louder, which allows all the complexity of the drum part to "sit back"). Compression has become such of a fashion with modern production. It's one of the things that make life easier for a producer, but reduce the quality of music hugely. Of course they still did compression then with microphones and various techniques, but its super-advanced tasteful production really. Of Course these were musicians that could really PLAY also. I mean by this, their sense of taste and dynamics, partly how they trained themselves, learning to play acoustically, - it's better source material that people work with than people have these days.
And no auto tune like most performers use today. Karen was known as one take Karen for a reason.
And she was a boss on the drums too ❤❤
40 years since the world lost her and no one to this day can compare to her voice.
@@teamcougars She's the only one who really comes close to her - but still: different
ruclips.net/video/5ZfW7ib-2AE/видео.html
Thank you so much for showcasing Richard and Karen’s incredible talent. Richard’s beautiful arrangements and of course, Karen’s heavenly voice. Simply beautiful!
I love the way Karen's mic picks up every little discreet noise from her lips and not just her notes.
The compressor does that. I like how we can hear the breaths she takes, and you can also hear that on some of her live tracks. She took fast deep breaths and she was a little loud with those. At first Richard used to edit out some of those breath noises, but later he realized they contributed to desired intimacy. Compressing a track reduces the volume of the louder portions, thereby reducing the average volume of the track, so then you can turn the volume of the track up louder on the mixer. One effect of that is it increases the volume of softer sounds, making them more audible than they would normally be. Being too aggressive with the compressor causes the vocal to sound "processed," and I have heard it used that way on some tracks on "Made in America." Given that Karen is such an excellent singer, that "processed" sound is not right for her, detracting from that "warm" and "intimate" sound she's so good at. Poorer singers may need that sound, with Alan Parsons using a heavily compressed sound, e.g. "I am the Eye in the sky." Jeff Lynne of ELO used that sound to simulate the sound of a telephone call on "Telephone Line," in fact he seems to have been inspired to write an entire #1 song based on the effect. John Lennon did not like the sound of his voice on tape and would ask for heavy processing, and you got that heavily compressed sound from him on some tracks, including "Revolution" and "Lucy in the sky with diamonds." Because of the care taken by George Martin, the results there were always stellar. In "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," the verse is heavily compressed and then the chorous is not, giving a shocking "screaming" quality to the chorous, to great effect.
She also has a little soCal regional accent or possibly connecticut where she grew up. Richard has a beautiful voice also. What a duo ?
Brilliant @ 17:03. Cheers to you Emma.
Joe Osborn, of the Wrecking Crew, plays bass.
Karen Carpenter was such the ultimate and perfect vocalist/musician who had that unique sound which in my opinion, can never be repeated. Thank you for sharing this video.
where do you get these multitracks?
Just discovered you channel. I love music and the carpenters. I enjoyed watching and learning about this song and the arrangements. I am not that music savvy, and love to learn everything I can on behind the making of arrangements. I hope you will do more songs from them and other artists. Quick request would be to look into ABBA and do the same treatments shown here as you just did. Thank you for the lessons learned here.
Watched the entire thing. You are great! Your expressions were priceless. I've been re-listening to Carpenters stuff. Her voice was incredible.
Thank you Emma, I have learnt an incredible amount from you about these two wonderful songs (We've Only Just Begun and Stayin' Alive). I had never imagined there was so much to discover there, but the way you drill down into them and lay everything out shows that they have the complexity of a Mahler symphony. And your obvious love for this music, and joy and enthusiasm in wanting to reveal its hidden beauty, are infectious and irresistible. I hope you do lots more of these when you can!
Thank you for demonstrating this. Amazing how much work went into creating these songs. By the way, John Carpenter wrote Horror Films, you meant Richard Carpenter LOL. John C wrote the 1983 horror Film 🎦, "Christine" about a demonized 1957 Plymouth. Excellent author; completely different person.
I'd like to hear a break down of their "A Place to Hideaway" , one of their most beautiful works they were justly proud of 😇 😎
2nd Choice "Close to You" 😌
Rainy Days & Mondays
the film "christine" was directed by john carpenter. He didn't write the screenplay. The story was based on a novel by Stephen King.
John Carpenter is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s.
Emma is a very perceptive musician! Exactly right about Hal's playing. It's busier than one would have thought, rhythmically straight, yet there's a hint of swing that makes it even more musical. The one thing that has always bothered me is the clarinet, which is sharp throughout.
Loved this!!! But his name is Richard Carpenter. Not John!!! Hahahah ❤️
This is amazing. Please make more like this on Carpenters music. And Little River Band. I’m curious how their harmonies were constructed in more detail than what you can hear like this. LOVE IT
THIS is the next best thing to time traveling to the sessions, which I would’ve given my right arm for back in the day!
THANK YOU for sharing this delicious ear candy!!
Great job..you put in a lot of work here, and it's much appreciated! I enjoyed the way you presented it.
That was a fantastic breakdown of my all time favorite duo, thanks for doing that. I was lucky enough to see them in 1974, yeah I just aged myself. She was an awesome drummer in her own right. You just didn't see many females behind the drums back in the day. I was 11 and I begged mom to let me play drums. I joined band and not only would they bar females from playing drums but any percussion instrument! I settled for clarinet but taught myself by ear to play their songs. (The melody) KC's voice was as close to pitch perfect as one could get. I was devastated that February day in 1983 when they announced her passing! I think of all the beautiful music we've all been deprived of. SMH. R.I.P. Karen Carpenter. 😔❤
Yet another amazing session for the Wrecking Crew.
I enjoy watching you get so into the song. You seem to really enjoy all the intricacies of the music. Love your analysis!
Cool idea to deconstruct the music. Fascinating to see how complex it is.
Very interesting video 😊
Loved the breakdown. Thank you for sharing. Great song, great arranger, and great singer. I’d love for you to to do their song Superstar.
Also he is Richard Carpenter, not John Carpenter. 😊
The Carpenters did not write Superstar. It was written by Delaney Bramlett. Delaney and his then-wife Bonnie recorded the song a few years earlier as “Groupie”. Completely different arrangement. It’s fascinating to compare Richard Carpenter’s arrangement with Delaney Bramlett’s original.
Great breakdown!
I grew up with music all around me and The Carpenters were definitely in there and played their part in the musical diversity I enjoy today. Those harmonies are just like silk being brushed over your ears.
Fun fact: The song was written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols for a television ad for a bank.
Richard the arranger. Bang up job, he did in every song. Thank you Emma. You've given The Carpenters a wonderful spin I've seen on no other reactor. Fil, from Wings of Pegasus, is also interesting to listen to in his reactions. But yours is..., special. That's quite the program you've got. Fascinating. "...god dam good...". Concise and well said!
Landing on the major third for the interrupted cadence….woah
I remember the Carpenters I like their songs close to you that's my favorite and love has just begun
I love this so much, but is there any way you can flash the name “RICHARD” every time you say “JOHN”? John Carpenter was a movie director. Richard Carpenter is an important figure in the kind of pop music you’re celebrating, and deserves to have his name clearly stated throughout.
I never noticed the Lisp of John Carpenter before.
Richard, and I did back in 1970. I have a similar problem, my tongue is held down by skin. He became my hero as he got past it and had the #1 song in the country with his sister. It inspired me to not worry about it and deal with it. Surgery at the time wasn’t an option and I’ve lived with it all my life.
I think somebody needs a Scooby Snack! 😆
This is fun to hear the music broken down in segments.
Its amazing that there were so many tracks on this song, considering it was recorded in 1970. I wonder if the just kept recording submixes from 8 track onto another 8 track, or were 16 track recorders available in 1970?
Hi Andy, surprised to see you here! 16-track recorders came out in 1968 (Ampex MM1000, I believe). I'm a lot less clear on when 24-track recorders came out, 1970 would surprise me. I'm counting 20 tracks here, but haven't worked out if they're just 16 tracks broken out into more. For instance, it looks like Karen's double and the clarinet could've shared a track.
@@stevefolta Sorry Steve, do I know you?
@@lundsweden You'd know it if you did, so you must be a different Andy Lund. Sorry for the confusion.
Fascinating!
Absolutely Fascinating analysis!
If only my music appreciation courses could have been this thorough, this much fun and this engaging! Who knows where I may have wound up in a career.
I grew up listening to The Carpenters. Relishing
every hit and every album release in real time. I always knew they were genius. I just never understood how.
Where did you come from?
Thank you!
Your analysis is spot-on and refreshingly low-key. I subscribed to your channel and look for more of the same.
Curious if Carol Kane might be the bassist. She was in the Wrecking Crew.
Carol Kaye. Kane is an actress.
I remember along with many others when songs like this emerged & it would simply blow your mind.
I consider it to have been an absolute pleasure growing up to music like this & so many others. Great tribute Emma. Keep up the good work. Your work , opinions & offerings are one of the bright aspects of modern social media in what at time seems like a sea of dross….Drum on 👍
Listening to an interview with Richard, Karen recorded her doubles without listening to the original. That would explain the difference between the 2 or 3 doubles in terms of vowels, crescendos, etc. Richard said they always knew how long to hold notes, cut-offs, etc. but singing along with yourself did not work for Karen OR Richard.
Thats great to know! thanks for that =)
Later in the duo's career much of that sumptuous multitracking went away, replaced with backing groups like The OK Chorale. But Richard revisited the multitrack harmony on his own for the intro to the second Christmas album (released after Karen's death) and for his 1987 solo album Time, especially the track directly in tribute to Karen, When Time Was All We Had. Incidentally the idea wasn't Richard's: he was inspired by similar work done by Les Paul and Mary Ford circa 1950...
The OK Chorale is absolute muzak garbage and any track on which they appear is trash, and the same goes for any Carpenters track were Richard did not do the arranging and orchestrating himself. He used Peter Knight to horrible results. I don't consider such tracks as "Carpenters." I deduce several things from that. We know that Richard felt overworked and felt the need to cut back on his responsibilities. I've heard him say "I was wearing too many hats" and also "If someone else can come in and do the arranging and orchestration, yeah, sure, get them in here." So we know that. But Richard had to know, better than anyone but by everyone anyway, that his arranging skills could not be replaced by outside contractors, so he knew full well that using outsiders would not give the same quality result. I mean he could have gotten superstar talents like Bacharach, Roger Nichols, Leon Russel, and Henry Mancini, and even then Richard had already proven that they can not do what Richard does. But anyway who could afford them, so Richard hired 5th rate schlock meisters. That proves what we also already knew, that Richard had quit, and "Carpenters" was done. It also shows something somewhat surprising, that Richard was willing to sacrifice his own stellar reputation, as well as that of The Carpenters, in order to fulfill quota and produce product, and make money. "Somewhat surprising" because Richard knew he was not willing to put in that work anymore, but there were contracts to be honored and money to be made, for just a little while longer, and how much is reputation worth when looking at several score million dollars available down the pike. But the most surprising thing to me is that on some level Richard must have thought that the styles of Peter Knight and the OK Chorale were good, and that's why he hired them. But I really can"'t believe that the man that invented a new, modern, superb style of such stupendous easy listening music could believe those hacks were good, so it must have just been about making that money. Maybe not so surprising after all.
@@TheLarryBrown How do you know this? I'd like to learn more about it.
@Emma What are your favourite stem songs available whether you have them or haven't got them yet?
Emma, Saying "Richard Carpenter is the piano player of the Carpenters" is like saying Jonas Salk was a scientist! Richard Carpenter WROTE all of those Vocal arrangements!
How did you do that? How did you get those unmixed tracks? I want to do that with every song on earth!
Great video .....which software do you use to break down the tracks..thanks
How is it you can get the multi-tracks again? And where?
The really interesting thing was that the song was originally a jingle for a bank.
Did u say John ? Was wondering.. but yes awesome 👏 love your work and yes they are incredible she had the best voice ever!
I just discovered your ch (RUclips algorithm) and I’m impressed with your analysis. The only other breakdown I’ve heard was Chris May’s which only covered how they stacked their harmonies. You go much deeper. I was a recording engineer back in the 70’s-80’s and I’m very curious how you obtained these multitracks?
Where can i get a copy of these stems?
Was this recorded by the Wrecking Crew? I always assumed Karen played the drums on this. I never knew Hal was the drummer on this record.
Great video Emma, listen with headphones everybody 😉
John Carpenter 🤪
Hi!! I love this!! I agree!! Karen’s voice is beyond beautiful!!! I have the same reaction that you do!!
Can you tell me about Bob Messenger? He did the solo on “A Song For You”. What else? There is really nothing written about him and nothing mentioned anywhere about his involvement with the duo.
I absolutely LOVE how you separated each amazing sound here!!! You ROCK!!❤️
A few comments on the drum section. This was actually a session drummer. Karen does play live most of the time but they use a session drummer in the studio who does his best to play in the same style that she plays. I was learning to be a drummer in those days and I have to attribute much of my style to Karen and her Ghost double. You also mention how intricate and therefore how hard the strong part is but when you play that way all the time it actually just flows.😢
Another song that is so amazing is there version of “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”.
That song would be awesome to break down as you did this one. ❤️
where i can find the session ,, is this an original session voice and music?
I've been listening to the Carpenters for over 50 years, and i really enjoyed this analysis. But if you want to hear Richard (not John) Carpenter go wild with an arrangement, have you heard "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"?
Where did you g et the multitracks????
It's apparently a secret😊
finally found it though! hahahaha@@arataka57
How do you get the stems?
Great. How can you get those separate tracks?
From Wikipedia:
Karen Carpenter - lead and backing vocals
Richard Carpenter - co-lead & backing vocals, piano, Wurlitzer electronic piano, orchestration
Joe Osborn - bass
Hal Blaine - drums
Doug Strawn - clarinet
Bob Messenger - woodwinds
Jim Horn - woodwinds
Uncredited - tambourine, trumpets
But no strings?!
I’ve always thought that it was too bad about the clarinet player being sharp the whole track
Just discovered Tori Holub the reincarnation of Karen. Yowza!!!
Carpenters are the epitome of having Chef's Kiss musicality. Richard added a Cabasa during the last bars of Superstar (groupie). A FRIGGN CABASA - only someone with the finest ear, musical intelligence and respect for detail could ever add a cabassa effectively to that song. Did it need a cabasa, No but it adds just enough texture that it would sound wrong without it.
You should do a whole series of multitrack videos on them - there's nothing like this on RUclips and THIS is proper music appreciation worthy of these two people.
Karen Carpenter was the drummer. She didn't do every drum arrangement but she did most of them and PLAYED DRUMS LIVE ON STAGE WHILE SINGING THIS SONG.
Their studio musicians were the Wrecking Crew - the greatest POP studio musicians of all time. So much content to mine there - this is a great video.
Led Zeppelin also did some amazing mutlitrack innovations in production
I LOVE THIS!!!!!