Even as they were on their way to becoming the largest selling act on A&M Records, it was generally understood that the label didn't have a clear idea of how to successfully market Richard and Karen Carpenter. Much to label head and musician Herb Alpert's delight, the music did it for them. The runaway success of their recent 1970 album, which included hits Burt Bacharach's epic (They Long to Be) Close to You and Paul Williams' beautiful We've Only Just Begun, guaranteed another collection would soon follow.
The duo's next release Carpenters, also known as the Tan album, was an instant smash. How could it now be when it included radio successes Superstar, Rainy Days and Mondays, For All We Know and fan favorite Let Me Be the One? Karen sounded incredible on every cut, and Richard's work shone brightly.
Even if some inside A&M were embarrassed by having the uncool Carpenters as part of their family, they had to work with Karen and Richard, acknowledging their success since the cash they made the label continued to roll in.
The image above comes from a trade ad that poked a bit of fun at the duo's image. Whether it was meant in good humor or whether it was a jab at their image, it was a pretty unique piece of marketing magic. "A&M execs stand by their artists", I believe was another tag line. In the image, it is one time Carpenters producer Jack Daugherty who is fully clothed standing behind their Tan album.
The debate about the musical genius from a production standpoint was eventually settled. It was Richard, not Jack, doing the arrangements and working with the musicians. Starting with the classic album Now & Then, Richard would get the production credit he long deserved. The naked truth eventually came out that Jack just booked the studio and session players. So, even though he looks fully dressed, the Emperor really had no clothes.
(Image copyright A&M Records.)
Just thinking about The Carpenters makes me smile. The musician/songwriter/arranger in me was highly influenced by many "uncool" acts as well as the "cool" ones. I'm proud to have been influenced by The Carpenters, The Partridge Family (the real musicians and singers), as well as The Association, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago, The Mama's and the Papa's and even Sergio Mendez and Brazil 66. There's something to be said about great vocals/harmonies, song arrangement, and melody. So much of that is missing in today's "music".
ReplyDeleteYour last two sentences in particular ring true. I didn't even watch this year's Grammys!
ReplyDeleteTalent rings true with the Carpenters. Jack Daugherty did deserve some credit. After I sang at a party attended by well known musicians, Jack said he thought my voice was great and wanted me to record a tune with his big band. I didn't and it didn't happen. Wish he would have presented my recordings to Herb.
ReplyDeleteI would like to believe that Richard essentially produced everything Carpenters, but consider this observation. The first four albums that credit Daugherty contain the real Carpenter magic. Starting with Now&Then, the first album not crediting Daugherty, the magic is gone and never comes back. Now&Then and Passage suffer from self indulgence, a good reason to not allow an artist to self produce. Horizon and Made in America have a "trying hard to recapture the magic" quality. "A kind of Hush" and "Made in America" work, but not nearly as well as those early four. Factors other than production credits could certainly be to blame, like overwork.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the first four albums, while the first album was creative, much of the material was not strong and it was a mistake to have Richard doing lead vocals on half the album. While I agree albums 2,3, and 4 were their strongest, I don't think it had anything to do with Jack Daugherty. Richard chose the songs, arranged and produced them and of course Karen did the vast majority of the lead vocals - I can only hope that Herb and Jerry insisted upon that. I think some of the 'magic' waned due to overwork, health problems and the like. After Jack left, Richard and Karen still had some great success with 'Now and Then' and especially with 'Horizon', which is regarded as one of their best by many fans and critics alike. I think the weakest of the bunch was last album prior to Karen's untimely death, It sold extremely poor numbers, many of the song selections were not of the same quality of past recorded material, and Karen's voice had lost some of the resonance and timbre of prior recording. Nevertheless, I think Richard was right to insist on making things right and insisting on production credit for all his work and leadership.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments, 88mark. Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteHi Mark88:
ReplyDeleteI can agree with much of what you wrote but let me offer my contrasting viewpoint on five of your points:
1st Record: I love this record. While Carpenters are most famous for polished pop perfection, this record offers something different than that. Youthful exuberance and naivete, California mystique (love it), legendary performers showing their green side, artsy concept album material, quirkyness, Karen's drumming, I love it all. Commercially it may not have been the best choice but both in 1969 as well as later it's a breath of fresh air and I'm so glad they did it that way. My 3rd favorite Carpenters album, I love every track. 100%. If they had done this after they were superstars I would have said it was self-indulgent, but at this youthful time when they were nobodies it was perfect.
Richard's leads: I seem to be in the minority on this, but I love Richard's leads. Druscilla Penny, Your Wonderful Parade, Saturday, Piano Picker are some of my favorite Carpenters tracks. I wish there were more. It's "Carpenters," not "The Karen Carpenter Show." Richard is intriguing and fascinating to me. He's a genius, the brains of the operation, a fascinating piano player, and an electrifying singer. Yes, I want to hear him! I feel the same way about his singing as I do about Karen's drumming: I bought the record because I like them. I want to hear them. The more the better. If I wanted to hear Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, John Bonham, or Hal Blaine, I'd buy their records instead. No matter how good is Karen's singing, there's at least one thing Richard has in spades that she never can replace, and that's that he sounds like Richard Carpenter. And in my book that's a very very good thing.
Now and Then and Horizon: Maybe on an absolute scale these are good records, but compared to "Carpenters" and "A song for you" there is no comparison. Literally half of "Now and Then" is a self indulgent waste. After those previous ground breaking successes you can't go backwards and waste half a record on quarter ambition produced oldies. The production on this side is nothing like the ambition of those previous tracks, lending credence to the idea that Daugherty had something to do with that excellence that is missing here. Horizon was a dud in the midst of their heyday, a career ending misstep. It may have aged well, but at the time it was a big mistake and Richard failed to see that during production. Lending credence to the idea that Daugherty had something to do with the former vision and good judgement that was missing here.
Made in America's sales: Poor sales on this record were inevitable and had to be expected at the time no matter how good the record might have turned out. By 1981 Carpenters had run its course long ago and were a pure nostalgia act from 10 years ago and had no chance of radio play in an era of disco, punk, and new wave. Carpenters had a string of low performing records by this time: Now and Then and Horizon, and "Passage" showed they had thrown in the towel and weren't even trying anymore for commercial success, plus an extended leave from the public eye. there was no chance this record would sell big numbers.
Karen's late voice: I think you're in the minority with this opinion. The consensus seems to be that, like Elvis and Freddie Mercury, Karen's voice retained 100% of its strength even when her health was at rock bottom. Richard has said that. I think her sound changed only slightly during her career. Her earliest sound was just slightly green that you can hear only if you listen for it. For me her latest sound had an "exquisite" quality where she learned to tone it back some and it lent a more refined sound. Maybe that's what you are hearing.
Thank you Larry Brown for your comments! I love the back and forth conversation and all our differing views!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!
Mark
I didn't realize that it was in fact Richard, not Jack Daugherty, who did the actual producing and arranging work while all Jack did was contract the musicians, book the time at A&M Studios and find potential material and I'm not certain whether any of those jobs alone warranted him getting a production credit. According to Randy Schmidt's book Little Girl Blue, Karen and Richard never saw Jack as a sound architect, only their A&R man.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I'm not surprised that Jack's wrongful termination lawsuit got rejected by the courts in 1981 after they sided with Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss as well as Karen and Richard.
If Richard had insisted from the outset that he be credited as producer and Jack be credited as merely an A&R man in the liner notes, it would've been a different story. At a UK press conference in 1973, Richard made it clear that Jack played no part in the duo's sound.
Hey David, in addition, I'd say Chris May's Legacy book includes a not so subtle comment about Richard and not Jack being the true architect of the Carpenters music. I had no idea about that 1973 UK press conference. Wow! Thanks for reading!
ReplyDelete