It's not just singing the word on the beat, it is singing the letters of each word the same way and the pitch and the volume and the tone the same way. And Karen is simultaneously playing the drums like Buddy Rich or Hal Blaine.
"Before Protools there were pros." People forget just how many great players there were in the 50's through 70's. None of them could rely on tech to help them sound good; they NEEDED to sound good without help, otherwise they would have been out of a job.
Karen was a once in a lifetime gift to the music industry. She wanted and needed her mother's love, understanding, and support. She never got that, not even when she became so thin that it was obvious something was wrong with her. She had a very sad life.
I entered my teen years as the Carpenters were creating hits. I grew up listening to Bacharach tunes on the AM stations before FM was a thing. I think we Boomers were blessed with the best music. The Carpenters are an important part of that.
Absolutely agree. We developed our ears and musical sensitivity on the very best! My father added many hours of listening to opera, jazz and big band to my musical training and I really appreciate what it taught me.
I worked as an usher at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia Maryland in 1972. The Carpenters were one of the best acts I saw there. Karen did a long drum solo.
I just sit stunned, watching her perform. As a singer, I can't even imagine doing this as she did. I can play a little drums- and even sing a little too- but the BEATS! Off-beats, so many speed changes, and she NAILS them OUTSIDE as well. If you've never performed outside, let me tell you, it's like playing underwater, if you're used to playing indoors all the time, because there are so many factors, and they all change, as the sun changes, wind changes, number of people in front change, etc. The way they arranged all this? Extremely difficult to do.. in a studio.. just Amazing- This is why I just don't find too many artists that blow me away like they used to. There are some, but I wish more put in THIS kind of effort. Burt Bacharach was just incredible in the number of songs he's done. Back in the day, it was almost a surprise if a song DIDN'T have his name attached somewhere- seriously. And he always kept them fresh, with surprises dropped throughout them, like putting his signature stamps all over his work. And he always teamed with the very best artists, the exactly RIGHT artists, for each one. This was a blast to watch. I looked just like those guys all watching this gal playing the drums as well as she was, and singing even better- just... stunned. I'm betting several of them? Were musicians themselves. People of the talent level of the Carpenters, would draw them in droves, every show.
Perfect punctuation and right in the pocket on the drums, and her voice... The world stops for me when I hear her sing, and it's only her voice that exists in those few moments.
Agreed 100%, Rick! I got to see them live at the St. Louis Muny in 1971 (outdoors). Fantastic. I think people in the audience were mesmerized, if not stunned, at the quality of the performance.
I remember Karen sharing a funny story on a talk show. They were performing outside and when she took in a breath; a bug flew into her mouth! I don't recall how she recovered from that but I'm sure hardly anyone noticed.
Love The Carpenters & Karen's voice. Nice tribute to Burt Bacharach. He started out in the 50's & is considered one of the best composers & songwriters. He composed hundreds of pop songs & over 1,000 different artists have recorded his songs. My favorites are the ones he wrote for Dionne Warwick. Glad we have this great legacy of his music to listen to.
If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Karen and Dionne sang together a couple of times. That would be amazing to hear, since both ladies were so talented.
Hi Fil! I was lucky enough to remember when The Carpenters first aired on the radio! I remember how I was absolutely mesmerized by Karen’s voice when she sang Close to You…I was a fan instantly! I had a lot of their music played at my 50th anniversary party….so glad to see you honor them. She was a treasure….a truly likable person. I know I felt protective of her…she was vulnerable! This medley was just beautiful! A side note Dionne Warwick and Karen were best friends. Dionne has talked about their friendship, and how close they were. It was cool they shared singing some of the same songs! ✌️
Yes best friends with Dionne. And Karen was also very close friends with Olivia Newton John and producer Phil Ramone's wife Karen Ichiuji. Ichiuji is the one who got Karen to stop wearing those old peasant-girl gowns and start wearing more modern apparel on stage.
Amazing she had that beautiful a voice and could rock out on drums like it was nobody's business. Amazing lady and every one of the songs they released were an absolute joy from the moment you first heard them. Thanks Fil Edit: I wrote this before I watched the video. Sad to hear about Burt Bacharach. 94 is a full life in anybodys book. It was great to grow up with great talents like those two. RIP Karen Carpenter and Burt Bacharach.
I think Karen's perfect timing, played in no small part because she was a drummer. She knew exactly when to hit each note, what phrasing would go with each beat of the melody, and sang it perfectly. While drumming at the same time. Richard said that she kept perfect timing in her head with no metronome. Even though they used Hal Blaine in the studio, she could hold her own.
She could more than hold her own. She would have played circles around Hal Blaine. Hal Blaine is who he is because he doesn't sound like Hal Blaine. He sounds like an anonymous nobody, because that's exactly what he is, who he is, what he's trained to do, and what he's paid for. Karen doesn't sound like a nobody, she sounds like Karen Carpenter and that's something Hal can never do. Even Hal couldn't hold the tempo when they brought him in for "Close to you," and they resorted to a click track, which they preferred to avoid.
This outdoor concert was for the Ed Sullivan Show. It was at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC for wounded Vietnam war soldiers. The microphone certainly loved Karen Carpenter.
Great! We'll never see the likes of The Carpenters or Bacharach and David again. We've been so lucky to live through an era when these artists were pervading our consciousness.
I've been listening to the Carpenters from their very beginning and I am always grateful that someone can point out specific aspects of their brilliance that I had not fully appreciated or understood. You have done that. Thank you! And of course, thank you for taking the time and recognizing the genius of the Bacharach/David collaborations that contributed so greatly to the musical landscape for so many years.
I think you accurately described the songwriting talents of Burt Bacharach &Hal David along with the incredible artists that covered their music quite well. Dionne Warwick was a great pairing with the two, but The Carpenters to me were just magic. Even as a child, I got goosebumps when I heard Karen sing "Close To You", as I still do today. Bacharach and Hal David's music they created together will be around a hundred years from now, and still give those who hear it the shivers. 👍✌️
@@cindypowers4993If you haven't seen this one the Carpenters enjoy! Excerpt from Your All American College Show. Recorded Live on 6/22/1968. Karen always preferred to be known as a drummer who sings, thus the title. She is 18 years old here. th-cam.com/video/vdECtVO-Epo/w-d-xo.html
This is one of my favorite live performances by The Carpenters. I love the sort of rawness that is in her early vocal performances. Edit to add, they did a longer medley of Burt/Hal songs in their’72 tour of Australia which is pretty good too, with Any Day Now and Baby It’s You and a longer version of Make It Easy On Yourself in the mix.
Thank you Fil. Bacharach was a genius. This was terrific. I was 15 in 1970 and listened to the Carpenters all through high school but never told anyone. It wasn’t cool to like them! To this day, that 3 octave contralto voice of Karen Carpenter still makes me smile. She and Richard performed Bacharach/David and Williams/Nichols songs to another level. Great stuff!
Karen’s voice always makes me feel so many emotions. Thank you for highlighting the songs of Burt Bacharach and the Wonderful talent of the Carpenters.
Such a beautiful medley of Burt Bacharach songs performed live by the Carpenters. Karen and Richard had great vocal harmonies that blended so well together. Thank you Fil for this wonderful tribute and may Burt Bacharach Rest In Peace.
Me too! I mean I had kid stuff and Disney stuff as a kid. But I just got my new Sony system and went (mom took me) to Sam Goody Music and I took the Close To You album from the #2 spot on the Top 10 Rack. I was 14 and I spent my Bar Mitzvah money to get the rig and I got another record that day but this is what I remember like it happened yesterday.
I notice several people walking along the pathway in the background, going about their business, quite likely having no idea about the massively special talent on display just a stone's throw away!
The Carpenters were the first concert I ever attended back in the early 70s at the Anaheim Convention Center. They were amazing! If they hadn't improvised a note or two here and there, you would have sworn you were listening to their recordings...so incredibly accurate and tight! Karen was one of the first female vocalists who sang in the same range as me, so I was thrilled to have music I could actually sing in my natural voice. I still have all of their albums...loved them all! Their arrangements still blow me away...absolute perfection!!! Thank you for this tribute to Burt Bacharach and including the Carpenters...what an incredible collaboration of talent! ❤🎶❤
@@pamr4040 It's the exact same album. They just changed the album cover picture and name. The "Offering" album cover is rare and worth $$ because they didn't release too many before they repackaged it as "Ticket To Ride"
The Fil smile meter was in high gear during this. And how could anyone not smile, listening to this Angel sing?! Such a sad loss to the music world!!😢😢 Thank you for your music, Karen! And Burt.
The versatility of Burt Bacharach through all those decades was amazing. A true music legend if there ever was one, rest in peace you have a wonderful legacy❤
This video has been out on TH-cam for some time now. I often go back to it because the performance is so well done and Karen is happy and obviously in her prime. The musicianship is impeccable, the timing ---- perfect. So many great things about this performance, Karens perfect vocal, the accurate backup harmonies, Richard's killer keyboard solo on the legendary Wurly 200. I'm glad you feel the same way about it as I do, picking up on all the musical nuances. I'm a musician myself so I always stop and take notice of great music being performed by great musicians. And of course it's all live, with no effects, not a perfect mix, probably a weak sound system, no pitch control, no sound effects, gimmicks, etc. Just 6 people making beautiful music and Karen topping it all off with her stunning vocal performance.
BACK WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I/WE, THOSE THAT THOUGHT WE WERE SO COOL PLAYING OUR ZEPPLIN, SABBATH, CLAPTON, ETC AND LAUGHED AT THE CARPENTERS AND EVEN ELVIS, BUT AS I GREW UP AND LEARNED I'M NOT AS SMART AS I ONCE THOUGHT, I SEE THE TALENT AND YES SHE AND HER BROTHER WERE AMAZING! AND ELVIS, ESPECIALLY LIVE, IS NO DOUBT MY FAVORTIE OF ALL TIME NOW. LIVE AND LEARN ADVISE FROM A 68 YEAR OLD. THANKS FOR THIS REVIEW PEGASUS!
Karen Carpenter was my first celebrity crush. I watched her on The Ed Sullivan show. The Carpenters bridge the generation gap. When she passed it broke my adult heart. Tears still come to my eyes. When I think of her. She could sing me to sleep, ease my old heart.
The Carpenters were clearly exceptional artists and I have to say, particularly Karen, they were formative in my exposure to music. An apparently sad history behind their success as I understand it.
What a great tribute. You picked the perfect video to showcase his talent, as well as Karens. Lots of my friends didn't like Karen since she was too pop. But her voice was too beautiful. Too bad she suffered.
What a wonderful analysis here! Bravo, Fil! Thank you! For a little back history, too, two of the men singing harmonies here with them had started singing with Richard and Karen together in late 1966/early 1967 while in college at California State University/Long Beach as a musical group called SPECTRUM. Karen was *not* the lead singer in that group. She was the drummer, who also shared harmonizing vocals with another woman and college student named Leslie Johnston along with the harmonies from the rest of the guys, making it a six-member group called SPECTRUM. Gary Sims and Danny Woodhams (who are also here in this video clip, too), along with the eventual best-selling songwriter/lyricist John Bettis and of course the man who put it all together, Richard Carpenter, were in that college group. So they had all been singing together with tight harmonies for almost 4 years by now, given this clip is from November of 1970. They had played live venues together for years, Karen ALWAYS on the drums. She was the exclusive, sole drummer for SPECTRUM. I so love Fil's analysis here. And the group's experience singing, harmonizing, and working together for several years by now really does make them shine just splendidly here! In some ways, we're watching SPECTRUM minus John Bettis and Leslie Johnston, plus Doug Strawn, to create CARPENTERS w/Karen now singing lead. They were all college buddies, although Karen started singing with that group at only 16 years old. There are a few pictures of the group out there Karen is soooo young! Well, they all are. Ha! Thank you so much, Fil, for this wonderful analysis on this clip. This musical group had been working hard on their music to ultimately make a splash and get noticed. Bravo to all of them and their unending dedication to their music.
I find it so exciting hearing and watching Karen sing and play the drums vs. her just out front singing. There is something electrifying about watching her showing her multi talents and drumming, in particular, is exhilarating because her timing is so good. I feel like we missed out on her drumming skills all those years during their live performances.
I was very fortunate to see them perform live while she was still spending most of the show behind her drums. I truly wish she had stayed there. So what if we couldn't "see" her as clearly. It was always a better performance in my opinion.
Burt Bacharach and The Carpenters. Each such a big part of the musical backdrop of my youth. As if plucked straight out of those 'wonder years', my friends and I, just walking down the road on a warm summer day, talking about our crushes, singing songs by Bacharach, The Carpenters and others who filled the AM Radio air waves. When in Junior High School chorus, we closed our end of school year performance with 'What the World Needs Now'. Thanks for taking me back, if just momentarily, to those special days, Fil.
Thank you very much for doing an analysis on Burt Bacharach and The Carpenters! He definitely was an incredible singer and song writer indeed! May he RIP. Karen Carpenter was and still is my favorite female singer of all time, and in my opinion, she had the most beautiful voice in the world! It was another enjoyable analysis!
@@JudyHanksDesign They both are great singers. Karen's voice was beautiful, strong, smooth and clear. She had a wide vocal range (sing high and low notes). She sang with emotions, she felt what she sang and sang what she felt. I loved her contralto sound. Dionne also had a lovely voice and like Karen, she also had all of these qualities, but her voice didnt move me like Karen's did. 🙂
Burt was NOT an "incredible singer," by his own admission and evidence on film and video. Burt was a superior musician, arranger, composer, songwriter along with his main lyricist Hal David. I think your statement was very well intentioned but I have to disagree with that part. Sorry.
Thanks, Fil! Never seen this medely of Burt & Hal’s songs with the Carpenters before! You are right, Karen seems happiest singing behind drums. Props to Richard also. Great harmonies. Burt & Hal David wrote some of the best songs. Love Karen’s voice. Also loved Burt and Dusty Springfield singing House Is Not A Home. Burt on piano & Dustys voice, so good. Thanks for your spot on analysis. Great tribute to such talented artists.
Thanks Fil. There are no words to describe the greatness of Carpenters and of course Karen Carpenter. Drumming/Singing, Perfect Pitch. Karen was simply one in a creation. R.I.P. Drummergirl.
Thank you for this - especially the vocal cut out. It shows just how absolutely incredible and nuanced Karen's voice was. And to adeptly play the drums at the same time and sing nearly perfectly in a live performance makes it even more impressive. She brought incredible life to Bacharach and David's songs. She was simply one-of-a-kind divine!
What touches me is how abandoned with joy Karen seems in this performance. The beauty of all the elements that are blended into this performance is nothing less than heaven on earth. One of the rarest occasions where Karen seems completely in her bliss ... and yet I don't mean to imply that Richard's performance was any less or even the talent behind the music composition from all the artists involved. Karen's exquisite expression as soul speaking to the soul in each of us is remarkable AS indeed it draws forth the radiant meaning of UNI from uni-verse (one sound) to fulfilled (filled full) illumination. Pure Heaven. 👍🎯👍
Another LP I warped on my record player. I wanted to sing like Karen Carpenter…a great voice that would’ve aged ever so perfectly and beautifully. Thank you Fil for this analysis and taking me back to my youth! The best part of this recording is the spot on performance. Rock!
Great to see someone such as yourself Fil, paying tribute and recognising the incredably successful but in so many ways much maligned and even underrated Carpenters. Burt & Hal wrote some great songs but Paul Williams, Kris Kristofferson and many other good songwriters from the 1970s recognised that Karen with her voice and Richard with his close harmonies and unique arrangements could really enhance and take their songs to that other level. Thanks for this Fil.
I loved the Carpenters. I played their music so much that my Ex gave my 8 track tape away. I was heartbroken. (I should have learned from that and not made the mistake of marrying him! lol) Karen’s death was one of the saddest days of my life.
Thanks, Fil, for spotlighting Burt Bacharach sadly, we lass one of the best composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist. Bacharach wrote and cowrote some of the most popular songs of the twenty century. Burt Bacharach May 12, 1928 - February 8, 2023
Hi Fil, What an amazing performance. Karen’s vocals are always so mesmerizing. And some of those arrangements and songs are hard to sing, yet she makes it look so effortless and all while playing the drums! You did a beautiful job paying tribute to Burt and his musical accomplishments and Karen and Richard’s extraordinary talents. I have always loved Close to You… and used sing it when I sang at a local Hospital music program. They are also from Connecticut the state I live in… always nice to see them get the recognition they deserve. May Burt and Karen RIP… Thank you for doing this analysis it was awesome! Debbie ☮️🥰
You mention the sound quality going on here which is a great live recording considering this was recorded and filmed outside at Walter Reed Medical Center which appears they set this up just for this performance not like a permanent outdoor stage.
Please everybody know that it was RICHARD’S arrangement that MADE the song. Yes, no one sings better than Karen, but it was Richard who created the arrangement incredible here. 🥰
Not everybody. But BURT gave Richard and Karen Kudos for the song and great arrangement. Burt admid that he struggled with the arrangement of Close To You. When a composer as BURT was, admid that he was wrong with the arrangement, then you have to know what a great composer BURT was! R.I.P. my music hero!
She was the voice of a generation. If I have a migraine I use the Carpenters as a gauge. She usually calms me down. But if I can't tolerate listening to her sing, that means my head is due to explode. She has been my dream vocal ability since I first heard her in 1970's.
I love seeing you so appreciative of others talents. I wish on all of us that we could emulate that intelligent, generous spirit of yours and detailed awareness, etc. in your approach to perceiving the world.
I must apologize to Fil for requesting this again as if I hadn't seen him review it before (4 months ago to be exact). It's just that, each time I see this particular performance it hits me like that and I forget where I'm at and I too am blown away. Fil's review is delightful and insightful again and as usual. Mr. Bacharach gave us and anyone who performs his songs so much reason to live and hear them all over and over... I don't mind. Music is such a joy and this is proof.
They owned their songs while they blended their dynamics while delivering them as one. "It's the singer(s) , not the song" Frank Sinatra quote....Easy does it . Thanks for this great brakedown woeowoe Rock Fil !
Thanks for this great analysis Fil!! Given that it's so difficult for an artist to write even just one smash hit in their lifetime, Burt and Hal David together were indeed phenomenal!! Add the incomparable voice and talent of Karen Carpenter and her super talented brother, Richard..... Well, you just can't go wrong! What a voice she had, simply pure velvet when she sang! I'm so thankful for the Carpenters and I absolutely adored them, but Burt Bacharach will be deeply missed. 94 years is a great life and his contribution to the music world gave us all a lot to look back on very fondly! RIP to Burt! Thank you again Fil. Your videos lift me up and make me smile ☺️. All my love to you Fil!
I second that! I was so sad that B. Bacharach’s passing was given so little press coverage! I still melt whenever I hear ‘This guy’s in love’ . Thanks & love Fil❤
What a great suggestion! I really love it when the performance has Karen playing drums and singing. What I unique and frenetic medley of the legendary Burt Bacharach songs RIP.
I enjoyed this. I'm sorry we lost Karen so soon. I wish they had lovely music like this in today's music world. Thank you, Fil, for doing this. Take care.
Your smile is heartwarming and precious! This takes me back to being a kid in the 1970’s-my whole life ahead of me! Special times! Richard’s leather jacket and super long hair here is hot!
As far as duets which are fantastic take a look at Ella Fitzgerald and Karen Carpenter from their 1980 tv special Music, Music, Music. It is something special.
Thanks, Fil, for doing this video providing feedback on the Carpenter's Bacharach medley at this time and location. As I always say: The Voice, The Drummer, The Legacy!!!
It's also about Richard. He's the arranger and producer (and director, componist, keyboard player) of the Carpenters sound. Brother and sister, the same timbre, both perfect pitch of intonation, both the same timing and the same musical memory for the ever-changing backing choirs. It can all be heard clearly on other albums produced by Richard and on which he sang in the backing vocals : Akiko Kobayashi, Veronique Beliveau, Scott Grimes, Smokie Robinson. In contrast, Karen's album produced by Phil Ramone has the least "Carpenters sound". (Akiko's album the most). Richard played the chords on the piano and Karen and he sang them in: 4 voices and also doubled. Live they used two extra singers. When doubling the voices, they both sang so timed and in tune that often a chorus and flanging effect occurred, clearly heard on Richard's solo album "Time".
Thanks so much for sharing this. Loved to hear the isolated vocals! I used to listen to this medley over and over as a teenager & try to pick out parts and sing along! 😊😊
Me too! I think I play The B/D Medley more than any other single song and this one more than the others. As a fellow Medley junkie, please see my post that depending if and when you see this should be near the top. It’s the longgggg post with a link. Follow the link and see the first person cover this song in 53 years. Try and google it and see if you get any results other than Carpenters and Tori. She’s made the search engine! I hope you like it like me I’m going back and forth between them. If you do like it check her channel. OMG. Joe
I've seen the Carpenters live in the real early 70's. Senior in highschool. A class act with Karen dressed to the 10's. Performed like the president was in the audience. Genuine humble, well spoken and being the true professional she was. This memory I treasure from over 50 years ago
I loved The Carpenters in the early and mid seventies--if you're too young to recall, many considered that square, and not in the good fifties kind of way! Time tells.
Love Karen Carpenter. Her voice was one of the best. The Carpenters had some amazing hits.Richard was also a great arranger/musician. Burt Bacharach was a great writer. RIP Burt & Karen🩷🩷
I’ve watched this performance for several years now and am more impressed each time I see it. Outside of Karen’s wonderful performance, considering this is live, outside, and 1970, the overall quality is amazing. And I can’t tell you how much your analysis is appreciated, Fil. You always do a great job and point out things I wouldn’t have noticed. I always learn something new.
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This was filmed in 1971 at Walter Reed Hospital. The people watching are wounded military from Vietnam.
1970!
How much talent can one woman possess? Unbelievable! Karen was a gift to mankind.
When God created Karen and Richard He was just showing off!
Karen was a once in a lifetime gift to the music industry.
It's not just singing the word on the beat, it is singing the letters of each word the same way and the pitch and the volume and the tone the same way. And Karen is simultaneously playing the drums like Buddy Rich or Hal Blaine.
Lástima que ni ningún caballero supo valorarla ni apreciarla a nivel afectivo.
@@marianadelcarmenmoran6376 Su propia madre nunca le dio carino o conprencion y la obligo a casarse con un hombre que nunca la valoro.
Considering this was Outdoors, with no ear monitors, and extremely complex harmonies. Its incredible how accurately that was performed
I often think about today's performers having ear monitors and think Karen would have never needed or used those!
"Before Protools there were pros." People forget just how many great players there were in the 50's through 70's. None of them could rely on tech to help them sound good; they NEEDED to sound good without help, otherwise they would have been out of a job.
I just want to add that Karen was only 20 years old here. Outstandingly done!!!
Karen's voice was a once in a lifetime. She was spectacular on drums. Such a shame, she had such a sad life.
Karen was a once in a lifetime gift to the music industry. She wanted and needed her mother's love, understanding, and support. She never got that, not even when she became so thin that it was obvious something was wrong with her. She had a very sad life.
The Carpenters performing a Bacharach medley is like a lovely Valentine's box of chocolates. Every piece is more delicious than the one before it.
Best female voice ever in history.
I entered my teen years as the Carpenters were creating hits. I grew up listening to Bacharach tunes on the AM stations before FM was a thing. I think we Boomers were blessed with the best music. The Carpenters are an important part of that.
I agree, we were very lucky!
Yes, we were so lucky! Lots of fantastic Carpenter's music and music in general during that time period.
I totally agree!!!
Yes. Absolutely.
Absolutely agree. We developed our ears and musical sensitivity on the very best! My father added many hours of listening to opera, jazz and big band to my musical training and I really appreciate what it taught me.
What blew me away was that this was filmed in a park. They were sounding that good, and that tight, whilst playing in the outdoors!
Not a park. It was on the grounds of Walter Reed Army Hospital.
Richard really cared about creating the best sound… Richard is awesome also
I worked as an usher at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia Maryland in 1972. The Carpenters were one of the best acts I saw there. Karen did a long drum solo.
Bacharach's music feels like a warm summer breeze.
Karen Carpenter had the clearest singing voice I believe I have ever heard in all of my 60 plus years. You could always hear every word perfectly.
The Carpenters are the absolute benchmark of how anything should be performed arranged and produced.
I just sit stunned, watching her perform. As a singer, I can't even imagine doing this as she did. I can play a little drums- and even sing a little too- but the BEATS! Off-beats, so many speed changes, and she NAILS them OUTSIDE as well. If you've never performed outside, let me tell you, it's like playing underwater, if you're used to playing indoors all the time, because there are so many factors, and they all change, as the sun changes, wind changes, number of people in front change, etc. The way they arranged all this? Extremely difficult to do.. in a studio.. just Amazing-
This is why I just don't find too many artists that blow me away like they used to. There are some, but I wish more put in THIS kind of effort.
Burt Bacharach was just incredible in the number of songs he's done. Back in the day, it was almost a surprise if a song DIDN'T have his name attached somewhere- seriously. And he always kept them fresh, with surprises dropped throughout them, like putting his signature stamps all over his work. And he always teamed with the very best artists, the exactly RIGHT artists, for each one.
This was a blast to watch. I looked just like those guys all watching this gal playing the drums as well as she was, and singing even better- just... stunned. I'm betting several of them? Were musicians themselves. People of the talent level of the Carpenters, would draw them in droves, every show.
Perfect punctuation and right in the pocket on the drums, and her voice... The world stops for me when I hear her sing, and it's only her voice that exists in those few moments.
Agreed 100%, Rick! I got to see them live at the St. Louis Muny in 1971 (outdoors). Fantastic. I think people in the audience were mesmerized, if not stunned, at the quality of the performance.
There is not another singer who could sing better than Karen. I could cry when I hear her voice!
I remember Karen sharing a funny story on a talk show. They were performing outside and when she took in a breath; a bug flew into her mouth! I don't recall how she recovered from that but I'm sure hardly anyone noticed.
Karen Carpenter is one of those singers I took for granted while growing up. Now I can appreciate her talent.
I agree. As you get older you realize just how talented and good they really were.
I miss Karen more than any other actor or musical artist. I think of her all the time.
Jim Croce a close second here...
Your appreciation of great music from another generation is great to watch.
Karen seemed to always have a big smile when behind the drums.
Love The Carpenters & Karen's voice. Nice tribute to Burt Bacharach. He started out in the 50's & is considered one of the best composers & songwriters. He composed hundreds of pop songs & over 1,000 different artists have recorded his songs. My favorites are the ones he wrote for Dionne Warwick. Glad we have this great legacy of his music to listen to.
I’m gonna look those up
If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Karen and Dionne sang together a couple of times. That would be amazing to hear, since both ladies were so talented.
Oh ya, I love the Carpenters. NICE to see a young British rocker paying respects.
Hi Fil! I was lucky enough to remember when The Carpenters first aired on the radio! I remember how I was absolutely mesmerized by Karen’s voice when she sang Close to You…I was a fan instantly! I had a lot of their music played at my 50th anniversary party….so glad to see you honor them. She was a treasure….a truly likable person. I know I felt protective of her…she was vulnerable! This medley was just beautiful! A side note Dionne Warwick and Karen were best friends. Dionne has talked about their friendship, and how close they were. It was cool they shared singing some of the same songs! ✌️
Yes best friends with Dionne. And Karen was also very close friends with Olivia Newton John and producer Phil Ramone's wife Karen Ichiuji. Ichiuji is the one who got Karen to stop wearing those old peasant-girl gowns and start wearing more modern apparel on stage.
Wow! Just crazy how good they sound. Karen has always been one of my favorite female vocalist. Thank you Fil.
Amazing she had that beautiful a voice and could rock out on drums like it was nobody's business. Amazing lady and every one of the songs they released were an absolute joy from the moment you first heard them. Thanks Fil
Edit: I wrote this before I watched the video. Sad to hear about Burt Bacharach. 94 is a full life in anybodys book. It was great to grow up with great talents like those two.
RIP Karen Carpenter and Burt Bacharach.
I think Karen's perfect timing, played in no small part because she was a drummer. She knew exactly when to hit each note, what phrasing would go with each beat of the melody, and sang it perfectly. While drumming at the same time. Richard said that she kept perfect timing in her head with no metronome. Even though they used Hal Blaine in the studio, she could hold her own.
She out-wrecked the Wrecking Crew!
She could more than hold her own. She would have played circles around Hal Blaine. Hal Blaine is who he is because he doesn't sound like Hal Blaine. He sounds like an anonymous nobody, because that's exactly what he is, who he is, what he's trained to do, and what he's paid for. Karen doesn't sound like a nobody, she sounds like Karen Carpenter and that's something Hal can never do. Even Hal couldn't hold the tempo when they brought him in for "Close to you," and they resorted to a click track, which they preferred to avoid.
This outdoor concert was for the Ed Sullivan Show. It was at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC for wounded Vietnam war soldiers. The microphone certainly loved Karen Carpenter.
Great! We'll never see the likes of The Carpenters or Bacharach and David again. We've been so lucky to live through an era when these artists were pervading our consciousness.
I've been listening to the Carpenters from their very beginning and I am always grateful that someone can point out specific aspects of their brilliance that I had not fully appreciated or understood. You have done that. Thank you! And of course, thank you for taking the time and recognizing the genius of the Bacharach/David collaborations that contributed so greatly to the musical landscape for so many years.
I was lucky enough to see them in concert such a long, long time ago...sigh.
I think you accurately described the songwriting talents of Burt Bacharach &Hal David along with the incredible artists that covered their music quite well. Dionne Warwick was a great pairing with the two, but The Carpenters to me were just magic. Even as a child, I got goosebumps when I heard Karen sing "Close To You", as I still do today. Bacharach and Hal David's music they created together will be around a hundred years from now, and still give those who hear it the shivers. 👍✌️
Nicely said Cindy! Close To You is one of my favorites of their too. 🥰✌
@@drewpall2598 When I hear Karen sing that song, I get GOOSEBUMPS!
Happy Valentine's Day Drew💙🤗
@@cindypowers4993If you haven't seen this one the Carpenters enjoy!
Excerpt from Your All American College Show. Recorded Live on 6/22/1968. Karen always preferred to be known as a drummer who sings, thus the title. She is 18 years old here.
th-cam.com/video/vdECtVO-Epo/w-d-xo.html
This is one of my favorite live performances by The Carpenters. I love the sort of rawness that is in her early vocal performances. Edit to add, they did a longer medley of Burt/Hal songs in their’72 tour of Australia which is pretty good too, with Any Day Now and Baby It’s You and a longer version of Make It Easy On Yourself in the mix.
The 1972 Australia tour Bacharach/David medly is my favroite. The tempo is perfect!
When I saw them in concert in 1972 she spent a lot of time behind the drums and they sang this Burt Bacharach medley. Yes it was incredible.
Love your appreciation of the Carpenters, you being a rock guy. But I know you love and are knowledgeable of all music genres and artists.
No one can top her😢
Thank you Fil. Bacharach was a genius. This was terrific. I was 15 in 1970 and listened to the Carpenters all through high school but never told anyone. It wasn’t cool to like them! To this day, that 3 octave contralto voice of Karen Carpenter still makes me smile. She and Richard performed Bacharach/David and Williams/Nichols songs to another level. Great stuff!
I'm with you Thomas. I was a secret Carpenters fan too, along with Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, and Herb Alpert.
Phil !~ You are So Right On.... Wow ! You are a Superstar in Your own Right!! ... You Got It Goin On .... !
Karen’s voice always makes me feel so many emotions. Thank you for highlighting the songs of Burt Bacharach and the Wonderful talent of the Carpenters.
sounding like that especially outside it unreal
Such a beautiful medley of Burt Bacharach songs performed live by the Carpenters. Karen and Richard had great vocal harmonies that blended so well together. Thank you Fil for this wonderful tribute and may Burt Bacharach Rest In Peace.
Loved this! Never saw it before! Thanks for sharing! ❤ Carpenters were my first album I ever bought.
Me too! I mean I had kid stuff and Disney stuff as a kid. But I just got my new Sony system and went (mom took me) to Sam Goody Music and I took the Close To You album from the #2 spot on the Top 10 Rack. I was 14 and I spent my Bar Mitzvah money to get the rig and I got another record that day but this is what I remember like it happened yesterday.
I notice several people walking along the pathway in the background, going about their business, quite likely having no idea about the massively special talent on display just a stone's throw away!
The Carpenters were the first concert I ever attended back in the early 70s at the Anaheim Convention Center. They were amazing! If they hadn't improvised a note or two here and there, you would have sworn you were listening to their recordings...so incredibly accurate and tight! Karen was one of the first female vocalists who sang in the same range as me, so I was thrilled to have music I could actually sing in my natural voice. I still have all of their albums...loved them all! Their arrangements still blow me away...absolute perfection!!! Thank you for this tribute to Burt Bacharach and including the Carpenters...what an incredible collaboration of talent! ❤🎶❤
Do you have their very first album "Offering"?
@@zigman8550 No, I've got "Ticket To Ride"...missed that first one.
@@pamr4040 It's the exact same album. They just changed the album cover picture and name. The "Offering" album cover is rare and worth $$ because they didn't release too many before they repackaged it as "Ticket To Ride"
She had such a beautiful voice!! Was a big fan and so sad she’s no longer with us❤
Our beloved Karen left us 40 years ago on February 4, 1983! 😢💔
The Fil smile meter was in high gear during this. And how could anyone not smile, listening to this Angel sing?!
Such a sad loss to the music world!!😢😢 Thank you for your music, Karen! And Burt.
Nice tribute to both The Carpenters and Burt. Thanx Fil
The timing of the vocals and the music is spot on
The versatility of Burt Bacharach through all those decades was amazing. A true music legend if there ever was one, rest in peace you have a wonderful legacy❤
The best singer of the 70s (in my opinion, of course) Perfect pitch! Thanks for this one Fil...
I grew up down the street right off the 605 freeway in California with the Carpenters. I love them.
This video has been out on TH-cam for some time now. I often go back to it because the performance is so well done and Karen is happy and obviously in her prime. The musicianship is impeccable, the timing ---- perfect. So many great things about this performance, Karens perfect vocal, the accurate backup harmonies, Richard's killer keyboard solo on the legendary Wurly 200. I'm glad you feel the same way about it as I do, picking up on all the musical nuances. I'm a musician myself so I always stop and take notice of great music being performed by great musicians. And of course it's all live, with no effects, not a perfect mix, probably a weak sound system, no pitch control, no sound effects, gimmicks, etc. Just 6 people making beautiful music and Karen topping it all off with her stunning vocal performance.
BACK WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I/WE, THOSE THAT THOUGHT WE WERE SO COOL PLAYING OUR ZEPPLIN, SABBATH, CLAPTON, ETC AND LAUGHED AT THE CARPENTERS AND EVEN ELVIS, BUT AS I GREW UP AND LEARNED I'M NOT AS SMART AS I ONCE THOUGHT, I SEE THE TALENT AND YES SHE AND HER BROTHER WERE AMAZING! AND ELVIS, ESPECIALLY LIVE, IS NO DOUBT MY FAVORTIE OF ALL TIME NOW. LIVE AND LEARN ADVISE FROM A 68 YEAR OLD. THANKS FOR THIS REVIEW PEGASUS!
I saw them live many times in the 70's and yes...Karen was always spot on and the bg vocals perfectly matched. Thanks for this one.
Karen Carpenter was my first celebrity crush. I watched her on The Ed Sullivan show. The Carpenters bridge the generation gap. When she passed it broke my adult heart. Tears still come to my eyes. When I think of her. She could sing me to sleep, ease my old heart.
The Carpenters were clearly exceptional artists and I have to say, particularly Karen, they were formative in my exposure to music. An apparently sad history behind their success as I understand it.
Music and the carpenters, recipe for success! They made beautiful music and very talented. Obviously Karen left us way too soon❤
She is in my top 10 best singers ever
She was 21!! Just nuts.
What a great tribute. You picked the perfect video to showcase his talent, as well as Karens.
Lots of my friends didn't like Karen since she was too pop.
But her voice was too beautiful.
Too bad she suffered.
What a wonderful analysis here! Bravo, Fil! Thank you! For a little back history, too, two of the men singing harmonies here with them had started singing with Richard and Karen together in late 1966/early 1967 while in college at California State University/Long Beach as a musical group called SPECTRUM. Karen was *not* the lead singer in that group. She was the drummer, who also shared harmonizing vocals with another woman and college student named Leslie Johnston along with the harmonies from the rest of the guys, making it a six-member group called SPECTRUM. Gary Sims and Danny Woodhams (who are also here in this video clip, too), along with the eventual best-selling songwriter/lyricist John Bettis and of course the man who put it all together, Richard Carpenter, were in that college group. So they had all been singing together with tight harmonies for almost 4 years by now, given this clip is from November of 1970. They had played live venues together for years, Karen ALWAYS on the drums. She was the exclusive, sole drummer for SPECTRUM. I so love Fil's analysis here. And the group's experience singing, harmonizing, and working together for several years by now really does make them shine just splendidly here! In some ways, we're watching SPECTRUM minus John Bettis and Leslie Johnston, plus Doug Strawn, to create CARPENTERS w/Karen now singing lead. They were all college buddies, although Karen started singing with that group at only 16 years old. There are a few pictures of the group out there
Karen is soooo young! Well, they all are. Ha! Thank you so much, Fil, for this wonderful analysis on this clip. This musical group had been working hard on their music to ultimately make a splash and get noticed. Bravo to all of them and their unending dedication to their music.
I find it so exciting hearing and watching Karen sing and play the drums vs. her just out front singing. There is something electrifying about watching her showing her multi talents and drumming, in particular, is exhilarating because her timing is so good. I feel like we missed out on her drumming skills all those years during their live performances.
I was very fortunate to see them perform live while she was still spending most of the show behind her drums. I truly wish she had stayed there. So what if we couldn't "see" her as clearly. It was always a better performance in my opinion.
@@mjb2048 You are so lucky to have seen her at that stage.
Burt Bacharach and The Carpenters. Each such a big part of the musical backdrop of my youth. As if plucked straight out of those 'wonder years', my friends and I, just walking down the road on a warm summer day, talking about our crushes, singing songs by Bacharach, The Carpenters and others who filled the AM Radio air waves. When in Junior High School chorus, we closed our end of school year performance with 'What the World Needs Now'. Thanks for taking me back, if just momentarily, to those special days, Fil.
Thank you very much for doing an analysis on Burt Bacharach and The Carpenters! He definitely was an incredible singer and song writer indeed! May he RIP. Karen Carpenter was and still is my favorite female singer of all time, and in my opinion, she had the most beautiful voice in the world! It was another enjoyable analysis!
Tammy, what adjectives would you use to describe her voice and contrast it with Dionne Warwick?
@@JudyHanksDesign They both are great singers. Karen's voice was beautiful, strong, smooth and clear. She had a wide vocal range (sing high and low notes). She sang with emotions, she felt what she sang and sang what she felt. I loved her contralto sound. Dionne also had a lovely voice and like Karen, she also had all of these qualities, but her voice didnt move me like Karen's did. 🙂
Burt was NOT an "incredible singer," by his own admission and evidence on film and video. Burt was a superior musician, arranger, composer, songwriter along with his main lyricist Hal David. I think your statement was very well intentioned but I have to disagree with that part. Sorry.
@@tammydoolittle6054 I agree!
@@thomastimlin1724 That's ok, I was just stating my opinion and I agree with you and appreciate your opinion. Thank you! 🙂
Thanks, Fil! Never seen this medely of Burt & Hal’s songs with the Carpenters before! You are right, Karen seems happiest singing behind drums. Props to Richard also. Great harmonies. Burt & Hal David wrote some of the best songs. Love Karen’s voice. Also loved Burt and Dusty Springfield singing House Is Not A Home. Burt on piano & Dustys voice, so good. Thanks for your spot on analysis. Great tribute to such talented artists.
Thanks Fil. There are no words to describe the greatness of Carpenters and of course Karen Carpenter. Drumming/Singing, Perfect Pitch. Karen was simply one in a creation. R.I.P. Drummergirl.
What a beautiful legacy Burt and Karen have left us ❤️
Thank you for this - especially the vocal cut out. It shows just how absolutely incredible and nuanced Karen's voice was. And to adeptly play the drums at the same time and sing nearly perfectly in a live performance makes it even more impressive. She brought incredible life to Bacharach and David's songs. She was simply one-of-a-kind divine!
What touches me is how abandoned with joy Karen seems in this performance. The beauty of all the elements that are blended into this performance is nothing less than heaven on earth. One of the rarest occasions where Karen seems completely in her bliss ... and yet I don't mean to imply that Richard's performance was any less or even the talent behind the music composition from all the artists involved. Karen's exquisite expression as soul speaking to the soul in each of us is remarkable AS indeed it draws forth the radiant meaning of UNI from uni-verse (one sound) to fulfilled (filled full) illumination. Pure Heaven. 👍🎯👍
I'm glad Hal David is getting mentioned. Fantastic lyrics that convey so much. Some of the best.
Another LP I warped on my record player. I wanted to sing like Karen Carpenter…a great voice that would’ve aged ever so perfectly and beautifully. Thank you Fil for this analysis and taking me back to my youth! The best part of this recording is the spot on performance. Rock!
Great to see someone such as yourself Fil, paying tribute and recognising the incredably successful but in so many ways much maligned and even underrated Carpenters. Burt & Hal wrote some great songs but Paul Williams, Kris Kristofferson and many other good songwriters from the 1970s recognised that Karen with her voice and Richard with his close harmonies and unique arrangements could really enhance and take their songs to that other level. Thanks for this Fil.
The Carpenters maligned and underrated? By morons who know nothing about music. Well played, Fil.
Rick Beato did a great video analyzing some Carpenter's songs.
Blimey, she was a true phenomenon!
I loved the Carpenters. I played their music so much that my Ex gave my 8 track tape away. I was heartbroken. (I should have learned from that and not made the mistake of marrying him! lol) Karen’s death was one of the saddest days of my life.
My starter husband called the Kingston Trio "baby music". He was history.
Burt Bacharach's music combined with the unique sound of the Carpenters is unmatchable! Great video, Fil.
Thanks, Fil, for spotlighting Burt Bacharach sadly, we lass one of the best composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist. Bacharach wrote and cowrote some of the most popular songs of the twenty century. Burt Bacharach May 12, 1928 - February 8, 2023
Hi Fil,
What an amazing performance. Karen’s vocals are always so mesmerizing. And some of those arrangements and songs are hard to sing, yet she makes it look so effortless and all while playing the drums! You did a beautiful job paying tribute to Burt and his musical accomplishments and Karen and Richard’s extraordinary talents. I have always loved Close to You… and used sing it when I sang at a local Hospital music program. They are also from Connecticut the state I live in… always nice to see them get the recognition they deserve. May Burt and Karen RIP… Thank you for doing this analysis it was awesome!
Debbie ☮️🥰
You mention the sound quality going on here which is a great live recording considering this was recorded and filmed outside at Walter Reed Medical Center which appears they set this up just for this performance not like a permanent outdoor stage.
Please everybody know that it was RICHARD’S arrangement that MADE the song. Yes, no one sings better than Karen, but it was Richard who created the arrangement incredible here. 🥰
Not everybody. But BURT gave Richard and Karen Kudos for the song and great arrangement. Burt admid that he struggled with the arrangement of Close To You. When a composer as BURT was, admid that he was wrong with the arrangement, then you have to know what a great composer BURT was! R.I.P. my music hero!
Sorry…..Richard had some great arrangements and wrote a few great melodies but Karen’s voice was biggest asset of the group.
@@markghio1800 And yet Karen's solo album was kind of. . .uh, hot garbage. They needed each other.
She was the voice of a generation. If I have a migraine I use the Carpenters as a gauge. She usually calms me down. But if I can't tolerate listening to her sing, that means my head is due to explode.
She has been my dream vocal ability since I first heard her in 1970's.
I love seeing you so appreciative of others talents. I wish on all of us that we could emulate that intelligent, generous spirit of yours and detailed awareness, etc. in your approach to perceiving the world.
Well put, Judy!!
I must apologize to Fil for requesting this again as if I hadn't seen him review it before (4 months ago to be exact). It's just that, each time I see this particular performance it hits me like that and I forget where I'm at and I too am blown away. Fil's review is delightful and insightful again and as usual. Mr. Bacharach gave us and anyone who performs his songs so much reason to live and hear them all over and over... I don't mind. Music is such a joy and this is proof.
Karen "Angel" Carpenter, the one, the only, the VOICE. RIP
They owned their songs while they blended their dynamics while delivering them as one. "It's the singer(s) , not the song" Frank Sinatra quote....Easy does it . Thanks for this great brakedown woeowoe
Rock Fil !
No auto tune crap like today just talent
There has never been anything like this. I am so fortunate to gave been alive during this time. What a blessing!!!!!❤❤❤
Thanks for this great analysis Fil!! Given that it's so difficult for an artist to write even just one smash hit in their lifetime, Burt and Hal David together were indeed phenomenal!! Add the incomparable voice and talent of Karen Carpenter and her super talented brother, Richard.....
Well, you just can't go wrong! What a voice she had, simply pure velvet when she sang! I'm so thankful for the Carpenters and I absolutely adored them, but Burt Bacharach will be deeply missed. 94 years is a great life and his contribution to the music world gave us all a lot to look back on very fondly! RIP to Burt! Thank you again Fil. Your videos lift me up and make me smile ☺️. All my love to you Fil!
I second that! I was so sad that B. Bacharach’s passing was given so little press coverage! I still melt whenever I hear ‘This guy’s in love’ . Thanks & love Fil❤
What a great suggestion! I really love it when the performance has Karen playing drums and singing. What I unique and frenetic medley of the legendary Burt Bacharach songs RIP.
She was so brilliant. 😘💕
I enjoyed this. I'm sorry we lost Karen so soon. I wish they had lovely music like this in today's music world. Thank you, Fil, for doing this. Take care.
Love The Carpenters, this is just beautiful. Their voices blend so well together. I loved them from the beginning ❤
Your smile is heartwarming and precious! This takes me back to being a kid in the 1970’s-my whole life ahead of me! Special times! Richard’s leather jacket and super long hair here is hot!
As far as duets which are fantastic take a look at Ella Fitzgerald and Karen Carpenter from their 1980 tv special Music, Music, Music. It is something special.
Yes her with the 🥁 is very nice. Such a sweet voice & harmonies. Burt made so many good songs. Thanks Fil😊🎼🎶🌼
Thanks, Fil, for doing this video providing feedback on the Carpenter's Bacharach medley at this time and location. As I always say: The Voice, The Drummer, The Legacy!!!
It's also about Richard. He's the arranger and producer (and director, componist, keyboard player) of the Carpenters sound. Brother and sister, the same timbre, both perfect pitch of intonation, both the same timing and the same musical memory for the ever-changing backing choirs. It can all be heard clearly on other albums produced by Richard and on which he sang in the backing vocals : Akiko Kobayashi, Veronique Beliveau, Scott Grimes, Smokie Robinson. In contrast, Karen's album produced by Phil Ramone has the least "Carpenters sound". (Akiko's album the most).
Richard played the chords on the piano and Karen and he sang them in: 4 voices and also doubled. Live they used two extra singers.
When doubling the voices, they both sang so timed and in tune that often a chorus and flanging effect occurred, clearly heard on Richard's solo album "Time".
Thanks so much for sharing this. Loved to hear the isolated vocals! I used to listen to this medley over and over as a teenager & try to pick out parts and sing along! 😊😊
Me too! I think I play The B/D Medley more than any other single song and this one more than the others. As a fellow Medley junkie, please see my post that depending if and when you see this should be near the top. It’s the longgggg post with a link. Follow the link and see the first person cover this song in 53 years. Try and google it and see if you get any results other than Carpenters and Tori. She’s made the search engine! I hope you like it like me I’m going back and forth between them. If you do like it check her channel. OMG.
Joe
I've seen the Carpenters live in the real early 70's. Senior in highschool. A class act with Karen dressed to the 10's. Performed like the president was in the audience. Genuine humble, well spoken and being the true professional she was. This memory I treasure from over 50 years ago
I loved The Carpenters in the early and mid seventies--if you're too young to recall, many considered that square, and not in the good fifties kind of way! Time tells.
Love Karen Carpenter. Her voice was one of the best. The Carpenters had some amazing hits.Richard was also a great arranger/musician. Burt Bacharach was a great writer. RIP Burt & Karen🩷🩷
I’ve watched this performance for several years now and am more impressed each time I see it. Outside of Karen’s wonderful performance, considering this is live, outside, and 1970, the overall quality is amazing. And I can’t tell you how much your analysis is appreciated, Fil. You always do a great job and point out things I wouldn’t have noticed. I always learn something new.
I was smiling and tears 😭 were running out of my eyes. Richard and Karen are the best!