 The Carpenters Fellow staffer AAA and I were jokingly considering compiling a cdr called Weird Richard Carpenter or something to that effect, collecting the more baffling moments from his contributions to the Carpenters' albums. People tend to think of the Carpenters in terms of Karen's voice, the "haunting and beautiful sound" and all that, but in fact, none of the band's albums was free from Richard's extremely "inside" sense of humor. Now & Then probably represents the nadir, while songs like "Druscilla Penny" and "Mr. Guder" are hilarious high points (although we don't know whether we're laughing out of joy or nervousness). A Song For You features some of Richard's more jaw-dropping moments ("Flat Baroque," "Piano Picker," and the truly odd "Intermission," which features he and Karen beautifully harmonizing on the phrase "We'll be right back, after we go to the bathroom"), but true to form, these moments are mixed in with some of the absolute best Carpenters tracks ever ("Hurting Each Other," "Top of the World," "Goodbye to Love" and the glorious title track). The album is incredibly solid even with the rampant Richard ridiculousness, and maybe in the end it wouldn't be a Carpenters album without those "What the hell was that" kinds of moments. Sonically, this is one of the most lush and comfortable of the group's albums, more ear-friendly than usual, the sort of album you can use as a pillow without worrying about getting horrible shooting pains in your neck when you wake up (that is, unless you're actually using the CD itself as a pillow, which is pretty foolish, foolie fool – don't you know how to use a metaphor?). It's a very pretty record, mellow and soothing even with the "controversial" fuzz guitar solo on "Goodbye to Love" (be sure to check out Richard's hilariously instructive liner notes on how the Carpenters pioneered the "power lead" solo). Tracks like "Bless the Beasts and Children," "It's Going to Take Some Time" and "I Won't Last a Day Without You" keep all sense of danger at bay, providing wonderful MOR for ears tired of all the noise. The Carpenters are currently being appreciated on a lot of levels (irony not too far from most of them), but truly, most of their albums are just good, as long as you're not thinking in terms of, like Kid A or something. (Which is too bad for you, if so.) Personally, I'm always thinking in terms of, say, Singers Unlimited or Blossom Dearie, so for me the Carpenters reward richly. The version of "Top of the World" here is the original, which was retooled for promotion as a single (that version is on The Singles 1969-1973). Several of the tracks reach back to Richard's early (college) songwriting efforts, and they put him in the same league as Glenn Gould as far as infusing music with a weirdo sense of humor. Actually, the weirdest track is the "clever" "Piano Picker," which was not written by Richard but which suits his approach to a T. I overstate the intrusiveness of the Richard influence for comic effect, actually. On something like "Crystal Lullaby" he's in his element. I can see why albums like this have angered Rolling Stone critics for two decades; conversely, therein lies what has angered me about the damn Rolling Stone for almost as long.
Review by World's Greatest Barfer |