 The Carpenters Growing up with the Carpenters' third, self-titled release firmly ensconced in my musical canon, I'm always surprised why it took me so many years to venture beyond that particular album and stretch either forwards or backwards. I've still yet to give the late 70s/early 80s Carpenters period nearly any attention whatsoever, as I guess it's because I can still remember many of these albums (Horizon, etc) in the budget bin while yet a tot. Uncalled for bias, I suppose, but at least I've given the albums immediately surrounding Carpenters some serious ear time, lately namely Ticket to Ride. Originally titled Offering, then retitled and repackaged when that incarnation sparked zero interest, Ticket to Ride is very much a debut album, granted a very good debut album, but showing a band not 100% defined or sure of its direction. Not that this is a bad thing whatsoever, and besides, there are charming (and also less charming) clunkers littered throughout the Carpenters' catalog. But as with bands such as Queen and ABBA, sheer genius often finds itself sleeping next to pure garbage, with the band seeming none the wiser in differentiating the difference. Ticket to Ride kicks off with an acapella faux-church song "Invocation," which is much less appealing than it should be (see the Beach Boys "Our Prayer" for a better example), segueing into "Your Wonderful Parade," featuring Richard Carpenter in the unpleasant-to-behold role as a circus ringmaster. Rarely is his lisp so noticeable, and in fact is so bad that I can't help imagine him caricaturized in my mind with double-sized front teeth sticking out at a 90-degree angle. His lead singing on said song is very "child actor"-y (i.e. lots of gliding up to notes and "schmaltzing," as a youth pastor of mine used to describe), but the song doesn't totally fail either, thanks to a pre-chorus that takes the ball and runs. This fades into the amazing Karen torch song "Someday," which definitely hints at Carpenters recordings to come … woodwinds, amazing vocals, right on the mark. A cover of the Youngbloods "Get Together" is unnecessary, complete with annoying phased vocals. The star of the show though might be "All of My Life", a slightly swinging understated number not unlike in someway to Paul McCartney's "Another Day" – best described as either "yearning" or "quietly astounding," depending on your preference of hyperbole … either way, an album track hidden gem. In the "Where the hell did this come from" category, you might file "All I Can Do," which is unlike another else in the Carpenters catalog – a swinging, thick-vocaled, jazzy, and frenetic showcase stemming from their early jazz trio days. Not too get too "audiophile" here, but there's some strange distortion not only throughout the song, but throughout the album, which again isn't a bad thing, but is a bit leftfield, especially with the Steely Dan-like shimmer that the rest of their material usually receives. And while I'm bitching, sure this remaster got a brilliant box, but negative points for using the exact same shitty CD back cover as used as on the original CD issue, complete with 1986 copyright still intact. I didn't even mention the cover of Neil Young's "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" which must've left Neil with a bemused smile on his face while he scratched at his scraggly muttonchops, to say nothing of the proliferation of harpsichord and electric piano throughout the album (big bonus points). The mindset here for purchase would seemingly be that if you've got one complete Carpenters album besides a singles collection, then this is justifiable, mainly for the few stellar album tracks – since I believe there was only one true "single" on the album, the slow-brewing cover of "Ticket to Ride." I wonder if Paul bought a copy for each of the kids just like the Pet Sounds story he seems to tell every journalist with ears these days.
Review by AAA |