A LOOK INTO THE GLOOM AND DARKNESS THAT WAS CARPENTERS MUSIC

To tell you the truth, I never really thought about the Carpenters during their heyday on the radio. I was already distracted by the soothing sounds of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep and a dash of Jethro Tull. The Carpenters were on the wrong side of the tracks for me in a musical sense. But I was aware of their music.

The one thing that became clear later in life was the incredible vocal talents of lead singer Karen Carpenter. Something that was less clear was pointed out to me by a buddy with an affinity for music: Karen Carpenter had a sad tone to her voice that was a part of every song-even if she claimed to be “on top of the world” in one song.

That sadness may well have been the musical Colonel Saunders secret ingredient to put her on top of the female vocalist world.

Even happy Carpenter songs like ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ carried that same tone. Just about every wedding in the early 70s included this homage to the beginning of a life together for a happy couple. Maybe Karen realized that half of these joyful beginnings would have an unhappy ending in divorce court when she recorded the definitive wedding song of that era.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__VQX2Xn7tI&feature=related

The Carpenters’ first big hit was ‘Close To You’. This was a song about unrequited love and obsessive infatuation. Beneath the heartbreak of the song was a dangerous and unbalanced impression of a guy who clearly had a potential female stalker singing about him.

‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ had sadness in the title. Neither are occasions that make people jump for joy and Karen rode this mood into a major hit for the Carpenters. The only happiness in the song was derived from a highly dependent relationship in which another human being was the only life raft in a sea of despair.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPmbT5XC-q0

‘Superstar’ was a major hit for the Carpenters. It was also a song about a groupie who clearly misinterpreted the role of the groupie for bands. The song is a misguided plea from a young woman who thought that musicians were something other than rabbits on a tour bus.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgs8zeKegs4

‘Bless the Beasts and the Children’ was the perfect song for the movie of the same name. The movie ended in a bloodbath for a herd of buffalo and a delinquent kid trying to save their hides. A sad ending deserved a sad song and Karen made it happen-big time.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhR36gV6vW4

‘Goodbye to Love’ is my final example of the dark side of Carpenters music. The song was about a woman who has completely given up on romance. She has been crushed by bad relationships and she no longer has the will to jump back in the game of love. You want sadness in a song? This is your ticket to despair, Carpenters style.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nooeMrCws-A

So now I look back on the Carpenters with a different point of view: Here was an incredibly talented woman who definitely knew how to sing the blues.

COMMENTS:

KIRBY:Carpenters come on- if she would have sang the blues and not the sappy soft rock romantic crap I could buy it. Talent galore poor use thereof I would have been a much bigger fan had they at least been true to the talent"