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Posts Tagged Karen Carpenter

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March 18, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Pearl Charles: Magic Mirror

Pearl Charles Magic Mirror Kanine Records Pearl Charles reminds me of Weyes Blood – which is to say there is that throwback to the 1970s, to AOR and MOR but with the twist of modern vitality; a determined hipness that is never arch but which marks the work as more than just throwback; as its […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged 1970s, ABBA, Album Review, AOR, Carpenters, Kamine Records, Karen Carpenter, Linda Ronstadt, Magic Mirror, MOR, Pearl Charles, Pearl Charles: Magic Mirror, Soft-Rock, Weyes Blood, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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September 5, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

The Vinyl Countdown # 60

Richard Carpenter, Time (1987) I recently shared a photo of this album on Facebook and a clip of that duet where Richard tried replacing Karen by getting Dusty Springfield to sing. And someone wrote, “I have that album in my garage”. And I wrote back, “best place for it”. Banter. But it made me drag […]
Posted in Blog, The Vinyl Countdown · Tagged 1987, Carpenters, Dusty Springfield, Karen Carpenter, LP, Record, Richard Carpenter, Say Yeah!, Something In Your Eyes, The Carpenters, The Vinyl Countdown, The Vinyl Countdown # 60, Time, Vinyl ·

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August 31, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

The Vinyl Countdown # 63

Carpenters, Ticket To Ride (1970) Bought a few Carpenters records recently – already had a few, but trying to pick up the ones I don’t have. In part it was because I was talking about the band for a radio show – which is done now. You can click that link to check it out […]
Posted in Blog, The Vinyl Countdown · Tagged 1970, All I Can Do, Carpenters, Covers, David N. White Gallery, Debut, Duo, Karen, Karen Carpenter, LP, Mr Fox's Shop, Offering, Peppa Pig, Pop, Record, Richard, Richard Carpenter, RNZ, Second-Hand, Siblings, The Carpenters, The Vinyl Countdown, The Vinyl Countdown # 63, Ticket To Ride, Vinyl ·

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August 27, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

RNZ Feature: The Legacy of the Carpenters

About once a month or so I have a long chat on RNZ about a particular music or a theme – for their regular Tuesday music features. I’ve long been a fan of the music of the Carpenters and wanted to play some of my favourites, some of the key examples of Karen’s great singing […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 2pm, Afternoons, Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan, Carpenters, Jesse Mulligan, Karen Carpenter, Music Feature, National Radio, Radio, Radio New Zealand, Radio NZ, Richard Carpenter, RNZ, RNZ Feature: The Legacy of the Carpenters, Spotify, The Legacy of the Carpenters, Tuesday ·

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August 22, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

The Vinyl Countdown # 69

Carpenters, Passage (1977) Of all the Carpenters albums (and I’m aiming to collect the set) I was most surprised by this one – a recent addition, one I hadn’t heard all the way through until just very recently. A strange, strange album – and I love it. It’s a very weird record; exhaustion from all […]
Posted in Blog, The Vinyl Countdown · Tagged 1977, B'Wana She No Home, Brother, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft, Carpenters, Don't Cry For Me Argentina, Karen, Karen Carpenter, LP, Passage, Record, Richard, Richard Carpenter, Seventies, Siblings, Sister, The Carpenters, The Vinyl Countdown, The Vinyl Countdown, The Vinyl Countdown # 69, Vinyl ·

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August 13, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: The Signs Along The Way

I love the music the Carpenters made. Nearly every sha-la-la-la, and probably most of the wo-oh-wo-woes still shine. But Richard was weird. And Karen was scared. And when you see that you start to hear that. And it’s not that it makes the music better – or worse. But it’s hard to not know it […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Carpenters, Karen, Karen Carpenter, Poem, Poem: The Signs Along The Way, Richard, Richard Carpenter, The Carpenters, The Signs Along The Way ·

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July 27, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Carpenters: The Road To Yesterday (Live 1974)

Carpenters The Road To Yesterday (Live 1974) Stiletto Discs The Carpenters worked themselves non-stop. They were a hard-touring band on account of all the hits they had. That’s how it worked. They kept having hit singles, kept hitting the road. It sent Richard to the uppers and it was a big downer for Karen, part […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged 1974, Album Review, Bootleg, Budokan, Carpenters, Carpenters: The Road To Yesterday (Live 1974), Karen, Karen Carpenter, Live, Live 1974, Reissue, Richard, Richard Carpenter, The Carpenters, The Full 1974 Budokan Arena MTV Broadcast, The Road To Yesterday, The Road To Yesterday (Live 1974), You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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July 24, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

The Vinyl Countdown # 85

Carpenters, Voice of the Heart (1983) I am a Carpenters fan – but that wasn’t always the case, I had to ‘come out’ as such. The tribute album gave me the license – but the songs had always been in my heart. For many years I had a Greatest Hits album on vinyl but in […]
Posted in Blog, The Vinyl Countdown · Tagged 1983, Carpenters, Karen, Karen Carpenter, LP, Now, posthumous, Record, Richard, Richard Caprenter, The Carpenters, The Vinyl Countdown # 85, Vinyl, Voice of the Heart ·

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December 18, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 19 – Karen Carpenter

Karen Carpenter – sadly thought of as a punchline by some, known to be an incredible singer and one half of the mega-successful sibling duo, the Carpenters – was a drummer. Brother Richard was in charge of song selection (covers) arranging, producing and composition. But if he was the boss Karen was the star. Ask […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged "Singer", Carpenters, Concert Toms, Cubby O'Brien, Drummer, Drummers You Just Can't Beat, Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 19 – Karen Carpenter, Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 19Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 19, Drumming, Drums, Hal Blaine, Jim Gordon, Karen Carpenter, Larrie London, Percussion, Richard Carpenter, Ron Tutt, The Carpenters, Timbale, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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November 27, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

The Vinyl Countdown # 210

Carpenters, Horizon (1975) Been on a big Carpenters trip lately, and though they’ve been in my life forever it’s only now I realise that I’m a Greatest Hits-player…well, I know a few of the albums but this is the first time I’ve decided to listen through to them all. There’s some great lesser known gems […]
Posted in Blog, The Vinyl Countdown · Tagged [I'm Caught Between] Goodbye And I Love You, 1975, Carpenters, Karen, Karen Carpenter, LP, Record, Richard, Richard Carpenter, Seventies, Solitaire, The Carpenters, The Vinyl Countdown, The Vinyl Countdown # 210, Vinyl ·

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April 7, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

Weyes Blood: Titanic Rising 

Weyes Blood  Titanic Rising  Sub Pop Records  Karen Carpenter is alive. And well. She’s survived. She has continued to sing with that voice – clear as a bell. She is the modern-day torch singer. She is a soothsayer connecting us to the ugly truths of this age, reminding us of the amazing opportunities in and around the daze. She’s now writing […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Enya, Father John Misty, Flannery O'Connor, Heather Nova, Joni Mitchell, Karen Carpenter, Natalie Mering, Sub Pop, Sub Pop Records, Titanic Rising, Weyes Blood, Weyes Blood: Titanic Rising, Wise Blood, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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November 21, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: A Ham Sandwich Walks Into A Bar…

The old joke has it that if Karen Carpenter and Mama Cass had just shared the same ham sandwich they’d both be alive today. It’s hilarious – because one of them was rather thin, the other not so much. they both died due to conditions of the heart. (I’ve no idea where the ham sandwich […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged A Ham Sandwich Walks Into A Bar…, Carpenters, Cass Elliott, Ham Sandwich, Joke, Karen Carpenter, Mama Cass, Poem, Poem: A Ham Sandwich Walks Into A Bar…, The Carpenters, The Mamas and The Papas ·
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