I could have chosen to write about any of the dozen top ten hits the Carpenters released between 1970 and 1975. Or, I could have chosen to write about one of their innumerable album track gems. But I'm going to pull out my E Cock by writing about an unreleased song that remained on some dusty shelf for twenty years.
Since Karen Carpenter's death in 1983, several Carpenters compilation CD's have been released. 1995 brought forth Interpretations which, as far as the band's compilations go, is pretty standard. However, this one boasted an absolutely gorgeous song originally meant for their 1975 album, Horizon. "Tryin' to Get That Feeling Again" was cut because, according to Richard, there were too many ballads on the record and the one recording they had was marred by the sound of Karen turning the music pages.
In 1976, Barry Manilow recorded a version that went to #10. The Carpenters recording was shelved indefinitely. But when one of the greatest voices of all time is forever silenced, little things like rustling paper fail to be a deal breaker. Richard reworked the song and finally put it out.
The song itself is one of the Carpenters' downer songs; the narrator wants to be in love again and mourns the disappearance of her feelings for her man. But it's not like "Superstar" is such a ray of sunshine. 1975 was the turning point year for the Carpenters. After Horizon, things went down a steady slope. Who knows if this could have been another top ten hit?
No comments:
Post a Comment