- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Yesterday Once More was lovingly assembled and arranged by Richard Carpenter and was released shortly after Karen Carpenter’s tragic early death.
Carpenters – Yesterday Once More (1985): Carpenters were probably the most successful brother-sister musical act in history. After their college days, Karen Carpenter and Richard Carpenter started playing together in jazz trios in the mid-1960’s and were signed as the Richard Carpenter Trio in 1968, though the third member of the band had departed by the time any recordings were released. Karen Carpenter is known for her warm and expressive voice but was originally the drummer for these trios; she self-describes as a “drummer who sings”, and many of their early hits feature her on drums. Her drumming was praised by some of the best drummers out there, including Hal Blaine who handled the drums on many of the Carpenters’ records, although most of Karen Carpenter’s fans have no idea about that side of her talent.
Since no one could see her well while she was singing in concert, eventually Karen Carpenter was moved out from behind the drumkit as she became the focus of the duo, though Richard Carpenter’s lush arrangements were just as important to their success. While Carpenters effortlessly crafted one hit single after another throughout much of the 1970’s, they didn’t get a lot of respect from hard rock and psychedelic rock fans (including me), though I began to come around when they covered the Klaatu composition “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” that I once heard dimly on my car radio, wondering if that could possibly be who I thought it was. After their popularity waned in the late 1970’s, Carpenters made a comeback in 1981 with the album Made in America that includes perhaps my favorite Carpenters recording, “Touch Me When We’re Dancing”. After battling eating disorders for many years that were not well understood in those days, Karen Carpenter died in 1983. My first record purchase was actually a previously unreleased solo album that Karen Carpenter recorded in 1979–1980 with Phil Ramone as the record producer, which finally came out in 1996 under the name Karen Carpenter. I loved the CD immediately, but the musical style differed somewhat from her Carpenters work; and there were several sexually playful songs that were unlike the more staid Carpenters songs, such as “My Body Keeps Changing My Mind” and “Remember When Lovin’ Took All Night”. One of the songs recorded for the Karen Carpenter solo album, “Make Believe It’s Your First Time” was later recast Carpenters-style and released after her death. Karen Carpenter was not well received by either the record label or her brother and was shelved for many years. I have often wondered whether Karen Carpenter might not have come to such a tragic end had that album been released, or at least received more deserving praise. About Karen Carpenter, Wikipedia notes: “On February 3, 1983, the day before Karen Carpenter‘s death, she called Phil Ramone to discuss the album; according to Ramone, Carpenter said, ‘I hope you don’t mind if I curse. I still love our f–king record!’ ” I can tell you this: If I had not loved Karen Carpenter so much, I would never have acquired any Carpenters albums, and I have bought at least four over the years. Additionally, the best box set I have ever owned was a four-CD collection of Carpenters songs called From the Top (1991), which walked through their music chronologically, starting with their 1960’s recordings, through their hits, her solo album, posthumous releases . . . pretty much everything. Yesterday Once More, with the album name taken from one of their hit songs that opens this double album, was lovingly assembled and arranged by Richard Carpenter and was released shortly after Karen Carpenter’s tragic early death.