Carpenters Album: “Live in London”

The Carpenters' unique talents are preserved in a live performance that, like "Carpenters: Live in Japan," allows the listener to more clearly understand what made them such popular and spectacular musicians. It has been said that a hallmark of musical giftedness is how similar one's recorded sound is to a live performance. "Live at the Palladium" brings you front row center for a performance by one of the greatest singers who ever lived. Listen to Karen's voice soar on this album! She fills the hall with her unique, flawless vocal presence, reminding us that her mellow "lows" are merely the foundation of a multi-octave range. Framed by the lush orchestrations and wonderful arrangements of Richard, this album truly affords a picture of the group that brought romance back to music. A "must" for any Carpenters fan!

I've recently been buying all the Carpenters music on CD. This CD is fun, mostly because I never got a chance to see them in concert. This CD has moments of classical music, Richard's beautiful rendition of Warsaw Concerto; it has a medley of Carpenters' hits; it has a jammin' version of Goodbye To Love; it has a drum solo by Karen, which is always fun; and of course it has moments of Karen's truly inspirational vocals. I recommend it for Carpenters fans.

It's very sad this is an out-of-print, because it belongs to every Carpenters and good music fan in the world. Production is amazing (well, Richard recordered and mastered it) and Karen's voice is smooth as usual. There's one thing, though - she doesn't sound like she can easily keep her famous low notes and sings higher than on studio work, except for her solo album. This is an interesting point about her voice: how sensitive does a micro had to be to really capture her magic lows? How long Richard kept on working for it to sound perfect? On and on, the album is rich, mixing hits, a wonderful grand instrumental piece and a long drumming and percussion medley (VERY fun!) along with some fresh and nice quotes by R. & K. showing their sense of humor. Even the lead track by Richard is worth hearing. I wish they had choosed some other songs to record live, but this album shines and make them seem more human and close to all of us.

Just a word of advice....If you are a Carpenters fan, and haven't yet bought this CD, now might be a good time to get it. I've been looking around at several import stores who used to carry it, and they no longer have it in stock. So I'm wondering if it might be going out of print soon. I haven't heard anything official or anything, but it seems to be getting harder to find nowadays. Live In Japan (2-CD, 1974) is a better set, but it's probably a better idea to purchase Live at the Palladium soon before it becomes obscure. (Of course, it will probably come back into print somewhere down the line.)

Jim Meadows