Customer Reviews

Ticket To Ride

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's the year 2003. I'm a 43 year old music lover. I've heard every amazing artist from The Beatles to Whitney Houston to Celine Dion to Michael Jackson and back again. But I've never heard ____anything____ that sounds like this. I was shocked at the polished, fully realized sound in this first effort. Even having been a Carpenters fan since 1973, and having played the grooves off the record in my turmoiled adolescent years, I still got gigantic goosebumps all over my body when I dug out "Ticket To Ride" yesterday and listened to "Invocation" for the first time in a while. From the first note to the last I was electrified. And this is in 2003. In 1969??? The impact of this recording is incalculable.

Oddly, I love pop style choral music but can't stand traditional choral music. You remember the "beautiful music" radio stations that played elevator style music from the "Whats'is'name singers." I hated that stuff. Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" and in the middle comes a section sung by choir, but it's the old style choral sound...I hate that stuff. But pop choir in the style of Carpenters, Osmonds, or Bee Gees...that's different and I really love it.

The first track of this record is a classical sounding, acapella tune done in a choral style. But I've never heard anything, before or since, that sounds like this choir. It's beautiful and ethereal and moving all at once.

I personally love Richard's voice and think his is the "salt" that makes the Carpenters sound work. I like to hear him sing lead and some of his leads are my favorite Carpenters tracks, e.g. "Saturday." On this record he sings lead more than on later records and that's a plus for me.

Karen's sound is 98% of what it became, which is surprising at this early stage. Even so, it's just ever so slightly green and young, which for a Carpenters fan just increases the charm.

Not surprisingly for the late 60s, The Beatles were a major influence on Richard. It may be impossible to outdo The Beatles on any rearrangement of one of their tunes but Richard puts forth a good effort here with the title track. He completely throws away the Beatles' arrangement and turns the rocking tune into a slow and mournful ballad, spicing it up and dropping in the fully realized Carpenters signature sound on the chorous. Being more distanced from the Beatles by now, for me this tune has aged well. I'm more able to accept the alternate arrangement and appreciate it for its own merits. While overall the song suffers from the inevitable comparison with the Beatles' version, Karen's vocal performance on this track benefits from it and is stunning. Since the Beatles' version is a rocking, hard driving tune, it's a little low on tormented emotion. Karen, in contrast, wrings out every last ounce of torment possible from the painful lyrics, delivering a masterful performance. Clever, unique, couragous, and excellent.

Despite all its ground breaking excellence, it's surprising that the Carpenters were able to make inroads on the popular music scene with this church inspired offering. Titling the record "Offering" and opening and closing the record with tracks "Invocation" and "Benediction," took a lot of guts in the hippie era when rebellion against the establishment, any establishment, long hair, drugs, free love, etc, was the current style. What a refreshing break it must have been for many to rest from all the psychedelia and acid rock and instead hear something positive and "good." While that may go in and out of style and the Carpenters career may have sufferred from that in the long run, to have the vision to put this out shows that Richard was not just a musical leader, but a social one as well, and unlike the Beatles he is leading us in a positive direction. Some may not appreciate that, but I do. Thank you Richard.
LB

"Ticket To Ride" takes its name from the hit song single, "Ticket To Ride", released by the Carpenters in 1969. It would become the Carpenters first hit single (peaking at #56 onteh charts), and opened the door for the duo of Karen and Richard Carpenter to begin their string of hits that would span the decade of the 1970's. "Ticket To Ride" is Richard Carpenter's soft-ballad adaptation of the Beatle's hit of the same name. When the Beatles broke up in 1969, the Carpenters' "Ticket To Ride" hit the airwaves and was a hit, for it was a sad ballad and Beatles'fans mourning the loss of their favorite group related to the mournful interpretation of the song.

The distinctive "Carpenter sound", that of multi-layered harmonic vocals, is first heard on this album in several songs, including "Ticket To Ride", "Your Wonderful Parade", "All of My Life", and "What's The Use". Karen's voice is not yet "perfect" in her emotional content interpretation of the songs, as she is just a young 19 years old. An example of this is the song "Someday", which Karen interprets with a "wailing" timbre to her voice, admittedly not her best interpretation of the song. Karen reinterpreted this song in the 1980 TV special "Music, Music, Music", and her vocal is the definitive interpretation and performance, one of which she was very proud of. It is interesting to hear the early "primitive" Carpenter sound and Karen's voice, as the true Carpenter sound would fully emerge in the next album, "Close To You".

Although it is their first work, this Carpenter album is one that is pleasing, though inferior to their subsequent recordings. If you are a fan of the Carpenters, you will want to have this album as many of the songs are not included on their later greatest hits albums. I particularly liked "Get Together", the slow love ballad, "All of My Life", the lively "Don't Be Afraid", and the youthful "What's The Use".

I give this album 4-stars, as it is not of the quality of their later albums. It probably deserves just three stars, but how can I give any album with Karen Carpenter's exquisite voice just three stars?! That would be a sacrilege to my favorite singer of all-time!

Jim "Konedog" Koenig

Hard to believe that the teenage Karen and 24ish Richard were so professional sounding in their early years. Richard's arrangements complement the heartfelt vocals of his sister, who plays drums like nobody's business throughout the album. Ironically, the two hit songs they cover, the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride" and the Youngbloods' "Get Together," are less effective than the Bettis/Carpenter collaborations, some of which should have been released by A&M as potential singles, especially "Someday" and "Eve," two of the most smouldering vocals Karen ever recorded in her brief life.

Listening to compliations and hits packages of the Carpeneters is okay; however, the listener is advised to hear each original album, track by track, to really get the importance of the duo's legacy. Richard put so much into the intricate continuity of the tracks on each album--songs fade into each other, keys change subtly yet perfectly, especially at the codas of certain songs, and occasional witty tunes pepper each album to break up the pace of the more serious love songs.

I attended a Carpenters concert in the late 1970s, and they put on a complete show, complete with costume changes, orchestra, and even cars and motorcycles onstage, rather than a predictable recital of their hits--no one could take their eyes off them for those two hours (and I wasn't even 10 years old).

The only part of this album that will make you cringe is the original "flower" cover photo, which recently has been wisely replaced with a more neutral shot of the two on a sailboat . . . it doesn't make much sense, given the album's title, but as Charlie Parker said, Let the music do the talking!

I'm 23 years old, born way after the Carpenters were in their prime, but my parents were and still are, huge Carpenters fans. Guess what records I listened to as a child!? Anyway, raised on Karen and Richard, I am an avid Carpenters fan in a time where modern music makes you cringe at times.

I bought "Ticket To Ride" at the local "Musicland" a few years ago. After listening to a couple greatest hits albums, I decided it was time I started getting some of their studio efforts. "Ticket To Ride" is obviously the start of the Carpenters' success to come; the album is not quite as polished as some of their later works, but at age 19, Karen Carpenter is absolutely magnificant! With the gift of a perfect pitch, and uncanny innocence to her voice, Karen begins her legacy of getting to the heart of millions with this 1969 album. To this day, Karen Carpenter has the most flawless, beautiful voice of any female singer I've ever heard. Karen's voice, with her older brother Richard's arrangements, voice, and piano/keyboard, created a unique sound that made this pop-rock duo one of the best ever.

The two siblings absolutely melt your heart with their thick, heartfelt, sometimes haunting, harmonizing and they present this in their first track, "Invocation," a purely vocal introduction that pulls you in right away. I love how Karen starts out singing herself, before a burst of haunting harmonizing of her and Richard warm your ears.

My favorite track on the album is one of the more unique tracks; "Your Wonderful Parade." It actually features Richard on vocals, and he really doesn't do a bad job. At the start of the song, Richard takes on the character of a "ringmaster" at a circus, actually speaking out to the fans and presenting them with the song. I love his piano on the song. In high school, Karen used to drum in the marching band, and she brings this skill to the song, drilling forth a flawless array of marching drum-breats alongside the piano. Their exciting chorus comes up with "Stand in line....try to climb.....meet your wife at cocktail time...." a beautiful burst of energy and harmonious chords and vocals. I like how the tone/octave of the song changes from each section.

In speaking of unique songs, check out "All I Can Do," a very haunting, passionate, jazzy, number that delivers a longing which I'm sure many people can relate to. Granted there is not much to the song; it's pretty straight-forward, and definitly pales in comparison to the other songs, but I actually enjoy this track. It's addictive somehow. Again, great harmomies, keyboard work by Richard, and some great, swirling drumming from Karen.

The Carpenters best polished tunes are probably their hit, "Ticket To Ride" (nice Karen drums, longing harmonies, and Karen's voice is fantastic), and the fun, poppy tracks "Don't Be Afraid" (thick, intense, melodic harmonies, great Richard keyboard/piano and fantastic, happy Karen vocals) and "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" (a lot like "Don't Be Afraid" harmony-wise, but with a rather haunting twist. Features Richard on vocals).

You want a REAL taste of what Karen can do? Listen to "Eve," "Someday," and "All Of My Life;" guarenteed to leave you breathless, and moisten your eyes. Just thinking about these songs brings my heart into my throat. These songs define Karen's vocal gift. All three are emotion-filled, heartfelt, soulful, and passionate. "Eve" is a very sad song, which also has some very stong harmonies from both Karen and Richard. "Someday" is also sad, with a great use of a soft flute, and haunting keyboards/piano (I think), at the beginning. Karen's voice is.....ohhh, how do you describe it? Everything that defines a great female singer! "All Of My Life" is a soft-pop ballad capable of making your soul swell with Karen's heartfelt, longing voice and great harmonies.

There are a few songs I don't care for as much; "Get Together," "Turn Away," and "What's The Use." The way "Get Together" is put together is kind of different, and it kind of lacks polishing; it's not one of the stonger songs. There is kind of a wavy, echo effect to Richard's vocals, which makes it kind of unique, (he is lead vocalist in this song). It is a happy, inspiring pop-rock song though, with some friendly harmonies. "Turn Away" and "What's The Use" both feature Richard on vocals. Both are kind of laid-back; nothing really special about them. They're just straight out soft pop rock songs with good Karen and Richard harmonies, and some nice drums by Karen and piano/keyboards by Richard.

The album ends with "Benediction;" somewhat of a "finale" to their collection of songs. Features mostly harmonious vocals, but leads up to a burst of rich music.

If you are curious about the Carpenters and are not a fan yet, I would suggest listening to some of their greatest hits albums before buying their debut. Granted, their debut is an excellent start to their career, but in order to get a real good feel for the Carpenters legacy, check out their later stuff first. Then definitely buy "Ticket To Ride" for a trip through a magnificant beginning. This way, one can really see how they developed, and appreciate what they offered to us along the way.

After having over two decades to assess the whole of the Carpenters output, I find this one still a favourite. Richard Carpenter and John Bettis wrote 10 of the album's 13 songs, and most of them are very nice. The choice of cover material includes Neil Young's excellent, "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" and Chet Powers',"Get Together". Richard sings both songs with the former working well for his limited range, but the annoying vocal effects on the latter marr this 60's anthem.

One of Karen's most beautiful vocals is on "Someday". It's too bad that the 1998 remaster did not correct the distortion that occurs in the last minute of this 5:13 track. A similar distorted moment occurs on the :43 closing track, "Benediction". This is the only Carpenters album that was recorded on eight track master tape, but if Glenn Miller's recording from the 40's can be made to sound clean and distortion free, then surely these two songs could have been repaired.

Still, even with those technical flaws, the songs and performances make it easy to love this album. "All of My Life", "Eve", and Lennon-McCartney's "Ticket To Ride" are also outstanding. I prefer this original version of "Ticket..." which was rerecorded for the 1973 Singles album. As others have mentioned, Richard Carpenter tampers with the music tracks on every Carpenters compilation CD. But if you want the original recordings, you'll have to buy the individual albums. Some may resent that, but the Carpenters catalog is, for the most part, a treasure trove of the finest pop music ever made.

This cd is a must. I am only 24 and wasn't around when the Carpenters were being played on the radio as "current hits," so I'm still learning new songs. There were alot of songs on this cd that I didn't know but they were good. All of my life, Ticket to Ride, Don't be Afraid and Eve are all great songs. Those were my favorite on this cd. Any Carpenters fan must have.

Just listen to the invocation on this album and then to All of my life. Then you will know why The Carpenters became so popular and still are. Karen's voice on Someday will be forever haunting my mind. It's just incredibly beautiful. And if you're driving your car just let Nowadays Clancy can't even sing bubble out of the speakers. For a career which was only starting, this album already was a landmark! Roger - The Netherlands.

The debut album from Richard and Karen, released in 1969. This is a must-have for any Carpenters fan. The version of the song 'Ticket To Ride' is different to the version that has been included on numerous compilations. Karen re-recorded her vocals and drums for the 1973 'Singles' compilation, and that's the version that has always been used, as far as I know. The original version sounds more melancholy and I prefer it to the later version. The other tracks, while not well known, are all excellent. Stand-outs are the title track, 'Eve', 'Someday' and 'All Of My Life'. The sound of this album is quite different to their later recordings, even to 1970's 'Close To You'. At the time that this album was recorded, the intention may have been for Carpenters to be a true duo, rather than the focus, at least vocally, being on Karen. Richard sings lead on FIVE of the songs.

"Ticket to Ride" is the Carpenters first album, and it shows the signature sounds from the beginning. Karen's haunting vocal on tunes like "Someday" and "Ticket to Ride" provide the highlights. Most of these songs are just average though and the lyrics are weak but well sung. Karen's voice is still developing, and she shows strength on the lovely "Eve" and "All of My Life". Clearly, the title song and first single "Ticket to Ride" is the best outing on this album, although it only made it to #54 in 1970 on the Billboard charts. For the new Carpenters fan, save this album for later. For the collector, this album is a must have!

Something about the late sixties/early seventies classics where Jazz and Rock were fused by polished musicians just works. Much more gutsy than other Carpenters albums, this Freshman album reaches outside the box with jazz arrangements, pop melodies and a melancholy that permeates this whole album.