You can clearly see that Karen took Terry Ellis' advice to heart when he told her that the Carpenters needed to develop a "stage presence" by connecting with the audience by, for example, waving to the fans at the top of the auditorium! According to Randy Schmidt's excellent book, "Little Girl Blue" about Karen Carpenter, when Ellis suggested that to Karen, she responded, "Why should I do that?" And Ellis told her the fans would wave back! Karen said, "No they won't" and Ellis correctly told her that the fans would wave back to her because they would absolutely love it that she was "reaching out to them" to show her and Richard's appreciation to them for coming out to see the Carpenters!
Interesting that the Japanese public were the audience for this very well done documentary. I still to this day see the influence Carpenters has had on performers of Oriental descent.
Karen was never so happy as she was when she was behind those drums! The smile and unmitigated joy on her face during the performance of the classic Beatles' song, "Help" during this concert in Japan is wonderful to see!!!! Karen we miss you so much more than you can possibly imagine!😢
Watching these videos and listening to Karen's voice never fails to instill a sense of grief in me, because I miss her. I'll never know how far she and Richard might have gone. Together, they created a special magic that will be missed. Other women with great voices that sound like Karen's, which without Richard, won't come close.
One of the things you notice during this Carpenters concert is that drummer Cubby O'Brien, although a superb drummer, was a little too aggressive/harsh in his drumming during, for example, "Yesterday Once More" which unfortunately takes some attention away from the beauty of Karen's magnificent singing! He needed to adopt a softer, less harsh touch when drumming on the Carpenters' ballads!
Thanks for compiling all and uploading this. It's remarkable seeing these concert clips from 1978. Such a pleasure watching The Carpenters - and, especially, listening to Karen's singular and stunning voice. The lovely Ave Maria begins at 54:15. Thank you. ❤
Desde jovem sempre fui apaixonado pela sonoridade e pela voz de Karen Anne Carpenter mesmo nao sabendo nada de Inglês. Caminhava milhas para comprar suas produções e álbuns. Hoje com 66 anos ainda guardo como reliquia seus álbuns de Vinil e uma vitrola para ouvir suas musicas e "Voltar no Tempo". Karen foi uma alma iluminada que despertava com a magia da sua voz os mais puros sentimenros em qualquer pessoa do planeta .
What's special about Karen and Richard is that they grew up in Downey, CA - a decent, modest neighborhood. The city is known for having the oldest McDonald's that's still in existence.
That's true for some other artists as well, for example Jimmy Osmond. Part of it is that Japan will have a different concept of "cool" versus the USA. Also they will have a different concept of "uncool." I think Japan was less enamored by the piercings, purple hair, sneering, of punk rock, which in the USA was a major factor in making older acts look uncool.
