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The Carpenters and The MonaLisa Twins
Probably the single most similar musical act to the MonaLisa Twins are the Carpenters. The fact that they are so dissimilar points to how unique the MonaLisa Twins actually are!
Like the Twins, the Carpenters are a sibling act where one of the siblings started out playing drums before moving forward. I’m not sure if Karen was in the same league with Mona as a drummer. I don’t think she ever played drums on any of their studio recordings but she certainly loved being a drummer.
And you’ll never guess the first hit song the Carpenters ever had was: it was a Beatles cover of Ticket to Ride, slowed down as a ballad to emphasize Karen’s vocals. It’s very lush but I actually love it. If I’m not mistaken the Twins have covered a few Beatles songs themselves. Ticket to Ride was a very minor hit but it may have been just enough to keep them under contract until they broke big with– Close to You.
So yes, the Twins answered with their own song with this title. They have very few similarities beyond the title but I love both songs.
One very significant similarity is that both the Carpenters and the MonaLisa Twins go against the norm for female acts and simply don’t sale sex. Yes, the Carpenters were known for being out of touch and very uncool and I’m sure it would have been difficult to dress Karen up to make her more sexy- although, she was certainly a lovely woman. With the Twins, Mona and Lisa are gorgeous and could be objectified without any trouble. It’s such a testament to who they are and how they were raised that their entire focus is on making songs and videos that emphasize the power and beauty of their music!
Another similarity is their music is very successful yet out of sorts with their era. Both emphasize melody over rhythm and the vocals are extraordinarily beautiful with both.
Of course the Carpenters had a very short period of massive success but even during that time they were despised by many and made fun of in a cruel fashion. Because of the tragedy of Karen’s death, it’s no longer cool to make fun of the Carpenters.
The harmonies by the Twins rank quite a bit higher to me as I’m just not a fan of Richard’s contributions vocally to the Carpenters. Karen’s solo voice probably outstrips either Mona or Lisa though certainly not if you include versatility and the ability to sing all kinds of music. I can’t imagine Karen rocking out and doing Revolution or Mercedes Benz. Still for a few songs like Rainy Days and Mondays and Superstar, Karen’s voice is among the very best of her generation.
Just a few thoughts that came my way this morning. I hope I haven’t bored you to tears.
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4 Replies
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Not flogging the Carpenters again Tim? I know they were popular in your neck of the woods but where I come from, Rodriguez was much bigger, better and far more interesting than the Carpenters. He also wrote all his own stuff. A pity he’s another muso badly exploited and ripped off by the music industry!
Fortunately though, In the 1990s, determined South African fans managed to find and contact Rodriguez, which led to an unexpected revival of his musical career.
He’s touring Australia and New Zealand again early next year. I think he has far more in common with MLT than Karen Carpenter. Do yourself a favour, check out the movie ‘Searching For Sugar Man’.
Rodriguez is an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan.
He is known to live a simple life, possessing no telephone or cell phone of his own, and occasionally visiting bars in the Cass Corridor section of Detroit near Woodbridge and Midtown Detroit, such as the Old Miami pub, where he has performed live concerts for small local crowds.
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I am a big fan of Carpenters, however every one knows Karen was the voice, Richard arranged and write a few songs. Karen like Sarah Vaughan before her, ended up leaving her instrument, respectively drums and piano, to focus on stage presence, which were in the 40s, 50s, 70s the equivalent of Beyoncé’s curves or the Beatles shaking their head. She had to be a good drummer knowing she was voted best drummer in 1975, a time where Bonham was still alive.
The Everly Brothers was a guitar duo, no one cares to know which one of them was singing because they were only great when they were together. I still think the greatest harmony parts I have heard came from “Take a Message to Mary.”
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“Take a Message to Mary’ is an excellent number Claude. I remember the first time I heard it. I was driving from my home city of Brisbane to Sydney when it was played over the radio. This was long before the era of the internet and it took me a long time to finally record a copy on a cassette for my next tour, when fortunately I was able to keep replaying it. Such great harmonising!
As for Karen being a good drummer, she was always referred to as a competent drummer, however Hal Blaine played the drums on most of the Carpenters recordings (including ‘We’ve only just begun’).
Also it was a Playboy drummer poll. Obviously it’s excited men voting, so yeah, I’d say Karen would win.
The following is a quote from Bonham.
“I’d like to have it publicized that I came in after Karen Carpenter in the Playboy drummer poll,” roars Bonzo as I entered the dressing room at the Chicago Stadium. “She couldn’t last ten minutes with a Zeppelin number,” he sneers.”
Source: Led Zeppelin Dances on Air, by Lisa Robinson, Led Zeppelin CREEM Special Edition, Winter 1980
Nice to see someone from France on the MLT “Magic Bus” Claude. Just think, you are only the English Channel away from Liverpool and I’m sure the Twins would have Paris as an early stop on their upcoming European Tour!! Just think of all that fashion shopping and cafe ‘busking’.
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I’m a BIG Karen Carpenter fan. So much talent and beauty. She was actually an excellent drummer and hated being out front singing, she loved drumming. She’s the greatest female vocalist of all time IMHO.
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