LOGAN – Following up on a crowd-pleasing performance by TOAST, the Cache Valley Center for the Performing Arts will present what promises to be another great tribute band, the “Carpenters Platinum.”
Recreating the distinctive easy listening sound of the Carpenters from the 1970s, the “Carpenters Platinum” will appear for one night only at the Ellen Eccles Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The tribute band’s line-up includes Rod Strong on keyboards and vocals; Terry Smith on guitar; Tony Herrman on bass; David Halliday on saxophone and woodwinds; Jon Heitkamp on drums; and Mary Beesley on back-up vocals.
But the band’s heavily lifting – that is, duplicating Karen Carpenter’s one-in-million voice – falls to LynnDee Mueller, who also adds her talents on the flute, piano, harmonica and percussion instruments.
Karen and Richard Carpenter were a vocal and instrumental duo popular through the 1970s. They produced a unique soft music style, combining Karen’s vocals with Richard’s harmonizing, arranging and composition skills. Their careers ended in 1983 due to Karen’s untimely death at the age of 34.
Nowadays, music critics agree that Karen Carpenter wasn’t a good singer, she was a great singer.
She had a velvety contralto voice with a distinctive three-octave range and real strength in the lower registers, which Karen laughingly called “the basement.”
Many of the Carpenters’ hits were sappy pop music, but Karen’s tonal purity, strong lower register and silky phrasing elevated even the most pedestrian tune to real artistry.
In the 1970’s, Karen’s singing was often under-rated. In retrospect, however, music critics now acknowledge that her pitch was impeccable, her diction crystal-clear and her faultless delivery was smooth as silk.
Other singers may be more flashy and extravagant than Karen, but very few will ever match the natural beauty and finesse of her voice. Even Rolling Stone magazine belated recognized that when it included Karen on its 2010 list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.
The “Carpenter’s Platinum” has been praised for transporting audiences back the 1970s by recreating the Carpenters’ music magic with meticulous attention to detail.
Naturally, Karen Carpenter is not an easy singer to do justice to, but Mueller pays homage to that great voice and keeps her music alive for new fans of all ages at their concerts.
Their play list includes everything from Carpenters’ classics like “Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun” to chart toppers “Top of the World” and “Rainy Days and Mondays.”
And what tribute to the Carpenters would be complete with the one that started it all, Karen’s and Richard’s moody version of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride”?
The “Carpenters Platinum” respectfully plays the Carpenters’ catalog and represents the entire range of the original artists’ vision in their stage show, demonstrating why Karen and Richard were noted for both their original songs and their insightful renditions of favorite covers of other great bands.
Tickets for the “Carpenters Platinum” can be purchased online at https://www.cachearts.org/.
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