Hello Carpenterphiles

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rtn001 05 Aug 2007

Greetings to all -- I am Randy from Cleveland, OH. I'm a professional keyboard artist and instructor, and I condsider myself a student of Richard's work. No question he is a genius, a brilliant artist with an incredibly smooth and precise technique. I remember "Close to You" (I'm dating myself here!) and just lived for the next Carpenter release all through the 70s. No doubt Karen was one of the great pop singers of all time. Two amazing talents.

I had the privilege of seeing the Carpenters perform in 1973 and 1976, and of course I saw Richard in '97 and '04. Great shows, all of them.

I am a fan of other greats such as Manilow, Gino Vannelli, Abba, Air Supply, Ambrosia, America, but the Carpenters are the greatest of the great. How terribly sad it was on Feb. 4, 1983, when I overheard two people on the subway in Washington DC discussing the tragedy in Downey.

I am both divorced and widowed -- two other tragedies, ug (cue violins) but have two beautiful kids, both of whom appreciate the Carpenters, maybe not the extent that I'm nuts about them, but they tolerate me. My daughter keeps telling me to "turn that music down!" which is quite an ironic twist when considering typical teenage-parent relations.

I continue to listen to their work and every so often discover something I hadn't heard before, thus listening to their material is truly a scholarly study of music theory and technique. I am amazed at Richard's dynamic style and arrangements just as much now as I was 30 years ago. (Wait -- how can that be -- I'm only 28!!! I just can't get the math to work).

I know there are several Carpenter recording that haven't been released, and I have personally lobbyed Richard on that a couple of years ago, but he told me that everything they did together that is going to ever be released is already out. He said previously said that in 1997, and then came As Time Goes By, but this time I think he really meant it. More sadness.

I'm glad to see Doug Strawn is doing better -- he recovered from the same terrible disease that took both my wife and my dad.

I look forward to hearing from some of you, and I'll be glad to add whatever insight I can.

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