by The Carpenters
Fall 1977
The apogee of 70s Cheese..........or over seven minutes of an imaginative musical vision, that reflected the tenor of the times ?
Or perhaps, a bit of both ?
The song was originally written and released in 1976 by the obscure Canadian progressive rock group 'Klaatu'. The Carpenters decided to release a cover, which required the services of 160 musicians, for their 1977 album Passages.
Released as a single in September 1977, 'Calling Occupants' and its evocation of benevolent aliens was just right for a year that saw the advent of Star Wars in May, and the much-hyped release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in November.
I remember listening to 'Calling Occupants' on the radio in those long-ago days 40 years ago. I couldn't decide if it was one of the cheesiest songs I'd ever heard, or whether it was in fact a work of singular vision and artistic imagination. Listen....... and make up your own mind..............?!
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