newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I've always been puzzled by the audible break in Karen's vocals--at the very end of the song. In this instance, we know, Richard Carpenter apparently does not hear the same !
But, given his "perfectionism" I find his contention that no such can be heard rather bizarre, as it is clear as a bell in the recording--is this some kind of edit he does not care to acknowledge ?
The vocal fry in Karen's voice on that last note is just lovely. I noticed it the first time I ever heard the song.
You're referring to the 'Fans Ask' section of the official site, where the question was put to Richard what he thought of that. Unfortunately the question wasn't really phrased properly and the person asking referred to "leakage" on the recording rather than what it actually was, so I think Richard misunderstood the question:
Q: Regarding ‘The Rainbow Connection’ - My question is whether there may be a leakage of a sound where Karen sings 'dreamers and meeeeee'. I'm not sure if this is the reason why you left it out as an outtake to begin with. I was guessing her lead was only partial so you thought it had better be untouched. But now with your effort and enthusiasm, we are able to listen to this beautifully arranged song with previously unreleased vocals by Karen.
A: This was originally written for Kermit the Frog (Muppet), with some accents on the wrong syllables. I took some artistic license and changed the melody a bit. Still, Karen just didn't like the song, and it didn't make the album. For years fans kept requesting the recording, so I completed the chart and put it out. In the matter of leakage, there is none.