Analysis of Karen's Solo Album

Yes, the songs are very weak. I can't picture myself listening to mosf of them by any other singer than Karen.

I'm not crazy about Love making love to you but I am about Don't try to win me back again. Reaaaally adventurous arrangement with the long instrumental break within it as the band adds one by one into the song, TOTALLY exciting, it could throw a dancefloor in flames.

Love the way the flute is sweetly arranged in the song. Pretty much like in Cher's song Outrageous from her album Prisoner.

I felt the material on Karen's albums was average to strong - but certainly not weak. Songs like "Make Believe It's Your First Time", "Making Love In The Afternoon", "Still Crazy After All These Years", If I Had You", "Guess I Just Lost My Head", "Last One singing The Blues" and "If We Try" are just fantastic.

"All Because Of You" is just wonderful it features an almost gritty side of Karen's voice which Richard Carpenter never dared to explore. He really limited her. I like her solo album because she cuts lose a little bit and show us that she can sing more than just sad love songs. I believe Karen recorded this song because she liked it and I believe she and Russell Javors had a good in-studio friendship. She recorded two more of his songs "Still In Love With You" and "Truly You".

The drumwork (which is mostly by Liberty DeVitto) is some of the best fusion drumming for it's time. Some excellent and intricate drum patterns.

Karen's vocals are exactly as she wanted them to be. A different less sugary and more in your face sound. I really love her vocal performances on her solo album and consider it to be amongst her best works. I put in her best because she explores a different side of her voice and more vivacious sound (less sentimental - I'll tell you by 1980 I was honestly tired of listening to a sad Karen Carpenter - I would have received her solo album with open arms had they released it in 1980).

As for sales I have also read that it has sold more than a million copies worldwide. I've also heard that it's sold more than both of Richard's solo albums combined. Certainly it's sold better than some of those compilations such as Carpenters Perform Carpenter and some of the others.

On the outtakes I do love "Love Making Love To You", "I Do It For your Love", and "Something's Missing". My favorites are "Midnight" and my favorite of them all "Don't Try To Win Me Back Again".

Someone commented that Karen's solo album wasn't necessarily recorded for hit singles. I agree I think what she was after was the affect of the album as a whole in it's entirety. Although I do feel it had at least a good four hit singles on it. Those being "Guess I Just Lost My Head", "If I Had You", "Make Believe It's your First Time" and "Making Love In The Afternoon".

There's only one song on the album I do not like and that is "My Body Keeps Changing My Mind" - I just do not care for this song.

I just listened to the album again straight through....was driving to visit family and took several Carpenters CDs and Karen's solo album. I hadn't listened to it at all in quite a while. There are some things that I just don't like....some of Karen's vocals on the fast songs sound so contrived..not natural, like she was trying too hard or something...

but I have to say that there are several songs that as I was driving I thought....they sound just as good as some of the music I remember from 1980....."My Body..." is not my favorite, but as I listened this time, the beat was reminding me of "Rock with You" - MJ......
jonathan

It's interesting, if you listen to the opening vocal line of 'It's The Falling In Love', it's near identical to the string melody used in the intro of 'My Body'. Also the horn section in the bridge of 'Rock With You' (the line "And when the groove is dead and gone") is the same as the guitar stabs in the background of the verses of 'My Body'.

It's not a surprise really. Look at who was involved in producing and arranging 'Off The Wall' ...none other than Rod Temperton and Quincy Jones

Sometimes I read criticisms of the solo project and begin persuading myself that it was sub-par...then I actually listen to it and like a great deal of it. One of those things that on paper doesn't seem like it should work, but in many ways really does.

I think people tend to forget that Richard Carpenter never produced Karen Carpenter (unless you go back to the Magic Lamp sessions, and it's pretty debatable how "solo" those tracks are). Richard produced a duo, The Carpenters. Main difference is that his ideas and preferences rightfully played a large role in what made it onto the records -- the affinity for chorale music and 1950s era vocalists being two of the most obvious. Karen said in one interview, "There isn't anything I wouldn't do to give him the perfection that we both want." She seemed to view herself as somewhat subservient, an ingredient toward capturing the sounds Richard wanted their duo to achieve. And, of course, they were usually great sounds.

The only person ever to produce Karen Carpenter was Phil Ramone. So why not include a disco track if Karen wanted disco? She was the artist. Karen was often cited as the one preoccupied with Billboard charts; no real surprise she'd steer her record toward the Top 40 preferences of the time. Biggest difference I hear between Karen's album and The Carpenters is that hers is much looser and relaxed, which accounts for the occasional vocal tics that never would have made it onto a Carpenters record. And I'm increasingly fond of her vocals on her record. Albums by The Carpenters sometimes sound like they've been scrubbed until all texture has been removed, the way Agnes reportedly cleaned house and washed cars. Of course it's a beautiful sound, but sometimes it's nice to hear a little of the artist's idiosyncracies sneak in, and I do think Phil Ramone was more dedicated to capturing that, especially on cuts like "All Because of You" (which I didn't like at first, but has worn very, very wel on me).

Only real criticism I have of her project is that they should have limited the use of overdubs. It confused the separation between Karen and The Carpenters. The call-and-response at the end of "If I Had You" is way cool, just brilliant. I don't think the layered vocals on tracks like "Remember When Loving Took All Night" were really necessary.

Harry, are you doing a chronological discography? That would make a great boxed set- songs in order of when they were recorded versus how they were placed on an album. You could even add it to the Corner pages.

I'll be staying tuned.....can't wait!!

Jonathan

LOVE Karen's solo album and the outtakes. I thought it some of her best vocal works. Too bad it was never given the opportunity when she was still with us. Glad that so many people have gotten to hear it, though.

I also have some thoughts to add. One of my all time favorite tracks on her solo album is the bluesy "Last One Singing The Blues". EXCELLENT!!!!
Many of the solo album songs have little "Karen-ism's" that normally would have been edited, but have been left in and I totally enjoy. Such as the "Don't forget the break" comment and other little things we are allowed to hear. They make me smile and laugh.
Herb....I also will go for long periods and not listen to certain material, only to find some new "gems" to my ears.

^^ That's my favorite from the solo album, too!

I like the overdubbs. I enjoy listening to the layered sound of Karen's voice. I love the explorations into another side of her talent. I like and enjoy the songs presented on the CD and wish Love Making Love To You was included. I feel most of the other outakes are too high and thin in texture, possibly a sign of weakened health issues from aneroxia and not that of ability. I agree with Rick in that it was time for us to discover more of Karen.
I have to guess that it would have been a hard project to promote with it in direct contrast to the Carpenters catalog while at the same time Karen was suffering from aneroxia. Perhaps her health would not have stood the kind of promotional schedule and possible tour that would have been necessary. In all we read, Richard was most concerned with her health during this time period.. I also feel had it been released, promoted and performed successfully, that this was just the beginning.

Shelving Karen's solo album was A&M's biggest mistake ever.

The album has aged pretty damned well after all these years, and, as Phil Ramone has stated, "Karen Carpenter" serves as a time capsule and snapshot of a looser, hipper, more adventurous Karen, circa 1979-1980.

I found a little blurb online recently from a 1979 article that mentioned Phil was recording tracks with Karen. He said, "I'm trying to take the syrup out of Karen Carpenter". I think he succeeded very well, though Karen certainly gets the credit for making it so special....and different.

I remember hearing back in '79 that Karen was working on a solo record. A friend of mine owned a record store at the time, and he was also a big fan. He kept me updated on anything Carpenters-related, so I was so pumped when the solo project was announced in Billboard.

I also remember the crappy headline, "Karen Carpenter Shelves Solo Album", in Billboard, in May, 1980. I was stunned, and, frankly, pissed. We had waited so long for a new studio album from Karen and/or Carpenters, and it just seemed so strange that the album would be put on a shelf like that. Little did we know the real drama behind the project.

I personally love the album, and enjoy every tune. My only gripe is Karen's lead vocal is buried too low in the mix on "Lovelines", though I really do like the alternate lead vocal that comes in after the instrumental break. It's definitely a different take from what Richard used in his version from 1989. You can hear the difference in the way Karen accentuates the lines, "You are my love LINES", "Just give me good TIMES", etc.

"All Because of You" is stellar, any way you slice it. It almost reminds me of a Stevie Nicks arrangement. SO different for Karen, and it works so well. The snobs at Rolling Stone wouldn't know what hit them if they'd had a chance to hear that tune in 1980. I have friends who are distinctly NOT Carpenters fans who really like that tune, as it's so out of the realm of Karen's safer style.

"My Body Keeps Changing My Mind" is catchy as hell, and "Last One Singing the Blues" is an excellent, jazzy vocal from Karen (obviously all in one take). I also like the solo album lead vocal much more on "If I Had You", compared to the more tame vocal Richard chose in 1989. I do prefer the more dramatic ending that Richard created, though. "Make Believe Your First Time" is one of Karen's best vocals ever, and it works far better than the one used on "Voice of the Heart". Lastly, "Love Makin' Love to You" blew me out of the water when I finally heard it. Talk about a hit record sound!!

"Karen Carpenter" is easily as good as "Passage", and is far better than "A Kind of Hush". I'm so glad it finally was released, but I'm still angry the way things went when A&M ultimately shelved it out of deference to Richard. Those guys knew it was GOOD. I think it just scared them too much. So unfair.

All good points, A&M Retro.

One has to wonder with Herb Alpert breaking down recently when speaking about Karen and how he has also lost composure in the past on different biographys, if he ever regrets how the solo project turned out for Karen and not supporting her enough to get the album released as she wanted it. Karen was such an excitable person and just watching her on videos and listening to her on radio interviews you get an idea how bubbly and contagious she must have been to be around. She must have been so excited for everyone to hear her album, it's too bad the reaction wasn't what she had hoped.

I also wonder if it wasn't so much that they were afraid it wouldn't be a hit for her, I think it was more about what would happen if it did become a hit and how it would ultimately affect Carpenters.

The GMA program is so telling, watching it now after what we know about her solo project, you get the idea Karen thought she could do multiple things and still be Carpenters. I think she had the right idea as an artist you want to try new things, think outside of the box and record different material.

It's ironic that the idea for the solo album came from A&M in the first place. They were the ones who pushed her to go ahead without Richard, even finding Phil Ramone for her. So in a sense, they were giving her free rein to go out there and do the best album she could whatever way she felt best...and in the end, weren't there for her when she delivered on that request AND to the tune of $100,000 of her own money. Very sad and as A&MRetro says, very unfair to her.

I actually think that no one had thought of a game plan if the album had been successful. If it had been a runaway smash hit, with Karen in demand all over the world for promotional appearances and such, had anyone thought what they would actually do with the Carpenters...and how long it would be before Karen wanted to return to the fold? I think that's the part that probably scared them the most.

A lot of people say she would have been too weak to undertake such a thing, but she did exactly that the following year, covering LA, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Saarbrücken, London and back to LA in a two month period. That's some promotional whistle stop tour by any standard.

Seems A&M, and this is only speculation on my part for sure, did not think the idea of a Karen solo album all the way through at the time. I think they only thought about where the next dollar was coming from and, therefore, was very short-sighted to say the least. No matter how you sliced it, this was a lose-lose-lose proposition from the start. If it were a huge hit, Karen (due to her health at the time), and the Carpenters, lose as would A&M in the long-term. She was in no condition to tour, "Carpenters" would have been seen as a dead entity by the public (since it looked as though they had "broken up"), and A&M, although making a short-term buck, would have killed off their best-selling act to date. If it were a flop, Karen (due to her health at the time), and the Carpenters, would lose as would A&M. Again, Karen would have been seen, potentially, as not being able to stand alone as an artist while "ruining" her reputation, again potentially, damaging the Carpenters for years to come. A&M would have sacrificed not only Carpenters, but Karen as a solo artist, too. Of course, the "shelving" issue, too, as has come to pass, was a lose situation, too (due to Karen's health) and the ultimate loss of Karen of which "shelving" the album seemed to have had a role to play in her demise. No one should have pushed the solo album idea without insisting Karen get help first. Oh, wait. I think Richard said that at the time, didn't he? Just sayin'....

Great thoughts on her solo album, Everyone. I agree with A&M Retro - I think the album has aged pretty well. Whenever I listen to "If I Had You", it's so impressive and sounds ahead of of its time. Very sophisticated and sharp. "All Because Of You" is very impressive as well. Her performance is so good, it continues to take me by surprise. Karen's solo on "Make Believe It's Your First Time" is one of the most intimate, beautiful recordings ever.

Yes, the album should have been released. She deserved that.

Let's suppose for a moment Karen had gone on tour to promote her new solo album, even if it was a short tour, what would have been her set list of songs? I know she would have included alot of songs from her solo album but not all of them, what other songs would she have used to fill in the concert time. I wonder if she would have thought the audience would have wanted to her a Carpenters song, I think that is where A&M and Richard well it would have been a bit uncomfortable, huh? I also wonder if Karen thought in the back of her mind how she would have performed in concert alone?

I would hope she wouldn't have used Jimmy Mack!!