CHER and GREGG ALLMAN: Love Makin' Love To You
- Thread starter JayJayVA
- Start date
CraigGA
Well-Known Member
If I could triple like your comment I would. Certainly not an I Got You Babe for Cher where shouting replaced singing. Karen nailed it.
Dave60640
Active Member
I knew of the Cher/Gregg track and HATED it. It was just awful. Plain and simply awful! When a musical insider tipped me to The knowledge that KC recorded it for her solo album I couldn’t believe it. No way! I thought... But...
KC and Phil really, really jelled on this one. They made it HERS! Maybe a bit too overt for those CarpenterS fans at the time but I was blown away when I heard on a scratchy cassette bootleg copy in the early 80’s. I would die to know what Cher thinks of her version versus KCs take
KC and Phil really, really jelled on this one. They made it HERS! Maybe a bit too overt for those CarpenterS fans at the time but I was blown away when I heard on a scratchy cassette bootleg copy in the early 80’s. I would die to know what Cher thinks of her version versus KCs take
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
120% agree with you there. I know it's all academic because the album didn't see the light of day until 1996, but this song should have made the final cut and is way better than many of the songs on there. The vocal arrangement is stunning.
Chris
Well-Known Member
Yes! Absolutely should have been included in the final album. As Dave said, perhaps it wasn't because of it being so racy? I know she wanted to go there with her material, but it may have been a little too much for comfort of the family and mom. How I wish Karen's version would be released officially or remastered. I guess that will just remain a wish.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Ah....I see most of us are on the "same page" regarding this song !
As I have said all along--one should compare Karen's solo songs--- not to other Carpenters' hit songs--
but, to place the solo work itself against that of her contemporaries.....
If approached in such a light, there is so very much to love and admire in
many of Karen's solo recordings !
Love Making Love To You is one of Karen's very best !
Comparison of these two versions is yet
another piece of strong evidence in support of Karen's effort.
And, really, Karen was singing as an adult on these solo songs !
I'm all for a Vinyl solo gatefold-double-album.....
I Can Dream Can't I ?
As I have said all along--one should compare Karen's solo songs--- not to other Carpenters' hit songs--
but, to place the solo work itself against that of her contemporaries.....
If approached in such a light, there is so very much to love and admire in
many of Karen's solo recordings !
Love Making Love To You is one of Karen's very best !
Comparison of these two versions is yet
another piece of strong evidence in support of Karen's effort.
And, really, Karen was singing as an adult on these solo songs !
I'm all for a Vinyl solo gatefold-double-album.....
I Can Dream Can't I ?
jaredjohnfisher
Well-Known Member
I have the Allman & Woman album, and while there are great moments on it (like the opening cut, Move Me), I never felt Love Making Love To You was a strong song by anyone, including Karen. It just has the sound of album "filler" to my ears. I do think the Karen's solo LP and the Carpenters Christmas LPs will see the light of vinyl again.
I agree with most of the comments above. I’ve always loved Karen and Phil’s version since the first time hearing it in 2000. ‘Love Making Love To You’ has HIT written all over it! The way it builds towards the chorus is unlike anything else on the solo album. It’s definitely the most commercial song (with an edgy lyric) from the solo sessions, and the vocals and arrangement are top notch.
Vinylalbumcovers
Ah am so steel een luv weeth yoo
I'll be the lone dissenter. Of course, this version isn't good. Cher sounds very good but Gregg's screaming is just terrible. The production of Karen's is great and the playing is first-rate. Karen's vocal, to my ears, while being intimate, isn't believable. The choruses really aren't for me. I don't feel her really "letting go" like the lyric demands. Cher does; Karen doesn't. The whole thing just sounds wrong coming from Karen - not because she never really did it before, but because she doesn't interpret it that well. I just don't buy it.
Ed
Ed
Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
Well maybe Richard will have a change of heart and finish the track after all from the Carpenter world we got "Get Some"
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
I get a kick reading all of the opinions of both versions of this song.
That being said, my concern is this:
I do not care if Karen's version is "believable," that doesn't enter into my viewpoint.
Strictly, from a lead vocal standpoint, Karen's vocals are far superior to Cher's (IMHO).
even the manner in which Karen sings the lines.....
"....makes my lovin' temperature rise...." and
"....loose controoool.......feel me with your soul...."
then, the guitar.....good stuff to my ears !
That being said, my concern is this:
I do not care if Karen's version is "believable," that doesn't enter into my viewpoint.
Strictly, from a lead vocal standpoint, Karen's vocals are far superior to Cher's (IMHO).
even the manner in which Karen sings the lines.....
"....makes my lovin' temperature rise...." and
"....loose controoool.......feel me with your soul...."
then, the guitar.....good stuff to my ears !
Jamesj75
Well-Known Member
I think I've shared this sentiment before... For all the gems on Karen's solo work, much of the lyrical content of songs, such as "Love Making Love to You," was far beneath Karen. It was embarrassing, classless, and debasing. For Karen's vocals, I agree that "the money was in the basement." To deviate to the direction of the gutter lyric-wise was an unfortunate choice...
Chris
Well-Known Member
Interesting points, Ed. I definitely understand your take on it, and I agree with your opinion of the choruses. Even so, I think it's still an enjoyable and impressive recording. She's not totally believable on it as you said, but that could be said of several of her works, even on some Carpenters tracks. I once heard someone say she sounds canned in everything she recorded. While I don't agree with that, I can see their point. For me it was her style and perfection. If she didn't always sound totally believable, she more than made up for it in her sound. There is something she transmits from beyond that, for me, somehow not only compensates, but elevates everything she sang. That masterful otherworldly voice sang everything at a level that was not like anyone else. So, I'll take it! Sorry to go on, it just got me thinking about her style again.
CraigGA
Well-Known Member
I don’t like screams in songs. I don’t even finish listening if I have to hear a scream. Both Cher and Greg are screaming and that is supposed to make it believable? By screaming? Unbelievable!!
Karen always sang with expertise and delivered it from the heart. The vocal backups are not just optionally present, they are placed and sung as works of art. It’s a song that you can’t stop humming before you know what the words are saying. It’s song candy. It’s lyics are suggestive but only slightly. Today’s cartoons have more suggestive content as did the Carol Burnett Show. The other positive comments of others state it even better than I can.
I would better understand a negative critique if a personal example musically was as free as the personal thought that is opined. Even songs that are not on my list of favorites are better than I can perform, and often see an understanding to the positive direction in following years.
I yearn for a high fidelity recording of this song.
Craig
Karen always sang with expertise and delivered it from the heart. The vocal backups are not just optionally present, they are placed and sung as works of art. It’s a song that you can’t stop humming before you know what the words are saying. It’s song candy. It’s lyics are suggestive but only slightly. Today’s cartoons have more suggestive content as did the Carol Burnett Show. The other positive comments of others state it even better than I can.
I would better understand a negative critique if a personal example musically was as free as the personal thought that is opined. Even songs that are not on my list of favorites are better than I can perform, and often see an understanding to the positive direction in following years.
I yearn for a high fidelity recording of this song.
Craig
Chris
Well-Known Member
Another point well taken. I do feel that some of the lyrics were beneath her usual style and class. They are slightly embarrassing. Even so, I treasure it. She was expressing a side of herself that most didn't think was even there. Do I wish she would have made wiser choices for solo songs? Yes. With the exception of a small handful, I think she was reaching for something to blow her previous image out of the water, even though she may have said otherwise. It could have been a sort of overreaching reaction she had to all the ways she felt labeled or dismissed before.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
I can only imagine what would have occurred had Richard Carpenter
not have
changed the lyric of Superstar from,
"...Sleep with you again..." to "... be with you again..."
Whether or not Karen sang that exact word,
hardly detracts from the reality of that song.
Needless to say, lyrical content is not a deal-breaker for me.
Were certain lyrics 'below Karen' ?
....we could argue that they were,
but, then, another question would immediately present itself:
Why did Karen choose to sing those lyrics at all ?
not have
changed the lyric of Superstar from,
"...Sleep with you again..." to "... be with you again..."
Whether or not Karen sang that exact word,
hardly detracts from the reality of that song.
Needless to say, lyrical content is not a deal-breaker for me.
Were certain lyrics 'below Karen' ?
....we could argue that they were,
but, then, another question would immediately present itself:
Why did Karen choose to sing those lyrics at all ?
jaredjohnfisher
Well-Known Member
I always come back to the thought that Linda Ronstadt's hugely popular Nelson Riddle recordings (though the releases came later, Carpenters had touched upon it in 1980 with Music, Music, Music) should have been Karen's. By staying in her wheelhouse, she would have had a better chance at fighting strength (the popularity of disco) with strength. Her strength. The class. The romance. The 'basement' notes. The timelessness. A real missed opportunity that she didn't go in that direction instead. Either in that direction, or as some have suggested, in an 80's Basia-jazzy direction (building upon what they touched upon with Passage). Sure, Karen proved she could do anything, but imagine what she could have done building upon her strengths.
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Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
I think part of the dislike from many of the fans (not me) of her solo work was the choice of material and the technique she used to deliver those songs. It was too sexual, not believable, she was in too high of a key or the choice of songs was wrong. I often wonder if some of the fans believe that Karen didn't know what direction she wanted to go and that she needed someone over her to tell her this is what you should be singing this is the direction you should be heading toward.
It's a fine line between what the artist wants to do and what the record company will endorse and what the fans will ultimately buy. It reminds me of that video of the record producer saying this is how he would have produced her solo album.
Here we have Karen about to embark on her own album, she could have gone in all these different musical directions so why did she choose the material and the direction that she did? I think the choice of material she approved tells much more about her as an artist than any lyrical content in the songs. Unfortunately for Karen she is stuck in this one and only solo album that classify's her into this segment of material.
Olivia had almost the same effect, scared to have released such lyrical content as Physical yet that album was not who became Olivia, it was a part of her life that showcased her as an artist. Olivia was all over the place with regard to material, mellow, pop, 50's Grease, sexual material like Totally Hot and Physical then she goes on to record an album for children and then albums of meditation for healing and renewal of spirit. Yet underneath all the different types of material and direction she went, she still remained Olivia. For Karen she won't have that opportunity yet I'm happy with what she created and think it's an awesome album.
It's a fine line between what the artist wants to do and what the record company will endorse and what the fans will ultimately buy. It reminds me of that video of the record producer saying this is how he would have produced her solo album.
Here we have Karen about to embark on her own album, she could have gone in all these different musical directions so why did she choose the material and the direction that she did? I think the choice of material she approved tells much more about her as an artist than any lyrical content in the songs. Unfortunately for Karen she is stuck in this one and only solo album that classify's her into this segment of material.
Olivia had almost the same effect, scared to have released such lyrical content as Physical yet that album was not who became Olivia, it was a part of her life that showcased her as an artist. Olivia was all over the place with regard to material, mellow, pop, 50's Grease, sexual material like Totally Hot and Physical then she goes on to record an album for children and then albums of meditation for healing and renewal of spirit. Yet underneath all the different types of material and direction she went, she still remained Olivia. For Karen she won't have that opportunity yet I'm happy with what she created and think it's an awesome album.
