It wasn't until checking into the A&M CornerClinic for Obsessive Collectorsin 1997 for the first time, that I learned of the existence of LOVE SONGS.
Another classic line from Harry...Love it! LOL
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It wasn't until checking into the A&M CornerClinic for Obsessive Collectorsin 1997 for the first time, that I learned of the existence of LOVE SONGS.
A&M RETRO-Karen's album went out-of-print in 1995(in US)-it was only on the market for about nine years...
How funny.... we should compare more specifics on some of the song reviews....This is way too weird, Barry. These are EXACTLY the tracks I would've picked, plus "If I Had You". Get OUT of my brain!
Great topic!
I'm probably pretty much out on my own on this one but here goes ... I don't think 'Make Believe' would have fared well at all as a single. It's far too quiet for radio, especially in the era in which it would have been released. I think it builds beautifully towards the end, but nothing really much happens for the first two minutes or so, unless you're conciously listening to it closely. If you had the radio on in the background and this song came on, I think it would just drift by unnoticed. It's almost like saying 'One More Time' would have been good as a single.
Having said that, I think Karen could/would have performed the ballads ('Make Believe', 'If We Try', 'Still Crazy' etc) on promotional TV show appearances to showcase her album and vocal talent. Songs like 'Make Believe' would also fare much better to a TV audience, where you're actually focused on the performance as a viewer. My guess is that she'd have consciously avoided the ballads as singles, because there would be an immediate association with the Carpenters.
There is yet another possibility, which I am surprised no one else has considered: These experimental single releases may have been held back additionally at Karen's request, in an 'all or nothing' attitude, when A&M was reluctant to release the album in full.
Wait...she wrote a memo? I wanna see this memo
Can you imagine how much something like this would fetch on ebay, signed in her own words.
In terms of the four tracks that were picked, I'd say they are four of the stronger tracks from the solo album, but on hearing the two extra tracks that were included on From the Top, I was surprised at how different in style there were, as the four picked for Lovelines were perhaps quite similar in style to each other, which kind of gave the impression that the whole album was all like that. Maybe Richard picked the four that he felt were the closest to the Carpenters' own material in order to fit in best with the other tracks on Lovelines. I recall reading an interview in 1990 with him where he said that he chose 'the four we liked best'. At the time I thought that by 'we' he meant himself and Karen, but now I think it unlikely that they compared notes on this, so presumably he meant himself and the people at A&M.
As a result, it was quite a revelation to hear the full album in 1996 and all the styles attempted. And to find a different version of Make Believe It's Your First Time that turned out to the original version. They managed to keep that quiet...