Rumer - new artist, with echoes of Karen Carpenter*

[Mike Blakesley]

I listened to the tracks linked here and the samples from her album SEASONS OF MY SOUL and while it's definitely good music, I think she needs some more variety in her sound. The performances are fine but the songs pretty much all sound alike.....very slooooooow, needs an uptempo break here and there. That said, "Slow" is a really good song, and the new Bacharach Christmas song linked above is probably her best thing yet.

 

[gaz141]

Rumer is doing the BBC electric Prom tonight, In show build up I've just heard her sing Elton's Rocketman Live with a single guitarist, WOW.

And get this, in show itself she is singing "This Masquerade" with Leon Russell.

Tune in if you are able.

here is "this masquerade"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNcLXhdPZPE

 

[Nicko]

Rumer and Jamie Cullum performing Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" at the Royal Variety Show at London Palladium last Monday.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBi8oZYrX5I

 

[Mark-T]

Just heard the album in full. Nice. Reminds me of Carps circa 1969. Although there are some Karen moments, Slow being the best example- it was the arrangements that seemed most like their sound. Did miss the male background touch that Richard brought that is not there on this CD. Overall, a fine CD. Like the version of Goodbye Girl. Makes me think of what a Carps album of remakes would sound like. But I can do without the girl on girl love song aspect.

 

[Harry]

He's talking about "The Goodbye Girl". It was written by David Gates from a male perspective. Rumer sings the lyrics as written.

Harry

 

[Mark-T]

Aretha is becoming one of my favs from the disc. Really liking the album!

 

[Mark-T]

Wonder if Richard has heard this disc and what he thinks.

 

[Harry]

Me too. I was somewhat ambivalent towards "Aretha" early on, but it's grown a lot in my view.

I ordered the CD single from England that contains the bonus tracks of "Come Saturday Morning" and "The Warmth Of The Sun." I also got the RUMER SINGS BACHARACH AT CHRISTMAS CD with two tracks, Bacharach's newest song called "Some Lovers" and her live-in-studio recording of "Alfie". Sublime!

Harry

 

[Mark-T]

Warmth of the Sun as in Beach Boys? How is it?

 

[Harry]

Warmth of the Sun as in Beach Boys? How is it?

Yes, it's Brian Wilson's tune and it's really nice, if not too adventurous. She sings the first verse alone, then does the overdubbed backing vocals throught the rest of the song while continuing her lead, of course.

Harry

 

[Mark-T]

Hope it hits i-tunes!Sounds worth a purchase. Love those layered vocals...

 

[Mark-T]

SO liking this album. It's stayed in my player for awhile now.

 

[close2u]

"Aretha" is a song about not feeling good enough and not having anyone to talk to about it -- so she turns to the voice in her headphones... that of Aretha Franklin, because she's the only person to confide in. Simple as that. Right? Maybe I missed something.

Randy

 

[close2u]

Here it is:

“Well, I certainly had problems at home. In that I had a mother with a mental illness, and I was very lonely”, reveals Rumer openly: “So basically what ‘Aretha’ is about is how powerful music is, how it touches us all, and how we all have artists that help us through difficult times. Which is why I’ve used the vivid images in the song to convey that special listener/artist relationship. Then musically, because it was about Aretha Franklin and music that’s got soul, I knew it had to have a soulful FEEL. So I took it to my producer Steve with a sketch - ‘I’ve got the blues; I’ve got Aretha in the morning; High on my headphones and walking to school’… But, though my original ideas on the guitar were very country-soul, he then took it and gave it this beautiful, piano-led arrangement that really lifted it and gave it the cinematic quality it always needed.”

SOURCE:
http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/598/rumer_careful_whisper/

Hope this helps!

Randy

 

[Mark-T]

^^^ My favorite on the disc. And wishing I'd never commented on Goodbye Girl...

 

[Mike Blakesley]

no, I should NOT

That is a good decision.

 

[Mark-T]

Regardless of why, she sings it great.

 

[Harry]

This thread has gotten way off track and has been edited.

This discussion forum has always strived to be about the music of the artists that we deal with and not speculation about intimate personal details of their lives. Rumer is no different. Being a current artist she's not on the A&M label, of course. But she should still be afforded the courtesy of not having her personal life dredged up or speculated about.

Any further infractions to that rule will result in thread closure and the persons responsible (and they know who they are) will be banned.

No exceptions.

No questions.

Just behave - and continue the discussion of Rumer and her recent album.

Harry

 

[PHIL]

Thank you harry - I was getting a little bemused as to how my thread had been so spectacularly diverted from it's original purpose!

I was rather proud that my original post just may have introduced a few people to an artist who fits so well with the music of Carpenters which is after all our raison d'etre on this forum...

 

[Harry]

Phil, I for one am very grateful that you introduced Rumer to us. I think she's a rising star who will go on to great things.

As it stands now, she hasn't really been introduced to American audiences. None of her CDs or singles are available domestically, and she's not promoted over here at all. We cannot buy her songs on iTunes or Amazon, as they're not available to US residences.

So it's up to you Brits to make her a big star, so she'll get notice over here. Your original tip has put us on the cutting edge of her career, and we can say that we were there when she started.

I wish her well and hope to hear much more from her. (And the more we discuss her music, the faster the irrelevant posts will fade into the background!)

Harry

 

[PHIL]

Thanks for that Harry, I didn't realise that Rumer has yet to break the US. Maybe she'll pay me commission !! The way she's going, she will undoubtedly make it big all over the World - great voice, great songs, what's not to like?

My best to you,

Phil

 

[richard_sloat]

Sooooooooooooooo, Mr. PHIL... quite an interesting article on her on Wikipedia, a short one but there's not really that bunch of things to say about her career up untill now, which seems it's going pretty well into mainstream soft-pop realm. Let's see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumer_(musician)

Under the name of Sarah Prentice, Rumer sang in a moderately successful London-based folk/indie band called La Honda between 2000 and 2001.[2]

Did this band ever record? And what was she doing between 2001 and 2010? Did she mantained her focus on her musical career within those years, was she performing somewhere?

 

[Rick]

I've listened to Rumer and think she is fairly good. Although I do not think she is uncannily similar to Karen. Rumer lacks the range of dark and deep to crystal clear higher range as Karen had. Rumer is only a portion of what Karen could do.

 

[Mark-T]

Interestingly, after weeks of listening to Rumor and appreciating her, I happened upon "Boat to Sail" on my ipod while at the gym. The differences were substantial.
Each singer is wonderful and each displays a different kind of vulnerability in her voice. It did make me wonder what types of songs Karen would write if she did- and if Richard would consider either giving Rumer a new song, producing an album, or even adding her to his long dismissed Christmas project!

 

[richard_sloat]

I've listened to Rumer and think she is fairly good. Although I do not think she is uncannily similar to Karen. Rumer lacks the range of dark and deep to crystal clear higher range as Karen had. Rumer is only a portion of what Karen could do.

She's indeed much more closer to Dusty Springfield than to Karen.