'Voice Of The Heart' versus 'Lovelines'

[Late2theParty]

Voice of the Heart is appropriately downbeat, reflective and beautiful. Lovelines sounds very contemporary and how they could have done just about any genre well. And like many others, I just can't get enough of Kiss Me the Way You Did Last Night,

Frankly, I can't imagine him completing VOTH as quickly as he did after Karen's passing. I'm sure work helped him deal with the grief, but...it was still unexpected, and that makes shock as bad a thing to deal with as grief. By the time he does "Lovelines" he has a good amount of perspective and no need to rush.

 

[ullalume]

Frankly, I can't imagine him completing VOTH as quickly as he did after Karen's passing. I'm sure work helped him deal with the grief, but...it was still unexpected, and that makes shock as bad a thing to deal with as grief. By the time he does "Lovelines" he has a good amount of perspective and no need to rush.

He was also operating under the impression that A&M wanted a summer '83 release and not the October release it finally received.

 

[newvillefan]

He was also operating under the impression that A&M wanted a summer '83 release and not the October release it finally received.

Do we know why it was pushed back to October? I find myself imagining the label hearing the album and thinking a summer release was completely inappropriate.

 

[Bartog739]

I read somewhere, perhaps on this forum, that it was delayed because A&M didn't want to appear to be capitalizing on her recent passing.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I read somewhere, perhaps on this forum, that it was delayed because A&M didn't want to appear to be capitalizing on her recent passing.

You remember well.
It was billboard article Nov 19, 1983
It says Carpenter completed the work in May 1983 but was held up 5 months by Jerry Moss and Jerry Weintraub. Paul Grein who wrote the article says that the likely reasoning was that they didn’t want to capitalize on Karen’s death by releasing an album of mostly sad and sentimental ballads so soon afterwards.

 

[Bobberman]

I for one Love The Lovelines album it took a few years after its release for me to be able to afford a copy but oh my I realized what I was missing my favorite standouts were and Are still " Lovelines" " If We Try" Kiss me the way you did last night". You're the one. And Honolulu City Lights ( the latter made me Homesick for my Childhood home region even though I've never been to Hawaii the music of the Carpenters was played constantly by my Dear Mother and it always felt like Home) it all flowed together Beautifully. And I'm so glad I still have all my Carpenters CDs and Downloads there's always something to enjoy.

 

[From This Moment On]

I'd choose Voice Of The Heart for the album, but The Uninvited Guest for my favourite song.

 

[Carl]

I'd choose Voice Of The Heart for the album, but The Uninvited Guest for my favourite song.

I’m with that. To me VOTH is a lovely album with a lovely picture of Karen. But there’s something about the Uninvited Guest that’s draws the listener in. Karen’s vocal is great. The voice part that always gets me is the instrumental break in the middle of the song.

 

[From This Moment On]

I’m with that. To me VOTH is a lovely album with a lovely picture of Karen. But there’s something about the Uninvited Guest that’s draws the listener in. Karen’s vocal is great. The voice part that always gets me is the instrumental break in the middle of the song.

Possibly two of the finest posthumously released albums ever.

 

[Carl]

Possibly two of the finest posthumously released albums ever.

And two great album covers

 

[newvillefan]

The odd thing is that the cover for VOTH, originally taken for her solo album, has never surfaced again anywhere. I wonder if it was cropped for the album sleeve and whether it was originally a wider shot, similar to this of Olivia from her Greatest Hits.

 

[Nemily]

I do wonder if Richard had delayed at the time going back to work what kind of album might have emerged... including the polish of post production.

I wonder too if Richard waits a bit longer on VOTH and yields to An Old Fashioned Christmas first, if delayed production of VOTH would have fared any better in the sense of timing and charting. Just at a glance it appears that 1984 has more softer ballads charting than 1983 did in the US.

I am not sure what else Richard could have polished as far as mixing. On the Lovelines CD, I especially love Richard’s remix on the song Lovelines. I’m a fan of Richard mixing away to his hearts’ content all day long, except when Karen’s vocals are even slightly diminished. Albeit for my mileage, when I want to listen to tracks from Karen Carpenter, I now prefer to listen to Karen's CD on SHM-CD.

Credit to this thread it, I got the idea to create a combination vibe of both catalogues together less the solo tracks since I have that separately, and they made a great new playlist:

Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night
Look To Your Dreams
Honolulu City Lights
You’re The One
Your Baby Doesn’t Love You Anymore

The Uninvited Guest
At The End of a Song
Where Do I Go From Here
You’re Enough
Now

 

[Nemily]

And two great album covers

I purchased RPO directly from Carpenters website and at the time it included a beautiful Lithograph of the same photo that was used for Lovelines. I am not sure if they are still doing that/if you can still get it. It is one of my favorite photos of them, too.

 

[Bobberman]

I wonder too if Richard waits a bit longer on VOTH and yields to An Old Fashioned Christmas first, if delayed production of VOTH would have fared any better in the sense of timing and charting. Just at a glance it appears that 1984 has more softer ballads charting than 1983 did in the US.

I am not sure what else Richard could have polished as far as mixing. On the Lovelines CD, I especially love Richard’s remix on the song Lovelines. I’m a fan of Richard mixing away to his hearts’ content all day long, except when Karen’s vocals are even slightly diminished. Albeit for my mileage, when I want to listen to tracks from Karen Carpenter, I now prefer to listen to Karen's CD on SHM-CD.

Credit to this thread it, I got the idea to create a combination vibe of both catalogues together less the solo tracks since I have that separately, and they made a great new playlist:

Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night
Look To Your Dreams
Honolulu City Lights
You’re The One
Your Baby Doesn’t Love You Anymore

The Uninvited Guest
At The End of a Song
Where Do I Go From Here
You’re Enough
Now

Excellent Choices Nemily almost all of these are my personal favorites You have Excellent taste in Carpenters Ballads I must add "If we try" as a bonus because for some reason that song just touches me deep inside.

 

[Nemily]

Excellent Choices Nemily almost all of these are my personal favorites You have Excellent taste in Carpenters Ballads I must add "If we try" as a bonus because for some reason that song just touches me deep inside.

Well thank you very much, Bobberman! Likewise, because If We Try is my favorite Rod Temperton tune and it is always at the my top of favorite Carpenters/Karen Carpenter tracks, if not the very top.

If We Try was also orchestrated by Rob Mounsey who has proven himself to be a talented and bankable arranger. I am not sure if Temperton or Mounsey get credit for the exceptional horn arrangement on this track, but it’s goosebumps good.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Well thank you very much, Bobberman! Likewise, because If We Try is my favorite Rod Temperton tune and it is always at the my top of favorite Carpenters/Karen Carpenter tracks, if not the very top.

If We Try was also orchestrated by Rob Mounsey who has proven himself to be a talented and bankable arranger. I am not sure if Temperton or Mounsey get credit for the exceptional horn arrangement on this track, but it’s goosebumps good.

Rod does rhythm and vocal arrangements on "If We Try." Rob did the orchestration and the horn arrangements...and yeah, they're fire!

Ed

 

[hannahtobin]

To all the great tracks already mentioned I love Honolulu City Lights, it's one of my favorites from Lovelines. Pedal steel guitar and she sounds absolutely fantastic.

Honolulu City Lights is a beautiful track! The pedal steel guitar adds such a lovely touch, and her voice is fantastic. It's definitely one of my favorites from Lovelines too!

 

[Portlander]

Am I the only one that thought the title of the album should have been "Voice From the Heart" over "Of the Heart"? I've heard that certain ballad type singers are known for singing from their heart and have never seen the term "of" the heart used when describing vocals. Something that I have wondered about since the release of the album but because I am not an English major I've let it go until today!

 

[JohnFB]

Am I the only one that thought the title of the album should have been "Voice From the Heart" over "Of the Heart"? I've heard that certain ballad type singers are known for singing from their heart and have never seen the term "of" the heart used when describing vocals.

The difference is very subtle and the phrases are virtually interchangeable - maybe "from the heart" is a little more personal (like songs from a particular singer) and "of the heart" is a little more general (like songs from singers at large)...maybe not...

 

[newvillefan]

Am I the only one that thought the title of the album should have been "Voice From the Heart" over "Of the Heart"? I've heard that certain ballad type singers are known for singing from their heart and have never seen the term "of" the heart used when describing vocals. Something that I have wondered about since the release of the album but because I am not an English major I've let it go until today!

I've often wondered the very same thing! It was John Bettis who came up with the name. Maybe they felt it just rolls off the tongue easier, rather than 'voice from'.

Interestingly, a related item sports a typo on the cover - this is the lead single sleeve, released in Holland via CBS. It's wrong on the back cover and the same mistake was made on the UK release as well.

 

[Murray]

Am I the only one that thought the title of the album should have been "Voice From the Heart" over "Of the Heart"? I've heard that certain ballad type singers are known for singing from their heart and have never seen the term "of" the heart used when describing vocals. Something that I have wondered about since the release of the album but because I am not an English major I've let it go until today!

I've often wondered the very same thing! It was John Bettis who came up with the name. Maybe they felt it just rolls off the tongue easier, rather than 'voice from'.

Karen's voice was the voice of John Bettis' heart, when she gave life to his lyrics. Her voice was the voice of our hearts, when she sang about feelings that we all had, but couldn't adequately express on our own. The title is perfect.

 

[newvillefan]

The title is perfect.

I often wonder what Karen would have thought of the title. Imagine she'd be touched. Not so touched so see a photo from her solo sessions on the cover though

 

[Sing]

I often wonder what Karen would have thought of the title. Imagine she'd be touched. Not so touched so see a photo from her solo sessions on the cover though

Oh, don't go there.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I agree the title is perfect!!

What I always found odd was the photo used for the album was obviously one from her solo sessions photo shoot. Yet whenever most if not all of her photos surfaced (those on her album in 96 and those later surfaced as outtakes) this cover of VOTH was never one of them. We got others from her on that chair but not of this pose.

What’s also interesting about this album cover is that Karen gave this photo (almost the same size of the album cover) to her friend Itchy Ramone with a message written on it signed by Karen. It was shown on E entertainment tv. Karen must have had access to all the proofs and had a large one made up for her friend.