⭐ Official Review [Album]: "VOICE OF THE HEART" (SP-4954)

HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS ALBUM?

  • ***** (BEST)

    Votes: 19 17.8%
  • ****

    Votes: 39 36.4%
  • ***

    Votes: 39 36.4%
  • **

    Votes: 7 6.5%
  • *

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • Total voters
    107
Whilst I've thought many times how difficult it must have been to produce the album without Karen, I've never really given much thought to the fact he had to stand there in front of the mic and record the background vocals on his own for the first time as well. Yeah, that must have been tough.

I remember reading an interview with Hal Blaine where he described what I assume were the remix sessions in 1985. He talked about how they were all in tears laying down the new parts and that it hit home that Karen was no longer with them.
Maybe that's why there's so much choir. After Prime time and Your Baby he couldn't face it anymore.
 
Thing is, Prime Time and Your Baby sound magnificent with Richard's backing. I think, had he been given more time, he may have finished the other tracks in the same manner, but it was a rush job. He may even have found another female vocalist to mix with on the backing :)
 
I believe Richard Carpenter did exactly what he wanted to do for this album.
He has stated that working on the album helped him to get through the difficult time (1:38, Entertainment Tonight 1983 ).
All things considered (i.e., even the choir), nothing wrong with this "tribute" album (2:50, GMA interview, pt. one).
The album makes sense at that particular point-in-time.
 
Prime Time and Your Baby sound magnificent with Richard's backing.

I'm not so sure in the case of Prime Time Love. Richard's vocals on that track are thin and reedy, as well as being terrible lyrically (I'm thinking of the line "that's a bummer" in particular). On Your Baby Doesn't Love You Any More, however, his backing vocals are amazing and perfectly suit - and add to - the overall drama and pathos of the song and arrangement.
 
I was just listening to this CD in the truck for the first time in a while today.

“Now” I just had to skip. Very poor opening track. It should’ve stayed in the vault.

“Sailing On The Tide” This should’ve been the opening track. A lot better vocal and arrangement and really should be on more compilations.

“You’re Enough” the best of Karen’s final tracks. This one could’ve been a. single and really needs to be on more compilations.

“Make Believe It’s Your First Time” Can I just make believe that this track just doesn’t exist and wasn’t released as a single? Neither version was great (why did Richard think it was a good idea to release both versions as singles?). Suffice it to say I skipped this track.

“Two Lives”. I had totally forgotten this track! Or maybe I got it mixed up with “Two Sides”. Anyway, another stand-out track.

“At The End Of A Song” very interesting song in light of what happened with Karen.

“Ordinary Fool” Another weak track. Not as bad as “Now” or MBIYFT so I was able to listen all the way through.

“Prime Time Love” This should’ve been the lead single. It is such a rocker of a song. The Best song on the album.

“Your Baby Doesn’t Love You Anymore”. A great follow up to “Prime Time Love” And a great single.

“Looking To Your Dreams”. Nice song, although too weak as the closer. Has that big band feel like “Because We Are In Love” but a lot better than BEAIL.
 
I just
I was just listening to this CD in the truck for the first time in a while today.

“Now” I just had to skip. Very poor opening track. It should’ve stayed in the vault.

“Sailing On The Tide” This should’ve been the opening track. A lot better vocal and arrangement and really should be on more compilations.

“You’re Enough” the best of Karen’s final tracks. This one could’ve been a. single and really needs to be on more compilations.

“Make Believe It’s Your First Time” Can I just make believe that this track just doesn’t exist and wasn’t released as a single? Neither version was great (why did Richard think it was a good idea to release both versions as singles?). Suffice it to say I skipped this track.

“Two Lives”. I had totally forgotten this track! Or maybe I got it mixed up with “Two Sides”. Anyway, another stand-out track.

“At The End Of A Song” very interesting song in light of what happened with Karen.

“Ordinary Fool” Another weak track. Not as bad as “Now” or MBIYFT so I was able to listen all the way through.

“Prime Time Love” This should’ve been the lead single. It is such a rocker of a song. The Best song on the album.

“Your Baby Doesn’t Love You Anymore”. A great follow up to “Prime Time Love” And a great single.

“Looking To Your Dreams”. Nice song, although too weak as the closer. Has that big band feel like “Because We Are In Love” but a lot better than BEAIL.
It is so interesting that we can all be carpenters fans and have such different views. Now, make believe and ordinary fool are some of my favourite tracks amongs all their work. I always skip primary time love.
 
At The End Of A Song is my second favorite from this album with Ordinary Fool as one of my all time favorites. I would like to see both of these revisited.
 
I used to love Now but over time I’ve come to appreciate it more just for being Karen’s last lead vocal. If it hadn’t been, then I think more people would comment on the fact that the key is too high for her and the voice is thinner, more reedy-sounding and not what it once was. It’s also a very average MOR song. Not what they should have been recording by 1982. Richard was definitely stuck in his ways by this point.
 
As I have oft repeated, the two weakest songs on VOH (imho) are Now and Make Believe It's Your First Time.
Very Strong songs: Ordinary Fool and Two Lives.
RC/JB gave us some very good songs: You're Enough, At The End of a Song, Look To Your Dreams (I love all three).
Sailing On The Tide
is Tony Peluso wonderful.
Good songs: Your Baby and Prime Time Love.
In brief, a very strong album of music.
Of course, just my opinion.
 
As I have oft repeated, the two weakest songs on VOH (imho) are Now and Make Believe It's Your First Time.
Very Strong songs: Ordinary Fool and Two Lives.
RC/JB gave us some very good songs: You're Enough, At The End of a Song, Look To Your Dreams (I love all three).
Sailing On The Tide
is Tony Peluso wonderful.
Good songs: Your Baby and Prime Time Love.
In brief, a very strong album of music.
Of course, just my opinion.

Agreed completely on the weak ones. Both are total elevator music that they shouldn't have been bothered with in 1982. "At the End of a Song" is muzak-y too so I'd add that one. "Look to Your Dreams" is another attempt at a standard that stumbles in the lyric department for me. An odd stumble by Bettis but a stumble nonetheless. It's like he was told to write lyrics fit for a standard and just strung clichés together until he finished it. It doesn't feel real to me at all. "You're Enough" is further proof that they didn't care about chart action or if they did, they had no clue how to create any again. 'Course, Karen sells all of them when no one else could. I'd dispose of them utterly if she weren't singing them.

The most fun thing here is "Prime Time Love". It has a bit of a groove and Richard's backing is fantastic. "Your Baby" is good too but it's just over-arranged for me. Never a dull moment. I do love Richard's backing vocals (when don't I?). "Ordinary Fool" sells this album utterly and it's the best thing here by many miles. How this was passed over on "Passage" I will never understand. Stranger still is that Karen didn't even like it. Bizarre...

Ed
 
Absolutely agree it’s the standout track. But recorded in 1976 so should have been on the “Hush” album :)

Ah. Gotcha: Thanks for the correction. It’s just such a good song. There are dogs on the AKOH album that this could easily have been replaced to make room for this one. The last three chords are just spine-tingling.

Ed
 
Voice of the Heart is kind of a "hodge podge." It doesn't seems like a studio album, more like an odd compilation. It doesn't flow like Lovelines does, IMO. Of the two "new" songs I prefer "You're Enough." "Now" is OK, but like MBIYFT it sounds like there are two many people in the room at times. Metaphorically speaking of course. I like the front and back of the album covers. Some interesting material, Ordinary Fool, Sailing On The Tide. But I can't help thinking a lot of the songs would of worked better on the albums they were originally considered for.

Lots of good songs, just not so sure they all belong together on one album. I'm certain this was a hard time for Richard. This might of been a good time to introduce a few cuts from "Karen Carpenter" since the songs were in the vaults anyway........especially since Karen would record no more. Or complete a few of the outtakes!
 
Look to Your Dreams" is another attempt at a standard that stumbles in the lyric department for me. An odd stumble by Bettis but a stumble nonetheless. It's like he was told to write lyrics fit for a standard and just strung clichés together until he finished it. It doesn't feel real to me at all.

I’ve never really felt the words were awkward, I thought they were a bit baroque maybe which gave it’s status as a standard some distinction. I can see why someone might find it too wordy or cluttered with its unusual phrases, but it works for me always, or maybe Karen’s effortless handing of the words does the trick. If someone else sung the words I might feel the wording isn’t up to snuff.
 
LTYD is one of my favorite tracks on the disc. I'm not a fan of Broadway style songs, but this one I like.
 
I’ve never really felt the words were awkward

The opening lines always jarred with me. Just a clumsy, poorly written mouthful of a lyric. It sounds like something from the 19th century.

To say I’m romantic would be quite semantically true/
But make believe’s passion has fallen from fashion’s milieu.
 
The opening lines always jarred with me. Just a clumsy, poorly written mouthful of a lyric. It sounds like something from the 19th century.

To say I’m romantic would be quite semantically true/
But make believe’s passion has fallen from fashion’s milieu.

Well, maybe early 20th Century. Back then, many pop songs had little intros with melodies and words that had very little to do with the main song, but it sets up the main song. Think of "The sun is shining..." section of "White Christmas". It's not part of the main song, but sets up what's coming. That's the way songs were often structured back then.

Richard was such a throwback to those days in many ways, that I'm sure he intentionally wanted to structure "Look To Your Dreams" that way. So the old-fashioned lyrics from John Bettis fit perfectly there.
 
The opening lines always jarred with me. Just a clumsy, poorly written mouthful of a lyric. It sounds like something from the 19th century.

To say I’m romantic would be quite semantically true/
But make believe’s passion has fallen from fashion’s milieu.

Agreed. What he was going for is clear but he just didn't do it well. It's not John's thing. The verses are equally bad, IMHO.

Ed
 
Agreed. Along with Because We Are In Love, 2 songs I always skip. I just don’t care for them. Sung beautifully, but not what I like about Carpenters music overall.
 
The opening lines always jarred with me. Just a clumsy, poorly written mouthful of a lyric. It sounds like something from the 19th century.

To say I’m romantic would be quite semantically true/
But make believe’s passion has fallen from fashion’s milieu.

I agree with Harry and his analysis on the wording, and Karen just sings it so fluidly and gives feeling to those lines and binds them. And even alone I actually really like them!
 
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