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

[newvillefan]

Considering Temperton had massive success with "Rock With You" Nov/Dec '79 by which point her solo sessions in New York were presumably over, you get the feeling the powers at A&M got him back in Jan '80 with hopes of scoring a hit with Lovelines which was recorded in LA.

Reading between the lines I think that’s pretty much what happened. They didn’t feel the album had a strong enough song to open it (which was an ominous omen in itself) and that’s how ‘Lovelines’ came to be.

 

[ullalume]

Reading between the lines I think that’s pretty much what happened. They didn’t feel the album had a strong enough song to open it (which was an ominous omen in itself) and that’s how ‘Lovelines’ came to be.

It may also explain the sky-high cost of the album coz he must've cost a fortune to get back on board.

 

[Cuyler]

They actually began work on the track to Sailing On The Tide as early as February of '75, with the bulk of it being completed in March and April of '77.

I am so glad that this forum exists. Was just listening to this song and was wondering about its story. To me, this timeline makes complete sense. Karen's voice has that "Horizon" dynamism, but the mixing is quite sophisticated, reminiscent of "All You Get From Love Is a Love Song" or "Two Sides." It also fits into that early yacht rock timeline, peaking in around 1976-7. (Pablo Cruise, anyone?)

 

[newvillefan]

Karen's voice has that "Horizon" dynamism, but the mixing is quite sophisticated, reminiscent of "All You Get From Love Is a Love Song" or "Two Sides."

I’d like to hear this track with all the heavy vocal processing on Karen’s voice removed. It tends to get very obtrusive, especially in the verses. She sounds like a robot. It sounds to me like there’s more than just vocal doubling going on there.

 

[JohnFB]

It tends to get very obtrusive,, especially in the verses.. It sounds to me like there’s more than just vocal doubling going on there.

The same thing could be said for some other songs...in my rarest, darkest moments I'm very tempted to accuse Richard of doing this - and most of the double tracking - deliberately for the sole devious & draconian purpose of distorting Karen's voice out of sheer jealousy - because he wanted to be able to sing like that, and because she was getting all of the accolades...no, I guess I don't really believe that...or do I?

 

[Cuyler]

The same thing could be said for some other songs...in my rarest, darkest moments I'm very tempted to accuse Richard of doing this - and most of the double tracking - deliberately for the sole devious & draconian purpose of distorting Karen's voice out of sheer jealousy - because he wanted to be able to sing like that, and because she was getting all of the accolades...no, I guess I don't really believe that...or do I?

I agree with your point that the double-tracked voices are a bit much. Especially on this song, since the double-tracking is from start to finish. It would be amazing to hear the exact same song, mastering process, but with the difference being no double-tracked lead.

That being said! I have to admit, I’m very impressed with Karen’s ability to replicate herself in subsequent takes. Reminds me of Michael Jackson or Freddie Mercury in that regard.

 

[JohnFB]

It would be amazing to hear the exact same song, mastering process, but with the difference being no double-tracked lead.

101% agreed! But why stop with just this song?

 

[Cuyler]

101% agreed! But why stop with just this song?

Also agreed!

 

[Cuyler]

If anyone has the Alfa Records pressing of Voice of the Heart (Carpenters – Voice Of The Heart (1983, CD)), catalog no. 38XB-4, how does it sound? Is there a barcode on the obi?

 

[Cuyler]

I have two VOTH CDs (AM+ series CD 4954, and U.S. Remastered Classics), and both are relatively loud. Oddly, the AM+ CD is louder than the Remastered Classics CD.

I just bought 38XB-4 from Record City, a seller on Discogs. It wasn't terribly expensive, but it's among the first CD pressings by A&M Records in Japan. 38XB-1 is Quincy Jones, The Dude; 38XB-2 is The Police, Synchronicity; and 38XB-3 is Herb Alpert, Blow Your Own Horn. (The next two albums, 38XB-5 and 38XB-6, are CD issues of two of my faves, Chuck Mangione's Feel So Good and Herb Alpert's Rise.)

According to Discogs, 38XB-4 (VOTH) was released on December 21, 1983, but there is a 1984 pressing that looks different. I don't know yet if the CD I ordered is the 1983 or the 1984 pressing, but in either case, I'm hoping the audio sounds decent. If there's an obi (I requested that an obi be included if available), I will try to post details from the obi. The obi generally has the barcode and release date, but this CD may have been too early to have a barcode or release date.

 

[Cuyler]

Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore is a classic Carpenters song reminds me of the same feel of All You Get From Love Is A Love Song. Ordinary Fool is a hidden gem on the album. I completely get why Now gets to so many compilations, Karen interpreting an intimate song, she's so good at it. At The End Of A Song doesn't get enough credit in my opinion. The album completes itself with Look To Your Dreams which I find even more poignant than Now...a final send off...when I heard the album close with that song I got a sense that if I never heard another new Carpenters release...it was ok after hearing Look To Your Dreams...for me it's the most personal song on the album and a perfect closure to losing her voice.

I'm branching this quote off from a discussion in another thread, because, as @Rick-An Ordinary Fool pointed out, this is a more appropriate place to discuss "Voice of the Heart."

My response is — YES! I have never been able to put into words why I actually like "Voice of the Heart." I know that's not a sentiment shared by many Carpenters fans. As I mentioned above, the two CDs I have for this album, the AM+ series pressing and the Remastered Classics pressing, are a little loud for my liking.

Audacity has a new nifty feature where there's a strong red vertical line at every part of the waveform that approaches 1.0 (the loudest possible value for digital music). The top half is the Remastered Classics CD—there are some red lines here and there. The bottom half is the AM+ Series CD—tons of red lines. But the AM+ CD also looks relatively quieter in some places, which suggests a little more dynamic range. Had the people mastering dropped the volume down just a peg, the AM+ CD would be much more dynamic and pleasing to the ear, I think. This is why, above, I mentioned that I hope the Japanese CD from 1983 or 1984 will sound better than either of these releases. We shall see.

Now, back to @Rick-An Ordinary Fool's comments. I agree that "Ordinary Fool" is a hidden gem on this album. I'm glad that the clean opening is available on "From the Top" and other compilations. One of my favorites on this album is "Sailing on the Tide," but as @JohnFB noted, I could do without the double-tracked voices. "Sailing on the Tide" is a Horizon-era recording that to me invokes the imagery of Richard and Karen on their boat off the coast of California, like in the Suntory Pop commercials.

The tracks I don't care for as much (another unpopular opinion I know, sorry) are "You're Enough," "Make Believe It's Your First Time," "Prime Time Love," and "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore." "You're Enough" and "Prime Time Love" sound a little too bright for me. I would imagine these two were recorded around the time of "Made in America."

As has been mentioned before, "Look to Your Dreams" is such a fitting end to the album, and Richard's piano performance that trails out is heartbreaking. Voice of the Heart is not one of my favorite albums, but I do admit that I generally prefer listening to it over Made in America. I also do understand that the circumstances around this album are heartbreaking. Richard's signed note on the back of the LP/CD is heartbreaking as well.

When I hear VOTH, I hear a lot of struggle and pain; I don't really hear "just outtakes" or "B material that was released because Karen passed away." Personally, as a fan, I'm glad that Richard has had the generosity of making so much of Karen's studio material with him posthumously available. I'm happy that we can hear "Now," Karen's last recording, as an official source tape transfer rather than being left to relying on MP3s of YouTube videos of MP3s from cassette tape bootleggers from the 1990s. This sentiment extends to even the songs that I usually skip on this album, like "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore." And the sentiment extends to "Lovelines" as well!

Sorry for the rant. tl;dr: Voice of the Heart isn't one of my favorite albums, but I also appreciate and understand the circumstances around its release. I also appreciate the opportunity to hear it officially rather than having to find bootleg copies to experience its music.

 

[Cuyler]

Top: Remastered Classics CD
Bottom: AM+ CD

Verdict: Remastered Classics

Although the mixes are identical, for some reason, the AM+ CD has more maxed-out peaks than the Remastered Classics CD. "Two Lives" even has those loud peaks on "SWEET MEMORY at last." However, if you want to hear "Sailing on the Tide" without maxed-out peaks, there is hope—"SWEET MEMORY at last" has no maxed-out peaks on "Sailing on the Tide" and is probably the best-sounding version you will be able to find digitally, perhaps with the exception of 38XB-4. (I will try to post a waveform and spectrogram when I receive the copy I just ordered.)

 

[Cuyler]

"Two Lives" even has those loud peaks on "SWEET MEMORY at last."

It's a miracle... if you want to hear a non-maxed out version of "Two Lives," the Qobuz audio (WAV download) doesn't have any red lines. I am not sure if iTunes uses the same mix. But I'm also not sure if Qobuz just normalized the Remastered Classics so that the peaks wouldn't as noticeably hit 0 dB.

 

[JohnFB]

... One of my favorites on this album is "Sailing on the Tide," but as @JohnFB noted, I could do without the double-tracked voices. ...

As you can probably guess I fully appreciate and support your wise preference in this regard...

However, I feel I should caution you against using a reference to me combined with the phrase "double-tracked" in your posts - this can be highly "triggering", so be very careful! You might want to use a less contentious phrase such as "auditory manipulation" or "sonic alteration".

 

[Cuyler]

As you can probably guess I fully appreciate and support your wise preference in this regard...

However, I feel I should caution you against using a reference to me combined with the phrase "double-tracked" in your posts - this can be highly "triggering", so be very careful! You might want to use a less contentious phrase such as "auditory manipulation" or "sonic alteration".

Noted!

I’m actually looking forward to hearing this 1983/1984 CD now… but am still sad that Karen’s vocals are “sonically altered” the whole time on “Sailing on the Tide.” Were it not for the “auditory manipulation,” I’d call this a better attempt at yacht rock than “Boat to Sail.” Meh, I still like “Sailing on the Tide” better than “Boat to Sail.”

 

[GaryAlan]

Rick made an interesting comment (in another thread) regards this album,
a comment pertinent to those of us who were around in 1983:
"when I heard the album close with that song I got a sense that if I never heard another new Carpenters release...it was ok after hearing Look To Your Dreams."

That is exactly how I felt the first time I listened to the album on the day of its release.
Look To Your Dreams simply blew me away !
Also, I had heard Ordinary Fool on the radio that day, and I knew it was already a CLASSIC !

Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore, in my view, had almost all the elements of a great song.
The arrangement and the soaring Karen Carpenter vocals were there for all to hear.

So, transporting myself back to 1983, it was my understanding that this was going to be the final Carpenters' album.
I had no information then which said otherwise.
Thus, when I listened to that VINYL album, that day, I listened with my heart,
and, Voice of the Heart
says it ALL.

 

[Cuyler]

So, transporting myself back to 1983, it was my understanding that this was going to be the final Carpenters' album.
I had no information then which said otherwise.
Thus, when I listened to that VINYL album, that day, I listened with my heart,
and, Voice of the Heart
says it ALL.

Absolutely. I watched an interview with Richard re: Time from 1987, and he spoke about the two posthumous albums, Voice of the Heart and An Old Fashioned Christmas. No indication that another one would be in the works. I think we’re all fortunate now living in retrospect that we got at least five albums full of never-before-released material: the previously mentioned two, plus Lovelines, Karen’s solo album, and As Time Goes By.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Cuyler, can you post a pic of the front of the 38XB-4 disc...once you get it. I'll be curious to read your review of how it sounds.

I'm happy that I finally got the Sweet Memory set a while back, it took me long enough to get it but was worth the wait.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Rick made an interesting comment (in another thread) regards this album,
a comment pertinent to those of us who were around in 1983:
"when I heard the album close with that song I got a sense that if I never heard another new Carpenters release...it was ok after hearing Look To Your Dreams."

That is exactly how I felt the first time I listened to the album on the day of its release.
Look To Your Dreams simply blew me away !
Also, I had heard Ordinary Fool on the radio that day, and I knew it was already a CLASSIC !

Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore, in my view, had almost all the elements of a great song.
The arrangement and the soaring Karen Carpenter vocals were there for all to hear.

So, transporting myself back to 1983, it was my understanding that this was going to be the final Carpenters' album.
I had no information then which said otherwise.
Thus, when I listened to that VINYL album, that day, I listened with my heart,
and, Voice of the Heart
says it ALL.

Well said and how I felt as well back then. Who knew we would get another Christmas album, Lovelines, her solo album and all the rare stuff on As Time Goes By. In a sense, Richard has satisfied our Carpenters cravings and then some. He tempted us with RPO now we await RPO 2

 

[GaryAlan]

I took another listen to the entire album this afternoon.
I still love it. The songs are sequenced beautifully.
And, I must add, Two Lives is awesome: A request to those who have them, listen with earphones.
And, unusual for me, even the song Now got somewhat of a nod as well: my only issues with Now, presently, are:
annoying guitar squeak (at 58 sec) and Karen's vocal delivery is drowned out on the word "down" (1:41).
Now has some great lyrical content and for a work-lead, Karen's delivery is impressive (as it seems to be a rather 'rangy' song).
Other than that, I still enjoy this entire album.

 

[Cuyler]

And, I must add, Two Lives is awesome: A request to those who have them, listen with earphones.

I know I've read this somewhere before, but what is the story behind the popping sound at 20 seconds?

I can't wait for my 1983/4 CD to arrive so I can hear this song!

 

[Cuyler]

It's a miracle... if you want to hear a non-maxed out version of "Two Lives," the Qobuz audio (WAV download) doesn't have any red lines. I am not sure if iTunes uses the same mix. But I'm also not sure if Qobuz just normalized the Remastered Classics so that the peaks wouldn't as noticeably hit 0 dB.

Can confirm, the peaks of the Qobuz audio are different from the peaks of the Remastered Classics CD and the AM+ CD. The Qobuz version of "Two Lives" is a treat to listen to. Only one peak post-normalization.

 

[Cuyler]

On an unrelated note... I had a really stressful online interaction with someone recently and it shook my energy. Re-centering with "Voice of the Heart" today while I get some school work done.

 

[newvillefan]

Two Lives is awesome: A request to those who have them, listen with earphones.

I did just that a couple of months ago for the first time in years and have to say, I heard a whole other song (if you know what I mean). The acoustic guitar work on this track is just stunning; very similar to the intricate work on ‘When It’s Gone’. I’ve posted a few times over the years that I didn’t like the song or Karen’s work lead on it, but I take it all back. It’s a stellar, underrated track that deserves to have been anthologised more.

I know I've read this somewhere before, but what is the story behind the popping sound at 20 seconds?

I’ve asked this before and no one has been able to answer it. I noticed it the very first time I ever heard it. It’s very instrusive and must be on the work lead track otherwise I’m sure Richard would have removed it.

Two Lives

Something about this song has bugged me for ages. Does anyone else hear a really annoying 'popping' sound as Karen starts to sing at 0m20s? At first I thought it was a flaw in the vocal track, but I really can't make my mind up what it is, or whether it's even supposed to be there! Stephen

forum.amcorner.com

 

[JohnFB]

Now is also a terrible song. But Prime Time Love should’ve been issued as the lead 45 from VOTH. Really that’s got “Single” written all over it!

I feel that NOW is one of their most beautiful songs - choral interlude and sax solo included - even though Karen didn't seem to be at the top of her game (but still better than anyone else) - her voice didn't seem to be as strong or have that deep, clear, piercing edge that we all loved so much...PRIME TIME LOVE is far below NOW's standards musically and vocally and has "album filler" written all over it...