tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
When did Karen re-record her Santa vocal? Or which version are you referring too? Since the two version clearly have different tempo’s. The 74 single is done in a waltz tempo around 106 bpm, whereas the 78 version is closer to 200 bpm. Clearly she had to do a different vocal in 78, as the 74 vocal wouldn’t have worked.My sense is that it's both, and that there were mixed results with the re-recordings. I loved the re-recording of "Ticket to Ride" (the song). For me, that's as perfect a marriage between Karen's warmly intimate voice and Richard's imaginative focus on the song's ballad quality. I was less happy with the re-recordings of "Merry Christmas, Darling" and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town". I loved Karen's huskier voice on the first recording of "Merry Christmas, Darling"; she brought such a soulful yearning to that version. Same with "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town". Karen's voice was smoother, by this time, but the first version had a lot more energy thanks to the jazzy brass accompaniment. The re-recorded version, with its modified arrangement, sounded "sleepy" to me, somehow. But I'm sure that Karen believed all the later versions better reflected her more mature voice.
Karen is quoted as saying she over-sang as a young vocalist. I disagree. I love the passion her younger voice brings to those early recordings. Whether she deliberately hit the "mute" button later on, or her physical condition meant that she couldn't push her voice like that, I don't know.
Having said all that, I have always loved "Ticket to Ride (the album). It showed so much promise in what Karen and Richard could deliver. It's interesting that it's the one album where she and Richard share lead vocals almost equally. In that, I think the album suffers a bit. Karen should be singing most of the lead vocals, with Richard shining on a few songs. That's a mistake I felt they made later on (in the opposite direction), in deciding that the albums were to be Karen pretty much solo on lead vocals. I liked the contrast Richard's lead vocals brought to their albums, even though Karen was clearly the superior singer.
I also like the fact that Karen drums on this entire album. I have never understood the criticisms of her drumming, but maybe it's because I have never heard her drum tracks for the "Close to You" album contrasted with Hal Blaine's. Maybe if I heard that, I would understand the difference.
One of the biggest highlights of "Ticket to Ride" is that it showcases those magnificent overdubbed vocal harmonies between Karen and Richard, which should have been their signature sound throughout their entire career (rather than, later on, having choruses try to mimic that sound ... always to disappointing effect, at least for me). It was such a distinctive sound. Karen's voice was a big part of that, yes. But those overdubbed vocal harmonies, with Karen's lead voice, were the distinctive Carpenters sound.