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I thought Richard controlled the catalog at that point. In other words, final veto power.
Doesn't he retain this veto power to this day? I'm sure this was carried forward ad infinitum while he is still alive, whatever the label changes.
"But, I had three complaints:
One, they went and took the Carpenters' overdub sound, whereas it should have been different with her.
I will never get my head round this one. What did he expect Karen to do? Bring in a load of session singers to build up the backing vocal sound, when she was perfectly capable of doing all this herself? Her voice was predominantly the Carpenters' vocal sound - there's no getting away from it.
I will never get my head round this one. What did he expect Karen to do? Bring in a load of session singers to build up the backing vocal sound, when she was perfectly capable of doing all this herself? Her voice was predominantly the Carpenters' vocal sound - there's no getting away from it.
I've always perceived Richard's reaction to mean simply, that all the multi-harmony overdubbing stuff - whereas people were doing it, wasn't something that was "standard" or as common at the time. I mean, if you listen to the people that Karen was influenced by (Olivia, Donna Summer, etc) they weren't all doing the 4 and 5 part layered harmonies. Not to say that they weren't doing any harmony at all, but 2-part and occasional 3-part is a much different approach and sound. What Karen did on her solo project was a sound that was semi-unique to Carpenters (a few others as well) - and yes I understand that these were Temperton arrangements, but I really don't believe that Karen would have ended up opting for this kind of style harmonically or musically had Richard never, ever been a part of Karen's life - just in general. She was introduced to it and learned it because of Richard. She certainly didn't write and arrange her own parts, nor do I believe she ever had the ability to with all due respect. She learned it and became comfortable with it, and stuck with it. I could be entirely wrong about this, but it's at least a reasonable argument.
The vocal arranging style on the album was a style Rod Temperton had been using for years in Heatwave. He used Karen like he used Johnny Wilder. Listen to their stuff and listen to her solo record. Same approach.
My query: At what juncture did Richard Carpenter make the decision to feature overdubbing ? Overdubbing is prominent on the 1966 "Looking For Love/Parting of Our Ways"
Page 329 of Coleman, virtually dismisses the Lovelines album, on the basis of the solo songs.
And, not one word in the Index of the Biography relegated to the song, "If I Had You".
Now, Schmidt, Page 204, has Bob James saying: "I wanted to give her something different and challenging."
and, "Karen had conveyed to Richard the vocal challenges she faced when...singing...the arrangements."
Thus, Richard was fully aware of the 'vocal' acrobatics which Karen was undertaking on this album.
(We know she called him specifically about the song, "If I Had You".)
Did he speak up, then?
Did he express his dismay,at that time, while she was recording those songs?
Why, again, did everyone wait until half- a- million dollars was down-the-toilet to express their dismay?
Absolutely! Which is why I said there were a few others as well. My point was, Karen may not have ever taken that approach had 4-part, close harmony (which requires a unique skill to even be able to master correctly) not been introduced to her by Richard and made comfortable for her to sing - regardless of who wrote the arrangement, since she'd already been doing it for years.
The decision to release Karen's album-and in it's original form-was made by A&M.I was just listening to the Larry King radio show from 1987 and a caller asked Richard if he would ever release Karen's solo album. Richard said no. He said it was almost completed but Karen was just not happy and decided to shelve it, he said, I have heard it and of course it is very good but A&M never wished to release it and I will not let it out.
Interesting discussion 9 years before it finally came out....I still wonder what made them release it 9 years later, what changed in 96 it couldn't have been that A&M thought it was going to be a money maker, the material was dated back to 1980 surely they knew that, A&M was not in the business to appease the fan base, so something changed and it couldn't have been about the money. So if Richard was respecting Karen's wishes to not release it all these years, then A&M over rode that respect and convinced Richard to release it? or Richard was in charge and told A&M let's release it. I guess it doesn't matter since we have it but it still makes you wonder what changed, especially after hearing this radio program.
I thought Richard controlled the catalog at that point. In other words, final veto power. If he truly disliked that album, he would have fought tooth and nail to leave it mothballed.
I hate to say it, but it seemed to me like his original comments were made more out of jealousy, and/or the fear of losing what was essentially his meal ticket. With no new product available to release, it was only natural that her solo album be released as stop-gap product to keep interest up, and also quiet the restless fans who knew about its existence. In retrospect it was actually a thoughtful release, especially since it was released as originally produced. In reality, Richard theoretically could have remixed and re-recorded quite a bit and stamped that album with his signature, as he did for the handful of solo tracks on that Lovelines album.
And of course, the record label would release nearly anything he offered to them... they $ee $ale$ a mile away.