⭐ Official Review [Album]: VÉRONIQUE BÉLIVEAU - "VÉRONIQUE" S/T

What is your favorite track?

  • I'm Gonna Make You Love Me

    Votes: 4 22.2%
  • House Of Love

    Votes: 1 5.6%
  • Just Another Dream

    Votes: 2 11.1%
  • All My Tomorrows

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I Want To Get Close To You

    Votes: 2 11.1%
  • One Of Us

    Votes: 1 5.6%
  • A Touch Of Paradise

    Votes: 1 5.6%
  • Falling In Line

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • What Kind Of Love?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Angel In My Eyes

    Votes: 2 11.1%
  • All Those Years Ago

    Votes: 5 27.8%

  • Total voters
    18
I just got the LP (and a Canadian pressing) today in the mail. One song I really wanted to hear was "All Those Years Ago", and I found that was a little disappointed. Aside from Veronique's vocal, I've actually heard the backing track, or at the very least a remixed version on Richard's 1997 solo album. So it sounds like Richard did the very same thing in 97 as he did with "Time", "Sandy" and "Flat Baroque", just reused the original album masters, but remixed them.

Anyway, it's a nice album, but for an 80's album, there's very little Pop. This doesn't sound like Tiffany, or WHAM or Air Supply or even Michael Bolton ("Sittin' on The Dock Of The Bay/Soul Provider") when you think of 80's. I will say it does have timeless quality, because it is not that 80's, but it really didn't have a good 80's moving beat. With a lot of 80's songs I feel like I want to move to them, but not with this album.
 
Member Murray and I discussed this album a good bit. Both he and I feel that Véronique's style is closest to Sheena Easton. Give the album a couple more listens. It'll grow on you. Ironically, I find "All Those Years Ago" a rather anti-climactic ending to the album. I like all of the other tracks a good bit better.
 
My favorite track is "Just Another Dream" which always seemed to take to long to get going. The ending chorus is killer, but after it repeats once it's gone as the track winds down. To me, that makes the track too short. I used Audacity to loop a couple more iterations of the chorus to satisfy me. This is a track I like to play loud.
 
Member Murray and I discussed this album a good bit. Both he and I feel that Véronique's style is closest to Sheena Easton. Give the album a couple more listens. It'll grow on you. Ironically, I find "All Those Years Ago" a rather anti-climactic ending to the album. I like all of the other tracks a good bit better.
Yeah, "All Those Years Ago" to me feels like "Sometimes" from the Carpenters self-title album, it's very different sounding from the rest of the album and doesn't really fit, and just seems to have been tacked on, possible because it was already in the can. I wonder if it was maybe intended as a stand-alone single, but then it was cancelled for some reason.

I could really make out Veronique's French-Canadian accent on phrases, like "Fall In Line". It seems most prominent on her F's.
But I was listening to the album again and I noticed that the first track ("I'm Gonna Make You Love Me") appears to be a different remix from even the "LP Version" that I've heard on the 12-inch single that I have. Part of the remix also seems to include different instruments at different sections. Personally, out of the 5 versions that I've heard of the one track, I prefer the English Rap and LP Version that are on the 12-inch over what's on the actual album.

In a way I find the whole album kind of like "Made In America", a lot of weak tracks, and an album that's missing-in-action.
 
My favourite is All Those Years Ago. Very pretty song.

I don't know why he covered One Of Us, as it's a carbon copy of the original by ABBA and Richard always said he doesn't do copies. That's why he shelved Thank You For The Music.
 
My favourite is All Those Years Ago. Very pretty song.

I don't know why he covered One Of Us, as it's a carbon copy of the original by ABBA and Richard always said he doesn't do copies. That's why he shelved Thank You For The Music.

As noted above, Véronique Béliveau herself probably had a lot to do with song choices here. She possibly urged Richard to do that song in much the way ABBA did it.
 
With the album, I was expecting something more along the lines of Richard's "Say Yeah!" and "Who Do You Love?" Considering that it was made in 1989, it almost seems to be 80's "bubblegum" music, whereas it would've been interesting to have seen Richard produce a soft-rock album with her rather than a pop album.
 
^That's a great find, but eek with Shipping to Canada that's a bit pricey. Richard would be happy to know his productions are up there now. Over twice as much as what new vinyl is these days for 1 CD! Lol
 
May I ask if someone can upload Veronique's version of "All those years ago"? Even if it's unlisted on YouTube and PM it to me. I would like to hear it. It's the only one I cannot find. Thank you!
 
I uploaded a live version with Richard on piano a long time ago. It's not too different from the studio version.

 
Petula Clark did a great job of this song. Somehow she connects more for me on it.
I like this song. Kind of reminds me of "The Reply" from Akiko's album.
 
I was just listening to my LP copy yesterday. I was kind of looking through my LP collection and I had totally forgot that I had the LP, so I put it on, and it was pretty nice, except for All Those Years Ago...that track just didn't fit.

But I couldn't help but think that a number of these songs I could've heard Karen singing. I think Karen could've really done a good job on I'm Gonna Make You Love Me, and I think we might've had an 80's version of Remember When Loving Took All Night.
 
Just curious, does anyone know how successful this album was in Canada? Were any of the songs released as singles and did they chart? Loved the "All Those Years Ago" video Harry, Richard looked well and very personable compared to some of his more awkward moments in previous years.
 
Murray probably has more details on the album's reception in Canada. It was Murray that initially sent me that Veronique Electrique television special ages ago and put that song and a Carpenters medley up on YouTube.

If I understand things correctly, the album did NOT do well at all. There was a single of "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", and I believe, "House Of Love"
 
Harry is correct that the album did not do well. The lead-off single, "House Of Love", only reached #90 on the singles chart. The follow up, "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", and the album itself, failed to chart.

Veronique promoted the album on MuchMusic (Canada's music video channel), and they had "House Of Love" on rotation for a couple of weeks (the second single didn't have a video, which likely contributed to its failing to chart). Veronique also did interviews for radio stations, performed on several charity telethons, entertained the Canadian military on bases at home and abroad, did concerts on the summer fair circuit, and made a nationally televised special with Richard Carpenter as her guest. None of this effort seemed to help the album's fortunes. There were only 10,000 copies of the album produced, 5000 of which were on CD. I don't know how many of these actually sold. I think that A&M were hoping that Veronique would be the next Celine Dion, and when it became obvious that this was not the case, they cancelled plans to release the album in the USA, and Veronique never made another album again, not even in her native French.
 
How many artists were produced by Richard Carpenter ?
Do we have chart listings, sales ?
.......Where I Want To Be, B.L.Mitchell, 1978
Akiko, 1989
Scott Grimes,1989
Veronique, 1989
Something In Your Eyes, Dusty Springfield, 1987
Petula Clark (?)......
 
Veronique promoted the album on MuchMusic (Canada's music video channel), and they had "House Of Love" on rotation for a couple of weeks (the second single didn't have a video, which likely contributed to its failing to chart). Veronique also did interviews for radio stations, performed on several charity telethons, entertained the Canadian military on bases at home and abroad, did concerts on the summer fair circuit, and made a nationally televised special with Richard Carpenter as her guest. None of this effort seemed to help the album's fortunes.

If A&M thought she was the next Celine Dion, they were misguided. She’s not even in the same league. Still, all that effort on her part and the album didn’t even chart? What do you have to do to garner a few sales, for heaven’s sake? Was she just not that popular a vocalist on her native soil or was it maybe the association with Richard that scuppered her chances?

How many artists were produced by Richard Carpenter ?
Do we have chart listings, sales ?
.......Where I Want To Be, B.L.Mitchell, 1978
Akiko, 1989
Scott Grimes,1989
Veronique, 1989
Something In Your Eyes, Dusty Springfield, 1987
Petula Clark (?)......

He doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to producing other artists. Most of the ventures, like his solo albums, simply flopped.

It does serve to remind you that, no matter how good his talents in his field, and no matter how much Karen championed his God given abilities while she was alive, he would be indelibly and inextricably linked with his sister. Nothing else came close to the mark commercially.
 
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If A&M thought she was the next Celine Dion, they were misguided. She’s not even in the same league. Still, all that effort on her part and the album didn’t even chart? What do you have to do to garner a few sales, for heaven’s sake? Was she just not that popular a vocalist on her native soil or was it maybe the association with Richard that scuppered her chances?

He doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to producing other artists. Most of the ventures, like his solo albums, simply flopped.

It does serve to remind you that, no matter how good his talents in his field, and no matter how much Karen championed his God given abilities while she was alive, he would be indelibly and inextricably linked with his sister. Nothing else came close to the mark commercially.

In fairness, with the exception of the Dusty single, Richard wasn't working with any big names - perhaps if he had, he might have been able to make a bit more headway commercially. But it doesn't seem like his heart was ever really in being a producer for other artists - Tony Peluso, for instance, went on to do far more production work than him after Karen's death. That list of productions is pretty meagre and I don't think the general public would have any clue that he'd tried his hand at working with other artists - even I haven't heard most of those albums!
 
In fairness, with the exception of the Dusty single, Richard wasn't working with any big names - perhaps if he had, he might have been able to make a bit more headway commercially. But it doesn't seem like his heart was ever really in being a producer for other artists - Tony Peluso, for instance, went on to do far more production work than him after Karen's death. That list of productions is pretty meagre and I don't think the general public would have any clue that he'd tried his hand at working with other artists - even I haven't heard most of those albums!

I'd agree with all of the above - but what a waste of the man's talents. He could have gone on to do so much more. Imagine if it was he who had passed away and Karen had only gone on to record a couple of dud singles and albums with low-profile artists that the general public had never heard of. People the world over would be asking: WHY? But then, that's the difference in the public's perception of Karen versus Richard. She was the Carpenters. He was seen as just the back up.

Professionally, I don't think Richard ever successfully managed to let go of the Carpenters after Karen died. It was all he'd ever known. Conversely, I don't think there were any mainstream artists queuing up to work with him given his ego and reputation in the studio either. When Petula Clark said of the experience that "it's good, but it's not easy", I believe by her hesitation and body language that she was being extremely diplomatic and understated out of respect towards him. His magic worked one time, and one time only. And the only person who could relate to him - almost telepathically - and put up with all his foibles and idiosyncrasies, was the one who had spent her entire life with him.
 
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