descriptions of Karen's voice

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Chris

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We've heard many descriptions of Karen's voice over the years. It's been compared to rich things like satin and chocolate. I've sometimes thought of Karen's voice like beautifully piped icing on a cake. And of course when Karen sings Christmas music, her voice just sounds like the season itself. So gorgeous and warm.

Recently Dionne Warwick said that Karen's voice always reminded her of "smoking wood". She said, "Some woods smell so wonderful, and that's what her voice reminded me of." What a beautiful description. Smoking wood has such a rich and intoxicating scent.

Would you all like to share some of the descriptions and things that Karen's voice has reminded you of? Thanks for sharing.
 
I've heard some things myself; namely to the effect that her voice, on certain numbers like "Rainy Days And Mondays," conveyed a sense of darkness and melancholy that was somehow masked behind the image of sweetness and light that seemed to be associated with Richard and Karen. I seem to recall Herb Alpert and one or two others saying words to that effect on VH1's Behind The Music profile on the Carpenters. And in a sense, speaking as someone who has almost all their 45's from "Close To You" to "Top of the World" (except for "Goodbye To Love"), they may have a point on that. This assessment doesn't in any way diminish the loveliness of the recordings; some may argue it adds to it.
 
Her voice is full and rich. She possesses the unique talent of being able to effortlessly glide from her lowest octave to her highest all in one breath. Her voice has mystery in it. It's dark and it's light. Technically she's considered one of the finest vocalists of all-time. She just has one of the most interesting voices ever. Her voice contains elements of the wind.
 
Effortless and simplistic clarity wih a deep velvety lusture with a clear pure tone. And, when in pure concentration, her vocal technique was spotless. A simplistic clarity example can be heard on Sing, and the live version of Any Day Now. A good example of her velvety lusture can be heard in I Can Dream Can't I. A perfect example of her perfect vocal technique can be heard in Soltaire.

I think the Rolling Stone magazine article from 1974 said something like youth with wisdom. I always thought that was a good choice of words.

One thing for sure, I can take a disc to play one song, but always end up listening to more. Her voice has always been a drug of choice for me.

Craig
 
One mark of a great talent to me, anyway, is that no one can impersonate them. I hear Striesand impersonated, Elvis impersonated, Ethal Merman impersonated, Bing Crosby, etc.....all the considered "greats" have people that can do near dead-on impersonations of them. Which begs the question, "why are they so 'great' when everyone and their brother can do an impersonation of them?" No one can do that with Karen. Her voice is completely unique. To me THAT is the mark of a great singer.
 
I have heard 2 different Karen imitator's- both were way off. They both sang off-key in attempting to do the unique things Karen did with her voice. They both lacked the energy, the soul, and the fine quality of Karen's voice.
 
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