"Duet" with Karen and an acoustic guitarist

[chuckbo]

Maybe you've found this already, but I just stumbled on this duet on YouTube.


I figure he took the near a cappella version that you can find and then recorded himself as a duet with her. Not that I want to see an avalanche of new mixes featuring Karen and a random performer, but I did like this one.

 

[Joeyesterday]

Cool...That sounds like Karen live at the Bluebird Cafe.

 

[newvillefan]

The quality of the isolated lead vocal on this is impressive. It reminded me yet again of a feature of this work lead that never ceases to amaze me. Karen sings the entire three-line section highlighted below - in other words for 12 continuous seconds - without a single breath. Her breath control while singing has always astounded me. She was the absolute master at wringing out more emotion and feeling in one lungful of air than any other singer I could name. That wasn’t taught to her: she did it instinctively. That’s one of the things I have always really admired about her as a vocalist. Goodbye To Love is impressive...and then there’s this:

“I’ve ready every book
Looked for every meditation and poem
Just to bring home that old sweet sensation
But it ain’t no use to me
To try to get that feelin’ again”

 

[Cuyler]

The quality of the isolated lead vocal on this is impressive. It reminded me yet again of a feature of this work lead that never ceases to amaze me. Karen sings the entire three-line section highlighted below - in other words for 12 continuous seconds - without a single breath. Her breath control while singing has always astounded me. She was the absolute master at wringing out more emotion and feeling in one lungful of air than any other singer I could name. That wasn’t taught to her: she did it instinctively. That’s one of the things I have always really admired about her as a vocalist. Goodbye To Love is impressive...and then there’s this:

“I’ve ready every book
Looked for every meditation and poem
Just to bring home that old sweet sensation
But it ain’t no use to me
To try to get that feelin’ again”

I listened to see if the vocals were stitched together, or if any breaths were muted/removed, and it sounds like you're right... that is amazing and impressive that Karen was able to sing that whole bolded section in one breath. I've always liked this song. The guitar line on the above video is a bit clumsy though (sorry) but I do appreciate the creativity!

 

[cam89]

I believe she held a 19 or 21 second note in concert when she was goofing around with Doug Strawn....the other singer known to belt out long passages was her contemporary Barbra Streisand...

 

[newvillefan]

I believe she held a 19 or 21 second note in concert when she was goofing around with Doug Strawn

Yeah she did. But that was in a live concert environment, where you can take a gulp of air here and there. There’s no real emotion involved in holding the same note for that (equally impressive) length of time. On this work lead there’s no audible intake of breath before she goes for that three-line interpretation - and this is a slow ballad, which makes it even more impressive.

 

[cam89]

No, I know that....I just meant she could hold long notes by taking a deep breath....a lot of other singers noticed this about Karen and asked her about it....she just had this ability....also I guess RC knew where to put pauses in a song where she could take a breath....he knew her voice very well....but with what she did with Doug in concert reminds me of the ending of A PIECE OF SKY from Yentl where Barbra Streisand holds a 21 second note, I believe.....

 

[A&M Retro]

Yeah she did. But that was in a live concert environment, where you can take a gulp of air here and there. There’s no real emotion involved in holding the same note for that (equally impressive) length of time. On this work lead there’s no audible intake of breath before she goes for that three-line interpretation - and this is a slow ballad, which makes it even more impressive.

Agreed! Her breath control and intonation were both otherworldly.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I listened to see if the vocals were stitched together, or if any breaths were muted/removed, and it sounds like you're right... that is amazing and impressive that Karen was able to sing that whole bolded section in one breath. I've always liked this song. The guitar line on the above video is a bit clumsy though (sorry) but I do appreciate the creativity!

Agreed. The guitarist has no sense of time. He's very "floppy." He has a real thing for rushing and he does it often. He also blows it badly during the second verse - chord shapes and all. Still, the idea of this is nice and that he cared to do it at all speaks well of him; this just needed some better planning and more sympathetic accompaniment.

Ed