Harriet - (Singer with echoes of Karen Carpenter)*

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I don't know about the autotune...how can one tell for sure?

And she does sound sort of "Karen-like" at times (the key words here being "sort of" and "at times")...that "once in a lifetime, once in the world" rich, warm, uniquely resonant tonal quality is just not fully there...but, why would we expect it to be?

The intervals are far too precise. Also, Autotune has a sheen to it that’s really audible if you know what it sounds like. It’s almost a metallic edge and it’s definitely present here.

Ed

 

[Harry]

"Early Harriet" had more of the Karen sound. Here's the song that launched this thread years ago:

 

[JohnFB]

It's a lovely performance of a very appealing song - its not Karen, but it's really nice - but like a number of other well crafted songs I can think of it does make me wish longingly that Karen had recorded it - and this aspect of Karen's life is one of the saddest parts, both for us and for her. It's a heart breaker...

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

No disrespect to her as an artist but I couldn’t listen to an entire concert of hers, think I’d fall asleep.

I've gone back and listened to "Nothing Hurts Like You" and I think I get why you say this. Her phrasing is good and her tone is nice but I don't ever get the sense that she's involved with the tune all that much. She should sound..well...hurt. She's mostly singing pretty "matter of fact"-ly which likely isn't doing you any favors. A lyric like this needs more than she's giving it.

With my producer hat on, I'd have had her repeat the chorus again at the end and rephrase parts of it. I'd have also faded out with her ad-lib'ing rather than the cold ending we got. I might even have gone for the tried and true "modulate the last to choruses up a half-step" trick to ratchet up the drama a bit.

Ed

 

[JohnFB]

Ed - you wear your producer's hat well...

 

[newvillefan]

I've gone back and listened to "Nothing Hurts Like You" and I think I get why you say this. Her phrasing is good and her tone is nice but I don't ever get the sense that she's involved with the tune all that much. She should sound..well...hurt. She's mostly singing pretty "matter of fact"-ly which likely isn't doing you any favors. A lyric like this needs more than she's giving it.

You captured what I was trying to say Ed, but in a more eloquent way.

 

[Harry]

After that first song that we ever heard from Harriet, I bought some of her stuff, but largely agree that she doesn't come off as being involved in the songs she's singing. They are just nice-sounding, but really un-memorable. I've long-since fallen off of the Harriet train.

 

[JohnFB]

... I've long-since fallen off of the Harriet train.

Hope it didn't hurt...

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Parts of this are downright eerie. Here's your Karen...

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Okay, so I haven't been able to get this off my mind. Stupid producer mind. Anyway, I took about 15 minutes and worked this up. It's not the least bit convincing as when you speed up the voice, the pitch of it changes too and gets a little "chipmunk"-y. Still, this is the "half step up plus add 2nd chorus at the end for drama" approach. I did this kinda quickly so it's not perfect but the idea is there.

Man, I'd love a crack at fixing this track for her. There's a great song here and she just might have a great vocal in her if the producers forced her to reach inside herself to pull it out. I can just hear the liberties with the melody I'd have her take at the end. Nothing too ornamental or show-y but they would accentuate the emotion of what really is a very strong lyric (that she wrote, no less).



Ed

 

[Nemily]

Parts of this are downright eerie.

It really is a eerie. Especially in the phrasing and breath control. She's verify good. If she had just a slight deliberate pause in her timing, the way that Karen would wait until the very last fraction a second to deliver, that would seal the deal .

 

[JohnFB]

Parts of this are downright eerie. Here's your Karen...

...

Sorry, but I don't get the "eeries" here and I'm not convinced that we have our Karen here - she does a good job infusing some life into her rendition, but "being Karen" is a lot more than singing in the same vocal range - there are so many subtle differences in timbre or tonal quality that the differences make a difference - a big difference. If I had never heard Karen's version of this song and heard Harriet's "blind" (without knowing anything about her, including the comparisons to Karen) I never would have said: "Holy crap! Where in bloody hell did someone unearth this unknown, previously unheard recording by Karen Carpenter. This is astounding!"

 

[newvillefan]

If I had never heard Karen's version of this song and heard Harriet's "blind" (without knowing anything about her, including the comparisons to Karen) I never would have said: "Holy crap! Where in bloody hell did someone unearth this unknown, previously unheard recording by Karen Carpenter. This is astounding!"

And THAT is the difference. That is what stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard “Only Yesterday” when I was 16. I was obsessed from the very first moment.

 

[JohnFB]

And THAT is the difference. That is what stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard “Only Yesterday” when I was 16. I was obsessed from the very first moment.

ONLY YESTERDAY has the power to do that - especially the first two verses (the first minute of the song) when it's Karen mostly by herself, singing with bare accompaniment - one of the most compelling samples of That Voice in their entire catalog.

 

[Lynda]

Browsing through the forum this morning, I was surprised to come across this post because I have only come across Harriet recently (via Facebook groups). I am surprised her presence goes back to 2014!

 

[paul.ashurst]

Harriet performed a beautiful version of I Need to be in Love at her recent concert at the Arts Theatre in London