Karen Carpenter Solo Sessions - Continued

[JohnFB]

Selected text and quotes from LEAD SISTER...Chapter 14 (1979), Part 1

Karen was unsure how long he [Richard] would need to stay in rehab and that sent her into a panic - Lucy O'Brien (LO)

It was okay for a little bit, but then I was anxious to get back to work. - Karen

Her comment shows only a passing regard for Richard's welfare... - LO

Karen's UK trip had empowered her with a sense of independence, so ... she took a more active role in Carpenters affairs...-LO

She was light and bouncy and fun. But, boy, she was thin. - Alan Oken, A & M Artist Development Dept.

With Richard in rehab, Karen decided to record her own solo album, an idea she had been considering for a while. She figured that didn't mean the end of the Carpenters as a band... - LO

Two weeks into his rehab Karen paid Richard a visit and broached the subject, telling him she wanted to make a solo album. He reacted with fury. - LO

Richard suggested that instead she needed to go to a specialist center like him and get treatment for her anorexia. LO

I don't have anorexia, I have colitis. - Karen

Her focus was now on recording her ambitious solo album and she was brimming with ideas. Initially there was a lot of support for the project - both Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss thought it was a good proposal...- LO

While Carpenter's record sales slowly declined, there was afeeling at the label that something else could be done with Karen's magical voice. - LO

Alpert suggested Phil Ramone as producer...Karen flew to New York on February 16 for further meetings [with Ramone] where they listened to songs and demos and discussed the musical direction of the album. - LO

She was very nervous about working separately from Richard, but knew this was her bid for musical freedom. All her close friends agreed. - LO

Doing something out of the family was important, a show of strength, of independence. - Olivia Newton-John

On May 1, Karen flew to New York...and began having production meetings with Ramone, whittling down the songs and planning a recording schedule. - LO

After two weeks Ramone and his girlfriend Karen Ichiuji ["Itchie"] suggested that Karen would be more at home staying in their large house...- LO

Our house became this big musical commune. - Itchie

When listening to demos with Ramone Karen would enthuse about disco, gravitating towards tracks that were explicit and sensual. - LO

Well, that's what I would really like to sing. - Karen [after listening to a song that was overtly sexual]

...she was strong-willed and forthright and never let the fact that she was a woman hold her back in her music, either as a vocalist or as a drummer. - LO

I was scared to death...I basically knew one producer, one arranger, one studio, one record company and that was it. - Karen

As an artist you wanna grow. Look at the Bee Gees. They were cookin', but had a cold spell...until they went to disco, and now they're hot as a pistol. - Karen

Ramone chose Joel's [Billy] backing band for Karen's solo sessions, because he liked their full-tilt exuberance. Fired up, with a brash, combative energy, drummer Liberty Devitto, guitarist Russell Javors and bassist Doug Stegmeyer...had been playing with Joel since the mid-1970s. They attended most of the sessions for Karen's solo album, which were packed into three weeks, recording basic tracks from 12 noon until 8 pm every day. - LO

We liked Karen a lot. She was extremely smart and a very good musician in her own right, and appreciative of what everyone did. - Rob Mounsey [arranger/songwriter]

...she didn't want us swearing, but her sense of humor was great. That's what surprised me. I thought we were going to get this stiff, conservative person, and all of a sudden it was like 'Oh my God, she's fantastic!' - Liberty Devitto

It was pretty insane [the energy and adrenaline in the studio] because we were recording [Billy Joel's album] "Glass Houses" at the same time. So, when Billy was writing songs we were recording with Karen. She was so great, just wanted to fit right in with us. She wanted to change her image, to go from squeaky-clean American apple pie persona to a grown up woman. - Liberty Devitto

To be continued...

 

[newvillefan]

As an artist you wanna grow. Look at the Bee Gees. They were cookin', but had a cold spell...until they went to disco, and now they're hot as a pistol. - Karen

I can only imagine what a 1979 album full of Gibb Brothers material, production and harmonies would have sounded like. A total missed opportunity.

They attended most of the sessions for Karen's solo album, which were packed into three weeks, recording basic tracks from 12 noon until 8 pm every day. - LO

Three weeks to lay down the basic backing tracks but almost 12 months to complete the vocals. I'm amazed A&M didn't push Karen and Phil to get it done sooner - and surprised Karen let the expenses pile up to the extent that they did. With Richard out of the picture and no Carpenters action on the horizon, what on earth was Karen doing all that time?

 

[Jack A.]

I can only imagine what a 1979 album full of Gibb Brothers material, production and harmonies would have sounded like. A total missed opportunity.

That would have been great...something like what they did with "Heartbreaker" for Dionne Warwick.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Maybe, but Bob James would probably have been better - I'm not sure what all he contributed to the Solo Album sessions - Phil's idea originally was to have him serve as a senior advisor/mentor for her during the recordings (according to O'Brien) - he had a long, distinguished background in jazz/smooth jazz/ fusion jazz including working with a lot of singers (he was an accompanist for the great Sarah Vaughn for awhile!) - but the hard, cold truth is that nobody would have made much difference - Karen was a shadow of herself vocally, was choosing her own songs (for good or Bad) and determined to sing in a new, sexier way - whatever the success of an album produced by someone else she had guaranteed through her mis-treatment of herself healthwise that there would never be another one.

I just can't agree with the picture you paint of Karen's vocals at that point. I think she still sounded really good. Was she slightly weakened? Maybe but the tone of her voice was virtually unchanged from where it had been. She was hardly ashes vocally. I also think her work on Rod Temperton's songs was astounding. To cut Rod out of it is to cut out his vocal arrangements and they were always great no matter who he worked with. As stated earlier, no shade to Bob James at all. He's exceptional and always has been. However, the album we have is far less interesting without Rod's input...and we don't have it without Phil Ramone. He's the link between Rod & Karen. As stated earlier, Phil produced "Hot Property" for the band Rod was in: Heatwave. Rod wrote nearly all the songs and did the vocal arrangements on it as usual.

She was doing all the things she couldn't do with Richard and she had to freedom to try each one. Any artist worth their salt should try to stretch their sound. If we wanted the sound of Carpenters, we could listen to Carpenters' records. The truth is that were "cold" commercially at this point so she had absolutely nothing to lose in having a little fun.

Ed

 

[Nemily]

Karen’s’s vocal styles and approaches changed and matured all through her career. It may not be to everyone’s liking however I for one, enjoyed all of the vocals through Now.

I give her a ton of credit for always being open to explore new depths and new possibilities artistically and allowing herself to further develop as an artist.

 

[Bartog739]

I can only imagine what a 1979 album full of Gibb Brothers material, production and harmonies would have sounded like. A total missed opportunity.



Three weeks to lay down the basic backing tracks but almost 12 months to complete the vocals. I'm amazed A&M didn't push Karen and Phil to get it done sooner - and surprised Karen let the expenses pile up to the extent that they did. With Richard out of the picture and no Carpenters action on the horizon, what on earth was Karen doing all that time?

Well said. I loved Little Girl Blue and I like the additional information about the solo sessions in Lead Sister but I still don't think there is a really good explanation for why the solo sessions took as long as they did even considering Glass Houses was also being recorded during this time. Would love to know more about this.

 

[Bartog739]

Selected text and quotes from LEAD SISTER...Chapter 14 (1979), Part 1

Karen was unsure how long he [Richard] would need to stay in rehab and that sent her into a panic - Lucy O'Brien (LO)

It was okay for a little bit, but then I was anxious to get back to work. - Karen

Her comment shows only a passing regard for Richard's welfare... - LO

Karen's UK trip had empowered her with a sense of independence, so ... she took a more active role in Carpenters affairs...-LO

She was light and bouncy and fun. But, boy, she was thin. - Alan Oken, A & M Artist Development Dept.

With Richard in rehab, Karen decided to record her own solo album, an idea she had been considering for a while. She figured that didn't mean the end of the Carpenters as a band... - LO

Two weeks into his rehab Karen paid Richard a visit and broached the subject, telling him she wanted to make a solo album. He reacted with fury. - LO

Richard suggested that instead she needed to go to a specialist center like him and get treatment for her anorexia. LO

I don't have anorexia, I have colitis. - Karen

Her focus was now on recording her ambitious solo album and she was brimming with ideas. Initially there was a lot of support for the project - both Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss thought it was a good proposal...- LO

While Carpenter's record sales slowly declined, there was afeeling at the label that something else could be done with Karen's magical voice. - LO

Alpert suggested Phil Ramone as producer...Karen flew to New York on February 16 for further meetings [with Ramone] where they listened to songs and demos and discussed the musical direction of the album. - LO

She was very nervous about working separately from Richard, but knew this was her bid for musical freedom. All her close friends agreed. - LO

Doing something out of the family was important, a show of strength, of independence. - Olivia Newton-John

On May 1, Karen flew to New York...and began having production meetings with Ramone, whittling down the songs and planning a recording schedule. - LO

After two weeks Ramone and his girlfriend Karen Ichiuji ["Itchie"] suggested that Karen would be more at home staying in their large house...- LO

Our house became this big musical commune. - Itchie

When listening to demos with Ramone Karen would enthuse about disco, gravitating towards tracks that were explicit and sensual. - LO

Well, that's what I would really like to sing. - Karen [after listening to a song that was overtly sexual]

...she was strong-willed and forthright and never let the fact that she was a woman hold her back in her music, either as a vocalist or as a drummer. - LO

I was scared to death...I basically knew one producer, one arranger, one studio, one record company and that was it. - Karen

As an artist you wanna grow. Look at the Bee Gees. They were cookin', but had a cold spell...until they went to disco, and now they're hot as a pistol. - Karen

Ramone chose Joel's [Billy] backing band for Karen's solo sessions, because he liked their full-tilt exuberance. Fired up, with a brash, combative energy, drummer Liberty Devitto, guitarist Russell Javors and bassist Doug Stegmeyer...had been playing with Joel since the mid-1970s. They attended most of the sessions for Karen's solo album, which were packed into three weeks, recording basic tracks from 12 noon until 8 pm every day. - LO

We liked Karen a lot. She was extremely smart and a very good musician in her own right, and appreciative of what everyone did. - Rob Mounsey [arranger/songwriter]

...she didn't want us swearing, but her sense of humor was great. That's what surprised me. I thought we were going to get this stiff, conservative person, and all of a sudden it was like 'Oh my God, she's fantastic!' - Liberty Devitto

It was pretty insane [the energy and adrenaline in the studio] because we were recording [Billy Joel's album] "Glass Houses" at the same time. So, when Billy was writing songs we were recording with Karen. She was so great, just wanted to fit right in with us. She wanted to change her image, to go from squeaky-clean American apple pie persona to a grown up woman. - Liberty Devitto

To be continued...

All due respect to Lucy O'Brien but I disagree that Karen's quote about being anxious to get back to work reflected a merely "passing" concern for Richard's welfare. Everything else indicates she loved him and cared about him through to the end. She's consistently been described as having been full of "nervous energy." This quote, while old news, is more consistent with the traditional descriptions of Karen's personality as far as I can tell.

 

[JohnFB]

I just can't agree with the picture you paint of Karen's vocals at that point. I think she still sounded really good. Was she slightly weakened? Maybe but the tone of her voice was virtually unchanged from where it had been. She was hardly ashes vocally.

I agree Ed that her vocals were good - what one could actually hear underneath the heavy accompaniment/orchestration - they couldn't have been bad if she had tried hard - but, that's faint praise - they were not in the same league or class as her clear, rich, warm, resonant - in a word, incomparable - voice of the early 70s - time and the negative effects of long term malnutrition had gradually taken it's toll...

She was doing all the things she couldn't do with Richard and she had to freedom to try each one. Any artist worth their salt should try to stretch their sound. If we wanted the sound of Carpenters, we could listen to Carpenters' records. The truth is that were "cold" commercially at this point so she had absolutely nothing to lose in having a little fun.

Ed

I fully agree with all that.

 

[Bartog739]

Karen’s’s vocal styles and approaches changed and matured all through her career. It may not be to everyone’s liking however I for one, enjoyed all of the vocals through Now.

I give her a ton of credit for always being open to explore new depths and new possibilities artistically and allowing herself to further develop as an artist.

I, too, can't hear any weakness in her singing. I know Richard initially stated (with regards to "Now") that "her vocals were as strong as ever" or something to that effect, but then reconsidered some time later to say "something was missing in the timbre."
Needless to say, Richard Carpenter is a far, far more reliable source of information than I am, as are many of you. Sometimes it's hard for me to even detect what has changed from one re-mix to another to be absolutely honest. I make this point as I figure I am a regular guy listener. Other "regular listeners" can't always detect subtle changes in things the way some others can. I love that she pushed herself to try new things as Nemily and others have shared. Her voice always sounds great to me.

 

[newvillefan]

Her voice always sounds great to me.

I hear a big difference between her voice even from 1981 to 1982. Richard is right, her voice was missing something by those last recording sessions. Tone, richness, silkiness...can't put my finger on it but I definitely hear it.

 

[Bartog739]

I need to figure out how to listen "differently," and somehow I may. Enough people say that this difference exists that I don't necessarily doubt it, I just haven't experienced it yet.

Like everyone else here I figure, her voice generates a profound emotional impact for me unlike any other singer I've ever heard. Thus some of the tracks on the solo album that are less popular here on the boards I still enjoy even though I can understand why others don't. As generalized as my listening skills might be, I can distinguish between, say "Superstar" and " All Because Of You." However, her sense of "I'm having fun" strongly comes across and I wind up enjoying it and enjoying her.

 

[Matthew S]

I hear a big difference between her voice even from 1981 to 1982. Richard is right, her voice was missing something by those last recording sessions. Tone, richness, silkiness...can't put my finger on it but I definitely hear it.

She was singing primarily in a higher part of her range which was new for her….as a predominant way of singing vs. occasionally venturing into that territory. It’s also been said before she sang very quietly and right up close into the mic. Add that to the higher vocal range that gives it a lighter, thinner sound. I was just listening to the album last night and kept thinking they needed to bring her voice up in the mix a little more, especially on the slower tunes. Plus…..stylistically and lyrically this was very new territory for her, and probably she felt a little more tentative about tackling it, as well as working with an entirely new set of people in entirely new surroundings. Enough to make anyone a little off their game I’d say. Being out of her comfort zone…. Nevertheless I enjoy the album for the most part except for the one tune.

 

[newvillefan]

I was just listening to the album last night and kept thinking they needed to bring her voice up in the mix a little more, especially on the slower tunes.

This is even true on more uptempo tracks like 'Lovelines'. I remember being disappointed when I first heard the solo album version, after being used to Richard's remix. In Phil Ramone's mix, she was barely audible in parts and the overall sound is very dry. Richard brought her vocal up in the mix and added some reverb, which really showcased how rich her voice was when she sang in her trademark lower range.

 

[Harry]

Agreed about Richard's mixes being superior to Phil Ramone's, and I have often wondered about his influence on the solo album and whether he was the right choice. But then again, Richard had a decade to work with Karen's voice. Phil had just a year.

Though I've often had sort-of negative things to say about both the solo album and the latter-day Carpenters albums, I still treasure each and every track. Maybe I don't listen to those as much, but it turns out to be a treat whenever I do. It's as though I don't want to "wear them out."

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I agree Ed that her vocals were good - what one could actually hear underneath the heavy accompaniment/orchestration - they couldn't have been bad if she had tried hard - but, that's faint praise - they were not in the same league or class as her clear, rich, warm, resonant - in a word, incomparable - voice of the early 70s - time and the negative effects of long term malnutrition had gradually taken it's toll...

When Richard got his hands on a few of those tunes and remixed them, he brought her vocals further forward...and it fixed all that. That wasn't about Karen's "weak" voice; that was a mixing issue. As @Harry said, Richard and associated individuals had years of knowledge of her voice to go on when it came to mixing her properly; Phil didn't even have a year. Her voice wouldn't totally weaken until "Now." She sounds beyond fragile there and coupled with a bad song, the direction they were headed in had she lived would have been totally underwhelming and who knows how much patience A&M would have had for its fading Pop act. On the solo record, I think she sounds mostly like her old amazing self.

Karen didn't need to try hard...but we know she did. Not only did she bear the weight of the leads, she also bore the weight of all of the background vocals. On each tune, she worked! We know she did on "If I Had You." That brilliant Rod Temperton vocal arrangement was hard work - even if the tune itself is a bit overrated among Karen fans. It's the one that sounds most like Carpenters which explains why it's Richard's favorite. Thankfully, she only did one of those and spent the rest of the record doing anything other than sounding like the Karen everyone was expecting.

Ed

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I hear a big difference between her voice even from 1981 to 1982. Richard is right, her voice was missing something by those last recording sessions. Tone, richness, silkiness...can't put my finger on it but I definitely hear it.

She was too weakened to sound good by 1982. That's the disease finally coming to roost on her voice. She'd held it at bay for many years but it finally came for her voice in 1982. She's not great in 1981 either, honestly. Richard went into "doubling overdrive" on that record and she sounds like a cog in a machine on most of that stuff. She just sounded...sick.

Ed

 

[Bartog739]

When Richard got his hands on a few of those tunes and remixed them, he brought her vocals further forward...and it fixed all that. That wasn't about Karen's "weak" voice; that was a mixing issue. As @Harry said, Richard and associated individuals had years of knowledge of her voice to go on when it came to mixing her properly; Phil didn't even have a year. Her voice wouldn't totally weaken until "Now." She sounds beyond fragile there and coupled with a bad song, the direction they were headed in had she lived would have been totally underwhelming and who knows how much patience A&M would have had for its fading Pop act. On the solo record, I think she sounds mostly like her old amazing self.

Karen didn't need to try hard...but we know she did. Not only did she bear the weight of the leads, she also bore the weight of all of the background vocals. On each tune, she worked! We know she did on "If I Had You." That brilliant Rod Temperton vocal arrangement was hard work - even if the tune itself is a bit overrated among Karen fans. It's the one that sounds most like Carpenters which explains why it's Richard's favorite. Thankfully, she only did one of those and spent the rest of the record doing anything other than sounding like the Karen everyone was expecting.

Ed

I sincerely appreciate your thoughts, as well as everyone else's but I don't think "If I Had You" sounds much like Carpenters, just my humble opinion. What does I think is " Something's Missing" from the unreleased tracks. I read somewhere on one of the solo album threads that Richard had wanted to do a Carpenters mix on that one but couldn't get the clearance from A&M for some reason, which is puzzling to me as I thought he had control over all that stuff. If anybody has mire information on that, that would be great. I haven't been able to track anything down specifically as to why. I definitely

I'm reading up on "timbre" in my efforts to listen differentlyrics as I mentioned above as Niw sounds great to me. I must admit timbre is kind of confusing to me. I've heard of it before and while new here I promise I'm not a total imbecile though I feel that way sometimes but it seems like timbre is "just that something" which I don't seem to be able to pick up or grasp very well. Richard Carpenter says it's weak in the song, "Now," you and others hear it too, I'm going to go ahead and accept that it is, though I won't describe it that way myself until I understand it better.

I still truly dig the song. I know it's her last one and I do wind up listening to it quite a bit, just as I do "If I Had You." I can certainly agree the backing vocals must have been quite a task and she was brilliant!

As my grand "listening" campagn shambles forward I can hear that the vocals are more "in front" as you described in the Carpenters versions that Richard did. They sound bolder or more pronounced somehow. Never even occurred to me to pay attention to something like that so you learned me good! I appreciate it!

 

[Bartog739]

I sincerely appreciate your thoughts, as well as everyone else's but I don't think "If I Had You" sounds much like Carpenters, just my humble opinion. What does I think is " Something's Missing" from the unreleased tracks. I read somewhere on one of the solo album threads that Richard had wanted to do a Carpenters mix on that one but couldn't get the clearance from A&M for some reason, which is puzzling to me as I thought he had control over all that stuff. If anybody has mire information on that, that would be great. I haven't been able to track anything down specifically as to why. I definitely

I'm reading up on "timbre" in my efforts to listen differentlyrics as I mentioned above as Niw sounds great to me. I must admit timbre is kind of confusing to me. I've heard of it before and while new here I promise I'm not a total imbecile though I feel that way sometimes but it seems like timbre is "just that something" which I don't seem to be able to pick up or grasp very well. Richard Carpenter says it's weak in the song, "Now," you and others hear it too, I'm going to go ahead and accept that it is, though I won't describe it that way myself until I understand it better.

I still truly dig the song. I know it's her last one and I do wind up listening to it quite a bit, just as I do "If I Had You." I can certainly agree the backing vocals must have been quite a task and she was brilliant!

As my grand "listening" campagn shambles forward I can hear that the vocals are more "in front" as you described in the Carpenters versions that Richard did. They sound bolder or more pronounced somehow. Never even occurred to me to pay attention to something like that so you learned me good! I appreciate it!

Sorry for all the typos above, meant to say I definitely would love more information on Richard perhaps not getting clearance on "Something's Missing," if at all true. Niw is Now obviously. Thanks all.

 

[John Adam]

Hi guys! Yes, that's the older video that I spruced up a bit and put on a new channel since the old channel is gone. It gives me the opportunity to upgrade some of the previous videos I had and upload some new ones in the future. Thanks, Bartog and Rick.

The ultimate Karen Carpenter, solo album tribute!

 

[John Adam]

Imagine me, back in a morning in 1996, picking up Karen's solo CD at the store and beginning my listening to it on the rest of the way to work.

I'd already heard "Lovelines" on the album of the same name, so I click the CD player to track 2, and I get "All Because Of You". Not an auspicious beginning at all, and a really poor choice of a song to include on the album, especially at the #2 position.

Plus we had been listening to the reworked versions of "If I Had You," "My Body Keeps Changing My Mind" and the edited version of "Lovelines" for a few years even before the solo album was ever released. I actually prefer these versions from Carpenters to the (original) Karen Carpenter album versions.

 

[JohnFB]

Karen didn't need to try hard...but we know she did. Not only did she bear the weight of the leads, she also bore the weight of all of the background vocals. On each tune, she worked! We know she did on "If I Had You." That brilliant Rod Temperton vocal arrangement was hard work - even if the tune itself is a bit overrated among Karen fans. It's the one that sounds most like Carpenters which explains why it's Richard's favorite. Thankfully, she only did one of those and spent the rest of the record doing anything other than sounding like the Karen everyone was expecting.

Ed

Ed - I didn't word this very well, but when I said that her vocals "couldn't have been bad if she tried hard" I didn't mean that she wasn't trying hard - I meant that she couldn't have ever made her vocals bad no matter how hard she tried to deliberately do so...sorry about the confusion.

I really like "If I Had You" - everything about it - except the heavy overlay of background vocals, especially at the end - for me it just goes on too long and is too complex - ideally for me it would have had a shorter, cleaner ending - like the one they used on "If We Try", the other stand out song on the album. Yes, it's amazing what she accomplished there, demonstrating what she was capable of doing vocally - but it's just too much of a good thing...

 

[JohnFB]

Part 2 - selected text and quotes from LEAD SISTER...Chapter 14 (1979)

On Joel's albums during that period Devitto played the drums with a crisp. pummeling attack, and took a similar approach in the sessions with Karen. - Lucy O'Brien [LO]

New York style drumming is very aggressive - we play a little bit ahead of the beat. - Liberty Devitto

We weren't the studio presence Karen grew up with. Phil said 'Let her be one of the guys. She's never really done this'. We treated her with our own brand of respect.I think she enjoyed being in that environment. - Russell Javors

She was a real musician who had antennae reaching in all direction. - Rob Mounsey

Many now believe these tracks [Rod Temperton's "Off the Wall" and "Rock With You"] could have been the hits to spectacularly launch Karen's solo career. Instead she went for the subtler soul sound of Temperton's tracks "Lovelines" and "If We Try". -LO

Ramone pushed for Karen to sing in different ways. On Javor's song "All Because of You" she had to sing such long, sustained soulful notes in a higher register that at one point she hyperventilated and had to breath into a paper bag. - LO

I was so proud her mother hated my lyrics. - Russell Javors

Devitto remembers one day in November she gave each of the musicians a copy of "Christmas Portrait" as a gift. - LO

Karen was dedicated to perfecting her work and insisted in getting the songs right in a way that felt authentic. - LO

Mounsey [Rob] noticed that Karen was demanding of herself, particularly when it came to vocal arrangements. - LO

...on this session it was just her. They're [ the arrangements] very striking because they're so unique to her sound. You hear other Karens come in, very tight and correct, like pretty shiny steel bars. She built those very carefully; it was all mapped out in her head. I worked with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and he did very much the same thing. - Rob Mounsey

Javors, likewise, was fascinated by the precision with which Karen tackled the new wave rock feel of his song "Still in Love With You". - LO

It was kind of raucous, so I thought 'Wow, how the hell is she going to do that?' - Russell Javors

What amazed me was I thought she'd have a big voice, but it was like a whisper...what came out was a pure, rich tone. Karen sang with her soul, but had such control. - Russell Javors

Karen trusted the musicians partly because Ramone cultivated a family atmosphere in the studio...Karen also felt safe and nurtured on an emotional level because Ramone's wife, "Itchie", was a constant companion, often sitting in studio sessions. - LO

Ramone warned arranger Bob James in advance that his role was to be "a kind of substitute Richard". - LO

I loved the challenge that Phil was putting in front of me, with a firmly established superstar talent. It was a very big deal and flattering to be asked. But, what could I possibly come up with? There was so much history and baggage. - Bob James

Karen had such an appreciation for drums and instrumental support. She had the jazz feel, no question. - Bob James

In New York, Karen could draw on her experience of singing with one of the great divas [Ella Fitzgerald] but with James she seemed a little overawed, and conversation was minimal. - LO

Phil and I were there as her support system, to give her the opportunity to do her own thing, but we didn't necessarily know what her own thing would be. - Bob James

Most musicians undervalue their own talent and Karen had some of that insecurity too, not believing or understanding what made her voice so magical. It was probably mysterious to her. 'Why am I such a big star?' - Bob James

After they shelved her album, A&M rallied around and coaxed Karen back into the studio with Richard, as if the solo outing had just been an embarrassing mistake. - LO

Karen is the star...she's the lead singer and the featured part of the act. - Richard

She could have done a number of records with Phil. I think she was beginning to free herself. But she was not free - she had one foot in the Carpenters and one foot in the new Karen Carpenter. - Tom Bahler

It would have taken Karen a great deal of strength to resist her family and stand her ground as a solo artist. - LO

But I think in that family she was swimming upstream. No, she was swimming up a waterfall. - Tom Bahler

 

[JohnFB]

She was singing primarily in a higher part of her range which was new for her….as a predominant way of singing vs. occasionally venturing into that territory. It’s also been said before she sang very quietly and right up close into the mic. Add that to the higher vocal range that gives it a lighter, thinner sound. I was just listening to the album last night and kept thinking they needed to bring her voice up in the mix a little more, especially on the slower tunes...

This could have been part of the problem with the quality of her vocal performance during these sessions...combined with the aging and malnutrition deleterious effects. Acting together they probably created a really difficult challenge for even her phenomenal singing abilities...she was no longer down deep in her basement mining gold...

 

[byline]

One of the things I love about Karen's voice is that, even though I know she was a perfectionist working hard to get it right, her voice almost always sounded so natural. Karen famously noted that she did not work to produce the sound of her voice; it just came out that way. Yet clearly she gave a lot of thought to phrasing and diction. For the most part I did not hear the wheels turning. Until, that is, later in her career, when it seemed to me that her diction became so much more obviously mannered.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

Many now believe these tracks [Rod Temperton's "Off the Wall" and "Rock With You"] could have been the hits to spectacularly launch Karen's solo career. Instead she went for the subtler soul sound of Temperton's tracks "Lovelines" and "If We Try". -LO

Gotta disagree here. I don't think Karen had "Rock with You" in her. She's the single best female Pop singer ever but "Rock with You"?? Nah. Michael Jackson was totally the right person for that song. However, she was right for "Lovelines" and "If We Try."

Ed