Solo Album and Single Success

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By the way, when I saw the solo album at A&M, THIS PHOTO (with an extended sofa)

43391660475_30b6cc548c_o.jpg


Was the flip side of this what Chris bought on eBay. In the lavender, rose, and blue colors above, of course.
He (Doug Haverty, I think was his name,) opened up the single gatefold album to reveal this shot. FYI, I was with Jon Konjoyan from A&M, (a very nice man) after a brief lunch with he and Billboard writer Paul Grein (another nice man).

One More Thought- I think the A&M folks got the art direction and photos right - in the original above colors- to match the flavor of the music inside.
 
I know Harry corrected this photo a while back but I just took a high res scan of this photo from the Mook Book a while ago and remembered I still had the high res scan in my KC Solo folder. If you have the Mook book you will see that unfortunately this photo overlaps just slightly on top of the lattice fence from her wedding photo (it appears in a tiny part at the bottom of the chair.

So I just opened the photo and tried to keep the high res but also adjust that portion of the overlap so it's a cleaner photo. Here is the results.
I love this photo and think it really compliments the songs off her album.

Lknr4rd.jpg
 
This article published in 1996 also added that Karen choose the white sweatshirt for the cover album. I’m now thinking that since Itchie Ramone was interviewed for this article that it’s possible they got that info from the picture of Itchie holding the signed cover for Karen that appears in the ET video. I’m guessing but maybe the writer of this NY times article saw that cover from Itchie and assumed that was the cover without actually asking Itchie if this was the cover to be or just a thank you from Karen.

Some strong take aways from this article:

Karen Carpenter's Second Life

“THIS WASN'T JUST AN ALBUM,'' SAYS FRENDA Franklin, who was Karen's best friend. ''It was her Emancipation Proclamation.''

“Ramone sees it differently. ''I didn't feel like her mentor,'' he says. ''There wasn't one part of this album that she wasn't involved in, when she didn't have the reins.'' It was Karen, who had often been photographed with Richard in a matching outfit, who encouraged the glam photo sessions for the album cover. When she saw the proofs of one shot, which showed her elegantly coiffed and made up and wearing an oversize white sweatshirt (a precursor of the ''Flashdance'' look), she ran to Ichiuji in a rare outburst of self-worth. ''Look at me, Itch,'' she said. ''I'm pretty. I'm really pretty.''

Thanks for quoting that article. I always loved that portion, especially since it includes Karen's touching reaction to seeing the photos.
As for the line about her choosing the white sweatshirt pose for the cover, I too felt that it was an assumption or generalization on the writer's part. It was never mentioned anywhere else and Phil Ramone once said in an online interview years ago that the jacket leaning over the chair was the original cover.
 
By the way, when I saw the solo album at A&M, THIS PHOTO (with an extended sofa)

43391660475_30b6cc548c_o.jpg


Was the flip side of this what Chris bought on eBay. In the lavender, rose, and blue colors above, of course.
He (Doug Haverty, I think was his name,) opened up the single gatefold album to reveal this shot. FYI, I was with Jon Konjoyan from A&M, (a very nice man) after a brief lunch with he and Billboard writer Paul Grein (another nice man).

One More Thought- I think the A&M folks got the art direction and photos right - in the original above colors- to match the flavor of the music inside.

How beautiful that must have been, Mark. To think of a gatefold with that lovely picture of her lounging on the chair inside. That must have been a magic moment for you to be there and see such a treasure. I love the coloring treatment on the above photo. Just beautiful.
 
Yes, honestly, my heart was racing to see it. It’s one time I really wanted to steal something. So you can imagine my disappointment when I saw the 1996 version...
 
How beautiful that must have been, Mark. To think of a gatefold with that lovely picture of her lounging on the chair inside. That must have been a magic moment for you to be there and see such a treasure. I love the coloring treatment on the above photo. Just beautiful.

This image appeared coloured like this in the 1984 Yesterday Once More gatefold sleeve didn't it? If so, it does suggest that this colouration scheme might have been used for the cover image as well rather than the much more drab version that ended up on there, which doesn't go well alongside this image at all.

Incidentally, has anyone seen the original photo that was used on the back cover? I don't think I've ever seen the untreated version of this.
 
By the way, when I saw the solo album at A&M, THIS PHOTO (with an extended sofa)

43391660475_30b6cc548c_o.jpg


Was the flip side of this what Chris bought on eBay. In the lavender, rose, and blue colors above, of course.
He (Doug Haverty, I think was his name,) opened up the single gatefold album to reveal this shot. FYI, I was with Jon Konjoyan from A&M, (a very nice man) after a brief lunch with he and Billboard writer Paul Grein (another nice man).

One More Thought- I think the A&M folks got the art direction and photos right - in the original above colors- to match the flavor of the music inside.
I think this is one of the better photos from the solo photo shoot. I also like the colour treatment. This would have made a good cover shot for the album. I like this cropped version better than the longer photo.
 
Well, it was a style choice. It looks more artsy. I'm sure they were doing what they thought was best for Karen by giving her a treatment that they saw as a modern edgy look to the design, but yes, I agree that it's kind of sad that her photos weren't kept closer to their original form as she was so gorgeous

I agree. I think it was still known as “commercial art” in those days. It was the job of the art director to make the product most eye-catching and salable. Similarly, the hired photographer and stylist did their job(s) to make the product most attractive, sexier and, therefore, more salable. Like it or not, KC was the “product” in this case; and she understood that as much as those who were helping her. She wanted a hit.
 
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It reminds of Anni-Frida's album where they did it in a. similar way....so albums were kind of done around that time and for a few years after...where they drew or colonized photos....

Very good comparison. The inner sleeve photo of a presumably unretouched, more mature-looking Frida was a bit jarring compared to the “softened” cover treatment. This is an excellent example of how the art director made it more attractive and commercially salable for record store shelves.
 
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Absolutely stunning photo! Great to see this original shot with the extended sofa again after so long, and in a better size and resolution. A tiny version of it appeared in the CD insert booklet for Only Yesterday: Their Greatest Hits in the UK in 1990. Even on the LP sleeve of the album it still wasn't very big. I always wondered what a fuller size version of it would look like and this doesn't disappoint. I might even get this blown up and framed for my wall at home.

Could any of our talented forum members colourise this in the same way as it was seen inside the album jacket mock up, similar to the square photo at the top of this page? :)
 
Could any of our talented forum members colourise this in the same way as it was seen inside the album jacket mock up, similar to the square photo at the top of this page? :)
It can be done but it’s time consuming and I’m not sure I know how exactly but you can use a tool to loop around her outfit and then drop the exact color taken from another photo since we know what her outfit color was exactly, the same could be done for the chair. Anyone can colorize it but that will color the whole photo and that is not what we are looking for.
 
Photographer Claude Mougin is really good at what he does! Here's two classic shots, one of them just for you, Rick...


It was as a result of seeing the album artwork for Olivia’s Totally Hot album that Karen asked for Claude Mougin to do the photo session for her own album.

Lots of the shots were used on subsequent single release covers including the picture discs. They probably would have done the same with singles from Karen’s own album.

A.-Front8.jpg


C.-7-Pic-Disc.jpg
 
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It is a nice picture but she does not look 29 in it. She looks at least 10 years older. Maybe that’s why they treated it with the filter used on the CD.
 
It is a nice picture but she does not look 29 in it. She looks at least 10 years older. Maybe that’s why they treated it with the filter used on the CD.

There’s always been something about this photo that’s not sat right with me. She looks beautiful but I think that’s it: no way does she look 29 years old in that picture Rick posted above. As you say, she looks closer to 40. The way they styled her hair between one photo session and another makes a big difference. In this sofa photo it makes her look older than she is, but in the other shots of her wearing the red jacket, she looks completely different. In those pictures, she does look 29. Are we sure all these photos were done in one sitting on one day? It doesn’t look like they were to me.

It also really made me think, if all had been well with them in their career during the seventies, maybe this is what she might have looked like at 40, if she’d released a new solo album in 1990. Imagine how she’d look like now, at 68?
 
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I couldn't find any other thread about Karen's album on the forum that hasn't been locked, so this is as good a place as any to post a couple of questions. (I also find it hard to believe that this thread has also been locked, since it's an official album thread and the content is hardly scandalous).

Anyway, I caught my eye on a particular part of the solo album liner notes that includes the following information (lifted online from here):

Remixed by Phil Ramone & Jim Boyer
Originally Mastered at Sterling Sound by Ted Jensen
Mastered at A&M Mastering Studios by Dave Collins


Question 1: I'm assuming "Remixed by Phil Ramone & Jim Boyer" means in 1996, but this directly contradicts the earlier comment by Phil in the same liner notes that he had "not remixed or done anything to the tapes. These mixes, the material and style are the way Karen approved them". Does anyone know what the story is there? What exactly was remixed by Phil and why?

Question 2: If the album wasn't remixed or retouched in any way, why was it mastered twice? Sterling Sound was located in New York, which is where the first master was done in 1980 (further proof the album was "complete").

Also, I found these images on the Recording Resource, which I've never seen before. Does anyone own this super rare promotional “wallet” version of the CD?

xKarenCarpenterPromoFront.jpg.pagespeed.ic.e8cjPbfN2h.webp
xKarenCarpenterPromoBack.jpg.pagespeed.ic.K33CPXX2BW.webp
 
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I have that cover. It’s for the unreleased tracks that never came out. Most Carpenters fans have it in some form or another. I know others on hers own a copy. Bootlegs aren’t my thing, but it was a must have, to hear what we may never get as an official release. I bought mine back in the late 90’s. We can only hope that Richard will give them their proper due someday.
 
I couldn't find any other thread about Karen's album on the forum that hasn't been locked, so this is as good a place as any to post a couple of questions. (I also find it hard to believe that this thread has also been locked, since it's an official album thread and the content is hardly scandalous).


xKarenCarpenterPromoFront.jpg.pagespeed.ic.e8cjPbfN2h.webp
xKarenCarpenterPromoBack.jpg.pagespeed.ic.K33CPXX2BW.webp

Hear, hear.

As to your question, I do not know but am also intrigued now. Someone here will know that answer, doubtless.
 
I have that cover. It’s for the unreleased tracks that never came out. Most Carpenters fans have it in some form or another. I know others on hers own a copy. Bootlegs aren’t my thing, but it was a must have, to hear what we may never get as an official release. I bought mine back in the late 90’s. We can only hope that Richard will give them their proper due someday.

Not sure what you mean - the images posted are from an official promotional item for the album as released in 1996.
 
Right. I saw that. The one I have has the same cover pic, but the songs on the cd are the rest of the solo album cuts that were never released. I’ve never seen the original cuts with that cover. It’s a nice collectors item for sure. Must be very rare.
Interesting that the picture you posted has disappeared already.
 
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