Touch me when we're Dancing (Live)

I don't know if I've ever shared this clip here but this reminds me of the TMWWD clip and the mix on the vocals. This one is much better, Richard's there for the backgrounds but not intrusively so.



Was Richard actually singing on that video? I was just listening to it on my laptop, and it sounded like the vocals and piano track were the tracks from the Yesterday Once More video, especially that tag at the end, it sounded like it came from the video on YOM just as the song was ending and then the next note heard would've been Burt Bacharach's version of "Close To You".
 
Thanks for sharing this newvillefan, I had not seen this. Whenever I have seen anything similar - where a much older Richard is playing/singing along with Karen's vocals - I cannot but imagine the emotions that run through Richard's head. In this clip he rarely looks at the images of Karen (it's possible those are green-screened and not even there for him to see, I guess).

You're welcome :). I do think the images are there on the screen, you can see the reflections on the floor.

Was Richard actually singing on that video? I was just listening to it on my laptop, and it sounded like the vocals and piano track were the tracks from the Yesterday Once More video, especially that tag at the end, it sounded like it came from the video on YOM just as the song was ending and then the next note heard would've been Burt Bacharach's version of "Close To You".

He is there but very low down in the mix.
 
Interesting, seems after a year or so after uncovering this video the initial excitement wore off...
Now in hindsight we can look at it critically to see it for what it is.
At first the idea of anything "new" is an amazing thought.

I think there's mix issues for sure. I hear more of that as an issue. That can be trouble with live recordings. Again the quality of the clip doesn't help. By now my ears have adjusted I guess that pitch doesn't jump out at me right away. You all have great ears! To the untrained ear you couldn't really tell.

When you hear "pitch problems" I think of American Idol audition phase. haha
Like this is on the mild end of that scale.

Perhaps there was something amiss with their monitors.
The delivery, as Karen lingers on notes longer than the studio version, makes it more interesting for a live performance almost, no? That there's still something alight inside her to make those artistic choices.

May sound strange... despite the negatives... it's still a very KC and RC performance.

She has a little dance going when she's "Daaahyincin'". ;P Reminds me of "My body keeps changing my mind" just because of her pronunciation. Lol
I just see Karen. Yes, vulnerable, but had to enjoy some part of it. Always did.
She was that type of person, determined and obviously she wanted to do the MIA tour and continue recording.

Also, that overdubbed section during the sax solo I found always had mix issues.
In the studio version I think it goes almost inaudible at a point because of the reverb.
Then in this version the mics obviously we're working properly or something happened.
The best I heard that section is in the isolated centre track from the SACD. They're really good vocals, but always feel buried on that single.
 
Here is a little better quality of a photo I may have posted before but can't remember, I thought it might be better to place it in this thread. If you look on page 2 of this thread, Stephen detailed a good itinerary of their schedule. I'm assuming from his list that this was from Oct 19th 1981 in Paris at the Numero Un show.

Billboard Jan 23, 1982
OPqXE3B.jpg
 
That's cute she has a glimmer in her eyes. ^__^

I believe her in that 1981 GMA interview when she said she enjoys who she is... as in she looks excited to get back to it.

How lucky they got to see the world.

Btw, that schedule looks pretty tiring to me, yet for them that was nothing compared to what they used to do. Still though.
 
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Here is a little better quality of a photo I may have posted before but can't remember, I thought it might be better to place it in this thread. If you look on page 2 of this thread, Stephen detailed a good itinerary of their schedule. I'm assuming from his list that this was from Oct 19th 1981 in Paris at the Numero Un show.

Billboard Jan 23, 1982
OPqXE3B.jpg
Quite frankly I don't like the frills Karen has on. It gives her that old grandma look, especially with the perm. I realize perms were a big thing in the 80's, but she doesn't look good in it.
 
^ With the needle-point and a love of tea... maybe she liked the whole Grandma thing? Lol
Takes away guess work as to what Grandma Karen would have been like then. haha
 
I thought maybe the perm was to hide possible hair loss. Though it's true, we did have big hair in the 80's.

Likewise, the frill could have been an attempt to detract from her obvious thinness.

We'll never know.
 
I thought maybe the perm was to hide possible hair loss. Though it's true, we did have big hair in the 80's. Likewise, the frill could have been an attempt to detract from her obvious thinness. We'll never know.
I think those are both possibilities. I remember reading at the time of the original screening of 'The Karen Carpenter Story' that Cynthia Gibb wore Karen's net wigs for her role. Up until that point, it had never crossed my mind that Karen wore wigs. Then, a couple of years ago, on a UK programme, it was said that an anorexic's hair sometimes falls out. Then it all added up. I think that if a person is also abusing different types of medication the way that Karen reportedly was, that would make hair loss more likely again.

Karen said on the Tonight Show in 1978 that recently before that, the producers of Star Parade in Germany chose several outfits for her. She joked that she thought they wanted her to wear them all at once. A check of Carpenters' 'Top of the World' and 'Sweet, Sweet Smile' on Star Parade, (YouTube), shows Karen looking healthy and normal weight. She might not have worn all the outfits at once, but she probably had padding under her gown to disguise her thinness, given that she was unbelievably underweight on most her her 1978 appearances, including the Tonight Show and the Christmas special. About the most unhealthy she ever looked was on The Bruce Forsyth Show in December, 1978. She looked so thin that you couldn't believe that she was standing up or alive, yet she sang beautifully, (live vocals).

It's a terrible shame that she was so self-destructive.
 
I thought maybe the perm was to hide possible hair loss. Though it's true, we did have big hair in the 80's.

Likewise, the frill could have been an attempt to detract from her obvious thinness.

We'll never know.

Karen wore hairpieces from the start of their career. many of the early publicity photos, showing her with really long hair, are actually pictures of what at the time were called " falls ".
 
I thought maybe the perm was to hide possible hair loss. Though it's true, we did have big hair in the 80's.

Likewise, the frill could have been an attempt to detract from her obvious thinness.

We'll never know.
She did wear a frill in the video for "From This Moment On", but her hair was done much better in that video, as she didn't look like a granny. She looked more like she was ready for a date.
 
First and second verse she's very slightly out on many notes. If you don't hear it, that's fine. I don't want to sit here and rip her to pieces over nuances because she's my favourite singer but they're there and in such contrast to almost all other live performances she ever gave. She was human and very ill when this was filmed. It's a miracle she sounded this good given her condition.
I hear those flat notes too. Still I love this performance because it was just so surprising to find a live version of this song. And the soul and the beauty of her voice are all still there . I wonder though, if those notes that sound slightly out to us are due to the tape deteriorating rather thaN Karen. You know when you watch an old tape and it runs slightly fast or slow in places and the audios sounds funny.
 
Karen wore hairpieces from the start of their career. many of the early publicity photos, showing her with really long hair, are actually pictures of what at the time were called " falls ".
Yup, there's one especially ghastly one she wore in the early '70s. I can't find the photo now, but she's sitting at the drums and has what looks like one of Princess Leia's cinnamon buns perched on top of her head. She looked so much better when she wore her hair naturally, but that was the style before long, straight hair took over.
 
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