Uh - I have to get into a serious mood here

[Jack A.]

Anyone else know what exactly this was about? I read in The Musical Legacy that Karen said it just before recording “Make Believe It’s Your First Time,” (hence why it’s at the beginning of that song), but what exactly made Richard decide to include it, along with the cheek-tapping thingy right after? It just seems kind of out of place to me, so wasn’t sure what his reason was.

Also, there’s an echo effect on that spoken part, then Karen’s lead comes in sounding totally different, making it sound like it’s from a different take - even though it must have been the same take since MBIYFT is a work lead.

 

[kprather]

Speaking completely out my you-know-what, but here's my take:

Richard probably left it in because it reminded him of the fun times spent by him and Karen in the studio. If the track had not been released posthumously, I bet it wouldn't have been included.

As for the echo, I'm guessing she was standing away from the mic when she said it.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I think it may have been a bit of a nod to those fans who keep hounding him to release every last thing Karen ever recorded, whether it is release-worthy or not. It was a way of saying "As you can tell, we really are down to the bottom of the bucket here."

 

[Jack A.]

Richard probably left it in because it reminded him of the fun times spent by him and Karen in the studio. If the track had not been released posthumously, I bet it wouldn't have been included.

Yeah it probably wouldn’t have. I suppose it’s like the ending of the posthumous single release of “Let Me Be The One” - just meant to show Karen’s more humorous side, and as Mike mentioned, to satisfy fans constantly wanting to hear new stuff, even if it’s not actual music.

 

[kprather]

I think it may have been a bit of a nod to those fans who keep hounding him to release every last thing Karen ever recorded, whether it is release-worthy or not. It was a way of saying "As you can tell, we really are down to the bottom of the bucket here."

Was Richard getting hounded like this as early as 1983 though?

 

[newvillefan]

t was a way of saying "As you can tell, we really are down to the bottom of the bucket here."

In 1983 they weren’t at the bottom of the bucket though, there were still three more albums of material left to come plus a box set with a further 20+ unreleased tracks.

 

[3Favorites]

I personally love this song. I think it's top of the barrel. And I think the inclusion of the spoken aside was rather charming. Like they were joking and then she had to get in the mood to sing the song. I wonder if she wasn't a tad resentful since the was one of the songs from her solo album that had been shelved. I prefer this version over the other though. Very pretty. I like pretty.

 

[WYBIMLA]

It probably wasn't that deep of any meaning behind it. Richard's talked before how sometimes fans can read into a song too much or choices made on an album when it doesn't have any sort of meaning, theory or opinion behind it.

I appreciate something like this from a duo known to be perfectionists, and generally don't offer as many demos/outtakes/studio chatter/unreleased materials as other artists do. So, I won't question it. Lol

It might've made more sense had he included bits like this elsewhere throughout the VOTH album. That makes the humorous "I have to get into a serious mood here" stick out more than others because it kinda makes you think "where's the rest of the studio chatter?"

Perhaps had there been more of these little vignettes of Karen talking at the start of a few more songs it might've made it less noticeable. I don't know.
Sometimes artists make these kinds of decisions on a whim. When you get to think of it too much then it destroys the idea all together. The fact that this little clip of Karen talking survived is a good thing.

Likely this was simply Richard going through tapes for material, at that time. He found that audio clip as just part of the sessions, and happened to be a memorable inside joke between KC & RC. Must've been something that had gotten around the studio because executives would have had to approve use of it too.

It's a reminder of the lighter side of Karen Carpenter, and more of the innocence associated with her rather than sultry ideas.
That might be what gave it the go ahead.
It makes sense for a brother/sister duo to remind you of silliness before Make Believe Its Your First Time.

Subconscious choice perhaps on Richard's part and that of A & M, but it turned good in the end because it's to remind listeners that this is simply a pleasant, decent duo singing fine, lovely music. Not much more or less than that.

So, it probably wasn't supped to add any confusion and meant more to keep people from reading too much into stuff or searching for some grand meaning in the albums and choices made. It reminds you that Karen simply enjoyed making music, loved recording and she'd have loved fans to hear this one.

The thing with adding too much of the chatter and such is that perhaps those tapes contain inside jokes and things like that between the two of them. If he added any more, then it may not make any sense to a general public. The cheek tapping thing has a story to it and might've been one of the more relatable behind-the-scenes pieces that they had on tape.

Otherwise, what they have probably is things like Karen saying "that was good" at the end of a take or saying "don't forget the break." Likely more of the verbalization of notes they had written down rather than saying anything about the type of person she was.

I would bet that there is more studio chatter, but likely it's more of KC and RC asking for another take or adjustment to the tempo or something of that nature. Both KC and RC worked almost telepathically as well, so there may not be as much chatter as we'd like to think. The fact we don't have as many clips is a credit to the idea that they didn't necessarily do a lot of talking, but were on the same wave length and steadily working in studio.

Also, when you love somebody like Richard did with his sister, best friend and business partner Karen, then you do what you can to protect the person you love and keep some of those memories for yourself. Richard has every right to do that and fans can be grateful he provided a few things here and there for us.

 

[newvillefan]

The thing I’ve always noticed about that little vocal snippet is that Karen’s voice sounds really muffled, as if she’s got a mouth full of cotton wool. Mystifies me why it was ever included because the audio quality of the recording is very poor.

 

[WYBIMLA]

The thing I’ve always noticed about that little vocal snippet is that Karen’s voice sounds really muffled, as if she’s got a mouth full of cotton wool. Mystifies me why it was ever included because the audio quality of the recording is very poor.

Lol Indeed. I think she already had her cheek in her fingers and that's what gave her speaking voice that sound. Then went into the tapping after.
Probably was standing further away from the microphone as well.

Still better sound quality than some Zoom calls I've had. Haha Better than the tinny speakers on phones these days. As time has gone on, I think people have become more forgiving of poorer audio quality and muffled voices. Just about anything goes now.

I've heard worse audio on broadcast TV and even Film where I can't hear what the persons saying at all. This is recent stuff too.
At least we can all still make out what she is saying.


Compared to the 'quantity over quality' rule of today I find this to not that bad. It's almost like YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels before there was such a thing. Just a short little meme from The Carpenters. Haha Lol
Doesn't bother me at this point. I'll take KC cheek tapping over some of the things I've heard going on now.

 

[Harry]

The thing I’ve always noticed about that little vocal snippet is that Karen’s voice sounds really muffled, as if she’s got a mouth full of cotton wool. Mystifies me why it was ever included because the audio quality of the recording is very poor.

Heh! You think Richard might remix it someday?

 

[Chris May]

It was nothing more than Karen being Karen—that is, silly and trying to get into the proper headspace in order to deliver the lyric she was about to sing.

The lead vocal track had a reverb effects loop assigned to it, and since that spoken outtake preceded the lead on said track, you’re hearing the reverb as Karen makes the remark, followed by the tap dance effect with her cheek slightly off mic.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I personally love this song. I think it's top of the barrel. And I think the inclusion of the spoken aside was rather charming. Like they were joking and then she had to get in the mood to sing the song. I wonder if she wasn't a tad resentful since the was one of the songs from her solo album that had been shelved. I prefer this version over the other though. Very pretty. I like pretty.

Yeah, I think it was just a fun little thing Richard decided to include because it was fun. That’s likely it.

Ed

 

[Randy M]

I find studio chatter and "1, 2, 3, and 4" annoying. It's cute the first 100 times I hear it, then it grates on my nerves. Who prefers the oldies on Now & Then without the DJ blathering on The Readers Digest collection?

 

[newvillefan]

Who prefers the oldies on Now & Then without the DJ blathering on The Readers Digest collection?

Me, definitely. I can still remember the first time I heard them separated and without the DJ patter. I think it was on the Time Life collection or one of the other multi-disc anthologies.

 

[Randy M]

Karen saying "Don't forget the break" in Last One Singin' The Blues makes me think she didn't have confidence in the players. I know it was a work lead and not the final product. I like the song as is, but my mind focuses on that interruption instead of the song.

 

[Randy M]

Me, definitely. I can still remember the first time I heard them separated and without the DJ patter. I think it was on the Time Life collection or one of the other multi-disc anthologies.

Oddly enough, it is The Readers Digest.

 

[Chris May]

Karen saying "Don't forget the break" in Last One Singin' The Blues makes me think she didn't have confidence in the players. I know it was a work lead and not the final product. I like the song as is, but my mind focuses on that interruption instead of the song.

The reason she did this is because they worked this stuff out together live while rehearsing and cutting various takes. It's likely she was reminding them of the revision they'd made during a practice run, where it was decided they would break. She was as much a part of the band as she was the lead singer, so this wasn't an issue of confidence generally speaking.

 

[1979lee]

love kc,her 1979-80 LP is a fav of mine,here we are 26 years on. i still remember skipping class going to buy the cdoct 8 1996.

 

[Richard’s namesake]

Anyone else know what exactly this was about? I read in The Musical Legacy that Karen said it just before recording “Make Believe It’s Your First Time,” (hence why it’s at the beginning of that song), but what exactly made Richard decide to include it, along with the cheek-tapping thingy right after? It just seems kind of out of place to me, so wasn’t sure what his reason was.

Also, there’s an echo effect on that spoken part, then Karen’s lead comes in sounding totally different, making it sound like it’s from a different take - even though it must have been the same take since MBIYFT is a work lead.

I’ve always thought that Richard included it for the sake of having Karen’s “normal” voice on the record, maybe because it’s also slightly humorous? I think that Jeff Lynne did the same thing with George Harrison on his posthumous album.

 

[Bartog739]

I absolutely love hearing her voice, regardless of setting. I prefer the solo album mix sans choir but listen to this one often just for her spoken word and cheek thing intro.