Karen Carpenter "Karen Carpenter" (1996)

Karen Carpenter [debut]

release date: Sep. 11, 1996

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]

producer: Phil Ramone

label: A&M Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Lovelines" (4 / 5) - 3. "If I Had You" - 4. "Making Love in the Afternoon" - 5. "If We Try" - 6. "Remember When Lovin' Took All Night" - 9. "Make Believe It's Your First Time" - 11. "Still Crazy After All These Years" - 12. "Last One Singin' the Blues" (bonus track)

Studio debut and only album by Karen Carpenter recorded and mixed in between albums with the Carpenters. In the chronology of the duo, the album stands in between Christmas Portrait (1978) and Made in America (1981), the duo's ninth and tenth albums and recorded at a time when Richard Carpenter went through treatment for substance addiction. With Richard being indisposed, Karen was curious to see if she could do something as a solo artist and A&M Records were in support of the idea. That is, until executives (and brother Richard) listened to the final mix of the album and the management then decided to shelve the album - naturally, to Karen's regret. Alledgedly, they found it missing something. Or: they had their minds up for something else. Karen didn't experience the album release, which wasn't approved of until 1996. In the liner notes, both Richard Carpenter and producer Phil Ramone recount a few of the details about the recordings as well as their wish to see the album released the way it had been mixed in 1980. Track #9 was soon re-recorded but first found its way to the final album by the Carpenters Voice of the Heart (Oct. 1983), and four other songs (tracks #1, #3, #5, and #6) were all included on the thirteenth studio album Lovelines (Oct. 1989), posthumously issued after Karen's passing - Richard had assembled previously unreleased songs for the occasion. Two songs (tracks #8 and #11) later found their way to the compilation album From the Top (1991). All of this documents the weight of this album, although, key people thought otherwise back in the day.

To me, the album is like a rough diamond. It's full of great tracks with Karen's wonderful vocal making everything more delightful. Yes, there are attempts of making this sound more like other contemporary artists as contrary to the Carpenters' unique sound but I think, Ramone did a mighty fine job. Some tracks have a certain otherness - misinterpreted as Karen's detachment, or missing involvement. I think, mainly due to her approach to singing other people's songs. "Lovelines" is up there among the absolute best tracks by the duo, and it's only confusing why record label executives weren't able to see this as pure gold. The only explanation is that they had their minds set on 'something else' than what they already had and this was too close to that.

With Karen Carpenter we're blessed by the existence of unique recordings, although, in 1996 they appear as somewhat out of time. But only somewhat 'cause Karen's vocal will sell sand in the Sahara and everyone should know that.

Recommended.

Carpenters "The Singles 1969-1973" (1973)

The Singles 1969-1973 (compilation)
release date: Nov. 9, 1973
format: vinyl (1991 reissue) / cd (2014 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Richard Carpenter
label: A&M Records - nationality: USA

Compilation of 12 singles by the brother-sister duo the Carpenters - older sister Karen (1950 - 83) and Richard (born 1946) - released over a four year period is an amazing quality collection of baroque pop songs. The album was released after the duo had issued 5 studio albums of a total of 11. Five yearsfollowing this one, a compilation sequel was issued titled The Singles 1974-1978 (Nov. 1978), which is another nice to have album.
I vividly recall listening to the Carpenters in my pre-teen years. They were among the most frequently played international artists on national radio alongside Sinatra, The Beatles, and Elvis Presley. I didn't know of any of their full albums but many of these songs were part of a preferred musical selection from very early on and just listening to Karen's singing voice makes me remember the house of my childhood.
I also recall how the duo in a way divided people. Everyone would acknowledge the qualities of their original sound and yet, somehow they sort of represented anything else than contemporary trends and still didn't belong to a classic line-up with the aforementioned stars, and although the Carpenters started out later than The Beatles, the American duo appealed more to an older generation. There was something innocent and safe about the Carpenters that put them on the same pop scene with Simon & Garfunkel, Dusty Springfield, Bee Gees, The Osmonds, and John Denver, and all of that wasn't part of the fast evolving rock-scene that grew in various directions, appealing more to younger generations; however, music by the Carpenters had a distinct and unquestionable quality stamp to whatever they produced. The duo didn't start at the top - in fact its debut album was basically unnoticed - but they quickly became a household name, and already the second album out Close to You (Aug. 1971) made it to number #2 on the Billboard 200 in the US (number #1 in Canada). Then followed three albums that all made it to top-5, securing a spot as one of the best known American acts. The duo's sixth album Horizon (Jun. 1975) 'only' peaked at number #13, still sellling Platinum but with the seventh studio album A Kind of Hush (Jun. 1976), which peaked at number #33, the duo experienced its first dissapointing sales numbers and a decline from top of the business was slowly initiated. Their final four albums all performed outside top-40, and the 11th album Voice of the Heart (Oct. 1983) was released after the death of Karen Carpenter - and although two more studio albums were released, the last in 1989, the '83-album stands as the formal finale (Richard released another Christmas album in 1984 and the '89-album based on outtakes and alternate recordings).
After having purchased The Singles 1969-1973 I have come across all of the duo's many studio releases, and what really strikes me is how persistent the high musical quality is listening to the debut from 1969 and all through to the '83 album. Richard's arrangements, not forgetting he's a fine vocalist, actually, are in the league of Burt Bacharach but the super-natural and utmost remarkable quality of the duo are Karen's vocal performances. And then people typically forget that she was often credited as drummer on their albums. But that voice. She sang with such ease and original colour and it lifted any song - be it cheerful and happy-go-lucky ones, or ballads, melancholic, sad ones and even vocal jazz standards were enriched with delicacy. It was something... unfathomable.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Not this particular album as such, but the Carpenters plays a big part of my earliest music memories that wasn't purely children's songs.

👉 Another one from that earliest stage.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.