If you are Carpenter fan, this is a must have CD. By the time it was released in 1996 it was a bit dated (definitely a late 70s / early 80s sound), but it is fun listening to Karen in a slightly different setting than the normal Carpenters arrangements. A solid first effort considering what a change it must have been for her to be going it alone. One can only imagine the success she could have continued to have as an artist. Such a sad ending for an incredible talent.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Karen Carpenter's voice is just magical when it is shaped by Richard. This album excluded Richard and it shows...There are glimpses of her beautiful voice but the arrangements are junk and doesn't highlight her quality. I'm glad I have the CD but more for show than to listen to. It's a little painful given my love of the Carpenters but now I understand that while Karen had the voice, Richard had the sound and the quality.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
In 1979, Richard Carpenter was hooked on quaaludes and submitted himself to the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, to rid himself of the additction. He would take over a year off from music and the Carpenters. Rather than remain idle during this time, Karen Carpenter decided to make a solo album, and chose the accomplished New York producer, Phil Ramone, to guide her through it. This was a startling break for Karen, who had never made a single record with anyone but Richard. The album took over a year to make and the "sound" of Karen Carpenter singing solo is quite different than her previous songs with Richard. Richard Carpenter learned to make multi-track overdubbings from listening to his favorite childhood recording duo, Les and Mary Paul, and he used the overdubbing technique to give the Carpenter sound its rich distictive quality. There is very little of that in the Karen Carpenter solo album, and hearing Karen sing to a simple musical accompaniment is very different indeed. So different in fact that Richard Carpenter, Herb Alpert, and the A&M recording label back in Los Angeles put pressure on Karen NOT to release the album at all. After an intense closed-door meeting, Karen reluctantly relented and decided to shelve her album. Thus, it was never released. Fast forward to 1996, 13 years after Karen's tragic death from anorexia nervosa compications, with Richard under pressure from longing fans to hear Karen's shelved album, he finally decides to release the album. In the liner notes, Karen lovinging dedicates her solo project to Richard.Read full review
Karen's solo album is definitely a mixed bag. She recorded enough material for a double album, but some strong tracks were left in the outtakes while some less-than-stellar ones made it into the final cut. Nevertheless, this has some gems on it and would have been at least moderately successful had it been released upon completion. Four of the tracks featured on Lovelines were taken from this album, and two of them were remixed and altered slightly by Richard. Honestly, the Lovelines versions of those tracks are better, I can understand Richard's reasoning. Part of this album's appeal is that it is so different than a Carpenters album. The vocal arrangements by Rod Temperton are simply amazing and make some poorly written songs quite enjoyable. For example, "Remember When..." has a horrible title and chorus yet is one of my absolute favorite tracks due to Karen's lush harmonization. Same with "My Body Keeps Changing My Mind", the song is written like typical 80s poppy disco fluff yet the musical quality of the song is so much greater than that of the comparable artists. It's infectiously catchy. "Still Crazy After All These Years", "If We Try", and her earlier version of "Make Believe It's Your First Time" are truly fantastic, those three tracks alone are reason enough to buy the album. As a side note, "If We Try" has one of the best bass lines I've ever heard. Louis Johnson just shreds it, the song wouldn't be what it is without it. Anyway, music is obviously a very personal thing. Recommendations only go so far, only you can decide if you like it or not. If you're on the fence, just buy it. Really. It's pretty unlikely that you wouldn't find at least one song you really like.Read full review
Any serious Carpenter fan needs this item. Richard Carpenter defends not releasing it in 1980 by saying it didn't sell when released in 96. However, there is no way this album would not have sold in 1980. Karen's taste in music was more in tune with the public than Richard's in 80. Some selections have a disco flavor,which was OK at that time. Not as perfectly beautiful as early 70's Carpenters work, but compares very favorably with anything from 76 to 80. I have Love Songs cd with Richard's arrangement of "Make Believe It's your First Time" from Karen's solo album and the original arrangement with simple piano accompaniment seems way more authentic. This song alone would have been reason enough to release the album. The only real quibble I have is that Karen's alto range is not to be found here, which is a shame because that was her strongest quality.Read full review
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on CDs