This is hands down Karen's best performance ever. This version is absolutely beautiful and I'm glad it's not locked up in a vault at A&M anymore. My belief is that when the album was shelved, she was simply defeated and betrayed by everyone, including Richard, which is very sad. But, we now have it to enjoy as it was recorded and how Karen wanted the song done.
In 1993, this was the first song I sang for who would later become my husband. Before his dementia took hold in 2016 I sang it once more in Mexico. He passed away in 2019.
There will never be another Karen Carpenter. Her voice was unique and ever so beautiful. I miss her so much....I play her cd's all the time.....Last night I introduced a friend's little 6 yr old to Karen Carpenter's music. She sat and listened and when the song was over she told me that Carly Rae Jepson used to be her fav..but now it is Karen Carpenter....I was very happy to hear this...I am going to download some songs on her IPod for her.
Karen Carpenter was one of the few performers who could improve the original version of a song. That is something which is very rare, indeed. The Carpenters made their debut when I was in grade school and yet Karen Carpenter continues to mesmerize me with her superlative voice. We are so privileged with the legacy of her recordings.
Casey Jason Griffin This is the original version of the song when she record it with producer Phil Ramone while Richard took a year off to cure his dependency on Quaaludes. A&M executives in New York approved of the material, but the executives in Los Angeles, including CEO Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, responded negatively. Ramone recalls that Karen broke down in tears. Devastated, she accepted A&M's urging not to release the album in spite of attempts by producer Quincy Jones' to convince Alpert to release the record after a remix. A&M charged the Carpenters $400,000 to cover the cost of recording Karen's solo album, to be paid out of the duo's future royalties. Carpenters fans got a taste of the solo album in 1989 when some of its tracks (as remixed by Richard) were included on the album _Lovelines_, the final album of Carpenters' unreleased new material. In 1996, the complete album, titled _Karen Carpenter_, was finally released which included this original version of "Make Believe It's Your First Time".
@NedNickerson2010 Of course.... I think you did a splendid job! It took a lot of thought and effort to put these together and as a Karen fan - I want to say 'thank you' for putting it together! Have a great day! and thanks again!
uh..uh I have always wondered ever since the " Voice of the Heart" album came out and I would listen to what in the beginning of the song "Make Believe It's Your First Time". Karen said: ( oh! oh! " I have to get into a serious mood here".) ..... Actually, I took sometime to understand what exactly she mumbled lol.
There is footage of Katen singing this song. It was a number 1 in Brazil, they were there for a show and were on TV. I know because I was 13 and saw her singing.
Analisar a voz dessa cantora é muito difícil. Ela conseguia alternar graves e agudos com um piscar de olhos. A meu ver, a maior cantora de todos os tempos, pelo doce da voz, pela vida que dava às interpretações. Que pena. Se foi e não podemos ter o prazer de ouvi-la. Mas Deus sabe o que faz.
We tried our hand At love before We've been around the game Enough to know the score But then is then And now is now And now is all that matters, anyhow Make believe it's your first time Leave your sadness behind Make believe it's your first time And I'll make believe it's mine The door is closed It's you & me We'll take our time with love The way it ought to be This moment's ours Tonight's the night And if we fall in love Well, that's all right Make believe it's your first time Leave your sadness behind Make believe it's your first time And I'll make believe it's mine Make believe it's your first time And I'll make believe it's mine
Hi - my thoughts, 3 years after you'd posted yours: Karen;s lead singles off the Phil Ramone solo album were to be of a Disco vein, and as of May, 1980, the album's tentative release date, Disco had supposedly "died" (which is what happens when Philistines are put in charge of taste) - she had gone in to the project wanting to emulate some Donna Summer sounds, which she is quoted as loving. My Body Keeps Changing My Mind is a good example. Cheers!
+Sidnei Dornelles da Silva You are wrong this is Karen Carpenter's solo recording and it was not released until 1996 which was 16 years after her death.
PLEASE try to get the audio and video in SYNC! This is so bad it is almost unwatchable. The only reason it's worth listening to is because it's Karen's solo version without Richards accompaniment.
This is a recording off of Karen's solo album, entitled "Karen Carpenter." She recorded it around 1980 when she was 30 years old. The album was shelved by A&M and she began working on "Made in America" in 1981. Richard had heard Karen's version of the song and liked it, but he rearranged it and asked the song writers to come up with a "bridge verse." Richard's arrangement of the song was recorded in 1981 for the "Made in America" album, but it was not included on the final release. It appeared on the "Voice of the Heart" album in October 1983, 8 months after Karen's death and was the first 45rpm single to be released from that album. Karen's solo album was finally released in 1996 (13 years after her death) and it included her original version of the song, the one used in this video.
It's from Karen's solo album (1979/1980) that was shelved. The Carpenters later recorded the song for their album "Made in America" but opted for different songs. Richard used it then for the album "Voice of the heart" which was released after Karen's death.
This version was recorded in NY and produced by Phil Ramone. It really showcases Karen's wonderful voice. Richard didn't like Karen going it alone and with a different producer. So he had her record it in the Carpenters usual way.I love this version.The other one is good but.
Karen by far the best female voice pf all time. However Richard was the one who placed that voice where it should be surrounded by perfection. This version on its own is beautiful yet when you hear the Carpenters version with Richard at the helm it turns into spectacular ear candy and demotes Phils version into more of a demo from a mix tape. Question is can God ever create another human with such a voice that Miss Karen possessed? Imagine the looks on Gods choir in heaven when she showed up. Judy -Patsy-Nat -billy........o good grief here comes Karen everyone move over one space because the new "Heaven idol" is in the house.
I couldn't disagree more!!! Richard's version with those awful, over the top, schmaltzy choral backing vocals completely destroys the heartfelt poinientcy of this beautiful song.
Ned explained in the description that he used the "When I Fall in Love" video because, since both versions of the song were released after Karen's death, a video of her singing it doesn't exist. I thought it fit perfectly with the simplicity of the arrangement and Ned did an excellent job of timing the facial and body expressions with the lyrics. That is what I focus on along with looking at her eyes, not her mouth, while watching it. Great job, Ned!!
