Karen had such a distinctive voice! That tone was just so....pure. There will be no one like her!!!!!!!!!!! Died at 32 and 37 years later here we are still amazed be that voice.
Absolutely flawless performance, in line with her others. So heartbreaking that the world will never know the music she would have produced if not for her untimely passing. I always hear her hauntingly beautiful refrains in my head, every time I play one of the Carpenters songs on piano. Besides "Superstar," her "Desperado," "Solitaire," "This Masquerade" and many others still bring tears after all these years.
When she sings,"I love you, I really do." I still get a flood of warmth. She sounds like she means it, and it makes me feel loved like no other song I know.
You want to listen to a beautiful voice, I strongly recommend watching Bobby Hatfield singing Unchained Melody on The Andy Williams Show in 1965. He's one half of The Righteous Brothers. He and his partner Bill Medley who was a baritone tossed a coin to see who would sing this song. Bobby won, and the rest is music history.
You should try listening to Tori Holub’s cover of We’ve Only Just Began, best cover of this song I have ever heard! She also has one of those beautiful voices! The original cover version is found at Jim MIDI Doctor channel.
Karen Carpenter was the perfect singer. Nobody else had a voice like that, and I don't think anyone else ever will. It's not just the voice, though. She delivers perfection every time. No lip synching, no autotune, no need for flashiness or nudity. Just a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice
she also had the most perfect diction and enunciation of any singer, male or female i have ever heard.. she was the ultimate storyteller of a song ( a lost art among most of today's singers) who sang TO YOU NOT AT YOU...
Not just a fantastic singer, she would also want you to remember her as a girl who loved to drum: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6dJUnh6N8-U.html
"There is a whole rainbow, just in that line." I don't know if you realize it, but you've given the most concise, best description of Karen's singing voice ever.
Well, I remember Jimmy Page describing listening to Ricky Nelson singles and specifically James Burton's guitar playing and he said that there was a whole universe in there. So, yeah.. a whole rainbow.
I love how angelically beautiful, clear and rich her voice came across... and to think she started out as a drummer... and she felt uncomfortable in front of audiences... I miss her songs terribly.
Andrew Ongais yes, it's subjective, but Cassidy and Flack and others did not have the warmth and tone of Carpenter. Not even Streisand had that mellifluous voice. She's incomparable.
@@robertweaver2960 : Agree with you. The soft, melodious and warmth of Karen's voice is what makes her different from the others, her lower tone is so addictive to listen. You cannot get enough of her once you listen to her, you want more and you just keeps on going. That's the calibre of this Angel. 💝💞😍😘💪💪💪💪
@@aaronmccutcheon Ummmm . . . no. Callas was a legend, no doubt, but it’s generally acknowledged that her voice was a flawed instrument from the start.
You know what's crazy? She never had a vocal teacher, no one showed her how to sing. They called her "One take Karen" because she would sing a song in on take and it would be perfect.
,, and she was a perfectionist. Richard was quoted as saying that there would be times she would do a take - then demand another, even though no one could find anything wrong... she would.
When this song was popular, I had a dog named "Baby" and when the song came on the radio with the line "baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby" her ears would perk up and she would tip her head. It was pretty cute... I guess you had to be there.
No, not at all. I can absolutely envision my own sweet dog perking up to hearing his name being sung like this. Dogs are one of life's best gifts! I agree with Kelly Kapowski. I love your story! I was about 15 when this song came out, and I had all their albums. Still love listening to them. It's awfully nice to see Karen Carpenter recognized like this. Wish so much that she could have lived to see it.
Karen was always easy to listen to, but back in the day a lot of us rock-heads thought she wasn't much more artistically viable than, say, The Osmonds, simply because of the Nixon-era, silent majority, middle-class cheesy vibe. Obviously, this was a terrible take, because if you just concentrate on the voice, it's incomparable. Now when I listen to her I literally cry at the absolute mastery and control and tastefulness, and, yes, feeling. Her lower register has been compared to honey, and honey ain't such a bad thing. I've done a complete turnaround on her and am wistful for a time when we had her in our lives.
I was 5 years old in 1971. My dad told me I used to stop what I was doing to listen when this song came on the radio. Even then I knew her voice was something special.
I totally agree with you. In the 70s they were considered “square”. I almost felt I had to keep my love of their music to myself. They stand the test of time and the emotion her voice invokes in me is priceless.
The greatest voice of a generation. No wonder Sinatra and so many pop and rock stars accurately believe that she was the greatest of all time. I'd say better than Streisand, James, Franklin, and Ronstadt. Oh, and let's not forget that she was such a great drummer that even Buddy Rich gave her critical acclaim . Buddy was not one to hand out compliments.
SinginHigh Have to disagree on that one. Streisand had all of this plus the range. In her prime, no one had it more than Streisand. Not taking away from Karen though by any means.
@@songbirdy Yea Streisand had more talent and range. But for diction, control of voice and Volume of better songs Karen edges her out. They both were great singers for certain.
Her voice reached out to me because of the deeply hidden loneliness she carried with her. I feel it touched many of us that have our own story of sadness, loneliness or rejection we live with. It is like having that special friend that will listen to you and be a friend when you need one. I love you, now and always, Karen!
Karen had superb diction - every consonant is crisply enunciated. Also, her lower register is absolutely superb. She makes what she does seem effortless, but actually she always pulls off a superb performance. I have also heard that she hardly needed to rehearse - she had natural talent.
yes, I can actually understand every word she's singing....why do most "divas" think they can scream and belt every note and get people to be impressed? No nuance!!! Barbra Streisand can compare...she knows how to sing....
Sandy I think he was also her anchor and protector. She was shy about being out in front. I have a feeling he gave her strength. Their relationship makes me cry as much as her voice does.
Oh ber brother got enough praise from his mother he didn't need anymore too bad she couldn't have given Karen a little. People can be so cruel and not even realize it. I truly believe her mother was a big reason for her anorexia.If you don't know what I'm talking about theres a movie on you tube you can watch I think its just called The karen carpenter story
Yes, Richard is a genius w/ arrangement, writing, etc. It's just so sad their mom refused to recognize Karen's brilliance which caused a lot of Karen's issues which led to anorexia. RIP to them both.
What amazes me the most in Karen Carpenter's vocals is the emotion that she puts in the songs and makes you really feel it. Her voice is pure, haunting and unique.
Karen Carpenter, as a singer, was SUBLIME. Every time I hear a recording of her sing I get the feeling that is exactly how the song was meant to be sung. She was truly wonderful!
I love everything about her voice, but I particularly love the way she uses her vibrato. It is so subtle, but it’s there and she uses it superbly at the right times. That, in itself, is an art.
I had such a crush on Karen Carpenter when I was a kid and to this day, hearing the sound of her beautiful voice makes me melt. When we lost her, we lost a national treasure.
In my opinion One of the most phenomenal singers that ever lived. There are many singers who touch your heart, but Karen went much further, she touched your SOUL. I was a young boy when I first heard her voice and I got chills all through my body when I hear Karen sing and I still do now. Whenever I hear her phenomenal voice I just stop what I am doing. Karen Felt every word she sang and you can tell that. Some people may not know she was incredible on the drums, check it out on youtube. Karen could have not been more loved and now, more missed!! Karen had the most phenomenal voice I ever heard in my life and no one else will ever touch Karen carpenter!!
@@brendastuart194 Just want to suggest a DVD I just bought called (Carpenters Live On Stage 1971-1974) It shows Richard and Karen's phenomenal talent, but especially Karen and watching her play the drums is incredible!!!
Kathy Nicholson Yeah, I kept thinking the same thing. Clearly Karen is sensational, but think Richard is very underrated. His arrangement and musicality really complimented her.
wasn't the Carpenters formed with Richard as the focus? I heard Karen just wanted to play the drums. Does anyone know when the transition happened when she became the vocalist?
Karen had the whole package, a rich, deep, womanly voice like honey, the emotion to go with it and was totally pitch perfect. You can't get more perfect than that.
6:02 "Such a rich, deep lower register." Karen understood what was unique about her voice. She said in an interview once, "The money is in the basement." I love that line.
I didn't appreciate Karen's voice and technique when I was younger, but I can see it, and feel it now that I'm older: Karen Carpenter was one of the most emotionally powerful singers ever to pick up a microphone, and she did it with perfect pitch, perfect phrasing and intonation, and without belting, screaming, or employing pointless melismatic riffs. She brings me to tears every time I hear her.
She is in a league that few singers achieve..perfection. There's a reason the world fell in 😍 with her..including the top selling singers..including Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, etc. Everyone agreed she had the most mesmerizing voice and songs. Her brother had incredible talent for musical arrangement! The arrangement with her vocals was magical!
Karen was my primary vocal teacher.... I started singing along with her when I was five, and learned so much about feeling the song, and using all of those colors you talk about. This song in particular... I would sing along and sob when I was little. Now I am a jazz vocalist and I still use everything I learned from her.
As a lonely young girl growing up with many family problems and abuse her music brought me so much comfort and peace.. Karen Carpenter will live in our hearts forever💕
I've never really tried to analyze her singing. I mean it's hard to get past just the beauty of hearing her sing. But, in my non-professional opinion her vibrato is perfect along with a lot of other things. When someone asks me who I think the best female singer is I always say Karen Carpenter.
I certainly respect the opinion of experts, however, I can take singing lessons for my entire life and that won't make me a singer. Some thing's your born with and Karen Carpenters voice was a gift to the world. I may not know art but I know what I like.
Unfortunately ,you are right . Majority of good singers were born with the ability.I think it has to do with the sound of one's voice .You can tell someone has a voice for singing by listening to them talk ,often times. Alittle training helps the already talented but it would do nothing for someone like me
FINALLY, a respected vocal coach analyzes Karen Carpenter!! When they recorded this song for their album, she did it in one take. Famous Wrecking Crew and A Team bassist Joe Osborn told of meeting the Carpenters in his garage studio as they backed up a friend who played trumpet. And 16 year old Karen sang Ebb Tide just for kicks, and veteran professional Joe Osborn's reaction was "Oh my God!" So much for the trumpet player!
Wow. Karen's not yelling at me. She's just.... singing perfectly with a talent that instantly evokes a rainbow of emotions and feelings. What a treasure she was, taken too soon.
I honestly have never seen this video of her performing this song. But how amazing it was to watch her movements, she absorbed every part of the song and wow, it gave me goosebumps I can't explain it any better.
Thank you for this. I have always tried to describe her voice. You helped break it down for me in a way that was very helpful...she opens up vowels, dark and light vowels, playing with vowel colors as in the way she sings “loneliness,” rainbow of sounds, dynamics, etc.
Been listening to her since the late sixties and no lie, I get goosebumps still at the clarity, depth and ethos in her voice. If ever there was anyone to whom you could say irreplaceable, it most definitely is Karen Carpenter. #bestofalltime
I’d also give high credit to Richard Carpenter who spectacularly arranged and accompanied Karen’s voice. This accompaniment can brighten and adorn even some mediocre voice in karaoke setting.
I saw her perform live and was struck then , as now, by the effortless power and purity of her voice. She held the stage alone. No tricks, just her and the music..
Only terrorists could not love this! She could get it PERFECT the first time. They called her one take Karen. Perfect pitch, depth, range, emotion. I still miss her.
She was/is in a Class of her own. You pointed out many qualities I've not picked out individually...great review! Funny thing is, she never had voice lessons & I doubt she realized how stellar her voice was to the degree. She was just singing ..and as you pointed out, with NO effort 😎
Coupydog, I heard Richard say one time that he had quite a time trying to convince her to sing lower than what she naturally sang in, as her soprano voice just didn't sound as rich ...she eventually gave in, to great response which convinced her. Although she had no music lessons, she did work on her voice like crazy to get the tone, diction, lilt and flavor we hear on her recordings. She sang her ass off, in other words. It hurts to think about all the music we missed by her passing.That's very selfish, I know, but that's how much we loved her singing.
I love your comments 🙂. I've read she did have a vocal teacher, though. A few months ago I watched a bunch of interviews, and some documentaries on The Carpenters, and it was mentioned she had some coaching (though she likely didn't need extensive coaching). Clearly, she had natural musical, instrumental (as a drummer), and vocal aptitude and talent!
@@detectivekornfed , it takes nothing away from her legacy by having some lessons. I don't care how she developed it, her voice was so smooth and lush, like a blanket wrapped around you. Pretty good drummer, too! Namaste.
No matter the song, the review, I always end up in tears listening to Karen sing. She has the only voice I have ever heard that can highlight the melancholy and soothe simultaneously. And she was so young here.
You can analyze Karen's singing all you want, and I agree with you; but when Karen sings, she always sends me to the stratosphere, and always brings tears to my eyes.
She had the most simple voice, yet no one has ever sounded like her. What an amazing gift she had. Most people didn't know she had a three and a half octave range. I love her last lines on "Two Sides" where she goes full on soprano!
John, it was a thrill to not only watch your critique and comments, but to see your sheer enjoyment of what is one of my fav songs by The Carpenters. You say at 8:10 that she's underrated. While that may have been true at one time, I think the whole world now considers her one of the best ever. We all miss her a lot. By the way, it's worth mentioning that none other than Leon Russell wrote this song.
Every time I listen to it, it moves me a lot. There is a lump in my throat. Her voice is very warm but forceful at the same time. She is without a doubt one of the best singers that has ever existed.
Never in my life have I heard called underrated. Not sure what he has heard but I I usually hear her called the best female vocalist ever. I know that's my opinion. Her voice gives me chills every time I hear her sing. What a voice!
Great Reaction & the best explanations of her techniques, add the fact she was only 21 years old during this performance. Thank you! Would U please give a reaction to her, "For All We Know"? ...def one of my all-time favs 😎👍
I've never been that into the Carpenter's music, but I've always thought Karen has one of the finest female voices in popular music. Her pitching, musicality, technique, interpretation - everything - is as close to perfection as I've heard.
Karen Carpenter’s vocals still brings me to tears in this song. She is my all time favorite artist, even today. The clarity of her beautiful voice is amazing. She and her brother Richard were an amazing pair! Miss her! Thank you so much for choosing to review this artist and song. I really enjoyed how you brought out so many nuisances of this song that I never even knew were happening!
Couldn't agree more with your analysis. How on earth her voice is underated is beyond me. She could hold a note - a very special skill I feel, without the need for vocal gymnastics - (due to being incapable of holding that note). Truly the voice of an angel.
The most silky and soft voice ever. Karens voice is SO expressive. Like a caress and warm sun. She even makes it sound so easy - not really struggling with any notes.
Even without the lyrics, her tone alone singularly captures each feeling in each line ... loneliness, love, need, loyalty. Makes me weep every time i hear this voice bc we lost her so young, so sadly. One of history's best arrangers on the planet is Richard. Barely adults at the time, these "kids" forever changed all our lives forever with these emotional journeys they created with each song. Genius. Both of them. Thank you Richard and Karen.
Gm4 Inet I have never been able to articulate it the way you did but I feel exactly the same way. Your comment actually made me teary. I wish Karen loved herself as much as the entire world did. She was an angel
Amazing how her storytelling takes us on a journey. I wasn't prepared to start crying, but I'm better for it. What a blessing that we lived while she was here. Amazing review John.
Karen’s voice is like a warm, comforting blanket. I don’t know how to describe it other than “pure”. It always sounded like she was smiling whenever she sang.
Jerry Moss was the M in A&M records, This man had heard and seen all the greats in the late 60's, 70's and early 80's. He said Karen Carpenter was his favorite voice for any female and a pleasure to work with. Her range and emotion was total magic!!
Karen Carpenter: One of the greatest voices in music history. My goodness!! What a crystal clear voice. Her musical range was impressive. Experts say she had a 3-octave contralto range. I never heard her crack a note or not be able to sing with power in the upper or lower ranges. Her songs are legendary and needless to say, I dearly miss Karen Carpenter.
growing up in the 60's and 70's, I was a rocker and totally dismissed the Carpenters, cause, well, rock'n'roll. but now that I don't care what people think, damn, she knocks me out. I have a couple albums now. another who knocks me out, and would have never listened to back then, is Tom Jones. amazing.
I used to have guilty pleasures. Now I don't give a shit what someone else thinks about a song I like. If the Carpenters are coming out of my speakers and someone wants to make fun of me I just point out the the next song could be Hendrix, Sam Cooke, The Doors, Bob Marley, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, The Stones, Etc. Etc. Etc. Just because they have a narrow musical spectrum doesn't mean I have to.
Not me. I grew up in the 60's & 70's, love all the rock & roll including pop and Karen was one of my favorites (out of many including King Crimson, ELP, Eric Burden, Allmen Bros, Supertramp, and the list goes on and on...)
Wow! Thank you so much. This was an intelligent guided tour of greatness. I always loved her voice but now I have a little insight into why I liked it. Well done.
This video is well worth watching. It is interesting observing him as he listens to her sing too. I have written about Karen’s voice in a number of my books about the Carpenters, and we have all thought about Karen’s voice so many times as we have listened to her amazing vocal delivery, this guy clearly has a great understanding of the human voice through his specialist subject, a very interesting video.
Thank you for sharing this. It was a real tonic! Karen Carpenter was one of the greatest singers ever, and it was such a tragedy that she died so young. I simply love the music of the Carpenters.
I love your comments.. You describe everything I have felt about her voice in very technical terms.. But the fact she is doing this without thought!!.. Talent only.. From her beautiful heart and soul
Its soooo sad that she was insecure of her voice. Even when john lennon stopped in a restaurant to compliment her said she has a beautiful voice. still! She couldnt believe it ! Amazing !!!
