Where were you when "Lovelines" came out?

[kenny]

Ok here's one for ya's.

Where were you when Lovelines came out?

This was such a major deal to me - I even stayed on top of the manager of the local SOUND WAREHOUSE (which is not more) so that he'd make sure that a VINYL copy had been ordered and was coming for me the day of release. I was sooooo excited. A NEW Carpenters album!

That's really the last time I enjoyed that - "As Time Goes By" just wasn't the same. I'm sure you know what I mean.

To me, "Lovelines" was simply fantastic - and I was of course thrilled to hear stuff from Karen's solo effort. I still have that original vinyl copy.

LOVE IT!

Favorite song for me: If We Try (can't pick If I Had You because that was solo) Reportedly, If We Try was Karen's favorite to sing from the solo.

[Rick Henry]

I have a vinyl copy and a copy on CD. I forget where I bought my copy of it from at the time... but I did buy it with in the first two months of it's release. I remember being excited about the release of unreleased songs... but for some reason I did not rush out to buy it immediately.

My feelings on "Lovelines" were mixed. I was very happy to be getting a compilation full of unreleased tracks. I never thought of it as a new album... well because it simply was not a new album. It was a release of album outtakes mostly recorded between 1976 to 1981.

I was very happy to finally hear a few of those unreleased Karen solo tracks and of course those were my favorites on "Lovelines". I also liked "You're The One" and "Where Do I Go From Here".

Now on the other hand I found half the songs on "Lovelines" just did not appeal to me, I never cared for "The Uninvited Guest" (excellent vocal... but just don't like the song). I also found that "Slow Dance" was just a bit too confectionary for my taste and I'm sorry to say but "Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night" just does not thrill me.

I am 50/50 on this compilation release... some really great songs... but also some duds.

I was far more excited with the release of Karen's solo album... now that was a fantastically tantalizing work.

[kenny]

I think that part of my reasoning for liking Lovelines so much was because it came out at point in my life where i needed some new musical inspirations and since I'd not heard of any of the tunes before and there were, to me, some very "classic" Carpenters sounds on it, I took to it immediately.

Lovelines - I actually like Richard's remix better than the original solo lp.
Where Do I Go From Here? - beautiful - a true Carpenters moment
The Uninvited Guest - a different type of song it seemed to me - took a while to warm up to but I love it.
If We Try - awesome
When I Fall In Love - have always loved the song, however this is my least favorite arrangement and version of it.
Remember When Lovin' Took All Night - just "okay"
Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night - I love love love this song - in part for the sound, but also for the inclusion of the incomparable Siedah Garrett in the backing vocals.
You're The One - the song that has the most (and quckest) moment of true Carpenters sound - on the bridge.
Honolulu City Lights - so - so to me, cute mainly because I can see karen singing it
Slow Dance - I don't know why but I love thsi song.
If I Had You - pure genius ; love Richards' acapella ending vs. the fade out.
Little Girl Blue - to me, this & When I Fall In Love are two horribly misplaced tunes on this disc - they just don't seem to belong here.

All in all, still one of my favorites.

[enigma]

lovelines was kind of a surprise "discovery" at a record shop around the time of its release i had not been paying attention to any Carpenters or new release news at the time and with Karen dead cetainly not a Carpenters release. I had heard the "legend" of a solo record but never thought I would ever see the record or if it even existed. I looked over the lovelines record and did not recognise any songs so mfigured I would buy it to try it out and to complete my Carpenters collection (I am a completest by nature gotta have it all) Lovelines was OK as a whole it had some nice songs but was not going to match the classic records or even MIA for that matter but still I enjoy all carpenters music so this effort was enjoyable. Now the solo record was a whole different story when I got wind this record existed and was going to be released I was anticipating this release like I wouild a new Carpenters release when Karen was alive I was real excited and picked it up at first opportunity when it came out Lovelines got no such response partially because I did not have the heads up on it and partially because I knew it was not a true new release cause Karen was dead a few years when it came out so I knew it had to be unreleased outakes and not recorded mall at the same time like the solo record was.

[Rick Henry]

Apr 29, 2009 9:04:54 GMT -5 enigma said:

lovelines was kind of a surprise "discovery" at a record shop around the time of its release i had not been paying attention to any Carpenters or new release news at the time and with Karen dead cetainly not a Carpenters release. I had heard the "legend" of a solo record but never thought I would ever see the record or if it even existed. I looked over the lovelines record and did not recognise any songs so mfigured I would buy it to try it out and to complete my Carpenters collection (I am a completest by nature gotta have it all) Lovelines was OK as a whole it had some nice songs but was not going to match the classic records or even MIA for that matter but still I enjoy all carpenters music so this effort was enjoyable. Now the solo record was a whole different story when I got wind this record existed and was going to be released I was anticipating this release like I wouild a new Carpenters release when Karen was alive I was real excited and picked it up at first opportunity when it came out Lovelines got no such response partially because I did not have the heads up on it and partially because I knew it was not a true new release cause Karen was dead a few years when it came out so I knew it had to be unreleased outakes and not recorded mall at the same time like the solo record was.

Good thoughts E... I think Karen's solo album received a good amount more publicity than "Lovelines" did. "Lovelines" was one of those that went virtually unnoticed, but Karen's solo was in all the newspapers and music magazines before it's release. There was definitely a buzz going on about Karen's solo. I went out to buy it on the day of it's release. As a matter of fact I had to go to four different stores before I finally found a copy of it. The first three stores had sold out of it in both the cassette and CD formats. I finally found it at (the now defunct) Tower Records in Brea, California. I got the last copy of it on CD and one of the last copies on cassette. The salesperson said it was selling extremely well.

Like you, E, I was very excited about the solo album. This was the closest to an actual new release that we were ever going to get from Karen. This was not a compilation of unreleased bits and pieces such as "Voice of the Heart", "Lovelines" and "As Time Goes By" (which I have enjoyed all three)... but Karen's solo album was (is) a real album in which all the songs fit together and represent a time period in Karen's life. I felt like I finally got to see a side of this fantastic artist that she had been wanting to expose for a long time... but was never given the opportunity. The sad thing is that finally this side of Karen was introduced to the world after her death and not while she was living.

A few days after I purchased KC solo I sent a thank you letter to Phil Ramone for doing such a fantastic job with Karen and for bringing out a side of her voice which had always been there but was never allowed to come out. I still love KC solo to this day and play it more than any other Carpenters related recording.

Strangely enough I was very excited about the release of "Interpretations: 25th Anniversary Celebration". This one came as a surprise to me, as I heard nothing about it's release beforehand. This was 1994 and it was before the internet (for me anyway). In these days of the internet it's very easy to spread word about any new release. When I saw "Interpretations" in the store I purchased it immediately. The compilation only had two new tracks on it. And at that really only one new track as a live version of "From This Moment On" had been previously released in 1976 on "Live At The Palladium". The studio version of "From This Moment On" was good and I really enjoyed hearing that, but it was "Tryin' To Get The feeling Again" which really caught my attention. It was very different from Barry Manilow's version. It was more mature sounding and seemed to have a great deal of depth and soul and a sort of raw emotion to it... different from what we were used to hearing from Carpenters... a sound that I had always wished Carpenters would have done more often. And although, I was very happy to discover "Lovelines" when it was released I don't think it had any one song on it that revved me up as much as "Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again" did.

[YesterdayOnceMore]

Had to jump in on this one. As most of you already know, I was walking in our local mall and heard Karen Carpenter singing something I'd never heard her sing before. I was with my wife - MADE her stop, and LISTEN...I knew it had to be something new, because I had everything they'd put out to that point, and I hadn't heard this song ever before. I am not positive which one it was, but I think it was Lovelines,l the song.

I went ballistic! We had to go to every single record store that instant to find a copy cause I knew I had to have it. Something new.

Yes, I have to agree with all of you that the material was not "new" in terms of date - but outtake or not, IT WAS NEW TO MY EARS, and for that reason, it didn't matter to me WHEN it had been recorded. It was Carpenters as I had not heard them before, and I was really enjoying what I was hearing. Those rich harmonies were so prevalent in this album. I just went crazy with it.

The first few times I had a difficult time trying to decide which of the takes I liked, and which I didn't. Ended up that I liked them all, except Little Girl blue. Karen sings it magnificently - but I do not like Richard's arrangement of it, at all. I can't hardly listen to it to this day because of the arrangement. I do love KAC's vocals, though. She could sing those old ballads like no one else. In my opinion, the arrangement could have been so much more subtle, rather than "cutesy" sounding, as I take it to be.

I have to agree that LOVELINES was NEVER advertised, at least in this part of the world. If I hadn't heard it and recognized that I didn't know that music, It would have been a long, long time before I'd have known about it. But I really like the tunes on it.

I think you all know the story of the SOLO album by now...Itchy Ramone sent it to me just before its official release. My sister-in-law was furious (in a joking way) because she'd drawn my name for Christmas, and wanted to get me the CD - knowing I didn't have it, and that the timing would be great, cause it was released in late November I think.....someone correct me if I'm wrong about that. She couldn't believe she had what she thought was the perfect "surprise" gift, and then the producer's wife sends me a personal copy. It's been a running joke now for all these years. I didn't know, Rick, that you'd written Phil after. I'm glad to know that - I hope a lot of people did - he did a fantastic job with this album. His wife was awfully proud of her friend, Karen Carpenter, for having made it in the first place - and now, it was going to be finally released. What a great day!

Again, I like this album - almost every single note of it. One of my very favorites is the one that was the extra track - Last One Singin' The Blues. I like it for a lot of reasons, but the big one for me is the SIMPLICITY of it. It has such a nice groove to it, and Karen saw to that - "just a zinch slower" or something like that......and it really rocks me.

It's been fun to read your reactions and information E, Kenny and Rick.
Thanks for sharing.

[Rick Henry]

Just to clarify my thoughts on the "lovelines" compilation... believe me I was very happy when it was released... and I think I found it quite by accident also.

I was extremely excited to be listening to it for the first time. And those solo songs really stood out for me... of the four on "Lovelines" I enjoyed "Remember When Lovin' Took All Night" and "If I Had You" the best.

Overall, though after a few listens my impression of "Lovelines" was only lukewarm... I was 50/50 with the songs on it. A lot of people like "The Uninvited Guest" and Karen does sing that one quite well... but for some reason I just don't care for it at all... maybe it's the overly "weepy" lyrics

Tim, you are so right about the arrangement on "Little Girl Blue"... it is somewhat cutesy. I agree Karen's vocal performance of the song is outstanding... top of the line... nobody could do it better. The arrangement should have been smoky and restrained. Somewhat like Karen's "Last One Singin' The Blues"... maybe Richard could have taken a lesson or two from Phil Ramone... oops... did I really say that...

As for "Last One Singin' The Blues"... I also love that song... it's one of my twelve favorite tunes from Karen's solo album... oh wait there are only twelve tunes on the album... well what does that tell you.

I much prefer the arrangements of Karen's solo songs as arranged by Phil Ramone, Rod Temperton, Bob James, Russell Javors and Rob Mounsey as opposed to Richard's arrangements which ended up on "Lovelines"... I felt Richard put a coat of whitewash on the songs which I thought took away from the overall aura of her songs.

[YesterdayOnceMore]

May 1, 2009 21:19:33 GMT -5 Rick Henry said:

Just to clarify my thoughts on the "lovelines" compilation... believe me I was very happy when it was released... and I think I found it quite by accident also.

I was extremely excited to be listening to it for the first time. And those solo songs really stood out for me... of the four on "Lovelines" I enjoyed "Remember When Lovin' Took All Night" and "If I Had You" the best.

Overall, though after a few listens my impression of "Lovelines" was only lukewarm... I was 50/50 with the songs on it. A lot of people like "The Uninvited Guest" and Karen does sing that one quite well... but for some reason I just don't care for it at all... maybe it's the overly "weepy" lyrics

Tim, you are so right about the arrangement on "Little Girl Blue"... it is somewhat cutesy. I agree Karen's vocal performance of the song is outstanding... top of the line... nobody could do it better. The arrangement should have been smoky and restrained. Somewhat like Karen's "Last One Singin' The Blues"... maybe Richard could have taken a lesson or two from Phil Ramone... oops... did I really say that...

As for "Last One Singin' The Blues"... I also love that song... it's one of my twelve favorite tunes from Karen's solo album... oh wait there are only twelve tunes on the album... well what does that tell you.

I much prefer the arrangements of Karen's solo songs as arranged by Phil Ramone, Rod Temperton, Bob James, Russell Javors and Rob Mounsey as opposed to Richard's arrangements which ended up on "Lovelines"... I felt Richard put a coat of whitewash on the songs which I thought took away from the overall aura of her songs.

Well stated, Rick - couldn't have said it better. I prefer the arrangements on Karen's solo cd too. And the "whitewash" is a perfect descriptor for what it seems RC did to those gorgeous songs that just didn't need it. Do you suppose he was after making them more "signature" Carpenter songs? Seems like it, perhaps, to me.

Well said!

[Rick Henry]

May 1, 2009 21:26:47 GMT -5 YesterdayOnceMore said:

Well stated, Rick - couldn't have said it better. I prefer the arrangements on Karen's solo cd too. And the "whitewash" is a perfect descriptor for what it seems RC did to those gorgeous songs that just didn't need it. Do you suppose he was after making them more "signature" Carpenter songs? Seems like it, perhaps, to me.

Well said!

You know I never thought of it that way but possibly Richard was trying to give Karen's solo songs his own "brand" or maybe a bit of the Carpenters signature sound.

[kenny]

This is one of the rarer occasions that i appreciated Richards' remix tendencies. I thought his version of "If I Had You", at least from a production end, was much more crisp and refined, but that also points out the different ears that producers had. I don't think that Richard recorded any new tracks for the Karen solo material that was included on Lovelines.

While I obviously knew that it was not an album put together as a whole, but culled from previous sessions, I would have loved to have had "Trying To Get The Feeling Again" on the lovelines collection. There were moments where Lovelines reminded me of Passage, an album that I often forget to mention as a favorite. I was never an MIA fan as a whole and found it to be a little lackluster - although I do love the sublime "I Believe You". To me, "Trying To Get The Feeling Again", "I Believe You" and "You're The One"....Karen's voice sounds much like the Horizon sessions and I think that is my favorite period of all.

[beaner]

I had just turned the big 30 just a few months earlier and I can remember a friend of mine telling me she heard a new Carpenters album was coming out. I didn't believe her as I always thought I was on top of everything concerning the C's but apparently one slipped by me this time. Sure enough, I (similar to you Tim) had to have it immediately and went to the store as soon as she told me about it, found it and bought it.

I knew the entire album within a month and one of my favorites has always been "Where Do I Go From Here" and then "Slow Dance".

Have both the vinyl album and CD and my least favorite song is probably "Little Girl Blue".

Beaner

[molee]

Unlike everyone else who has posted, I don't remember when "Lovelines" came out. I can't recall the songs on "Lovelines" getting a lot of air time. (I was probably listening to KLOS in L.A. with its hard driving rock sound at the time). In any case, I personally like "Little Girl Blue." Yes, I agree that it doesn't quite seem to fit in with the other songs, but on its own, I really like it. Speaking of not fitting in, the song that I thought didn't fit in at all on a different album was "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" on "Passages." I'm I the only one?

-Mo Lee

[molee]

Please make that last question "Am I the only one?"

-Mo Lee

[Rick Henry]

May 7, 2009 14:33:45 GMT -5 molee said:

Unlike everyone else who has posted, I don't remember when "Lovelines" came out. I can't recall the songs on "Lovelines" getting a lot of air time. (I was probably listening to KLOS in L.A. with its hard driving rock sound at the time). In any case, I personally like "Little Girl Blue." Yes, I agree that it doesn't quite seem to fit in with the other songs, but on its own, I really like it. Speaking of not fitting in, the song that I thought didn't fit in at all on a different album was "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" on "Passages." I'm I the only one?

-Mo Lee

By the way the album is named "Passage" not "Passages". I felt "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" fit in perfectly as "Passage" was meant to be an album to showcase the Carpenters varying degrees of musical ability and love of different genres. Therefore "Argentina" fit perfectly.

From what I recall, "Lovelines", did not receive any airplay on radio with the exception of Karen's "If I Had You", which continued to gain even more airplay when her solo album was released.

I guess "Little Girl Blue" is an okay song... although it never was a favorite of mine. One thing that I don't like about the song is some fans refer to Karen as a "little girl blue" and for some reason that really bugs me as I don't see her that way... and I truly don't think Karen saw herself that way either. I think if she were alive today she most likely would not like people calling her that... just as she (and Richard) didn't like being called "goody four shoes" and other names.