LeadSister.com Forums

Hey guys, I'm new here..been a Carpenters fan for a while....but I wanted to ask if you noticed a difference in KC's voice from the 1966-1969 era to 1970-1974 era and finally 1976-1981 era. I feel in the beginning it was deep and it got lighter/airyer as the years went on. Has anyone noticed?

I did notice a change in her voice around 1969 to 1971. Not much of a difference or anything, but was wondering that myself!

Hi KCForeva, welcome aboard!! Yes I think her voice changed a little bit, but her voice was always beautiful anyway

hi kcforeva welcome to the forum and yes karen's voice did change though the years

Yes, I think her voice did sound lighter and lighter as the years went on. I don't know if she did that on purpose because it was a different time and they were singing more songs at the higher end of her range, or whether it was a consequence of the damage she had done to her body. Even back from 69 to 71 I hear a difference, as her teenage voice sounds rougher, but that may be because she was just beginning to sing and her vocal chords may not have been completely developed/in shape. Or, it could just be that the recording equipment was not as advanced at the time? Not sure.

First of all welcome to the forum. I thought Karen's early voice 1967 - 1969 was young and not as developed. But from '69 to the end I thought her voice was just as strong and beautiful. Listen to "Now" the last song she recorded - she sings just as beautifully as she did in the mid 70's. To me, even though she was sick, her voice never suffered.

I think the reason is that she was a teenager when she started to sing, for example, just listen the song ''I'll be yours'' it's obvious that the singer was a teenager, is normal, usually the voice change through the years

Hi and welcome here! Thank you for this wonderful topic!

I don't think her voice got higher and lighter, just more refined. "We've Only Just Begun, for example, is a lot higher and lighter than "Because We are in Love", from 1981. I think her voice actually improved.

What do you think?

Randy

Hi all - great topic!

I don't think Karen's voice changed because of her illness, I think it's more the choice of material to be honest.

Think about 1978 (around the time Karen recorded the TV special where she sings Yesterday Once More at the piano with Richard). In my opinion, Karen looked REALLY drawn and thin on that, not well at all, yet think about what they were recording at that time: When I Fall In Love, Little Girl Blue, Where Do I Go From Here and the like. Her voice is really rich and strong.

Even as late as 1981, they go from 'The Uninvited Guest' (which is such a hard song to pull off convincingly - Karen's rendition is rich, pure and total class) to songs like Back In My Life Again, which is possibly the lightest and 'airiest' (weakest?) Karen's voice sounds on anything they recorded (and much too high for Karen's comfortable range I feel).

Just my thoughts - any other comments from anyone?

hey guys! Thanks for the warm welcome. I def. agree with Polarbear on this one and i've always wondered if her voice became airyier because of the physical abuse or due to her becoming more comfortable with herself and her voice (AKA Making her own choices on how SHE wanted to sing). But of course, always sounding beautiful

polarbear, on Aug 10 2003, 03:38 PM, said:

yeah, thats what im wondering about too Polarbear! But I think she made her voice go lighter on purpose 'cause of the kind of songs that she was singing then.. but who knows? But I think that she sounds beautiful either way!

I think newvillefan is right. It was a choice of material more than her age or health.

Randy

This has always been a hard question to answer. Something we'll never honestly know. I do agree that over the years, her style had changed. She had the sound of other singers of that era .... '79-'81. Softer sounds like ONJ. But I think her health did come into play at times b/c some of her notes, although still great.... were an effort. During her solo recordings...especially in the unreleased ones... you can here it. Or I can hear it anyway. When a person gets to the point she was at the time, you lose alot of your breath and tire very easily. It took her a year to finish those songs and many takes. But she was a pro and able to control her voice. She still sounded great....just took some effort.

That's my 2 cents anyway

Pamela

Most definatly there is a change! I think her voice got richer. It's sad today to say that if she were alive today, I bet she'd be better than ever! I know it! Look at Barbra Streisand. She is still just as good, if not better!
Nice post and welcome!