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I think this is quite possibly one of the best performances vocally from Karen. Karen touches me with many songs but there are "some" songs that vocally reach me deeper than any other song. A few years ago I purchased a sealed copy of Horizons LP after opening it I immediately burned it to CD. I have to admit that I have found nothing that can come close to comparing the sound that Karen emits from this LP. Of all my CD's that contain this song, "I'm Caught Between Goodbye and I Love You" nothing sounds more intimate than hearing it on this LP. I've always been known to enjoy the Carpenters non hits more than the hits.

Last week I put this burned CDR in my car on my way to work (nothing starts the day for me better than Karen in my ears when my brain is fresh and the new day has started) and I literally had goosebumps on my arm, it was an emotional experience for me again.

This song, I'm Caught Between Goodbye and I Love You, is like no other Carpenters song. Here Karen is torn between this person, a stranger then a lover, never the same always hard to believe but yet she loves this person and she wonders if she should say goodbye. I don't know if it's the postion of the mic or the type of mic Karen is singing into but Karen's vocal is super smooth on this one, yet sultry in a way, a grown up song, and at the same time it's a love story going on and I find that I am putting myself into Karen world if yet for just a moment or 4 mins and 6 secds. The opening lines, starts the story for the listener and Karen says she has something on her mind, and it won't be easy but she wants to talk about it. Something she has been thinking about for the past few days. She doesn't know where she stands and it's like she is asking for advise of where to go and as the listener I feel like her friend listening and trying to help. I don't know but I find myself immediately immersed into this track.

It's an emotional song for me and I wanted to share this. If you have not listened to this song, put your headphones on or crank up the volume on your audio player and sit back and let Karen take you on a journey, a personal journey from Karen to you.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this song.


Edited by Chris-An Ordinary Fool, 27 July 2006 - 09:33 PM.

It's my most played song on my iTunes/iPod. I didn't even realize I listened to it so much!!! It's so amazing.

So, uh, you wanna YouSendIt that special LP version?

I'm always curious when I hear Karen sing a song....where did she pull the emotion in her voice from?? What personal experience?? I think almost everyone on the planet can relate to this song, yet it's true...Karen makes it sound so personal and like she's sharing a secret with only the listener. The vocals are so smooth and ethereal....the timing and breaths also lend to the personal feel of the song. For me...I cry every time I hear it...moreso the past few months, due to my own personal experiences. The song itself is a jewel...an undiscovered gem. Perfect for Karen's range and vocal style.

Cheryl

Well it is track 8 on the CD player I remember me that well. And that is a good sign.... meaning... that this was an still is my favorite Horizon track. I too played it a lot

Good choice Chris !

I totally agree that this is just one of those songs that she went to that beyond-human level with. It's like she reached into that little extra something that no one else has. I feel her emotion with this song...and it's one of her finest.

I like it very very much, but it has never been one of my faves, actually it is my least fave from the Horizon album, together with Mr. Postman

When I can't sleep, I put this CD on and just listen. Like, I mean, REALLY LISTEN. Because this voice that we hear on Horizon is the most amazing and perfect thing that has ever existed. It really is amazing. Karen's vocal performance on this LP/CD is absolutely incredible.


Lindakron

Very nice post Chris

I agree that there is just something about this song, and Karen's performance, that makes it an incredible experience listening to it. You can tell that especially on this song (and actually on most of this album) Karen is sooo close to the mic when she's singing. There's a resonance in her voice that is there on the previous albums, but which seems particularly emphasised on this album. I always think on Horizon that Karen sings softer than on the previous albums, which I think is partly to do with the fact that by 1975, her voice had started to mature and change, for the better.

The thing that gets me every time on this song is Karen's phrasing. When I listen to it, I always focus in on certain words, for example the way she pronounces 'constantly' in the line 'constantly stranded I can't understand it, this double life you've handed me'. Her voice just aches all the way through this song and the orchestration and instrumentation always reminds me of the word 'sublime'. I like the way Richard employed the use of a slide guitar, something he didn't do often, but which was used to excellent effect on 'The Uninvited Guest' in 1980.

Stephen

I always find that part to be so mesmerizing. It stands out from the entire song...the way she sings it. It's so personal and heart felt. I adore it.

...and also, I agree that Karen's voice matured for the better by the time they recorded this album. It's just the material, as I've been open about before, has not been as magical or up to par as the previous releases...with the exception of their Christmas recordings...which Richard and Karen both went above and beyond.
Edited by smw, 28 July 2006 - 02:49 PM.

I tell you what else I love about it...that low note she sings at the end 'devil and the deep blue sea'. She also uses vocal fry on this album more than usual, that little break in her voice. She uses it to superb effect on the last line of 'Love Me For What I Am' when she sings the line 'I must be free'. Similarly she does it on the other 1975 recording 'Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again'.

Yeah, you're right. I'll never understand why they didn't put that track on A Kind Of Hush. It would have balanced the album a bit more for me. But I guess anything would have paled in comparison to Horizon.

Didn't I hear somewhere that Richard wasn't totally satisfied with the ending result of Horizon?

I sometimes crank it up.

And also, "it's not easy to leave again", in Honolulu city lights.

And, although it's a bit different... "we start off walking and learn to run"....

These are some phrases or notes that just give me goosebumps. I can feel it on the back of my neck.



Lindakron
Edited by Lindakron, 28 July 2006 - 02:59 PM.

Yeah that's right, he describes it as being 'draggy' and felt that as soon as they'd finished recording it. Interesting what you say about Hush, I remember reading a review about it when it came out that was titled 'Cool Carpenters only Coasting', which kinda summed it up for me.

Yep Linda, that does it for me too.

I love it when Karen sings in her hard voice on notes like that, and especially when the vocal is doubled. It was really weird when Matt posted the SACD centre channel recording, because it was only one track of Karen's voice, and not a doubled lead that you hear on the finished version.

Most of this song gives me goose bumps anyway!!!!! Karen can do that so easily....ESPECIALLY the whole "Song For You" album. This song is so full of sadness...Karen puts that emotion across flawlessly. The phrase, "The picture of perfection, is only in your mind" is so close to her saying something personal to the fans listening...it's awesome!!!!!!


Cheryl