A Carpenters Mystery: Tracking Down Their Last Set Of Tracks
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by Dan
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What all did Karen record during the Carpenters final studio session?
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Many fans know about the duo's final recording session. In April 1982, the Carpenters went into A&M's Hollywood studio to lay down tracks for several new songs. One of those songs, "Now," would be the last Karen ever recorded.
It was less than a year after their release of Made In America. The first single from that album, "Touch Me When We're Dancing," placed them again in the U.S. Top 20 after a five-year hiatus. Yet they were already putting together another album to build even more on that promising comeback.
However, other than "Now," it's unclear what songs Richard and Karen recorded during their final session. While "You're Enough," at least, is a likely candidate, the only other song which isn't accounted for is "Prime Time Love." But even that could be an unused track from Made In America--as "Two Lives" reportedly is--or one from the 1978 "I Believe You" sessions, since it features the same drummer, the late Larrie Londin, whose first credit on a Carpenters recording is the "I Believe You" single.
Indeed, besides rampant speculation, fans are unable to tell whether "Now" was the only song the Carpenters recorded that April. Karen was taking a two-week respite from her year-long anorexia treatment in New York, which she began the previous November. She wouldn't return again until her therapy was over. Nor would there be any more recording sessions. So it is possible that she simply didn't have the time then to record anything else. Still, the consensus among fans is that their final recording session did include other songs.
What fans do know is that almost every song released after Karen's death can be easily matched to a particular recording session. Richard's liner notes for their 1989 Lovelines album, for example, give the year each song on it was recorded. This and other sources show which usable songs the Carpenters had available before 1983 to put on their projected album:
Horizon (1975) outtakes:
"Sailing On The Tide"
"Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again" (work lead)
A Kind Of Hush (1976) outtake:
"Ordinary Fool"
Passage (1978) outtake:
"You're The One"
Recorded during the 1978 "I Believe You" sessions:
"Look To Your Dreams"
"Where Do I Go From Here?"
"Honolulu City Lights"
"Slow Dance"
"Leave Yesterday Behind" (work lead)
Recorded for the 1978 ABC-TV specials:
"Little Girl Blue" (Space Encounters)
"When I Fall In Love" (Space Encounters but not used until Music, Music, Music)
"Without A Song" (Music, Music, Music)
"From This Moment On" (Music, Music, Music, not used)
Made In America (1981) outtakes:
"Two Lives"
"The Uninvited Guest"
"Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night"
"The Rainbow Connection"
"At The End Of A Song"
"Make Believe It's Your First Time"
"Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore"
April 1982 session:
"Now" (work lead)
written before Christmas 1982:
"In Love Alone" (not recorded)
recording date unknown:
"You're Enough" (likely April 1982)
"Prime Time Love"
Of course the Carpenters likely would've considered new material as well. But if the idea was to use mostly what was already in the can so Karen could focus mainly on completing her recovery and regaining enough strength to do promotions, then they might have had that new album ready for release by early 1984, if not sooner. There was definitely a wealth of prior recordings to choose from for that. It's easy to imagine such an album made up of half new and half previously stored recordings.
As it was, Richard did complete ten of those songs for their Voice Of The Heart album, released six months after Karen's death. He later completed eight more for Lovelines, which also included four songs from Karen's 1979 and 1980 solo sessions. On Richard's 1987 solo album Time Dionne Warwick sang "In Love Alone," a song he and John Bettis finished in 1982 presumably for the Carpenters next studio album. The remainder he saved for their 1995 Interpretations and 2001 As Time Goes By albums. His efforts here have succeeded not only toward appreciably adding to his and his sister's remarkable legacy but preserving it for many more years to come.
Someday Richard may also work up the dozen or so other unreleased recordings fans know or suspect remain and put them on the next "final" Carpenters album (or albums). A complex, difficult and time-consuming task, to be sure.
For now, the present mystery remains. What all did Karen record during the Carpenters final studio session?
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sources:
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Carpenters. As Time Goes By (album). Hollywood, Calif.: A&M Records, 2001. Liner notes.
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John Tobler. The Complete Guide to the Music of the Carpenters. New York: Omnibus, 1998.
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Carpenters. Interpretations (album). Hollywood, Calif.: A&M Records, 1995. Liner notes.
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Ray Coleman. The Carpenters: The Authorized Biography. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
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Carpenters. Lovelines (album). Hollywood, Calif.: A&M Records, 1989. Liner notes.
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Carpenters' International Fan Club. Newsletters. #42 (April 1975) and #81 (July 1984).
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