Explaining the Carpenters' vocal "sound" [We've Only Just Begun]

[@trevorbayfield4006]

If only Karen knew how much she is appreciated now, with new fans being awakened daily to her astonishing natural talent.

[@dugjay]

All these years later and I still get goose bumps hearing those background vocals.

[@SimirJohnson]

The genius of Richard Carpenter’s arrangements. As talented as Karen was, Richard was certainly no slouch for what he brought to the table.

[@fool4singing]

What you're hearing is just a small segment of a song,..think of all the time, energy and effort it took to record ALL those records, with ALL those backing vocals! It's what made their music magnificent back then, and what has kept it as alive, fresh and enduring as it still is today.

[@javiermgtaoism5702]

The creativity that Richard possessed was extraordinary. He was a master piano player, arranger, composer and with his sister as the vocalist; what an awesome pair. They did not last but what they left behind is to be treasured for ever. And to find out that they have not been incorporated in the hall of music; what's with that!!!!! Shame on the music industry, SHAME!!!

[@bruschmidt9943]

This is the definition of "What Beauty Sounds Like." 😢😳😍🌞😇

[@emattdat10]

The reaction of this woman’s reaction at 3:15 is what makes The Carpentrers that extra special!!!

[@johnx5891]

Actually, Close to You ended in a 16-voice chord. They had to sing EACH overdub VERY closely to not make just a muddy sound with such close notes. Karen and Richard had that ability. Nowadays studios would just double and triple the exact snippet-- or use electronic doubling.

[@FredericKahler]

WHAT A TREAT! I noticed there's tension, too, in their early song in C-major, "Don't be Afraid." Whilst the C-major chord descends regularly down the scale, there's an F, E and D that lag behind.

[@Djfmdotcom]

I grew up in the 70s with The Carpenters' music everywhere on the radio. We may not see music like it again

[@eggy1962]

picked apart like this also shows richard was no slouch on vocals himself and put together with karen's angelic vocals ...need i say more

[@richardwhite2344]

It is absolutely mind boggling all of the work at went into a Carpenters album and the incredibly high standards that went into recording a Carpenters album. Every song, every album is a absolute masterpiece and some of the great recordings ever recorded. Richard and Karen were both Genius in what they did. Karen's vocals on every song just takes your breath away. Her voice was always phenomenal even her last recording of "Now" is phenomenal which is so amazing considering how thin she was and sickly looking, her voice was still absolutely gorgeous all the time. Karen stands alone at the #1 position and that is where she will always be. NOBODY that ever lived could NEVER even come close to the phenomenal voice she had.

[@AnneloesF]

woah.... I'm speechless. I have enjoyed that beautiful harmony for years and years. To hear how it was originally built...mindblowing!

[@johnx5891]

Because every vocal track was done individually with only analog "stacking" is amazing.

[@MosaicRose99]

Sounds like a group of angels. Love it......

[@greenwich1754]

I think that was the intention, whether they realized it or not. The vocals point us to heaven.

[@markcoycoyescueta6922]

Why do I feel “heavenly” when Karen and Richard background tracks come in..OMGOSH!!! That final 4 part is goosebump mode..ALWAYS gets me chicken skin.. Thank u God for Richard & Karen’s music!!!

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

Fantastic! Pure unadulterated TALENT. And of course that voice!!

[@darrellcordova1021]

Karen's voice.....unmatched.

[@jamesdrynan]

Richard's arrangements were always tailor made for the songs. When I first heard their harmonies back in the seventies, I wondered how they achieved that velvety sound. Now I know! The Beatles did a similar triple- track on " Because, " but the voicings Richard and Karen sang were sublime!

[@mattymattel5482]

PURE MAGIC!!!

[@Coupydog]

Richard's genius forward thinking & of course that VOICE. Those people couldn't believe their ears; neither could I 😇😥

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

And 1 dislike. Probably some jealous no talent rapper.

[@fool4singing]

They created the sound together, but it was Richard who was the architect of the whole concept. They were magic!

[@fool4singing]

@@Mr.56Goldtop You got that right! I can't even listen to most of the new music today. No melodies, no skill, no uniqueness, no class. Thank God we had good musicians in our past like Richard and Karen!

[@timothyparsons8327]

Yeah, we were blessed and shamefully it has taken decades to fully appreciate their unique sound. Having been around in the early 70s and head banging to heavy rock, everyone agreed that Karen Carpenter was special. I could go on forever, today and tomorrow watching young people react to Carpenters music.I have learned more about them, lately, in doing just that. To hear her sing extracts from a telephone directory would be divine!

[@bruschmidt9943]

Each time they added more Karen, it got even more angelic. Unreal talent 💖

[@philipmarlowe8763]

Although I am a pianist, and heard of their overdubbing concept, I never stopped to think about what they were doing. What an extraordinary effort on Richard's part. I know there has been some past discussion of "who had more talent," Karen or Richard, but they both blessed with amazing amounts of talent, creativity and love for what they did. I will say however, this short segment here gives me a different level of admiration for both - and a definite newfound level of respect for Richard's amazing talent.

[@reubenkeyz5131]

It was 50/50 because they needed each other

[@fozziepetty]

Beautiful breakdown! I've always loved the harmonies on this timeless song. Two other personal early favorites with rich, background vocals are "Crescent Noon" and "Maybe It's You." The sheer amount of quality time and detailed effort K&R spent on these recordings still makes them exciting & fresh to dissect & admire. Thanks for this post!

[@johnx5891]

Gosh, how can you pick "favorites" out of the collection !!!

[@markcoycoyescueta6922]

Love love Crescent Moon and Maybe It’s You…genius works!!!

[@stillphil]

3:08 GOOSEBUMPS 3:10 the gentleman with the hearing aid lets the harmony HIT HIS SOUL 3:15 EXHALE and RELEASE

[@lynnewilson1191]

This was such a great panel. Thank you so much for putting this on You-Tube for all the 50th Anniversary attendees.

[@rollomaughfling380]

Spent much of my life picking apart those vocal block chords, even simulated them for TV work. Thank you for this!

[@nohaylamujer]

This is a GEM!

[@DanDDirges]

The carpenters were playing chess and everybody else was playing checkers. And they were just kids! Great explanation on how they achieved their amazing sound!

[@Anthony-ix3rp]

GOLD !

[@mylittlebuckaroo]

Gorgeous!

[@Wolfsky9]

How I loved Rich & Karen's music ! -------------------WolfSky9

[@Pancakeshouse85]

Wonderful, man. Wonderful presentation. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@favera2003]

Chris, Thank you SO MUCH for this. You are the best! I hope you can upload more pearls like this.

[@gregman1715]

LOVE LOVE LOVE THE CARPENTERS💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘

[@pth0047]

What an awesome video!

[@jaycantrell7703]

Hey, this is phenomenal. Is the rest of the video on here?

[@kac3249]

What a great song.

[@milanetc4865]

Wow! Please post more

[@DavidGlover-s7x]

Still loved today.

[@hans-ts7xm]

Brilliant👍

[@hardlines4]

Beautiful

[@darrellcordova1021]

Of course, Karen didn't need all the backing vocals......she was extraordinary all by herself.

[@artistbrindle]

I totally agree. I think that that Richard overproduced at times, and Karen’s vocals didn’t need it

[@bruschmidt9943]

Agreed 100%. He had the best female Pop singer of all time & should've restrained a bit more?

[@ミスターグーダー]

Hi, Chris. I understand you are the author of carpenters musical legacy that's soon to be released. Congrats. I'm curious to know if Yuka Ogura and Randy Schmidt are involved in this project in any way. I remember her asking Japanese fans for help. I've pre-ordered a copy for me and can't wait to read it! Mitch from Japan

[@vaccavo]

Superb!

[@FredericKahler]

I keep coming back To catch each track Single, double, triple You can hear the faintest ripple And the solar wind begins...

[@davidsommerville2213]

Very cool!

[@matrox]

You know you are important when you have all the big international world leaders gathered at a symposium to discuss your singing voice. Putin was not available to make this meeting.

[@robertfeeley9738]

How can you explain sound in a room like that

[@DaveNightingaleRADIO]

I work in the radio industry, and most jingles made by the major American companies, have used the same vocal stacking techniques to acheive a richer, fuller sound, particularly on their Adult Contemporary jingles. It's not unusual for a 7 voice group (4 guys, 3 girls) to be stacked up to 4 times, making it effectively 28 voices in unison.

[@FredericKahler]

Man, I eat this stuff for breakfast, lunch, dinner & a midnight snack. If there's any way you can continue dissecting their close harmonies I would so appreciate it, e.g., the song I mention below: "Don't Be Afraid." oxox

[@Desertphile]

Thank you.

[@cvmaio5101]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🇧🇷🇺🇸

[@gurenmarklaurente3762]

1:00 + 1:27 + 1:49 + 2:21 = 3:08 Ur welcome... 💕👍

[@stillphil]

We can wait...Geeks like foreplay...lol all the same thanks for the shortcuts.

[@gabrielainda3536]

I love Karen Carpenter, in fact I'm completely crazy for her ❤

[@juliebarrows8149]

When I was a kid back in the ‘70’s I wanted to BE her!!!

[@chrisnieto5547]

Was she double tracking it herself or was it done by the engineer? It’s so precise , it’s hard to believe it was natural.

[@alanhowell3646]

Surely if you triple track the exact same vocal doesn’t it just gets louder? I understand the harmonies by singing the chord tones but not the triple tracking.

[@chrismay7094]

Since no one can technically double or triple track themselves "exactly" the same way each time, regardless of how precise it each overdub may be, this creates a phasing-type effect. If you listen to each sample as the layers are added, you can hear the difference in warmth and tone.

[@alanhowell3646]

@@chrismay7094 ah ok. Makes sense, I though he meant he just duplicated the exact same track three times. I get if each of the three is a separate take and will obviously vary slightly. Thanks

[@briank10101]

How does one get access to the discrete vocal tracks presented here?

[@lwh7301]

Karen's voice would have been better if it wasn't multitracked.

[@SueRosalie]

watch the videos of their live concerts and you get bucketloads of her pure voice and little improvisations and variations that aren't in the studio tracks. Simply amazing. So it's even sadder for those of us who never got the see the Carpenters live