The album came about when Richard Carpenter, Karen's older brother and musical partner, announced in 1979 that he wanted to take the year off while being treated for an addiction to Quaaludes putting Carpenters on a temporary hold. Karen on the other hand was eager to work and decided to pursue a solo record.[4]
Out of the twenty-one songs recorded, only eleven were chosen for the album. The songs on the album were mixed according to Karen Carpenter's instructions.
The production of the album cost $400,000 of Carpenter's own money and $100,000 fronted by A&M Records. The $100,000 fronted by A&M was offset against Carpenters' future album royalties.
Cancellation
A&M executives in New York approved the material, but the executives in Los Angeles, including label owners Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, responded negatively. Ramone recalls that Carpenter broke down in tears. Devastated, she accepted A&M's urging not to release the album.[6] It was officially announced in May 1980.[3]
Richard Carpenter later said that the decision not to release the album was Karen's, who respected the opinions of A&M executives and others—including him.[7] Several musicians who worked on the album have said that Carpenter very much wanted her album to be released and that it was not her idea or decision to shelve it.[8]
An episode of E! True Hollywood Story profiling Karen Carpenter claims that Herb Alpert called the album "unreleaseable". Quincy Jones championed releasing the album to Derek Green, an A&M Records vice-president, but Alpert, Moss and Green insisted the album had to be canceled.
On February 3, 1983, the day before Carpenter's death, she called Ramone to discuss the album; according to Ramone, Carpenter said, "I hope you don't mind if I curse. I still love our fucking record!"[9][3]
Four songs from the album ("Lovelines", "If I Had You", "If We Try" and "Remember When Lovin' Took All Night") were later rearranged by Richard Carpenter and included on the Carpenters' 1989 album Lovelines. However, the "If I Had You" single released the same year was credited as Karen Carpenter's solo.[11]
The album in its original intended form remained shelved until the release in 1996 — thirteen years after Karen Carpenter's death. The reason behind the release was partly due to renewed interest in Carpenters music in the mid 90s and the success of the If I Were a Carpenter tribute album.[4]
The liner notes of Karen's album included comments from Richard Carpenter and producer Phil Ramone about the later decision to release it the way Karen approved it. The resulting release included additional twelfth bonus track, "Last One Singin' the Blues".[7]
While the album was being prepared for release, an individual at A&M copied Carpenter's unreleased and unfinished material on a cassette tape and distributed it via a fan club on Yahoo! through the mail. The songs were leaked onto the internet in 2000. Two of the unreleased songs, "I Love Makin' Love to You" and "Truly You" were finished, while the remaining tracks were work leads only and in different stages of completion.[citation needed]
The following are a list of songs that Karen Carpenter recorded that never made it onto the album;[3] however, they all circulate via bootlegging circles in studio quality.
.png)
