''Lovelines'' is the posthumous thirteenth studio album by American music duo
Carpenters
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...
, the second Carpenters album released after the death of
Karen Carpenter
Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was prais ...
. It was released in 1989 and is a
compilation album assembled by
Richard Carpenter from unreleased Carpenters tracks along with selected solo tracks by Karen from her then-unreleased
solo album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
.
[The Rock Who's who - Page 92
Brock Helander - 1996
The posthumously released album Lovelines contained 10 unreleased songs, including 4 by Karen from a never-completed solo album.]
Background
The songs on Lovelines were primarily gleaned from Carpenters television specials. "When I Fall in Love" was originally recorded in 1978 for their TV special, ''
Space Encounters''. However, they chose "
Little Girl Blue" for that special instead, and later used "When I Fall in Love" in their ''
Music, Music, Music!'' TV special in 1980. Other outtakes included "Kiss Me the Way You Did Last Night" and "The Uninvited Guest" from ''
Made in America'', the studio album released in 1981 and the last completed during Karen's lifetime.
Between 1989 and 2019, ''Lovelines'' was also the last Carpenters album to be issued in the vinyl LP format; in 2019 ''Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra'' was released on LP.
Critical reception
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' wrote that "as Karen's cozy contralto pulses through the come-hither 'Lovelines', the hearth-warm 'If We Try' ... and the saltier 'If I Had You', her vocals come damn close to soulful."
Track listing
Singles
"Honolulu City Lights"
*US 7" single (1986) A&M 8667
#"Honolulu City Lights"
#"I Just Fall in Love Again"
"Honolulu City Lights"
*Japan CD single (1986) A&M 8667
#"Honolulu City Lights"
#"Slow Dance"
"If I Had You" (issued as a Karen Carpenter solo)
*US Cassette single (1989) A&M TS 1471
#"If I Had You"
#"The Uninvited Guest"
*US CD Single Promo (1989)
#”If I Had You” (no B-side)
*JP 7" promo (1989) SSP-75
#"If I Had You"
#"Lovelines"
"When I Fall in Love"
*PH 7" single (1989) AM-90-133
#"When I Fall in Love"
#"Remember When Lovin' Took All Night"
EPs
Four selections from ''Carpenters: The 12 Compact Disc Collection''
*UK CD promo (1989) SAMP1989
#"You're the One"
#"
(They Long to Be) Close to You
"(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The best-known version is that recorded by American duo the Carpenters for their second studio album '' Close to You'' (1970) and produced by Jack Daugherty. Rel ...
"
#"Goodbye to Love"
#"Merry Christmas Darling"
Charts
References
{{Authority control
The Carpenters albums
1989 albums
Albums produced by Phil Ramone
A&M Records albums
Albums published posthumously
Albums recorded at A&M Studios