K AND R's use of vibrato and not

[Jeff]

One thing that's always been a source of enchantment is Carpenter(S) use of a flawless vibrato. That said, I'm goose bumped by the non use particularly in their sustained, pure overdubs ie: The end of Goodbye To Love, Caught Between GAILY, 39 voice chord in I"LL NEVER FILA, CLOSE TY's WAH ah ah ah, Ticket's ri i ide, and on. I love the ability to have those soaring vocals so uninterrupted by vibrato and when called for both singers are masters of a flawless use of same. I've never really mentioned this before but it's always been a source of marvel for me. KAREN CARPENTER the solo is packed with the same technique.

Me luvz it,

Jeff

 

[Tapdancer]

I'm with ya', Jeff! To my ears, the use of vibrato can either make or break a song, and I think the Carpenters got it right every time. What I like especially is when Karen hits a note 'clean', and then breaks into her vibrato - it's beautiful!

I love classical music, yet one of the reasons I sometimes find it hard to listen to Opera is because many singers of the genre employ vibrato on almost all the sustained notes from the moment they hit the note; and often have too "wide" or too "fast" a vibrato. Yuck! [Apart from singing, the effects when vibrato is not used can also be dramatic when orchestrating a score. A great example was during the recording of the Beatles "Eleanor Rigby", where Paul McCartney wanted a strident-sounding string section. They did two quick demo versions - one with, the other without, vibrato - and chose to go with the latter. Even so, the string section found it difficult to drop their natural tendency towards playing with vibrato (and one can still hear it a little on the final recording).]

Context is also very important. I absolutely love the sound of the Australian pop/folk group The Seekers. Theirs was the clear, pure penetrating voice of lead singer Judith Durham against the warm backdrop of a 3-part male vocal harmony. But take Durham's full-on vibrato vocal away from the backup voices, and it's rather difficult to enjoy! I'll take Karen's solo vocals over Judith's any day, but am equally appreciative of both ladies' sounds when placed against their respective harmony arrangements.

 

[george_b]

I don't think Karen was big on forced vibrato. I think of this as her natural resonance. That is when the double tracking is not confusing things.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Vibrato has always intrigued me as well, and like "tapdancer" I get turned off by vibrato that's too "wide" (if that's the right term). I agree that Karen was just about perfect in her use of vibrato and made it sound so natural.

Another singer who's great at knowing when to use vibrato and when not to, is Lani Hall.