When did they go from 12 voices to 8

[ullalume]

Hey guys,

Well we all know that Richard decided that doubling their 4 part harmony worked just as well as trebbling it (an opinion that's arguable), and we know there were exceptions to the rule (Only Yesterday, Back in my Life). . . . .
. . . . .but does anyone know which album saw them reduce the number of voices. I certainly notice fewer Karens and Richards on HORIZON, and to my ears they were still trebbling with AS4U. . . .but Now and Then I'm not sure on.

Any definitive ideas.

Neil

 

[GaryAlan]

Neil,
Excellent Question !
Your observation regarding the Now & Then LP, as far as I can ascertain, a definite change.
Sing adds Jimmy Joyce Chorus, Jambalaya tracked earlier, This Masquerade & I Can't Make Music virtually Karen Solo,
Heather--an instrumental Yesterday Once More is full of the trademark harmony, The Medley seems rather a toss-up for my ears.
Now & Then Credits: Produced by Richard and Karen Carpenter
This album marks a turning point. (IMHO).

 

[newvillefan]

Hey guys,

Well we all know that Richard decided that doubling their 4 part harmony worked just as well as trebbling it (an opinion that's arguable), and we know there were exceptions to the rule (Only Yesterday, Back in my Life). . . . .
. . . . .but does anyone know which album saw them reduce the number of voices. I certainly notice fewer Karens and Richards on HORIZON, and to my ears they were still trebbling with AS4U. . . .but Now and Then I'm not sure on.

Any definitive ideas.

If I remember rightly, Richard said in an interview that they stopped trebling their four part harmonies around the same time as A&M upgraded the studio from 16 tracks to 24 tracks, which I believe was not long before they recorded Horizon. Richard said he didn't think trebling added much to the sound and by that stage their recordings were becoming much more sophisticated and elaborate, which meant he needed the extra tracks for additional instrumentation and orchestration.

Interestingly enough, if you google "A&M studio D 24 track", the first entry that comes up is the wikipedia page for the Horizon album

 

[Chris May]

Richard decided to stop triple-tracking (or "tripling") the BGVs after the Now & Then album. You begin to hear this on Postman, etc - i.e. 1974 on. This was also the year A&M built studio "D" (A&Ms second largest tracking room, "A" being the largest) and upgraded to 24-track, 2" tape machines.

Also remember, some of the songs even had anywhere from five to eight "parts", double-tracked; so not everything was written with a 4-part formula in mind. In addition, Richard's general chord structures and part-assignments for the a cappella tracks (Without a Song, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear etc) were 8-parts, double-tracked, 16 voices in total. We (Richard and I) have had many discussions about it so as to clear up any questions or confusion.

 

[Chris Mills]

BGVs? I really had to think hard. Then it came to me. BGVs = back ground vocals.

 

[Chris Mills]

The first time I heard the remake of "Ticket To Ride" is for me the beginning of when the BGVs changed, they sound really smooth.

 

[ullalume]

Richard decided to stop triple-tracking (or "tripling") the BGVs after the Now & Then album. You begin to hear this on Postman, etc - i.e. 1974 on. This was also the year A&M built studio "D" (A&Ms second largest tracking room, "A" being the largest) and upgraded to 24-track, 2" tape machines.

Also remember, some of the songs even had anywhere from five to eight "parts", double-tracked; so not everything was written with a 4-part formula in mind. In addition, Richard's general chord structures and part-assignments for the a cappella tracks (Without a Song, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear etc) were 8-parts, double-tracked, 16 voices in total. We (Richard and I) have had many discussions about it so as to clear up any questions or confusion.

Cheers Chris,

That's perfect.

 

[Jeff]

Mr. May you came thru once again.

Thanks fascinating question n answer.

Jeff