
Of course Karen had one of the best voices of the twentieth century. Her style was not to belt, but that doesn't mean she couldn't. She had incredible breath control and relative perfect pitch, meaning she could relate musically from any note to another, hence her near flawless vocals and beautiful harmonizing.
As is known, Carpenter had a contralto voice, but it was long decided by her brother that she sing mostly in the "basement" of her register, so her full range was seldom used. Those low C,D and E# were her money notes. That sounds cold, but most of us get the thrill of Karen's low tones. They were never forced, but deep and full, with a controlled vibrato that gave them extra resonance.
The opening phrase of "For all we know" is very simple melodically, but gorgeous and captivating because of her tone. Her timbre was deep and warm, and she sang very smoothly, with a great legato - the connection of musical phrasing to the sound of words. There is an immediacy to her sound. She was smooth, not bland.
KC used crescendos subtly and beautifully, had wonderful crisp diction, and could traverse very intricate tempo changes or glide over a complex melody with ease. Her higher register and head voice weren't as agile as the lower, but piercing in the middle and well integrated when she used it. It is heard in many of her beautiful harmonies. She made it all sound much easier that it is.
I think her lowest notes are in a Song For You? When they fit a somber line, as in Rainy Days and Mondays or Superstar, there is a kind of melancholy thrill to the sound of Karen's voice. She sounds equally great singing "On Top of the World." Lots of contraltos have rich sound from Garland to Gladys Knight, but Karen had both depth and extreme clarity in her modal voice, with a bright modern style of singing. A bit collegiate, a bit jazzy. A pretty voice.
I can't say that I like most of The Carpenters music. But as a musician, singer and vocal coach, I can't read any more posts that insist that Karen Carpenter wasn't a great singer. She was. Her vocal chords were blessed, and if anything Karen suffered from her brother's obsessive desire for them to always sound supersonically harmonically "perfect." They were in agreement mostly about their overall sound and image, but he was the one that would not tolerate a vocal improvisation, nor a flubbed note from a musician. This lead to a lot of lip syncing on television, but Karen sounded great live.
The post at R170 is a complete lie. Richard Carpenter famously sped up some of their recordings, and even added breath sounds to some of Karen's recording, because she sang too effortlessly. The mike held close to her mouth was used for this same purpose - to create sonic intimacy. That was their style, not a vocal weakness of Karen Carpenter.
In "Goodbye to Love", Karen often sang the whole musical phrase, "Time and time again the chance of love has passed me by, and all I know of love is how to live without it" on one breath. That is third lung singing, showing incredible vocal skill and musicianship, not the voice of someone who lacks power or mastery of singing. KC was a very gifted singer. Her voice is unmistakable from the first three notes of any song she ever sang. The timbre of her voice needs no explanation. We all have our way of describing it - pure, smooth, rich, resonant, sad.
I was a child when the Carpenters were famous and as the saying goes, no one ever admits they own a Carpenters album, though they did and continue to sell millions. I first got into them long after Karen was dead. I don't like the arrangements of most of their songs, and I wish Karen sang a bit more soulfully, but would never criticize Karen Carpenter's voice or her technical ability.
In their overall sound, they were more influenced by the Beach Boys than anyone and completely imagined by Richard. He loved the overdubs, doubled vocals and 16 part harmonies. Pretty weird, very specific and incestuously entwined. He wanted to present her perfectly, and so did she, I guess. Her voice is the star.
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