Lovelines

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title: "Lovelines" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["the-carpenters-albums", "1989-albums", "albums-produced-by-phil-ramone", "a&m-records-albums", "albums-published-posthumously", "albums-recorded-at-a&m-studios"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovelines" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

FieldValue
nameLovelines
typealbum
artistthe Carpenters
coverLovelines (Carpenters album).jpg
releasedOctober 31, 1989
recorded1977–1989
studio*A&R Recording (New York City)
genrePop
length46:24
labelA&M
producerPhil Ramone, Richard Carpenter
prev_titleYesterday Once More
prev_year1984
next_titleOnly Yesterday
next_year1990
misc{{Singles
nameLovelines
typestudio
single1Honolulu City Lights
single1date1986
single2If I Had You
single2date1989}}
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| name = Lovelines | type = album | artist = the Carpenters | cover = Lovelines (Carpenters album).jpg | alt = | released = October 31, 1989 | recorded = 1977–1989 | studio = *A&R Recording (New York City)

Background

The album was assembled by Richard Carpenter from various studio outtakes along with selected solo tracks by Karen from her then-unreleased solo album.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.

"You're the One" is an outtake from 1977 album Passage.

"Honolulu City Lights", "Slow Dance" and "Where Do I Go from Here?" are from 1978 sessions.

"Kiss Me the Way You Did Last Night" and "The Uninvited Guest" are outtakes from Made in America, the studio album released in 1981 and the last completed during Karen's lifetime.

Two songs were taken from Carpenters television specials. "Little Girl Blue" is taken from 1978 Space Encounters TV special. "When I Fall in Love" was also originally recorded in 1978 for that TV special, but used later in Music, Music, Music! in 1980.

The album also includes four Carpenters interpretations of songs from Karen Carpenter's solo recordings: the title track, "If I Had You", "If We Try" and "Remember When Lovin' Took All Night".

"You're the One" and "Where Do I Go from Here?" were previously used in the TV movie The Karen Carpenter Story.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone wrote that Karen's solo tracks were "liberating. Ramone recorded her in leaner, decidedly unsaccharine settings and, in effect, got rid of her music's otherwise characteristic bad aftertaste. As Karen's cozy contralto pulses through the come-hither "Lovelines," the hearth-warm "If We Try" (both written by Rod Temperton, whose credits also include "Rock With You" and "Thriller") and the saltier "If I Had You," her vocals come damn close to soulful. Listening to them, it becomes apparent why singers like Chrissie Hynde, Madonna and Gloria Estefan have "come out of the closet" and admitted they were Karen fans...voices like Karen Carpenter's never really go out of style; Lovelines reveals just a few of the avenues that would have been open to her. But sadly, the Seventies never really ended for Karen Carpenter; she died before she could shed the goody-two-shoes image that shrouded her immense talent. As such, Lovelines becomes her essential epitaph.

In their review of the album, Billboard stated that "one listen and it's clear that no one - the closest is Gloria Estefan - has filled the void left after Karen's death in 1983. There's a good reason why some of the syrupy material was never released, but other tracks, like first single "If I Had You," the classic "When I Fall In Love," and "Where Do I Go From Here," instantly recall why the duo was one of the most successful of the '70s."

Allmusic noted that "When I Fall in Love" brings a tear to the eye as it captures that indefinable and completely unique quality that Karen brought to each song she sang. While the material in this compilation is not sensational or ground-breaking, it is definitely a sentimental selection of tunes that go easy on the ear."

Track listing

| headline = Side one | title1 = Lovelines | writer1 = Rod Temperton | length1 = 4:28

| title2 = Where Do I Go from Here? | writer2 = Parker McGee | length2 = 4:24

| title3 = The Uninvited Guest | writer3 = | length3 = 4:24

| title4 = If We Try | writer4 = Rod Temperton | length4 = 3:42

| title5 = When I Fall in Love | writer5 = | length5 = 3:08

| title6 = Kiss Me the Way You Did Last Night | writer6 = | length6 = 4:03

| headline = Side two | title7 = Remember When Lovin' Took All Night | writer7 = | length7 = 3:47

| title8 = You're the One | writer8 = Steve Ferguson | length8 = 4:13

| title9 = Honolulu City Lights | writer9 = Keola Beamer | length9 = 3:19

| title10 = Slow Dance | writer10 = | length10 = 3:35

| title11 = If I Had You | writer11 = | length11 = 3:57

| title12 = Little Girl Blue | writer12 = | length12 = 3:24

Personnel

Charts

::data[format=table title="Chart performance for ''Lovelines''"] | Chart (1990) | Peak position | Australian Albums (ARIA) | |---|---|---| | 110 | | | ::

References

References

  1. (November 7, 1989). "Karen Carpenter: She Had Only Just Begun : Pop: New Carpenters' album features four songs from Karen's ill-fated solo collection. The album suggests she might have had a career as a soloist.".
  2. "Lovelines - Carpenters | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic".
  3. (2006). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". MUZE.
  4. (1999). "MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide". Visible Ink Press.
  5. (February 13, 2007). "Rolling Stone : The Carpenters: Lovelines : Music Reviews".
  6. "You're the One". richardandkarencarpenter.com.
  7. "Honolulu City Lights". richardandkarencarpenter.com.
  8. "Slow Dance". richardandkarencarpenter.com.
  9. "Where Do I Go From Here?". richardandkarencarpenter.com.
  10. "Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night". richardandkarencarpenter.com.
  11. "The Uninvited Guest". richardandkarencarpenter.com.
  12. Sexton, Paul. (January 13, 2024). "The Carpenters’ ‘Lovelines’: A Posthumous Tribute To Karen Carpenter". udiscovermusic.com.
  13. "Album Reviews".
  14. "Album Search for "lovelines"".
  15. "The Carpenters ARIA chart history (1988 to 2024) albums only.". ARIA.

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