Lovelines

For the film, see Lovelines (film).

Lovelines
Studio album by Carpenters
Released	October 31, 1989
Recorded	1978–1980
Studio	A&R Recording (New York City) A&M (Hollywood) Kendun Recorders (Burbank)
Genre	Pop
Length	46:24
Label	A&M
Producer	Phil Ramone, Richard Carpenter
Carpenters chronology
An Old-Fashioned Christmas (1984) Lovelines (1989) As Time Goes By (2004)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
Rolling Stone

Lovelines is the posthumous thirteenth studio album by the American music duo Carpenters, the third Carpenters album released after the death of Karen Carpenter. 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.

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 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

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Lovelines"	Rod Temperton	4:28
2.	"Where Do I Go from Here?"	Parker McGee	4:24
3.	"The Uninvited Guest"	Buddy Kaye Jeffrey M. Tweel	4:24
4.	"If We Try"	Temperton	3:42
5.	"When I Fall in Love"	Edward Heyman Victor Young	3:08
6.	"Kiss Me the Way You Did Last Night"	Margaret Dorn Lynda Lee Lawley	4:03

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Remember When Lovin' Took All Night"	John Farrar Molly-Ann Leiken	3:47
8.	"You're the One"	Steve Ferguson	4:13
9.	"Honolulu City Lights"	Keola Beamer	3:19
10.	"Slow Dance"	Philip Margo Mitchell Margo	3:35
11.	"If I Had You"	Steve Dorff Richard Carpenter Gary Harju Larry Herbstritt	3:57
12.	"Little Girl Blue"	Lorenz Hart Richard Rodgers	3:24

Singles

"Honolulu City Lights"

• US 7" single (1986) A&M 8667

1. "Honolulu City Lights"
2. "I Just Fall in Love Again"

"Honolulu City Lights"

• Japan CD single (1986) A&M 8667

1. "Honolulu City Lights"
2. "Slow Dance"

"If I Had You" (issued as a Karen Carpenter solo)

• US Cassette single (1989) A&M TS 1471

1. "If I Had You"
2. "The Uninvited Guest"

• US CD Single Promo (1989)

1. ”If I Had You” (no B-side)

• JP 7" promo (1989) SSP-75

1. "If I Had You"
2. "Lovelines"

"When I Fall in Love"

• PH 7" single (1989) AM-90-133

1. "When I Fall in Love"
2. "Remember When Lovin' Took All Night"

EPs

Four selections from Carpenters: The 12 Compact Disc Collection

• UK CD promo (1989) SAMP1989

1. "You're the One"
2. "(They Long to Be) Close to You"
3. "Goodbye to Love"
4. "Merry Christmas Darling"

Charts

Chart performance for Lovelines

Chart (1990)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)	73