THE CARPENTERS Make Believe It's Your First Time

A sad, but poignant recording which was issued as a single after the death of singer Karen Carpenter. 'Make Believe It's Your First Time' was initially memorialised on her one and only solo effort which was produced in 1979 but shelved for release; only finding the light of day in 1996. The Carpenters also made a version of it in 1981 for an intended inclusion on their 'Made In America' opus but that didn't happen either. Finally in 1983 after Karen's passing, Richard Carpenter resurrected the track and it was found on their 'Voice Of The Heart' LP and issued as a single. It did well on the Adult Contemporary charts in Canada (#2) and America (#7) but failed to ignite on pop charts - making #60 in England, and #80 here in Australia, where it did so early in 1984. 'Make Believe It's Your First Time' performed best in Ireland of all places! Karen's versions - both the solo one and the single included here, were not the first or only interpretations of the composition. Bobby Vinton had it first in 1979; the same year Karen laid the vocals for it, for her ill-fated solo album. It is a beautiful song and performed exquisitely (as only she could) and reminds me just what a tragic loss her extraordinary talent was, when she passed away in 1983 at the age of just 32.