KIM CARNES TO RELEASE NEW CD
by Mimi Brickmeyer, staff reporter.
[April 23, 2003]
 [HollywoodInvestigator.com] Grammy Award winning "Bette Davis Eyes" singer Kim Carnes is quietly producing
a new indie CD, the Hollywood Investigator has learned from well-placed
Carnes
fans.
"She is doing it without
a label," said one fan. "No pressure, just doing her own thing, not
for the money. A little project, totally personal."
The fan speculated that Carnes
would release the CD herself, for sale via the internet and at her appearances.
As the bombshell
news traversed one Carnes
fan listserv, another fan enthused: "Good news! It worked for
Cher with her NOT.COM.MERCIAL album -- which was released via her website
and through Artist Direct. Other artists (Simply Red) have done similar
things. This is especially good to allow artists creative control,
while not having to concentrate on sales.
"I hope
this comes to fruition for Kim (and us)."
Although
primarily known for her 1981 hit "Bette Davis Eyes" from her Mistaken
Identity album, Carnes was initially an actress, appearing on TV's
Patty Duke Show and the 1967 film, C'mon,
Let's Live a Little. In the early 1970's Carnes contributed songs
to the Sugar
Bears cereal lp and the Vanishing
Point soundtrack (1971).
Her first
album, Rest
on Me (1972), established her reputation as a "blue-eyed soul" country
crooner, and has been reissued on CD under many titles, including Sweet
Love Songs of My Soul. But shockingly, all releases to date are marred
by the same defect: "too slow" tracks that distort Carnes's voice into
a molasses-like sound. This defect does not appear on the lp.
Carnes's
following two albums, Kim Carnes (1975) and Sailin' (1976), were released
on a single Master
Series CD (sans some songs from the "Kim Carnes" album). Both
were issued by Polygram's A&M label.
Carnes
moved from Polygram to EMI, releasing St.
Vincent's Court (1979) and Romance
Dance (1980), which were reissued on a single CD last February. St.
Vincent's Court had briefly been available on CD (long ago, and only
in Australia!), but Romance
Dance had never before been available on CD! This shocking 23-year
gap between Romance
Dance's original vinyl release and its CD reissue is stark evidence
of the big labels' gross incompetence -- and the reason why so many desperate
fans have turned to file-sharing to find the music they love!
 Carnes's
next hit album, Mistaken
Identity (1981), shifted her image from country/soul to pop/dance,
and was followed by the harder-edged techno-pop Voyeur (1982). That edge was softened in followups: Café
Racer (1983), Barking
at Airplanes (1985), and Lighthouse (1986), her final EMI album. The Lighthouse lp was reissued on CD only in Japan, and is currently out
of print.
After
Lighthouse, Carnes left EMI for MCA, and returned to her earlier country
sound with View
From the House (1988) -- her final album with entirely new songs. Additional new songs (and reissues) appeared on Checkin' Out the Ghosts (1991, released only in Japan, and now out of print), and Gypsy
Honeymoon (1993).
Today
Carnes, 57, lives in Nashville with her hubby and two sons. While
she considers herself semi-retired, she continues to write songs for other
top celebs, and sings at smaller venues, clubs, and charity events. She retains an enthusiastic fan following.
She has an official
site.
Mimi Brickmeyer is a Los Angeles based entertainment reporter who has extensively investigated Hollywood's biggest celebrities. Read about her adventures in tabloid journalism in Hollywood Witches. |
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