Voyeur (Kim Carnes album)

Voyeur is the seventh studio album by American singer Kim Carnes. It was released on September 8, 1982, by EMI America Records. Carnes began writing material for Voyeur while touring her previous album Mistaken Identity (1981).

Voyeur
Studio album by Kim Carnes
Released	September 8, 1982 (1982-09-08)
Recorded	March 9 – July 13, 1982[1]
Studio	Record One, Los Angeles[lower-alpha 1] Hitchings Manor[lower-alpha 2]
Genre	Synth-pop new wave rock
Length	37:53
Label	EMI America
Producer	Val Garay
Kim Carnes chronology
Mistaken Identity (1981) Voyeur (1982) Café Racers (1983)
Singles from Voyeur
"Voyeur" Released: 1982 "Does It Make You Remember" Released: 1982 "Say You Don't Know Me" Released: 1983

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
People	(favourable)[2]

Voyeur is a synth-pop album that Carnes described as "more consistent" than its predecessor. It received mixed reviews, with some critics in favor of the album, while others remarked that it failed to live up to the standard of Mistaken Identity.

Critical reception

Billboard described Voyeur as "a worthy followup" to Mistaken Identity, with "more of a rock edge" than its predecessor.[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic retrospectively gave the album two out of five stars, stating that "the problem with success is following it." He suggested that it would have been difficult to match the success of Carnes' previous album Mistaken Identity, describing the situation as "a shocking performance for an artist that seemed poised for superstar status" after the album stalled in the charts. He opined that the album followed the same formula as Mistaken Identity, stating that it is hard to say why Voyeur did not achieve more than it did.[1]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Voyeur"	Kim Carnes Dave Ellingson Duane Hitchings	4:01
2.	"Looker"	Barry DeVorzon Michael Towers	5:35
3.	"Say You Don't Know Me"	Carnes	4:12
4.	"Does It Make You Remember"	Carnes Ellingson	5:10
5.	"Breakin' Away from Sanity"	Carnes Craig Krampf	2:57

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Undertow"	Carnes Hitchings	4:08
7.	"Merc Man"	Carnes Ellingson Hitchings Krampf	3:32
8.	"The Arrangement"	Dennis Polen	3:48
9.	"Thrill of the Grill"	Carnes	3:23
10.	"Take It on the Chin"	Carnes	4:30
Total length:			37:53

2001 remastered reissue bonus tracks[4]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Voyeur" (12″ version)	Carnes Ellingson Hitchings	5:47
12.	"Dead in My Tracks"	Carnes	4:24
13.	"Still Hold On" (live 8/24/81)	Carnes Ellingson Eric Kar Wendy Waldman	5:32
Total length:			53:36

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Voyeur.[5]

Musicians

• Kim Carnes – vocals (all tracks); background harmonies (track 8); ARP synthesizer (track 10)
• Waddy Wachtel – electric guitars (tracks 1, 7–10); six-string bass (track 1); background vocals (tracks 1, 9)
• Josh Leo – electric guitars (tracks 1–4); background vocals (tracks 2, 9); solo guitar (track 9)
• Duane Hitchings – ARP and Prophet-5 synthesizers (tracks 1, 7); background vocals (track 1); all instruments (track 6)
• Bill Cuomo – Prophet-5 synthesizer (tracks 1, 7, 9, 10); Oberheim OB-X synthesizer (tracks 1, 7, 10); synthesizers (tracks 2–4); background vocals (track 2); piano (track 5)
• Craig Krampf – Oberheim DMX drum programming (tracks 1, 7, 10); background vocals (tracks 1, 9); drums (tracks 2–4, 8, 9); tambourine, hand saw (track 4)
• Dave Ellingson – background vocals (tracks 1–4, 7, 9, 10)
• Daniel Moore – background vocals (tracks 1–4, 7, 9)
• Craig Hull – electric guitars (tracks 2, 3, 9); background vocals (tracks 2, 9); electric guitar solo (tracks 4, 8)
• Steve Goldstein – keyboards (tracks 2–4, 7, 9, 10); background vocals (track 2); organ (track 8)
• Bryan Garofalo – bass (tracks 2–4, 8, 9); background vocals (tracks 2, 9)
• F. Bob Getter – string bass (track 2); background vocals (track 2)
• M.L. Benoit – percussion (tracks 2, 3, 9)
• Jerry Peterson – saxophone (tracks 3, 4, 9)
• Melissa Beaton – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Jeannette Clinger – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Emilie de Azevedo – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Lexy de Azevedo – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Rachel de Azevedo – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Donna Delory – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Collin Ellingson – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Richard Hamilton – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Betty Joyce – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Tim Lamb – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Steve Luczy – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Lu Anne Ponce – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Adam Rue – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Brian Stillwell – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Peter Wade – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Lisa Whitman – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Faith Wong – children/background vocals (track 5)
• Jimmie Haskell – children's background vocals arrangement (track 5)
• Martha Davis – background harmonies (track 8)

Technical

• Val Garay – production (all tracks); recording (tracks 1–5, 7–10)
• Niko Bolas – recording assistance
• Richard Bosworth – assistant to Niko
• Duane Hitchings – recording (track 6)
• Doug Sax – mastering (at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles)

Artwork

• Hollywood Type-Set – typography
• Aaron Rapoport – photography
• Kosh – art direction, design
• Ron Larson – art direction, design

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[6]	21
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7]	26
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8]	37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9]	26
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[10]	12
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11]	18
US Billboard 200[12]	49

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13]	Gold	50,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes

1. All tracks except "Undertow"
2. "Undertow"

References

1. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Kim Carnes: Voyeur". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
2. "Picks and Pans Review: Voyeur". people.com. People. October 25, 1982.
3. "Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. September 11, 1982. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Voyeur [Bonus Tracks] – Kim Carnes". AllMusic. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
5. Voyeur (liner notes). Kim Carnes. EMI America Records. 1982. SO-17078.CS1 maint: others (link)
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 256. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6924a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kim Carnes – Voyeur" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
9. "Charts.nz – Kim Carnes – Voyeur". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
10. "Norwegiancharts.com – Kim Carnes – Voyeur". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
11. "Swedishcharts.com – Kim Carnes – Voyeur". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
12. "Kim Carnes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
13. "Canadian album certifications – Kim Carnes – Voyeur". Music Canada. 1 November 1982.