⭐ Official Review [Album]: "OFFERING"/"TICKET TO RIDE" (SP-4205)

How Would You Rate This Album?

  • ***** (Best)

    Votes: 18 23.1%
  • ****

    Votes: 25 32.1%
  • ***

    Votes: 23 29.5%
  • **

    Votes: 10 12.8%
  • *

    Votes: 2 2.6%

  • Total voters
    78
Crowd-sourced chronology questions: So Offering was released in October of 1969, I believe, and the Billboard ad, above, is from February, 1970. When was the “Ticket To Ride” single released? Also, I’d always understood that Offering was quickly repackaged as Ticket To Ride after the title single peaked about halfway up the Hot 100, which would have been sometime in the spring of 1970, I believe, but before “(They Long To Be) Close To You” was released as a single in May, 1970. The John Tobler book indicates that Offering “...was repackaged and reissued and (under the title Ticket To Ride) spent four months in the Billboard album chart in early 1971…” (p. 13), which gives me the impression that Offering may have been reissued in late 1970 or early 1971 in the wake of the two monster singles from the Close To You album. Does anybody have the date when Offering was reissued as Ticket, and was it released in response to the “Ticket To Ride” single, or the Close To You singles (or both)?
 
Great Question !
According to....
Carpenters Fan Club Newsletter#13, May 1972:
Q: "Why was Offering repackaged as Ticket to Ride ?
A: "Erroneously, the Album was released before the Single, when the single (then) came out a hit.
Therefore, the album containing the 'hit' song was repackaged and renamed."

Notice:
Billboard,
March 20, 1971 has "Ticket To Ride" LP (SP4205) at #172 (three weeks on chart).
June 5, 1971 at # 156 (14weeks on chart).
 
My memory is this:

I'd heard the "Ticket To Ride" single on the radio in the fall of 1969, but knew nothing of the album. "Close To You" hit in the spring of 1970. CLOSE TO YOU album followed later that year with "We've Only Just Begun as a single. At that point, OFFERING had already been withdrawn. It was nowhere to be found in stores. My sister found me an errant copy of OFFERING and gave it to me for Christmas. TICKET TO RIDE, the album, came out sometime in 1971.

Harry
 
Many thanks, GaryAlan and Harry! So from both of your posts, it seems evident that the repackaged TTR album came out in early 1971, which likely means the duo was photographed on the boat and on the back cover of the TTR album sometime after “(They Long To Be) Close To You” exploded on the charts. Interesting to me, somehow, as I’d always perceived the cover/back for the TTR album as being photographed before any hits on the radio: two hopeful unknowns crossing their fingers (“a kiss for luck,” so to speak), but now I’m seeing those photos differently, as the duo were likely riding high off the success of their first hit single (and maybe their second, depending on when the photos were taken). A terribly exciting moment in time for the duo, no doubt...
 
I’d always perceived the cover/back for the TTR album as being photographed before any hits on the radio: two hopeful unknowns crossing their fingers (“a kiss for luck,” so to speak), but now I’m seeing those photos differently, as the duo were likely riding high off the success of their first hit single (and maybe their second, depending on when the photos were taken). A terribly exciting moment in time for the duo, no doubt...

I think the TTR photo was taken after their initial success. Compare the cover for Offering (taken in the street with a sunflower yanked out of the ground) with this one, a sailboat out on Lake Tahoe. I don't think A&M would have stretched to renting a sailboat for the purposes of a photoshoot before they'd had success with Close To You.
 
The 1971 Fan Club Newsletters offered a "Boat Poster"
(first mention of a colored poster is August 1971,
February 1972 specifically states 'Boat' in description)
I wonder if this is the photo from the LP Ticket To Ride cover ?
Surely, someone has a copy of the 'Boat' Poster.
Also, in small print on the reverse of Ticket To Ride:
"This album was previously released under the title 'Offering', it
has been re-designed and re-titled 'Ticket to Ride'. However, the
tunes remain the same
."
 
Billboard Magazine, August First, 1970 ( Front Page Advertisement):
" A&M Records now has the number one record in the country, Close To You,
performed by the number one group in the country, Carpenters. It's been less than
a year since the group cut its first chart-buster, Ticket To Ride, and released its first
album, Offering. Now, in summer 1970 the group is readying its new big single, and its
second album called Close To You. A re-packaging of its first album will follow.
Yes, its been a good year for A&M's Carpenters, smash appearances with Sergio Mendes
and Burt Bacharach. And, the future ? Looks like SRO at the record bins for Carpenters."

Source/Photo:
https://books.google.com/books?id=X0UEAAAAMBAJ
 
Billboard Magazine, August First, 1970 ( Front Page Advertisement):
" A&M Records now has the number one record in the country, Close To You,
performed by the number one group in the country, Carpenters. It's been less than
a year since the group cut its first chart-buster, Ticket To Ride, and released its first
album, Offering. Now, in summer 1970 the group is readying its new big single, and its
second album called Close To You. A re-packaging of its first album will follow.
Yes, its been a good year for A&M's Carpenters, smash appearances with Sergio Mendes
and Burt Bacharach. And, the future ? Looks like SRO at the record bins for Carpenters."

Source/Photo:
https://books.google.com/books?id=X0UEAAAAMBAJ

Big Thanks, GaryAlan! This bit seems to make it clear that the album was repackaged after CTY and WOJB went nuts on the charts, and not in response to the TTR single going half-way up the Hot 100. This also cements the notion that the young siblings were in the midst of their first waves of success, which gives the photos a completely fresh context for me (as I’d always perceived the photo session took place before their singles started taking off). So appreciate your research on this!
 
Newbie here!

This album is actually tied for first place in my list of best Carpenters album, along with ASFY. I know that's probably not a popular opinion. I feel like this is one of the most cohesive albums they released - and one where Richard sounds great on his leads (well, mostly). I love the way they celebrated the sixties and their influences, and gave a taste of what was to come. I listen to this album almost every day. I may be a tad obsessed. I also prefer Karen's "imperfect" vocals on Ticket to Ride and Someday to the later revisions. I get more emotion out of her in these early, raw vocals. I know most think this one hasn't aged well, but I appreciate the retro vibe I get from it. All in all, I believe this was a helluva first album that A&M maybe gave up on a little too soon.
 
I read a comment somewhere that sums up what I love so much about this album: "Youthful rawness combined with the perfectionism the Carpenters are known for".
At first, I heard a track or two from this album and stayed away from it; I wasn't a fan. I think it's when I got my hands on a copy of the album, sat down, and took an earful of the whole thing that I finally begun to take a liking to it. Now I firmly believe that this album, as a debut, was and is sorely under-appreciated. Karen's drumming on all of these recordings, "Your Wonderful Parade" and "All I Can Do" come to mind here, are spotlighted and (needless to say) amazing. All of the tracks have a special quality; so youthful, unsweetened, ambitious, and creative (not saying that their other tracks do not possess any of these qualities, but they stand out especially here!).

And to answer a question, I thought I read that the photos for Ticket To Ride were taken at Lake Tahoe in March 1970, on Karen's birthday. I might be confused with when they filmed the music video for the song of the same name, so I apologize in advance if that statement is incorrect...
 
I've just realized that the world's first taste of a proper Karen Carpenter lead (you can't really count Invocation) was arguably her worst vocal ever. . . Someday. Funny. . .
 
I've just realized that the world's first taste of a proper Karen Carpenter lead (you can't really count Invocation) was arguably her worst vocal ever. . . Someday. Funny. . .

One man's trash is another man's treasure. For me, "Someday" is some of the most sublime music ever recorded and elevates OFFERING for me to its "Desert Island" status.

So, ullalume, if you're ever in a boat and spot me on that desert island, don't come ashore - I might be listening to "Someday"! :)

Harry
 
One man's trash is another man's treasure. For me, "Someday" is some of the most sublime music ever recorded and elevates OFFERING for me to its "Desert Island" status.

So, ullalume, if you're ever in a boat and spot me on that desert island, don't come ashore - I might be listening to "Someday"! :)

Harry

Wow. I am fond of the song. . .very much so, in fact. . .just her vocal that's disappointing (to me, obviously). Tell you what, I'll listen to Those Good Old Dreams on my island, you listen to Someday on yours. . . maybe we meet up in between for Sailing On The Tide.
 
Hey - I like "Those Good Old Dreams" Too! Spent many a year looking for that original album track version on a CD, which only exists on that EMI YESTERDAY ONCE MORE set from the UK.

Harry
 
I've just realized that the world's first taste of a proper Karen Carpenter lead (you can't really count Invocation) was arguably her worst vocal ever. . . Someday. Funny. . .

If her worst vocal is on this album, for it's "Ticket To Ride". Someday is glorious and I love her vocals there, her early raw voice and power shine through and I don't hear anything technically wrong with it, even though her voice did get richer after this. I've heard people say she's off pitch here or she has a cold or something but I really don't hear it. I love her belting here, a style that was greatly restrained after the Close to You album. I love the power and range of her voice in these early albums that you wish Richard allowed her to utilize later on as well. Of course her calm, cool signature style is spectacular, but you wish Richard crafted some arrangements that allowed her voice the freedom to soar and feel the song in a new way. Listening to the early albums and unreleased pre-Carpenters songs (i.e And When I Die) proves that this girl had power and range just as mighty as Streisand when she was the same age and beyond.

And her 1969 performance beats the 1980 MMM one by far. Sure it's more polished but couldn't come near the original in terms of feeling.
 
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Just for the heck of it, I spent about an hour or so trying to determine if "Someday" could be edited down to a single length song, and was somewhat successful, not that edits are good things, but sometimes it's fun.

First off, I hacked off most of the first 45 seconds of instrumental intro and did a quick fade-up just before Karen's first vocal. I'd probably play with that some more as it wasn't all that satisfactory. Next, I chopped out the entire second verse of the song, doing it at the "Oh...I...need...you" point. The best place was just before the word "you." At that point, the record was down to 3:15, so the length was right.

Then using Audacity, I applied both a leveler and a compressor to even out the soft vocals with the loud orchestration, and then reduced the whole thing to mono. It sounded like it could have been an authentic mono single mix.

Then bored with the whole thing, I just deleted it and went out to lunch! Just some audio fun on a Saturday morning/afternoon.

Harry
 
Just for the heck of it, I spent about an hour or so trying to determine if "Someday" could be edited down to a single length song, and was somewhat successful, not that edits are good things, but sometimes it's fun.

First off, I hacked off most of the first 45 seconds of instrumental intro and did a quick fade-up just before Karen's first vocal. I'd probably play with that some more as it wasn't all that satisfactory. Next, I chopped out the entire second verse of the song, doing it at the "Oh...I...need...you" point. The best place was just before the word "you." At that point, the record was down to 3:15, so the length was right.

Then using Audacity, I applied both a leveler and a compressor to even out the soft vocals with the loud orchestration, and then reduced the whole thing to mono. It sounded like it could have been an authentic mono single mix.

Then bored with the whole thing, I just deleted it and went out to lunch! Just some audio fun on a Saturday morning/afternoon.

Harry
Someone has WAY too much time on their hands!!

BTW...how was lunch? :razz:
 
Harry, I wanted to hear that version of "Someday"!!! :cry:

I think of it as being Richard and John taking a bold shot at writing a Broadway show tune in what was still the "grand tradition" of that style of composition. My guess is that the length of it, including all of the orchestral flourishes and the somewhat "avant" intro-outro, was conceived with the type of "take it to the limit" ambition that the young songwriting team was demonstrating throughout so much of the Spectrum material.

Of course, Karen would have been simply fantastic as the romantic lead in a (late) 60s Broadway production, and "Someday" would have been a showstopper...if only the boys had sat down and written the rest of the songs for it. My sense it was kind of a "bucket list" kind of challenge for them--and I think they passed with flying colors!

Chris May, have you ever talked to Richard about his and Karen's interest in Broadway show tunes? I wouldn't be surprised if it was fairly prominent amongst all of those formative influences--the mid-50s to the mid-60s were a glorious time for musicals and they "went viral" around much of the USA at the time. Given that he speaks fondly of the song, I wouldn't be surprised that he also has a great deal of fondness for the music from that golden age...
 
That makes me want to try that edit of "Someday" -- although I'll use Sound Forge and CD Architect. Harry, I can't believe you deleted your edit without at least burning a copy of it for posterity!

I just noticed this from a few months ago:

Carpenters Fan Club Newsletter#13, May 1972:
Q: "Why was Offering repackaged as Ticket to Ride ?
A: "Erroneously, the Album was released before the Single, when the single (then) came out a hit.
Therefore, the album containing the 'hit' song was repackaged and renamed."

That's just record company spin. The single got released to try to get the group some airplay, and when it happened, the album was renamed to capitalize on that. There was no "error" to it. It makes a nice throwback to the early/mid '60s, when many albums were titled after their hit singles. After 1967, when (thanks to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper) the album started to be seen as an art form of its own, the practice became far less common... by the mid-70s, the only time you'd see an album titled after a hit single was if the record company expected the artist to be a "one-hit wonder."
 
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