Carpenters single mixes

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Harry

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Over on the Hoffman forum, someone was looking for a comprehensive list of which Carpenters US singles had dedicated single mixes and which were the same as the album mixes.

Let's let this thread serve as a springboard for such a list. For those of you with the original singles out there, post here what they are and whether they are a unique single mix or are the same as the album version.

It might also help if when there is a single mix, that we document the difference.

Harry
 
I'll get things started.

Ticket To Ride - the single differs from the album track in that the single was in mono. That single also had a slightly different piano intro.

Your Wonderful Parade - the b-side to the above had two different issues on 45. One was a mono mix of the album version, and the other was mono version that had a shortened opening "circus spiel" by Richard.

Both of the above are not available on any album or CD that I know of.

Harry
 
US Single 45 of:

Make Believe it's Your First Time, the b side-"Look to your Dreams" contains the shortened version having never appeared on LP or CD, it does not contain that heart-wrenching piano solo by Richard.

Mr Guder single 45 also is shortened version that I don't think has appeared on CD, it is missing the ending which I think is the cool part....please...play your game...stay the same...and then the instrumental end is all missing, sounds weird without that.
 
The single version of I Won't Last A Day Without You featured Tony Peluso on electric guitar, which I've never liked... I prefer the album version much more
 
Top Of The World is an interesting one. It first appeared as an album track, then when it was due to be a single, Karen & Richard spruced it up with a different steel guitar. Since then, the single version has appeared on most compilations.

Harry
 
Ticket To Ride totally revamped
Close To You edited from album shorter
Please Mr. Postman More vibrant than album version
I Won't Last... addition of elec. guitar licks and i think something else
Solitaire Faster than album slso sound fuller earlier to this untrained ear
Calling Occupants...I think it is much shorter than album version
Those Good Old Dreams there is a high sound at the very end i think and it's all because of you da de da dedah de dah BLIP ( I am a trained musician, LOL)
That's all that I can regurgitate at the moment. Have a great day everyone.

[edited by moderator to add bold to the song titles for clarity as this is likely to become a reference thread]
 
Actually Solitaire added a short guitar figure and an organ to the mix for its single. It's recently been released on the GOLD collection in the US.

The Close To You single mix is found on many comps - it's the album-length version that's used much less.

Please Mr. Postman was compressed and EQ'ed to sound like an old 45. It's only been on CD on the Japanese Single Box Set.

Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft can also only be found in its shortened single form on CD on the Japanese Single Box set.

I Won't Last A Day Without You in its single version can be found on the original issue of the A SONG FOR YOU CD (not the later reissues, which reverted to the album mix). It also appears on the Japanese Single Box Set.

Harry
 
Let's not forget the Christmas singles:

Merry Christmas Darling is a completely different vocal recording than the album version. Single version found on CD in the FROM THE TOP set.

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town is a different mix (vocally) with a different sax solo. Single version available on CD only in Japanese singles box.

Getting really picky, the single of The Christmas Song is different. The single has a "clean" start, whereas the album version segues in from "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town."

Chris pointed out the b-side of Make Believe It's Your First Time, but the a-side is also different -- no spoken words by Karen during the intro on the single. Rarely found on CD in this way, although it has appeared on at least one compilation (the UK YESYERDAY ONCE MORE).

I Need to Be In Love is missing the piano intro on the single. This version is used on the original CD release of A KIND OF HUSH, but not the "Remastered Classics" version of the CD.

I Kept on Loving You has a "clean" start on the single, which is different than the album version. Only on CD as part of the Japanese singles set.

Yesterday Once More was also beefed up for the single release with an additional guitar riff, but then this version was used on almost every subsequent version of the album released (except the "Remastered Classics" version).

And if you want to get really technical, the original single of Those Good Old Dreams is actually the same mix as the original album mix. It was remixed for the CD release of the album, and every subsequent release has used the remix.

David (just back from Minneapolis)
 
The flip side of "It's Going to Take Some Time", as you know, is "Flat Baroque". If you listen closely, Richard plays a full OCTAVE lower after the intro than the album version! I noticed that somehow when I bought the single as a kid, and most people haven't caught that! Pretty interesting.
 
Welcome to the A&M Corner, "A&M Retro". That's a good one, and one I'd not heard of before - and you're right - the single mix is a bit differengt in through the first "verse". I'm sensing that it was a different mixing choice rather than a whole different recording, with a piano overdub perhaps buried in one of the mixes. I also hear less of the cymbals in that verse on the single mix.

It appears that this mix is not available on the Japanese Single Box, which used the straight album version.

Harry
 
A&M Retro, I'm glad you brought that up cause somewhere on this forum I brought this up about Flat Baroque being different on the single 45 too but don't think it got much response. I knew I wasn't hearing things.

...wondering where that thread could be here...
 
Wow. That was four years ago.

At that time we were looking at a speed discrepancy, which apparently exists on the original pressings of A SONG FOR YOU album on LP. It's funny that even then I apparently detected a difference in the mix in the location of the instruments, but didn't actually conclude that it was a different "mix" for the single.

The speed discrepancy between the old LP and the Remastered Classic CD seems to be what stood out for me.

Thanks Chris, for digging that up. I'd totally forgotten that.

Harry
 
Went digging a little further and found this note from Richard on the Treasures 2 CD Japan Set, Richard writes that Flat Baroque was re-recorded for A Song for You. Also in his notes it appears that there is even possibly another version cause he says he, Karen and Wes when signed in 67 w/ RCA Victor this was one of the tracks they cut and says none of the sides were ever released.

So in order for it to have been re-recorded there had to be an original, right?
 
Actually, a number of songs on the first four Carpenters albums were technically "re-recordings." Some songs (like "All I Can Do") were first recorded by Spectrum. Others (like "Flat Baroque") were originally recorded by the Richard Carpenter trio. "Crescent Noon" was originally recorded with the California State University at Long Beach choir. "Offering" was recorded as a demo before they signed with A&M.

So yes, Chris, there are original versions of quite a few songs. I've only listed the ones that have been released in some form -- there are surely more Spectrum and demo recordings that haven't been released which were later re-recorded for albums.

David
 
davidgra said:
Actually, a number of songs on the first four Carpenters albums were technically "re-recordings." Some songs (like "All I Can Do") were first recorded by Spectrum. Others (like "Flat Baroque") were originally recorded by the Richard Carpenter trio. "Crescent Noon" was originally recorded with the California State University at Long Beach choir. "Offering" was recorded as a demo before they signed with A&M.

So yes, Chris, there are original versions of quite a few songs. I've only listed the ones that have been released in some form -- there are surely more Spectrum and demo recordings that haven't been released which were later re-recorded for albums.

David


David,

When you say you've only listed the ones that have been released in some form I'm curious about both 'Crescent Noon' and 'All I Can Do' what form were they released in?

Many Thanks

Scott B
 
"All I Can Do" by Spectrum, recorded in 1967, is in the FROM THE TOP set. The original version of "Crescent Noon" from 1969 is on the CSULB Choir album.

David
 
davidgra said:
"All I Can Do" by Spectrum, recorded in 1967, is in the FROM THE TOP set. The original version of "Crescent Noon" from 1969 is on the CSULB Choir album.

David


Thanks I forgot about that one. Btw is that the same recording that Richard pulls out on a reel to reel for that Japanese Carpenters special that was made and aired in Japan a few years ago? That gave me chills and you could see how emotional Richard was when he played that tape.

I didn't even know about the 1969 CSULB Choir Album.

As always thanks for the great information you provide to all the Carpenters fans via this forum and your fantastic website.

Scott B
 
scottb said:
Btw is that the same recording that Richard pulls out on a reel to reel for that Japanese Carpenters special that was made and aired in Japan a few years ago? That gave me chills and you could see how emotional Richard was when he played that tape.

I didn't even know about the 1969 CSULB Choir Album.
Scott B

Scott, that was actually "All of my Life" from the Japan Docu called Carpenters Forever. probabaly the best portion of that docu, Richard brings out that Sony portable tape recorder/player machine and hooks up the reel of the demo "All of my Life" recorded in 1967 in the living room, no overdub and no echo, in an attempt to get some echo they go into the bathroom shower and record in under a mic. Cool stuff, love seeing and hearing Richard talk about this stuff, would be cool for him to make a DVD of this kind of stuff to share with the Carpenters fans.
 
Chris-An Ordinary Fool said:
scottb said:
Btw is that the same recording that Richard pulls out on a reel to reel for that Japanese Carpenters special that was made and aired in Japan a few years ago? That gave me chills and you could see how emotional Richard was when he played that tape.

I didn't even know about the 1969 CSULB Choir Album.
Scott B

Scott, that was actually "All of my Life" from the Japan Docu called Carpenters Forever. probabaly the best portion of that docu, Richard brings out that Sony portable tape recorder/player machine and hooks up the reel of the demo "All of my Life" recorded in 1967 in the living room, no overdub and no echo, in an attempt to get some echo they go into the bathroom shower and record in under a mic. Cool stuff, love seeing and hearing Richard talk about this stuff, would be cool for him to make a DVD of this kind of stuff to share with the Carpenters fans.


Chris,

That's right my mistake as I realized after I submitted the post the track on the Japanese doc was 'All of my Life'. You could see that Richard was genuinely moved when he played the track on the portable tape deck.

Thanks

Scott B
 
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