DVD " Live at BBC"

[song4yuka]

Hi there,

This is something I have posted to my "Carpenters Info" newsletter.

-----------

A new DVD "Live at BBC" is to be released in Japan on April, 25 this year.

I do not know exactly what contains there, but a new Carpenters A&R has
given me the following info:

Main contents:
A 60 minute documentary on Carpenters including Richard's latest interview

Extra:
76 footage 27min.
74 footage 45min.
71 footage 50min.

--------

Now, it does not tell me exactly what they are but it does give me a
good idea.

What do you think "a 60 minute documentary" may be? I remember BBC
creating a documentary back in 96 if my memory serves me correct. You
think they have inserted a new interview with Richard there? Or is it
something new? Probably I am missing something. Fill me in.

76 footage: probably it includes opening of their show Richard
conducting an orchestra and "Need to be in Love". What else? Maybe a
medley??

74 footage: it must be that whole show. Probably many of you already
have a copy. That program was exactly 45 minute, I recall.

71 footage: Carpenters played 10 songs including "And when he Smiles"
and "Bacharach Medley". Altogether does not take 50 minute. It leads me
to believe it also includes Tony Joe White stints.

I wonder why it is called "Live at BBC" and the main content is a 60
minute documentary and "extra" is really about their live gigs for BBC ?
It is a bit confusing, but the A&R is a new guy and he is responsible
for CD album releases but not necessary DVD.

Also, I asked if the same title would be released elsewhere but I did
not receive any answer. I would assume it will be released worldwide. It
was almost 10 years ago, I heard Richard obtained rights to those
footages. It may have been nothing but a rumor. Regardless of such
rumor, I am really happy to know that it will be available, and no more
eBay dealings on these footages.

---------
If you would like to subscribe to my newsletter, please visit my website
http://carpenters4u.net/eg/

I only send newsletter when there is something new, and this is not a maling list.

Thanks,
Yuka

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Thank you Yuka for your information. It does lead to more questions as you suggested. I hope this DVD will work in the US and be region free? I really hope so cause even though I have bootleg copy of this I'd surely like an official release.

Please keep us updated with more details, I'd be very interested in purchasing this if I can play it here in the U.S.

 

[DJS]

We should really applaud the release of this DVD, however, I wonder about the content. I am familiar with the 1971 performance and 1976 but do not recall the one from 1974, although I imagine it is similar to the Live in Japan DVD being from the same year.

The 76 performance is obviously heavily edited at 27 minutes long and I agree that is probably Richard's intro which finishes with Karen entering with the chorus of Only Yesterday, then A kind of Hush and I Know I Need To Be In Love. The programme picks up with From This moment On and the whole of the hits medley.

This version was shown on the BBC after the worst Carpenters documentary I have ever seen back in 96/97. I sincerely hope this documentary is new and not the one shown then which seemed to poke fun at Carpenters image and had some out of place features such as a girl mimicking the family run fan club and comments I found distasteful from Richards ex girl friend (Maria - I think ?) who used to be Karen's hairdresser on tour.
Richard did not seem at ease during this interview and was often thoughtful and somewhat deliberate in choosing his words. Its nothing like other interviews such as the VH1 Behind The Music or Close To You Remembering The Carpenters DVD where you can clearly see the man's enthusiasm when talking about the musical aspect of their careers.

Back to the performance though, I would love to see the whole concert including Piano Picker, Karen's drum extravaganza, The Warsaw Concerto etc etc. These pieces were meant to show off their respective musical talents and gave the 76 tour a very different programme to the earlier concerts.

Again though we should be grateful for this release - lets hope its world wide so everyone can enjoy, although England is region 2 the same as Japan so us Brits will be okay even it it is just Japan only.

 

[bluebird1111]

I would assume the 1974 concert is TALK OF THE TOWN.

 

[DJS]

Can any of you tell me more about the Talk of The Town performance, i.e what the set list was etc. This must have passed me by - mind you I was only 8 at the time !

 

[newvillefan]

This version was shown on the BBC after the worst Carpenters documentary I have ever seen back in 96/97. I sincerely hope this documentary is new and not the one shown then which seemed to poke fun at Carpenters image and had some out of place features such as a girl mimicking the family run fan club and comments I found distasteful from Richards ex girl friend (Maria - I think ?) who used to be Karen's hairdresser on tour.
Richard did not seem at ease during this interview and was often thoughtful and somewhat deliberate in choosing his words. Its nothing like other interviews such as the VH1 Behind The Music or Close To You Remembering The Carpenters DVD where you can clearly see the man's enthusiasm when talking about the musical aspect of their careers.

You're talking about 'Yesterday Once More'. This was the first real documentary that was ever aired on British television and I was really excited. Although I agree that the annoying fan club girl didn't add much substance, I was intrigued to hear the content of some of the newsletters, and we did get that interview with Agnes, recounting Karen's last days, in the living room of the Newville home.

PLUS, we got a brief tour of the Newville home, which I was obsessed with, so for me, this was a great documentary. Richard was the most stiff in this particular documentary that I have ever seen him though, so I would agree with that. He came out with stilted comments like 'Richard Carpenter: not quite a loner, not quite a party animal'. And this one, which made my sister scoff at the TV since it came across as very smug and big-headed: 'If one listens to the Carpenters with an 'open ear', I think there's no doubting the fact that it's pretty sophisticated stuff'.

For what it's worth, I think Maria Galeazzi's comments were quite interesting. She seems to say out loud what a lot of people suspect privately: that maybe, Karen was inwardly unhappy, and although she had moments of happiness, overall her heart was pretty heavy. I'd never heard anyone put it in such blunt terms as that, but it was a fascinating alternate take on events nonetheless. And remember, she was there during all of this, we were not .

So yeah, all in all, not my favourite docu, but not the worst. That award goes to the (also British) one which featured the nauseating psychiatrist Anna Raeburn trying to describe Karen's life as a long dark corridor, with a door at one end: 'When she opened it, she just couldn't stand the light, it was just too painful. So she slammed it shut, went back to California and back on the treadmill. And it killed her'.

Yeah whatever. Do your research, woman.

Stephen

 

[DJS]

Thank you for your reply Stephen, we are certainly talking about the same documentary and I agree entirely with your view on Anna Raeburns comments on another documentary.

Perhaps we should have a pole on all the Carpenters documentaries that have aired over the last decade or so. Does anybody want to kick this off ??

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Got an email from CDjapan that this DVD "Live at the BBC" is available to Pre-Order.

I noticed it says Region Code: 2, Encoding: MPEG-2. Isn't Mpeg2 not so good quality? I always thought it was kinda pixely, I mean not really DVD high quality, am I wrong?

It doesn't really matter anyway cause I can't play Region 2.

...wishing this would be region free...

 

[Murray]

I noticed it says Region Code: 2, Encoding: MPEG-2. Isn't Mpeg2 not so good quality? I always thought it was kinda pixely, I mean not really DVD high quality, am I wrong?

It doesn't really matter anyway cause I can't play Region 2.

Chris, ALL DVDs are encoded in MPEG-2. Perhaps you're thinking of VCDs, which are MPEG-1, and aren't nearly as high quality.

Some DVD players can be made region free. Typically, these are the no name brands you find at places like Walmart. A few brand name players can as well, although most are locked to a specific region and there's nothing you can do to change that. I got an el-cheapo player for $25, found the region hack for it online, pressed a few buttons on the remote, and viola!, a region free DVD player. I'm looking forward to getting this new Carpenters DVD from Japan now that I have something to play it on.

You can check this website to see if there's a region hack for your particular player, or any player you may be considering buying:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks

*Note: I wouldn't recommend trying to hack an expensive player. If something goes wrong, you could be left with a doorstop, and even if you succeed, you could void your warranty. But with something really cheap, and if you do your research first, it may be worth trying.

 

[davidgra]

There's another way to get around the regional coding problem on DVDs.

There is software you can get for your computer that will allow you to "rip" commercial DVDs so you can make copies of them. This software removes the copy-protection that is built into the DVD, and it also removes the regional code, so that the copy you make will play on any DVD player. Some of this software is even available as shareware. (If you're a Mac user, look up Mac the Ripper on a search engine.)

Of course, you would never want to use such software to make illegal copies of any DVDs, but it would be acceptable for you to make a "back-up" copy of something that you legitimately owned...

David

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Hey thanks Murray and David. I've heard of that site before Murray, they have alot of good info there. I plugged in my model #'s of the couple DVD player I have and only found 1 that had a written up hack however the 2 people that left feedback couldn't get it to work that was back in 2003. So I totally understand you do this at your own risk.

I also just search Amazon to see how much their region free DVD players were and I was really suprised how cheap they are, for example here is one http://www.amazon.com/Philips-DVP642-DivX-Certified-Progressive-Scan-Player/dp/B000204SWE of many for only $40.00. That is a really great price. I may just order this Carpenters DVD after all. I could also check out my local Tweeters store and see if they have any dirt cheap open boxes for all region DVD players.

Oh, your right Murray, I was think of VCD on the pixely discs, I have a ABBA VCD that is like this and it's pretty bad to watch. I'm glad this new Carpenters DVD is not like that.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Credit to Sakura for this. You can order Carpenters Live at the BBC and get 25% off here is the link. If link does not work go to Amazon Japan type english and click DVD in search and type this B000NDFKOU then hit go. This is cheaper than CDJapan. I have had very fast service with Amazon Japan.

or link if works
http://www.amazon.co.jp/ライヴ・アット・BBC...440881-2785812?ie=UTF8&qid=1174759167&sr=11-1

Use this website to convert money and you can get exact figures

http://www.xe.com/pca/input.cgi?&Template=full&

 

[SakuraSYayoi]

Yes, the link works. ASIN No. of "Live at BBC" is B000NDFKOU.

I wonder when the documentary will air. And what channel?
Can you watch BBC documentary in the U.S.?

Hope you can watch this DVD, Chris.

Sakura