Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
BarryT60 said:I was always in hopes that Ticket would have been re-released in the winter of 73 / 74 - with the success of Top Of The World, and of course, the Singles album.
BarryT60 said:Great observation on the Beatles resurgence at the time.... What a way to propel that album to greater heights as well... Many would have preferred the Singles to the older Ticket album by 1974... Seems I actually read in some A & M media that they had actually considered a Ticket re-release - but IWLAD won out due to concert appeal... Frankly, I was surprised by both Top and Won't - since Now & Then had already been released in the interim.
I think it's one of the best single examples there is of Richard's "gift" for arranging, Karen's incomparable vocals, and the magic that happens when the overdubbed harmonies are used.
And one of the best examples where Karen re-recorded her lead. The '69 version is painful to listen to.
Wow so they actually used that edited single of Your Wonderful Parade" on this new singles collection. I wondered if they would, we talked about this rare single 45 and how it was released 2 ways, I have this edited 45 and part of his dialog sounds like an alternate vocal take. Surprised Richard allowed this version.One of the joys of the new CARPENTERS-THE COMPLETE SINGLES set is that it finally provides an officially-issued version of that first single in the CD format, meaning that all fans who have access to this set can now hear all of the anomalies it presents. As I've listened to this version of "Ticket To Ride", I've become quite sure that this version is NOT the one I must have heard on the radio back in 1969. The radio station I was partial to, and listened to almost exclusively was a an FM-stereo station that was quite "proud" of its status of playing songs in stereo, so they probably didn't touch the mono single and would have played the track from the OFFERING album.
The start of "Ticket To Ride" as a mono single is very different, picking up quickly with the piano riff that ushers in Karen's vocal. Then her opening vocal sounds a little odd for a few words - and then it's back to the album version, folded down to mono.
The b-side track is another strange animal. The version of "Your Wonderful Parade" heard on COMPLETE is the shorter and more dramatic difference of the two that are out there, with some of Richard's "announcement" a bit edited. His vocal tone is different too, with emphasis on different syllables.
I own a version of the single that has a more traditional Richard-opening, sounding to me like the single was re-pressed at some point - or that like some other A&M recording anomalies, there are different versions based on pressing plants of the day.
Harry
But I guess that for the alternate takes the audio no longer existed on tape, as it mentions the single was mastered from a vinyl record.
It's quite possible that:
1. Richard chose the shorter version because it's the most different.
2. He chose it because it was the only copy he had access to.
3. He chose it because he's unaware that another version exists.
Choice three might seem silly, knowing what we know of Richard's attention to detail, but consider that the two versions might have existed due to geographic reasons - the east coast / west coast thing. Suppose he was unaware of the pressing plant difference. It's not unheard of. We are aware of two or three distinct pressing differences on Herb Alpert's WHAT NOW MY LOVE album. Herb was asked about it and knew nothing of it.
Also, Richard might have kept copies of albums and singles as given to him by the record company, but like most artists, he probably doesn't listen to any of them very much at all. Certainly not like we, the ravenous fans.
Harry
3. He chose it because he's unaware that another version exists.
Choice three might seem silly, knowing what we know of Richard's attention to detail, but consider that the two versions might have existed due to geographic reasons - the east coast / west coast thing. Suppose he was unaware of the pressing plant difference. It's not unheard of. We are aware of two or three distinct pressing differences on Herb Alpert's WHAT NOW MY LOVE album. Herb was asked about it and knew nothing of it.
They could have used one more single in 1974...having resurrected "I Won't Last A Day Without You"...and having to tread water to "Please Mr. Postman". "Ticket To Ride" would have been worth a shot. Though I probably would have led with "Ticket To Ride" at the same time as the Singles 1969-1973 release (November, 1973), then followed with "I Won't Last A Day Without You" afterward.
Consider:
"I Won't Last A Day Without You" was from a two-year old best-selling LP. Gotta figure most Carpenters fans had already heard it and still it made it to #11. "Please Mr. Postman" to #1. So the Carpenters were still very much salable.
1974 was a big year for all things Beatles. Capitol Records was running a tenth-anniversary (of their US arrival) celebration, promoting the back-catalog. All four Beatles had solo records on the charts in '74: McCartney's "Band On The Run", Lennon's "Mind Games", George Harrison's "Dark Horse" and Ringo Starr's "Ringo".
So "Ticket To Ride" had a strong shot...certainly could have gone Top 20, beating its #54 peak on original release five years before.