Carpenters Vinyl Boxed Set - what's the chances?.

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Wayne Crozier

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Good afternoon everyone,

I'm a new member here and joined due to my love of the music of The Capenters, although I have all of the albums on vinyl currently, these are getting old now and I am reluctant to play my copies due to this, I was hoping that there may be a possibility of a full re issue of the albums in a boxed set form?. With the current massive resurgence of vinyl collection and the plethora of new box sets from everyone it seems, surely it's high time the Carpenters back catalogue was released in a deluxe box set form. I for one would jump at the chance of owning a copy. Any advice or anyone like to comment upon this please?.
 
Welcome, Wayne! I'd say at this point in Richard's career, your guess is as good as anyone's.
 
It's a great idea but what mixes would they use? I would assume this would be quite expensive as a set collection? In addition, would it include both Christmas albums and As Time Goes By?
 
It actually sounds like something that theoretically would be a nice premium for the 50th Anniversary in 2019. There've been many box sets of CDs, and SHM-CDs since the 3oth Anniversary, but there's never been a vinyl box set. Whether or not the Japanese will do this, or right here in the States, it remains something "new" that hasn't been done with the same old recordings.

While travelling over the holidays, we had occasion to eat at a Cracker Barrel or two or three, and they all now have a crate of vinyl, filled with all sorts of things from reissues (Beatles, Eagles, Motown) to current stuff (Taylor Swift). I could easily envision someday seeing a Carpenters album or two in there.

As for mixes, of course it would have to be the originals.
 
Good afternoon everyone,

I'm a new member here and joined due to my love of the music of The Capenters, although I have all of the albums on vinyl currently, these are getting old now and I am reluctant to play my copies due to this, I was hoping that there may be a possibility of a full re issue of the albums in a boxed set form?. With the current massive resurgence of vinyl collection and the plethora of new box sets from everyone it seems, surely it's high time the Carpenters back catalogue was released in a deluxe box set form. I for one would jump at the chance of owning a copy. Any advice or anyone like to comment upon this please?.

Actually, it's my understanding that something like this is already in the works. I don't know the current status, but this reality could be closer than you think :wink:
 
I'm hoping that this can soon be a reality, would love for it to happen, if it doesn't I do feel it is an opportunity lost, And would possibly encourage people to listen to this great music, apparently here in the U.K. The largest percentage of album buyers are those 18 - 25.
 
Intriguing that a vinyl boxed set potentially could be on the Horizon ( no pun intended ), but how long would we have to wait that's the question?.
 
...and would it include U.S. releases only, "Offering" or "Ticket", use 180g vinyl, have any bonus features...my set of original US LPs is complete except for "Offering" and in very good condition, save for "The Singles 1969-73" which does show some wear. Great opportunity for newer fans, at the very least, though.
 
Personally I'd be happy with the studio albums and live albums , haven't got the first in original cover but the "Ticket to Ride" I do have. Would be tremendous if it was like the recent Beatles box sets with a large hard back book the same dimensions as the box. Also an embossed outer box with The Capenters logo would top it off. I have the MFSL of Sinatras Capitol era and something like that would be superb , I can dream I guess.
 
This is actually a really great idea....issue them as a box set and then later issue them individually. I was at my local Barnes & Noble store this past week and the collection of vinyl is nothing short of amazing, it's like walking back in time to the record stores when vinyl was the norm. It would be one heavy box set though, with 14 albums in 1 box set, original covers and inserts yeah that would be pretty heavy. To be honest, I'd rather have a US version instead of the Japanese LP's only because so much has already come out from Japan, a US version would be unique.
 
I hope someone who can pull the strings at the record company thinks what an opportunity, I honestly cannot believe there hasn't been a box set, practically everyone has a box set out at the moment and there surely is a massive untapped market here, there are potentially thousands of people who would grab such a box set if released. The record company are surely sitting on a goldmine. I could imagine such a set easily selling for £200 with a coffee table book included. I for one would buy it immediately. Currently I'm collecting the Japan originals with the OBI strips but these are expensive with shipping often outweighing the cost of the records themselves.
 
I honestly cannot believe there hasn't been a box set, practically everyone has a box set out at the moment

Actually, Carpenters have had many box sets over the years, and many more than some artists - like Herb Alpert himself - who've never had a box set. These sets go way back to the vinyl era when Japan and the UK offered all sorts of two-disc sets. Then in the CD era, the UK and Japan (again!) issued full album sets on CD. These were expanded and re-released in succeeding decades adding in lave albums, Christmas albums and bonus albums.

Now of course, I realize that you're speaking about vinyl box sets (the subject of the thread), and I suspect it WILL happen. I personally am not all that eager for a vinyl set, but it would be great for some of the younger fans. I spent all of the '70s and the early '80s completing my vinyl set of Carpenters records, and those originals will serve me fine for those times when I'm in a vinyl mood. And nothing would be cooler than seeing a Carpenters album in amongst new vinyl albums.
 
Most all my Carpenters LP's are from the 70's and a few from the 80's the problem for me is that most of mine were obtained when I was much younger and could not afford a nice turntable and thus have not faired well. The covers are not in great shape so I wouldn't ever let them go but a new box set would be great as I've considered in the past of replacing them all with sealed copies. I would hope they would be the original mixes and not later mixes. It would be nice to own a complete box set of LP's in mint condition with original artwork and original mixes that have excellent sonics and warmth.
 
Besides 33, it would be nice if a Vinyl Box Set of the American Singles was released as well, with the original sleeves.
 
There have really been two CD "box set eras" when you think about it... originally there was the "career overview" box set which would assemble the artist's greatest hits and a bunch of collectible stuff, early career stuff, unreleased singles and outtakes and so on. Now we're more in the "album collection" box set era which simply collects all of an artist's albums, usually in LP-cover reproductions. Some of these are great, some not so much. The recent Alan Parsons collection had terrible packaging (but sounds great).

I personally wouldn't buy a Carpenters vinyl box set but I would buy a new issue of the original albums in mini-LP covers. I'm a sucker for mini-LP covers, in fact I already own Now and Then and A Song For You in that format. I tend to like the ones that are somewhat unusual in design (such as NaT's tri-fold cover).
 
Personally, a box set of all the original albums ( which I already have in varying degrees of condition ), with the original sleeves copied exactly in thick card i.e., envelope cover, tri and gatefold cover on 180gm vinyl pressed at Pallas or a similar company would make me a very happy person indeed. I have 10 box sets which have been released in the past three years or so Beatles in Stereo and Mono , Rolling Stones in Mono, Queen Complete etc etc. and if the powers that be released a similar boxed set then they could gladly take my cash !. Vinyl hasn't been as popular in the U.K. Since the early 1980s in my recollection, everything vinyl related is selling very well. You only have to frequent the record shops in my area to see that the demand is high, the second hand market for mint copies of analogue vinyl has never commanded such prices as I'm seeing now. Obviously the Carpenters are more of a selective market and don't achieve anywhere near the prices of some records. But the demand is still there.
Even though my collection are getting a bit faded and jaded (especially the Carpenters USA issue with the envelope cover ), it would be superb to have a brand spanking new vinyl copy of these cherished albums.
 
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Actually, it's my understanding that something like this is already in the works. I don't know the current status, but this reality could be closer than you think :wink:
Knowing how Universal screws up everything they touch regarding vinyl, I wouldn't touch their set with a 10 foot tonearm. They've continually botched many releases in the past. Some sound absolutely dead and muffled (like the Police Zenyatta Mondatta 180g reissue and from what other listeners have told me, their others from that era are just as poorly mastered). Their version of Nirvana's reissued Nevermind is also a mess.

Yet when they get the sound right, they fark it up completely by having some hack plant like GZ Vinyl press it (work sent to the lowest bidder, my friends), so the vinyl comes scuffed and scratched from the factory and plays back worse than used vinyl. I imported a copy of Dire Straits' On Every Street that came that way, and I even got a replacement set that was just as badly made as the first one; I could not even "Frankenstein" together one playable set out of both! (This is a 2-LP release.) And to add insult to injury, the records were mastered by Chris Bellman (who is one of the ace mastering engineers at Bernie Grundman's mastering house). So between the noise, the music itself sounds fantastic. Too bad the pressing is garbage.

If a competent company like Mobile Fidelity, Analogue Productions, or even Music On Vinyl would do it, I'd consider getting a few of the LPs. (Not a set, since I only like maybe four or five of the albums enough to buy them.) But if Universal does it? No thanks. They only do vinyl now "because vinyl." :rolleyes:

Don't forget sources either. Keep in mind that chances are, the two-track masters for the original mixes have likely all been lost in their latest fire. So at the very least, vinyl would be cut from backup copies (safeties?) and likely would sound no better than the CDs. (Knowing Universal's track record, it would not even surprise me if they mastered the vinyl from CD!) And that's the key there, too--original mixes. That would be the ultimate deciding vote in my individual case.

And yes, I hope they do take note and read my comment here. In the vinyl/audiophile world, their vinyl reissues are the laughingstock of vinyl collectors. If this helps change their process, then it's all for the better. I would even pay a few dollars extra to get something that sounds excellent and plays through without defects. There are plenty of good pressing plants doing stellar work today. No need to support the bottom feeders just to save a few cents per copy.
 
Heck, I'd even settle for stripped down versions of the hits in one package. Or something unreleased. Or alternative versions (Jose Feliciano on For All We Know, etc.) Or just about anything done well!
 
Good afternoon everyone,

I'm a new member here and joined due to my love of the music of The Capenters, although I have all of the albums on vinyl currently, these are getting old now and I am reluctant to play my copies due to this, I was hoping that there may be a possibility of a full re issue of the albums in a boxed set form?. With the current massive resurgence of vinyl collection and the plethora of new box sets from everyone it seems, surely it's high time the Carpenters back catalogue was released in a deluxe box set form. I for one would jump at the chance of owning a copy. Any advice or anyone like to comment upon this please?.
 
Hello Wayne, I have just found this forum and like you I am keen to own a boxed set of everything recorded by The Carpenters including a boxed set of their singles. My only concern is quality. Some of the pressings coming from the EU are just dreadful, the USA are not that much better. However, those pressed in Germany are fantastic. I have both box sets of The Beatles (stereo & mono) plus the Queen boxed set all pressed in Germany and they are perfect. I am always critical of vinyl and last year I bought the boxed set of Roy Orbison's MGM albums, pressed in the EU and came complete with finger marks on the playing surfaces, swarf from the edge in the sleeves and a very poor sound quality. Pressed on the cheap by Universal Music in the EU. So, anyone reading this from A&M please remember to give us a quality product, after all The Carpenters deserve it!
 
It's been a few months now since I last asked about Carpenters on vinyl, any of you good folks know if there are any re issues planned?. I dug out my original copies of " Song For You " and played this morning and they did sound very tired due to being played so much sadly. Hoping that some kind soul has news. I can never understand why "Song for You" was released by the Mobile Fidelity Soundlab on wonderfully sounding cd but not on vinyl?, for me personally one of the great missed opportunities. What I would give to have pristine high resolution copies of the early albums up from "Close to You" through to Horizon. Boy would that be something to behold. With the amount of vinyl re issues there are currently coming out by everyone who is anyone surely the management or rights holders are missing a trick or two here?.
 
It's been a few months now since I last asked about Carpenters on vinyl, any of you good folks know if there are any re issues planned?. I dug out my original copies of " Song For You " and played this morning and they did sound very tired due to being played so much sadly. Hoping that some kind soul has news. I can never understand why "Song for You" was released by the Mobile Fidelity Soundlab on wonderfully sounding cd but not on vinyl?, for me personally one of the great missed opportunities. What I would give to have pristine high resolution copies of the early albums up from "Close to You" through to Horizon. Boy would that be something to behold. With the amount of vinyl re issues there are currently coming out by everyone who is anyone surely the management or rights holders are missing a trick or two here?.

I haven't heard anything further but, as has been said, we're all likely better off with the original LPs. The sources would all be digital at this point due to the tapes being lost in the Universal fire.

Ed
 
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