šŸ“£ News Carpenters: "The Vinyl Collection"

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I was wondering if anyone was considering purchasing any of these albums individually instead of the box set as a whole.

I noticed on the Universal Music link they run down each album but I don't understand there message about Voice of the Heart.
It says:

VOICE OF THE HEART
"Consisting of previously unreleased masters for a solo album by Karen, this album was compiled by Richard after her death."

I was never under the impression that these tracks were designed for a solo album by Karen, am I misunderstanding their message about this album?

The Carpenters: The Vinyl Collection to be Released November 17 | Umusic
Their description of LOVELINES also sounds confusing. "Two remixes of previously released material..." Isn't the album version of Honolulu City Lights the same as the single version? What other song was previously released prior to the album?
 
Their description of LOVELINES also sounds confusing. "Two remixes of previously released material..." Isn't the album version of Honolulu City Lights the same as the single version? What other song was previously released prior to the album?

Amazon has been all over the place with the pre-order stuff, changing and modifying descriptions almost daily. I'm sure it will all settle over the coming days.
 
Their description of LOVELINES also sounds confusing. "Two remixes of previously released material..." Isn't the album version of Honolulu City Lights the same as the single version? What other song was previously released prior to the album?
ā€œSlow Danceā€ was released as a promo single in Japan in 1987 for the ā€œTreasuresā€ set.
 
That Spin Price is incredibly competitive, how can they do it for Ā£120 less than Universal Music UK on pre order?. Obviously the USA Amazon price is good but with import duty on top and postage it zooms up considerably, and if any of the albums are in need of return it would be quite difficult to sort out. Once again thanks to Mr Guder made my day that post!.
 
They have advertised in Mojo, Record Collector, etc for years and their daily email bulletins are well worth subscribing to if you enjoy keeping up to date with new releases and reissues. Speaking personally, I have never had any problems with their service.
 
They have advertised in Mojo, Record Collector, etc for years and their daily email bulletins are well worth subscribing to if you enjoy keeping up to date with new releases and reissues. Speaking personally, I have never had any problems with their service.
Thanks Mr Guder. That's a bargain then. I was struggling to justify an early Christmas present to myself for Ā£250.
 
A major new release ought to be a good reason to overhaul the dire official website. The Carpenter name doesn't deserve to be represented by something that looks like it's been designed by a child. The Universal site also shows a link to a facebook page purporting to be official but looks like an amateur job also.
 
A major new release ought to be a good reason to overhaul the dire official website. The Carpenter name doesn't deserve to be represented by something that looks like it's been designed by a child. The Universal site also shows a link to a facebook page purporting to be official but looks like an amateur job also.

Agreed. It was done a whopping 14 years ago and likely done in Dreamweaver - a program no one uses anymore. "The Webutante", for whatever reason, ran out on it years ago. They definitely deserve a better on-line web presence.\

Ed
 
Almost certain they were pulled from the entire batch of transfers for the Remastered Classics / 30th+35th Japanese box sets. I'm working on trying to nail down some more details.
That would be appreciated. It would be interesting to see which pressing plant they used, also--a good plant like RTI, QRP, Pallas, etc. would do a nice job. If I knew they were coming from somewhere like Rainbo (who made a trainwreck of the stereo Beatles LPs) or GZVinyl, then forget it.

Digital on vinyl can go two ways. From high resolution digital, after restoration, they can sound quite good. For others, though, just effectively "slapping a CD onto vinyl" is the cheap way out and a money grab, as many labels have done. In that case, I'd rather pay for sealed original vinyl instead, even though it is harder to find.

For these LPs, if they are all analog, I would buy the three or four that interest me. 180g, if pressed correctly, has lower surface and "vinyl" noise that standard issue LPs had issues with. I have some here that play back as though they are from the master tape itself--they are that quiet.

Soundstage Direct has the set listed, along with the individual titles, at 15% off list price. They're good to order from if you like to support the "little guy" and free shipping over a certain amount.

Carpenters: The Vinyl Collection (Pre-Order) (On Sale)
 
I donā€™t have the remastered cds. What is the difference or the issue with those.

The first thing I can think of is compression. It's not unpleasant but it's there. I prefer the original Audio Master Plus CDs. I wish I'd kept them and I'm slowly reacquiring those I let go.

Ed
 
Has anyone in the UK been able to find this on Amazon.co.uk? Just over a month away and itā€™s not listed.
 
I was wondering if anyone was considering purchasing any of these albums individually instead of the box set as a whole.

I noticed on the Universal Music link they run down each album but I don't understand there message about Voice of the Heart.
It says:

VOICE OF THE HEART
"Consisting of previously unreleased masters for a solo album by Karen, this album was compiled by Richard after her death."

I was never under the impression that these tracks were designed for a solo album by Karen, am I misunderstanding their message about this album?

Sounds like they've muddled up VOTH and Lovelines.
 
Their description of LOVELINES also sounds confusing. "Two remixes of previously released material..." Isn't the album version of Honolulu City Lights the same as the single version? What other song was previously released prior to the album?

ā€œSlow Danceā€ was released as a promo single in Japan in 1987 for the ā€œTreasuresā€ set.

The point was though that the notes state there are different remixes of two of the songs on the album. As far as I'm aware, Slow Dance and Honolulu City Lights were not remixed for the album.
 
I did not find Bernie Grundman on the
Credits for the 40th Anniversary Set,
and, he is (apparently) not involved with the new 2017 Vinyl Set,
so, my obvious question is:
Is Bernie Grundman retired from the mastering business?

What/When was the last Carpenters' mastering he was involved with ?
 
The first thing I can think of is compression. It's not unpleasant but it's there. I prefer the original Audio Master Plus CDs. I wish I'd kept them and I'm slowly reacquiring those I let go.

Ed
The original Audio Master Plus CDā€™s from the 80ā€™s also contained a number of remixes on the 1969-1976 albums. Such as ASFY having the single version of ā€œTop Of The Worldā€, rather than the album version. And Hush has the 85 remix of the title track.

Differences between album versions.

However the Remastered Classics CDs were all encoded in the HDCD format, that allowed 20-bit audio to be stored and played back with a HDCD player, but the disc could also playback in a conventional 16-bit player.
High Definition Compatible Digital - Wikipedia


So depending on the tape used for storage and mastering, the audio could be of higher quality than CD. From what Iā€™ve read, in the 80ā€™s the CD masters needed to be sent to the plants on 3/4 Umatics (encoded on the PCM-1600 system) or on Betamax using the PCM-1 system.
 
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Thanks Wayne and Mr Guder thats a really good price! Think I will also cancel my amazon US order.

Yes even though the Amazon USA is competitive compared to the Universal one over here in the U.K. it is at least Ā£30 more than that Spin Records offer. I donā€™t understand how Universal as distributors of this box set can get away with asking Ā£249.99 when others are asking Ā£129.99 , surely Universal should be the least expensive?. I think that Universal in the UK are really trying their luck?, asking so much and usually I have found them to be competitive ( ie, The Sting Discography boxed set ).
 
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