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

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The only thing that might push me over the edge to purchase something like this would be the artwork and the inclusion of Karen's solo album. However either way, this is going to be a pricey set to purchase as a box set.
 
If I'm not mistaken that take was wiped.

I don't think the song would sound the same with a guitar intro in place of the beautiful oboe.

the day after the track was recorded, Richard received a call from mr Feliciano's management and told Richard it was not to be used under threat of prosecution.
 
the day after the track was recorded, Richard received a call from mr Feliciano's management and told Richard it was not to be used under threat of prosecution.

That's what I mean - I don't think they kept that take as they were told they couldn't release 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?.

Yes ! There is one coming which Richard mentioned to me in a letter, he also emailed me a month ago saying it would be released "fairly soon"

it was discussed here on this forum when I started a thread for it. It is called "EXCLUSIVE: Vinyl Studio Album Box Set"
 
Yes ! There is one coming which Richard mentioned to me in a letter, he also emailed me a month ago saying it would be released "fairly soon"

it was discussed here on this forum when I started a thread for it. It is called "EXCLUSIVE: Vinyl Studio Album Box Set"

Wow how did I miss that thread!, amazing news this just what I've been hoping for although I have all the albums both English and Japanese pressings with the obi strips, I'll be all over this when it's released.

Can't come soon enough for me for sure
 
I have mixed feeling about vinyl reissues. My "used" LPs already sound excellent on my Audio-Technica turntable. I purchase only unplayed or mint used vinyl, then clean them with a professional fluid. A clean record in mint condition plays wonderfully on a good turntable.
Personally, I'd prefer individual reissues of the best-selling Carpenters studio LPs, instead of being forced to buy a box set. I already own a copy of the 180-gm Now & Then vinyl (Japan) but have never played it! I keep it as a collector's item since the basic vinyl copies I have play perfectly.
 
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.


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How prophetic this was!
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Ouch...painfully so!

I think you were right about the mastering, though. I was nearly ready to praise "The Singles" for having perhaps the best version of "Superstar" I've heard -- the overdubs and drums in the 2nd and 3rd chorus have more oomph here than anywhere else to my ears (could be due to factors having zero to do with the LP itself, I suppose). But then all the fark ups with the pressing QC are now impossible to shrug off.
 
I don't know what to think. It's like UMe has a choice of three items--good mastering, good pressing, or good packaging--and they only pick two.
 
Makes me glad I'm not into vinyl anymore... must be frustrating to have to go thru multiple copies to get a keeper.
 
Not really that bad in the grand scheme of things--this is one product out of several hundred released this year that is defective. Overall, vinyl is of higher quality now than it was in the days of mass production on recycled vinyl.
 
the day after the track was recorded, Richard received a call from mr Feliciano's management and told Richard it was not to be used under threat of prosecution.

Wow! That is crazy, especially considering both acts were on the same label. You would think that Herb would have just stepped in and taken care of the situation. But, it worked out for the best because I can't imagine the song any other way that it ended up.
 
Wow! That is crazy, especially considering both acts were on the same label. You would think that Herb would have just stepped in and taken care of the situation. But, it worked out for the best because I can't imagine the song any other way that it ended up.

I think to have the song featuring a guitar in place of the oboe would have made the song sound feeble. It’s perfect as it is.
 
There are other more current threads about the vinyl. This one's closed.
 
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