40/40 world wide release

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I got the Japanese version and it sounds INCREDIBLE. So very clear....there are a couple of songs that sound like Richard was using a drum machine on the bass drum part....but other than that......it is great. I was listening the other day and it is almost like there are parts in songs that I have never really heard before.....pretty cool.

On one site (can't remember which one) there was information about the new compilation. It stated something like ..... instead of celebrating 40 years, it is more like the 40th compilation of Carpenters music.

Sad, but true. Of course I have basically all of the compilations... but it is just the same thing over and over (my wife would agree with that statement....) It is almost like if we hadn't had all of the compilations over the years this would really be special....not that I'm saying I don't enjoy all of my CDs'.....you know what I mean?

I would be interested to know how the sales of this album are.
 
Japanese release debuted #3, and #1 in foreign artists chart.

How can we know the American sales? Last night I read that KISS' new album will debut #2 on Billboard 200 next week.

Currently American CD & MP3 download
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #802 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

#44 in Music > Pop > Soft Rock
#71 in Music > Pop > Oldies
#72 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists
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Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,324 in MP3 Albums
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Fans in the US, make Universal Music think Carpenters sell well or we cannot get new video & some songs unreleased.

Sakura
hearing Barry Manilow - "This One's For You" on Casey Kasem's American Top 40 Oct 30, 1976
 
Harry said:
The US edition, according to Amazon, will delete the "BEST SELECTION" as a subtitle, and just call it 40/40.

51h3DjqxqeL._SL500_AA240_.jpg


Order the US release from Amazon here.

Harry
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I hadn't noticed some of light(?) above logo were deleted for U.S. cover until I saw the bigger cover photo.

Sakura
 
Yes, the spectral highlight reflections are on every letter of "CARPENTERS" and every character of "40/40" and even on some letters of "the best selection" on the Japanese release.

This artwork was altered for the US release, putting those reflective "star-filtered" highlights only on the "C" and "S" of "CARPENTERS".

Harry
 
David,

If that is the difference between the first low price limited editon(which was 400 Yen less about $4.20 USD) I would have waited and paid the extra 400 Yen to get the remix details for the 40 tracks. However since the info for 'Let Me Be The One' is wrong I don't know what else may be incorrect.

I don't know why Universal Japan listed the remix details only on the higher priced version-this doesn't seem fair.

People were ordering the limited low price edition just to get the first pressing and received an inferior booklet in my opinion.

Doesn't make sense to me but Universal Japan lately has botched up several other artists releases as well.

Just my 2 cents.

Scott B






davidgra said:
Harry said:
Looking at my Japanese release, I see no mention anywhere of a "1985 remix". In fact, there's no mention that I can find about any of the remixes - at least in the English part, which is quite limited compared to the US release. Even searching through the Japanese text in the white booklet, under "Let Me Be The One", the only Arabic numerals seem to be "1975" and "'71".

Am I missing something from my Japanese set?
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Hey Harry.

I think we might have discovered the difference between the limited edition "low price" 40/40 and the standard release -- I didn't get the limited edition copy; I bought the standard Japanese release last month.

The notes on the remixes are included with each of the lyrics in my Japanese booklet, which is 68 pages long. I've scanned page 44 so you can see the notes:

4040pg44.jpg


The "Additional recording and remix done in 1985" is clearly a mistake with "Let Me Be the One." (Although when I first read that note, I was very excited that perhaps we had uncovered a previously-unheard remix.)

This is what the front of my Japanese 40/40 booklet looks like:

4040japcover.jpg


Don't know if this is the same book that came with the limited edition version or not...

David
Click to expand...
 
Harry,

One thing we don't know for sure is about the remastering. One of two things could have happened with the US release. Richard and Bernie could have simply used the Japanese version and then remastered the one different track on the US release. The other is that the whole set could have been mastered at a different time since the US release came out later. The only way to know that would be if both sets had the remastering date in the liner notes.

How would you compare the sound of the US 40/40 to the sound of 'The Essential Collection'? I think 'The Essential Collection' sounds great and the remastering is superb-same with the US 2 CD Gold set.

Last question and this one is a bit strange-maybe you can help clear it up?

I looked at CD Universe's website and other than the Japanese version of 40/40 they only list a Canadian version which according to their site came out on October 20th and is in the import section of Carpenters CD's on their website.

I called and spoke to someone at CD Universe and they were very nice and checked with their suppliers and came up with no US version of this set-just the Canadian version.

In fact the woman I spoke to at CD Universe is ordering the set from one of their distributor's and when she gets it in her hands she will email me all the info-if it's a US pressing or a Canadian pressing.

Then I followed a link posted here on the forum to BUY.com and they also list the item as A&M Records Canada.

Below is what I found on Buy.com

Product Summary Label: Universal Music Group UPC: 00602527133577 Release Date: 10/20/2009

Label : A&M Records (Canada)

Below is a link to the item on Buy.com's website and if you scroll down you'll see the info I posted above.

http://www.buy.com/prod/40-40/q/loc/109/212317864.html

So I'm quite confused about this release.

Can you post both the barcode on the rear insert and also the catalog number on the spine? Also if it says 'Made in the US' anywhere please let me know.

They thought I was crazy when I spoke to someone at CD Universe and I insisted this was a domestic release. They are very very nice there and usually get all US releases but according to their suppliers there isn't a domestic version of this set!

Thanks as always,

Scott


Harry said:
mr J. said:
While the track selection is very good,the mastering(or remastering???)is terrible.It almost sounds like this was mastered from an old cassette.
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That's a bit harsh - and I believe hardly accurate. Can you be more specific as to which songs you think sound that bad? The SHM-CD version from Japan sounds superb, and this one's just a redbook CD version of that.

And,of course,Richard used a lot of those horrible remixes.(has anyone noticed the rerecorded bassline on the "Close To You" remix?It sort of has a "fart" sound to it-maybe Richard was eating too many beans when he did that remix!)
Click to expand...

This release is almost exclusively remixes.

And,if all that isn't bad enough,Richard(or Universal) used the same liner notes that go on every comp plus the same cheesy photos.(the cover photo is good-but the back cover and booklet photos could've been better).
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Well, the "story" doesn't change, and Richard seems to favor only the barest minimum of pictures. There must be tons that he dislikes.

On a positive note,It's good to see great tracks like "Ordinary Fool" and "One More Time" included on a compilation.
Click to expand...

Agreed.


Incidentally,as far as remastering goes-the "Essential" boxed set and "20th Century Masters-millenium collection" have the absolute best sound quality of any Carpenters release-and several of the "remastered classics" album reissues(from 1998) were excellent,also.And,the Readers Digest boxed set deserves an honorable mention-fantastic sound and probably the best boxed set ever released.
Click to expand...

Again, agreed.

Harry
Click to expand...
 
scottb said:
If that is the difference between the first low price limited editon(which was 400 Yen less about $4.20 USD) I would have waited and paid the extra 400 Yen to get the remix details for the 40 tracks. However since the info for 'Let Me Be The One' is wrong I don't know what else may be incorrect.

I don't know why Universal Japan listed the remix details only on the higher priced version-this doesn't seem fair.
Click to expand...

Scott, I'm with you in the confusion over the two different versions of the booklet. It's very strange indeed.

My guesses as to why the booklets are different:

1) Somebody at Universal Music Japan felt that the fans who paid more money for the release needed something "extra," so they included a slightly more detailed book in the higher-priced release.

2) The first issue could have been rushed to market, and information that was meant to be included was inadvertently left out. Somebody noticed this after the first pressing went to print, and they corrected it for later pressings.

As for the error in the booklet, that's the only significant error I've found. I've gone through the various remixes fairly carefully, and the rest seem to match up with what's printed in the booklet. The reason for the error there could very well have something to do with confusion over which mix they were going to use -- the album mix or the remix. They might have originally intended to use the remix (as they did in the U.S. version), but substituted the original mix at the last minute, with the data in the booklet just being a typo of sorts. Or they might have used the album mix by mistake, and upon discovery of that someone thought they were correcting the information in the booklet by changing the remix year.

David
 
One thing I forgot to mention about the liner notes:Richard states that he regrets releasing all of the posthumous albums-he feels they're not up to K&R's standard.I'm surprised Richard feels that way,because much of the posthumous material is superior to most of the 70's material.Does Richard actually think that tracks like "Drusilla Penny","Saturday","Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Calling Occupants"(among others) are superior to "Ordinary Fool","Look To Your Dreams" and "Where Do I Go From Here"(among others).Richard has an inflated opinion of the 70's albums-much of that material is the worst stuff ever recorded on A&M.And ,as far as albums go-"Ticket To Ride","Carpenters" and "Passage" are K&R's worst ."Old Fashioned Christmas" really deserves an honorable mention-It's one of K&R's most "well done" albums and features some of Karen's greatest vocal performances ever.
Richard also mentions in the liner notes that "Calling Occupants" should've never been released as a single.Well, I absolutely agree with that and would take that one step further:they should've never even recorded that piece-of-junk song to begin with.
Incidentally,I might have been a little harsh in assessing the mastering of 40/40.But,it's definitely not as good as "Essential" or the 1998 album remasters.The Japanese version would definitely be better(Japanese is always better!).Also,the quality of the mastering largely depends on the mastering engineer.(some are better than others)
 
I'm pretty sure that what I have is a US release - it's got an FBI anti-piracy warning, the address of "A&M" is given as Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica.

40/40 barcode on rear: 6 02527 13357 7
Catalog number on spine: B0013223-02

I think the mastering sounds fine - as good as any typical Carpenters release. The ESSENTIAL COLLECTION, in my humble opinion, sounds perhaps just a notch better. I can recall the first time I played it, the sound just seemed ever so sweet and rich. Having heard all these recordings a thousand time, they almost never "jump out" at me, but ESSENTIAL COLLECTION did - and so did that 20th CENTURY MASTERS disc.

I've done a few side-by-side comparisons today on 40/40, comparing the Japanese SHM-CD and the US release. Both sound identical to me on the tracks I checked.

Harry
 
mr J. said:
Richard has an inflated opinion of the 70's albums-much of that material is the worst stuff ever recorded on A&M.

Incidentally,I might have been a little harsh...
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And with your above statement as well, methinks.

Re: Richard's statements about the posthumous releases - I took that to mean some of the television material and early demos - stuff like AS TIME GOES BY, rather than the lost and nearly-completed stuff that found its way to LOVELINES, box sets, and other releases.

I don't think anyone will ever list AS TIME GOES BY as their favorite album - but I could easily see anyone listing LOVELINES as a favorite.

Harry
 
I totally agree with "Lovelines." There are some immense classics in that set! Nothing compares to "You're The One", "Slow Dance", and "Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night." Some of Karen's best vocals.
 
I agree that "Lovelines" is an outstanding album! "The Uninvited Guest", "Where Do I Go From Here", "You're The One", "Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night" are some of my all time favorite Carpenters songs.
 
Harry said:
Which? LOVELINES or AS TIME GOES BY?
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Sorry Harry, I meant 'Lovelines' :)

'Kiss Me The Way You Did Last Night' is one of the most sensuous, sophisticated readings by Karen ever IMHO. She was at the peak of her game by the time she recorded some of the tracks for Made In America, such as this one, 'The Uninvited Guest' and 'Touch Me When We're Dancing', her voice had really matured.
 
Out of the LOVELINES album, I felt the best tracks were THE UNIVITED GUEST, KISS ME THE WAY YOU DID LAST NIGHT, IF WE TRY, LOVELINES and IF I HAD YOU which was killer!! The layers of vocal overdubs showcasing Karen's sublime vocals...
 
For me, Lovelines is a perfect album. Some would say A Song for You could be the perfect album but I have always had a more close connection to the Lovelines album. I think, "You're the One" is just an amazing intimate Karen song. I swear I think she's singing that one right to me.
 
David,

I too thought about the extra 400 Yen for the non limited low price edition might have justified the extra track credits. Still I think they should have included them in both versions.

Oh well!

Scott




davidgra said:
scottb said:
If that is the difference between the first low price limited editon(which was 400 Yen less about $4.20 USD) I would have waited and paid the extra 400 Yen to get the remix details for the 40 tracks. However since the info for 'Let Me Be The One' is wrong I don't know what else may be incorrect.

I don't know why Universal Japan listed the remix details only on the higher priced version-this doesn't seem fair.
Click to expand...

Scott, I'm with you in the confusion over the two different versions of the booklet. It's very strange indeed.

My guesses as to why the booklets are different:

1) Somebody at Universal Music Japan felt that the fans who paid more money for the release needed something "extra," so they included a slightly more detailed book in the higher-priced release.

2) The first issue could have been rushed to market, and information that was meant to be included was inadvertently left out. Somebody noticed this after the first pressing went to print, and they corrected it for later pressings.

As for the error in the booklet, that's the only significant error I've found. I've gone through the various remixes fairly carefully, and the rest seem to match up with what's printed in the booklet. The reason for the error there could very well have something to do with confusion over which mix they were going to use -- the album mix or the remix. They might have originally intended to use the remix (as they did in the U.S. version), but substituted the original mix at the last minute, with the data in the booklet just being a typo of sorts. Or they might have used the album mix by mistake, and upon discovery of that someone thought they were correcting the information in the booklet by changing the remix year.

David
Click to expand...
 
Hi Harry,

Thanks for posting the details. The whole thing is really strange. The people at CD Universe are really very very nice and will go out of their way for the customer. Yet the woman I spoke with (she's 27 years old) did not seem to even understand how huge Carpenters are.

She never heard of them until I mentioned Karen's passing.

If she gets back to me on tuesday and says all they can get is the Canadian pressing I'll just order it from Amazon.

They use quite a few of the largest suppliers so I'm quite puzzled why Amazon would have the US release to sell and CD Universe wouldn't.

I told her that if none of their suppliers have the US release she really should contact one or two of their suppliers via email or phone and ask that they look into this. I think CD Universe just looks into a database that their suppliers have and since the US release isn't listed they automatically think they can't get the CD.

From a business perspective one would think that CD Universe would want to carry this CD and would make every attempt to get it.

The woman was really really nice but I wasn't convinced that she believed everything I said about this CD being released in the US.

Thanks.

Scott



Harry said:
I'm pretty sure that what I have is a US release - it's got an FBI anti-piracy warning, the address of "A&M" is given as Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica.

40/40 barcode on rear: 6 02527 13357 7
Catalog number on spine: B0013223-02

I think the mastering sounds fine - as good as any typical Carpenters release. The ESSENTIAL COLLECTION, in my humble opinion, sounds perhaps just a notch better. I can recall the first time I played it, the sound just seemed ever so sweet and rich. Having heard all these recordings a thousand time, they almost never "jump out" at me, but ESSENTIAL COLLECTION did - and so did that 20th CENTURY MASTERS disc.

I've done a few side-by-side comparisons today on 40/40, comparing the Japanese SHM-CD and the US release. Both sound identical to me on the tracks I checked.

Harry
Click to expand...
 
It's probably one of those initial release snafus that will iron itself out once the title is out and available.

Harry
 
I got my copy of 40/40 today, and you know what? It was kind of thrilling to open up the package, because I thought, this is probably the last Carpenters compilation ever to be released.

It's the US version, with a blue extra package, no picture, only Carpenters 40/40 written on it. Touch Me instead of Leave Yesterday Behind.

Doesn't time fly?? I still remember buying YESTERDAY ONCE MORE in 1985 (my first CD ever, I was 21 at the time), than it's re-release in 1999 (30th anniversary) and GOLD in 2004(35th anniversary).

Til now, GOLD is my favorite compilation. Let's see, if this will change in the next days.....

Bruno
 
I just added some information on Wikipedia on Carpenters 40/40 but don't know how to upload the album cover. Can anyone help me...or do it?
 
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