Carpe diem
Well-Known Member
^^ Thank you Adam for your contributions, interesting!
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Two exciting new Carpenters releases are now available. The new book Carpenters: The Musical Legacy can be ordered here. A big thanks to the authors and Richard Carpenter for their tremendous effort in compiling this book! Also, the new solo piano album Richard Carpenter's Piano Songbook is available for ordering here.
⭐ Official Review [Album]: "CLOSE TO YOU" (SP-4271)
- Thread starter Chris May
- Start date
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
Adam where are these “facts” coming from?
Hi
I get information out of chart books.craig halstead book of Carpenters all the top 40 hits.And researching old charts from Billboard magazine via internet.
Another Son
Well-Known Member
I know that the following has been discussed before on a thread about use of Carpenters’ recordings in other projects, (which I can’t find), but I can’t remember where we got up to.
I remember being amazed when watching “Muriel’s Wedding” in the cinema when it was first released, when Karen’s voice blasted across the theatre singing “We’ve Only Just Begun”. (Sounded great up full bore on the speakers of the theatre, too). My belief at the time was that Richard never, or almost never, authorises their recordings for other projects, so I was astounded. I think that when we discussed this last time, overseas viewers said that there was no “We’ve Only Just Begun” on the version of “Muriel’s Wedding” that they saw. I was just wondering again whether Carpenters’ famous recording did appear in the film in international versions. I was just listening to K & R on the soundtrack CD a few minutes ago.
I remember being amazed when watching “Muriel’s Wedding” in the cinema when it was first released, when Karen’s voice blasted across the theatre singing “We’ve Only Just Begun”. (Sounded great up full bore on the speakers of the theatre, too). My belief at the time was that Richard never, or almost never, authorises their recordings for other projects, so I was astounded. I think that when we discussed this last time, overseas viewers said that there was no “We’ve Only Just Begun” on the version of “Muriel’s Wedding” that they saw. I was just wondering again whether Carpenters’ famous recording did appear in the film in international versions. I was just listening to K & R on the soundtrack CD a few minutes ago.
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
I know that on the internet it’s been reported that the Carpenters version of “Calling Occupants” apparently appeared in the theatrical screenings of the X-Men movie “The Wolverine”, however on Blu-Ray here in Canada, while the song “Calling Occupants” is present, it’s by someone else. I’m wondering if Richard only authorized the Carpenters version for theatrical release but did not give permission for home video distribution.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
The song definitely wasn't in the UK version of the film I saw.
GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Since I was giving the RPO album a listen to this morning,
I had to revisit the 1970 CTY LP, extended version of song Close To You.
I must say, the LP CTY version of CTY really is the standout version for me.
Re-read this: "That said, there are Carpenters hits that he (RC) feels have aged badly, chief among them their breakthrough single, (They Long To Be) Close to You."
So, back to the RPO version....
there is an additional (besides Hal Blaine) drummer credited, Mike Shapiro.
I had to revisit the 1970 CTY LP, extended version of song Close To You.
I must say, the LP CTY version of CTY really is the standout version for me.
Re-read this: "That said, there are Carpenters hits that he (RC) feels have aged badly, chief among them their breakthrough single, (They Long To Be) Close to You."
So, back to the RPO version....
there is an additional (besides Hal Blaine) drummer credited, Mike Shapiro.
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
I wonder if he’s referring to how the original 1970 recording was made up of partially-mono-recorded tracks, which from a technical point have not aged as well as the stereo-recorded parts.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I’m wondering how it can be possible to remix a song which has multiple individual tracks bounced into one track to make room for more instruments? Once that has been done, they can’t be separated back out from one another.
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
If he had bounced all the tracks to one track on a seperate tape and he saved the original tape then it would be possible to go back.
Of course, since the 90’s Capitol has been using digital software to isolate certain sections in Beach Boys recordings to get, say a vocal take that no longer exists seperately, seperate from the mono master.
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
The Carpenters sheet music They Long to Be Close to You Richard Karen Carpenter | eBay
I just saw this on EBay. I guess this copy of the sheet music got out before Richard added the parentheses to shorten the title of the song.
I just saw this on EBay. I guess this copy of the sheet music got out before Richard added the parentheses to shorten the title of the song.
Another Son
Well-Known Member
Might be because that’s what the song would be titled, according to the publisher’s records - and the sheet music represents the writers and publisher - maybe.
tomswift2002
Well-Known Member
Well, from what I can tell, since 1970 the song has had the parentheses on any sheet music that I’ve seen. Plus with the single most likely being referred to on radio as “Close To You”, the “They Long To Be” Part might’ve been confusing.
Another Son
Well-Known Member
Given that this photo appeared on the back of the ‘Ticket to Ride’ edition of ‘Offering’ which featured K&R on a sailing boat on the cover, I wonder whether the wet hair look was meant to make them look beachy and Californian. I guess so.
Jarred
Well-Known Member
I love watching clips from the early years. Despite the seeds for personal downfall already planted, they both did exude so much youth, joy and happiness ; you can feel their freshness and vibrancy both as people and musicians and it's beautiful.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
Something I've just noticed for the first time, after watching the new arte.de documentary, which features the 1971 BBC special briefly in full HD and superb audio. It's only because of the enhanced sound I noticed that there is an error by someone in the band. Below is the best quality equivalent clip I could find.
Watch closely, at 0:17 the keyboards playing the "strings" come in too early, on the first verse instead of the second. Karen glances to her left, having heard the mistake. Who was playing that part? They're not visible on stage and it can't have been Richard (who is also to her left), because he's playing the piano.
Watch closely, at 0:17 the keyboards playing the "strings" come in too early, on the first verse instead of the second. Karen glances to her left, having heard the mistake. Who was playing that part? They're not visible on stage and it can't have been Richard (who is also to her left), because he's playing the piano.
Another Son
Well-Known Member
I just did a search on YouTube for the ‘He’s Only Just Begun’ retrospective on Paul Williams and couldn’t find it, but I did find this. Quite an interesting and touching intro.
CraigGA
Well-Known Member
I never noticed it! Maybe the applause covered it good enough and although covered well, you have keen eyes and ears!
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I've always loved Karen's drumming on this track and Mr Guder, but one thing that always jars with me about the live versions of Help! is the way they slow the tempo down just before the chorus, on the words "I've never done before".
With the recent talk of "Another Song" elsewhere, I've been thinking more about the CLOSE TO YOU album, and it really is superb. I love "Another Song", love where it occurs on the album as the last track. It's perfect there, echoing the somewhat harder-music track that essentially finished OFFERING ("Nowadays Clancy..."). The whole album just flows. It was sequenced perfectly - and I might just consider it their very best.
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