⭐ Official Review [Album]: "OFFERING"/"TICKET TO RIDE" (SP-4205)

How Would You Rate This Album?

  • ***** (Best)

    Votes: 18 23.1%
  • ****

    Votes: 25 32.1%
  • ***

    Votes: 23 29.5%
  • **

    Votes: 10 12.8%
  • *

    Votes: 2 2.6%

  • Total voters
    78
I give it a 3 for overall production and songwriting, but am adding an extra star for sentimental reasons. I saw a copy of Offering in a used record store when I was a teenager, around 1992 or 1993, and they only wanted a couple bucks for it. I didn't have any money and couldn't get my old man to spring for it, because we did not have a turntable and he didn't see the point in me purchasing a record that I couldn't play. I remember reading the dedication by Herb Alpert and being moved by it, the idea of an album being offered up as a sort of prayer. I was familiar with the incarnation of Ticket to Ride and had the CD at the time, but something about Offering grabbed me and I determined right there and then that I had to own a copy of it. To this day, I refer to the album as Offering, because it just carries so much more weight in my heart and soul than Ticket to Ride. I still pull my copy of Offering out from time to time, the second I have owned since that day, and re-read that dedication. It still gives me goosebumps. I had it memorized like the preamble to the Constitution before "old-timer's" disease started settling in.
 
One of the reasons I love the cd-compilation From The Top is its chronological approach.
What struck me anew, as I was re-listening to disc one was the 1968 version of
Invocation: "This version was recorded in 1968 in Joe Osborne's studio. We subsequently
re-recorded the piece for the Offering album." (RC Liner Notes).

So, I listen to that 1968 version and really love it.
I love the re-recorded (Offering, 1969) version--always have--
but, the earlier version blows me away, certainly Joe's studio
was not as elaborate as A&M's studio.
So, that earlier version is truly exceptionally sounding.
 
One of the reasons I love the cd-compilation From The Top is its chronological approach.
What struck me anew, as I was re-listening to disc one was the 1968 version of
Invocation: "This version was recorded in 1968 in Joe Osborne's studio. We subsequently
re-recorded the piece for the Offering album." (RC Liner Notes).

So, I listen to that 1968 version and really love it.
I love the re-recorded (Offering, 1969) version--always have--
but, the earlier version blows me away, certainly Joe's studio
was not as elaborate as A&M's studio.
So, that earlier version is truly exceptionally sounding.

It's pretty amazing what they were getting away with from a technological perspective. To make that work, they would have had to make use of "bouncing" in order to get all their vocals on to four tracks. "Benediction" would have been even harder because of the added stereo strings. Oh, to be an engineer back then. We have infinite tracks now and we can just go where are imagination leads us.

Do we know how many tracks they were working with at that point. I imagine four but it might have been 8.

Ed
 
It's pretty amazing what they were getting away with from a technological perspective. To make that work, they would have had to make use of "bouncing" in order to get all their vocals on to four tracks. "Benediction" would have been even harder because of the added stereo strings. Oh, to be an engineer back then. We have infinite tracks now and we can just go where are imagination leads us.

Do we know how many tracks they were working with at that point. I imagine four but it might have been 8.

Ed
At Joe Osborn’s garage he only had 4-track recorders. Think of the early-60’s Beach Boys recordings that were done on 3 & 4 track recorders.
 
WOW! This is so awesome. I saw this reel tape with the ‘Carpenters Offering’ print style from LP on the outside of the box about a month ago on eBay. I went back to bid on it and it was already gone. Thankfully, it was sold into the right hands! So happy to hear this promo!
 
It's pretty amazing what they were getting away with from a technological perspective. To make that work, they would have had to make use of "bouncing" in order to get all their vocals on to four tracks. "Benediction" would have been even harder because of the added stereo strings. Oh, to be an engineer back then. We have infinite tracks now and we can just go where are imagination leads us.

Do we know how many tracks they were working with at that point. I imagine four but it might have been 8.

Ed
This is due to the Les Paul influence. If you study his techniques deeply, you discover that his secret to being able to get so much onto a few tracks while maintaining great sound was to record things in backwards order. He'd record the background stuff that could suffer a little degradation first, jamming as much onto a few tracks as possible, then leave a whole track open just for vocals. That type of compartmentalization, once you get the methods down, would be very effective when it came to stretching the limits of the technology.

Then you take Brian Wilson's methods, which Richard was also a fan of, and daisy chain 2 4-track machines together to get 8 tracks. That way, you had 6 whole tracks for instruments, even orchestra, and then 2 tracks just for vocals. Suddenly, you have the capability of blending 20,30,40 vocal parts and then drop a nice doubled or quadrupled lead over that. George Martin and the Beatles were doing something similar at Abbey Road with albums like Sgt. Pepper. Richard was taking notes on all of this and then he perfected it even more while experimenting in Joe Osborne's garage. By the time he had hold of that new Dolby system for recording Horizon, he put out a product that was unparalleled in sound quality at the time.

It took an amazing amount of innovation and skill to produce what they were doing back then, not to mention state of the art studio equipment that few were privileged to have at their disposal. Now all you have to do is grab a laptop and a digital audio interface, a few good microphones and you are good to go. It amazes me how far the technology has come.
 
This is due to the Les Paul influence. If you study his techniques deeply, you discover that his secret to being able to get so much onto a few tracks while maintaining great sound was to record things in backwards order. He'd record the background stuff that could suffer a little degradation first, jamming as much onto a few tracks as possible, then leave a whole track open just for vocals. That type of compartmentalization, once you get the methods down, would be very effective when it came to stretching the limits of the technology.

Then you take Brian Wilson's methods, which Richard was also a fan of, and daisy chain 2 4-track machines together to get 8 tracks. That way, you had 6 whole tracks for instruments, even orchestra, and then 2 tracks just for vocals. Suddenly, you have the capability of blending 20,30,40 vocal parts and then drop a nice doubled or quadrupled lead over that. George Martin and the Beatles were doing something similar at Abbey Road with albums like Sgt. Pepper. Richard was taking notes on all of this and then he perfected it even more while experimenting in Joe Osborne's garage. By the time he had hold of that new Dolby system for recording Horizon, he put out a product that was unparalleled in sound quality at the time.

It took an amazing amount of innovation and skill to produce what they were doing back then, not to mention state of the art studio equipment that few were privileged to have at their disposal. Now all you have to do is grab a laptop and a digital audio interface, a few good microphones and you are good to go. It amazes me how far the technology has come.

Agreed. I don't know if you're familiar with Jacob Collier but his latest tune is something like 720 tracks. He threw in everything and the kitchen sink and the result is absolutely insane. The Logic session is just frightening to look at. He's so far ahead of...well...everyone melodically and chordally that he legitimately needs all that room to stretch out. Scary stuff.

Ed
 
Agreed. I don't know if you're familiar with Jacob Collier but his latest tune is something like 720 tracks. He threw in everything and the kitchen sink and the result is absolutely insane. The Logic session is just frightening to look at. He's so far ahead of...well...everyone melodically and chordally that he legitimately needs all that room to stretch out. Scary stuff.

Ed
Nope, but I'll be checking him out. I love to study anything that stretches boundaries. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
This review is quite positive, and it plays into that future doctoral thesis.....

November 1st, 1969 Billboard (page 76):
POP
CARPENTERS
Offering A&M SP 4205 (S)
"Brother and sister Richard and Karen Carpenter have come up with fresh and original concepts of music
and singing in this debut LP on A&M. Richard's songs and arrangements, especially the overdubbing
of his and Karen's voices, combine the best elements of pop, folk-rock, and jazz, and their version of the now
classic "Get Together" makes it sound very new. With radio programming support,
Carpenters should have a big hit on their hands."
 
I've been listening a lot lately to Nowadays Clancy...(my OCD is kicking in). I'm becoming a big fan of it. Great harmonies, Karen's drumming, the youthful Karen (when she was a badass) coming in on the vocals with "having it!"/"sharing it!". Love the orchestration and a nice keyboard solo by Richard. I even like Richard's lead vocals. The fact that the song was written by Neil Young just adds to the "coolness" factor. Doesn't seem like the song gets much love. One of the better tracks off a very good album.
 
^^I took another listen to their debut Offering, today.
I must say, I grow more fond of this album as the years go by.
And, Richard's keyboard performance on Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing,
is refreshing.

 
Request for information: I was listening to the song Someday.
I listened to two different media, the Japan vinyl Single OH-131 (4-song EP, 1974)
and the USA Ticket To Ride cd.
In any event, the cd version seems to cut off a bit earlier than the Japan single.
The Japan single has no time-stamp. There are other differences, hopefully, someone else has this OH-131.
Anyway, for some reason, I am fascinated with the song,
Someday.
 
I was listening to the band, Looking Glass, from 1971 / 72 / 73 and was thinking that their keyboard sound, drumming style and vocal harmony features were just slightly similar to Karen and Richard’s light jazz style on some of the songs from ‘Offering’. Now, I can’t find a song to illustrate what I mean. The tracks below aren’t very good examples....but you might see what I noticed, maybe. I guess it’s a fairly common early 70s sound, on second thoughts......





 
Looks really great, but I bet it’s a bootleg. Especially from Japan via Israel? Calling Harry!
 
Not to resurrect an old debate, but with deep respect to Hal Blaine, Karen's drumming on this album is superb and I think she would have been marvelous on all of their sessions in studio.
 
I have 2 versions of Ticket To Ride on CD... The first is the (CDMID 137) that says aad AM+ on the disc and the second is Rebound Records version (314 520 238-2) which has "The Carpenters" on the CD. Both say 1986 on the cover... But what is the difference? Are they basically identical CDs (sound quality wise) from the same source?
 
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