⭐ Official Review [Album]: "PASSAGE" (SP-4703)

How Would You Rate This Album?

  • ***** (BEST)

    Votes: 10 9.3%
  • ****

    Votes: 55 50.9%
  • ***

    Votes: 35 32.4%
  • **

    Votes: 7 6.5%
  • *

    Votes: 1 0.9%

  • Total voters
    108
You read my mind. Here is the audio from the flip side of "I Believe You".



Listen carefully with headphones if you can. You'll hear echo audio, particularly from Karen's vocal track, that trails off to the right side of the stereo soundstage. Focus on the loud parts of the vocal.


This is miles better than the "Remastered CD". I can hear the reverb too. Well done!

Ed
 
Good point and I should have done my homework first. Do we know that the single mix wasn't created beforehand and sat on the shelf prior to release date?

No idea about that. But "I Believe You" was released in the June of 1978, while PASSAGE came out almost a year earlier in September of 1977. Was "B'wana..." ever considered to be an a-side single and that's why a new mix was prepared? I can't say for sure. If so, then it *would* have been sitting around on a shelf waiting for its turn to be a b-side. We believe that might have happened with "I Can't Smile Without You", right? Could that have happened twice?

Questions, questions, questions. Who knows the answers?
 
I'm having another dense moment as, to me, this sentence in parentheses doesn't quite make sense. The first part says that your LP sounds like stereo on your "equipment", but the second half seem to negate the first half. Maybe after some coffee... :sleeping:
It was either you or someone else who pointed out that on CD we have a stereoized version of "Looking For Love/I'll Be Yours" because a stereo head was used to playback a mono 45. Its like if I play back the Beach Boys mono "Summer Days (And Summer Nights)" LP on my stereo turntable. It sounds more stereo on the vinyl than when I play back the 2.0 mono CD.
 
Was "B'wana..." ever considered to be an a-side single and that's why a new mix was prepared? Questions, questions, questions. Who knows the answers?

I don't KNOW the answers, but I can make some up! :) Or deduce. There were 3 mildly successful (in the US) singles from 'Passage' and another given limited release later as a special product, ('Don't Cry for Me, Argentina'). Amidst all this, there was also a Christmas single, ('The Christmas Song'). By the time 'Sweet, Sweet Smile' had finished its run on the country charts, A&M and Carpenters themselves probably considered 'Passage' well and truly dead from a marketing point of view, (although it probably had a longer life in territories like Japan & the UK). Therefore, it seems unlikely to me that a 4th / 5th single would have been considered. (Maybe there would be three points to the argument that it might have been considered - that K&R weren't really releasing anything else new at the time, that it was considered sometime as a special product, similar to 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina' or that perhaps it was originally considered as a single instead of one of the other three main singles).

Personally, I think the last point I mentioned is unlikely. Judging from 'American Top 40', 'B'wana She No Home' doesn't sound like the sort of song that top 40 radio would have been playing in 1977 / 1978. To me, it certainly doesn't sound like a hit of the era. You might say that 'Calling Occupants' doesn't either, but it does tie in with the obsession with aliens and inter-galactic carrying-ons of the time - Star Wars, Close Encounters, Star Trek re-runs, Blake's Seven, etc., and it was a big hit in a number of countries. The other two main singles were safer bets, along the lines of traditional Carpenters offerings.

Another thing to consider is that some people might have been offended by 'B'wana She No Home', so radio might not have touched it if it was a single. I mean, the whole thing is about a well-off person considering themselves above their domestic help, making digs at their attempts to use English, etc. That's a lot of people to be offended - domestic employees, recently arrived people and people in the US whose first language is not English. 'B'wana She No Home' really doesn't sound anything like a potential hit to me.

Another thing that, to me, discounts the idea that the song could have been considered to be a single is that, in 1978, (from memory), the fan club was mentioning that 'Thankyou For the Music', 'Dancing In the Streets' and a third song, (surely not 'Little Girl Blue' - great recording, but not single material for 1978), were contenders for the next single. And by the end of the year, 'I Believe You' was released.
 
Thanks Harry for the upload, it sounds like your 45 sounds just as good as mine. I also have listened to this many times and it's just amazing to hear it this way. This is the one time that a little reverb or echo actually enhances the track immensely. The best part is it's actually part of the original 45/LP and not found any where else on CD, this sound seems to have been lost when transferring the masters to CD. I know Richard has added echo or reverb in Karen's vocal on some of the new mixes he's done but this reverb on B'Wana actually helps the overall track.

It wasn't until I got the 45 and then re-listened to my LP of this song that I realized how everything jumps out in this song.

If you listen to about 3:14 you hear Karen's backing vocal come in for like 1 sec, something I didn't notice on the CD, I really love that part. Also take a listen closely at 4:33-4:34 you can faintly hear a male voice say "Hey" at least that it what it sounds like to me. Am I hearing things or do I hear this at this spot?
 
Fan-TAS-tic, Harry! Thanks so much...definitely an airplay version and it sure sounds to me as though the drums got mixed hotter as well. This version makes it even more obvious how the band is just killin' it--the trade-offs between Jolly and Scott here are beyond stellar! I still hear a little mix issue in the first verse...it's almost as if they were trying to ride the faders and bring things in and out while mixing and they missed a low horn line that's way too muted and leaves too much open space (it's around 50 seconds in if I'm remembering accurately).

I'm sure that I've previously lobbied the idea that B'wana should have been an A-side, and if they'd had this mix in hand when PASSAGE was released, then--holy moly!!--they (IMO) should have led with it to take a crack at the funk/rock crossover that was still going on at the time. I think it could easily have gone higher than #39. [EDIT: as for Brian's comments--I understand where you're coming from, but I don't see people being offended by the lyrics in 1977...I suggest that you are projecting backward from today, when people seem to be professionally offended by all sorts of things--some legitimate, and some just completely wacky. I think the backing track, with a mix like this, was worth a shot ahead of "Calling Occupants." This is funkier than "Stayin' Alive," which anchored an LP that sold a bazillion copies in 1977-78; don't forget that Steely Dan was at the apex of jazz-funk with their biggest ever LP ("Aja") at this time as well.]

Heck, I think Universal ought to consider putting this mix of B'wana out this fall as a 40th anniversary single to commemorate PASSAGE. It's never had any real exposure to the general public, which means that it could catch on just because it's so fantastically infectious...with people doing a triple take when they find out it's the Carpenters! They have absolutely nothing to lose--and everything to gain! What a story THAT would be! ("Forty years later...the Carpenters prove that they were hipper than you'll ever be...listen with open ears and celebrate their funkiest-ever sound!!")

[EDIT 2: Rick--you're definitely right...someone is saying "Hey" at around 4:34. And, hey, why not??:)]

Full disclosure: I grabbed your upload, Harry, and it's clearly going to be the preferred version in my iTunes mix. Again, thanks so much! It's always been in my personal top 20--which I try not to rank any more precisely than that...but if I did, this version would definitely move up the list!!
 
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The first time I heard of or saw I Believe You" was around the time Christmas Portrait was released. Could be wrong but I think it was much later than June. Anyone have the newsletters to check?
 
It was either you or someone else who pointed out that on CD we have a stereoized version of "Looking For Love/I'll Be Yours" because a stereo head was used to playback a mono 45. Its like if I play back the Beach Boys mono "Summer Days (And Summer Nights)" LP on my stereo turntable. It sounds more stereo on the vinyl than when I play back the 2.0 mono CD.

In the case of that old Karen Carpenter 45, yes, I was referring to the fact that they took an old 45 or acetate (I forget which), played it on a stereo turntable and recorded it to tape - or digital - for mastering to CD. A stereo stylus, riding through the grooves of a mono recording, will pick up stray differences in the walls of the grooves that are essentially noise. That noise was then mastered to CD on the FROM THE TOP and ESSENTIAL COLLECTION sets. My point was that one could make a cleaner-sounding mono recording of those by combining the two channels with a y-connector or a mono button or software on a computer since doing so collapses that noise back to mono and makes it much less audible.

Something similar is happening on this 45 and you can hear it on the YouTube video. This recording, though narrowed stereo, has a lot of centered material, including Karen's main vocal. I can hear a good bit of that same kind of "noise" or distortion in many of the louder sections coming from my stereo stylus and the walls of the grooves of this styrene 45.

I'm glad that some of you are enjoying the 45 upload.
 
Good spot! I hear what your saying. Listen at around 3:54 for the "aa-aa-ah" background vocals. In the 45, those vocals seem to be largely mono-ed, whereas on the stereo album, they have a bit of separation. And conversely, Tom Scotts sax solo gets reverb on the 45 and not on the album.

That would indicate that the album and single versions of the track were done separately somehow. Perhaps the instructions for EQ, balance, etc., on the tape box went missing or was never updated.

One thing is for sure - I've listened to "B'wana She No Home" more times this week than in the last ten years!

There's definite stereo separation in the backing vocals and some of the instrumentation. It's a joy to hear this single mix after all the years of hearing only the album version. Thanks for uploading.
 
This is fascinating stuff! Thanks for posting the single, Harry. I need to dig mine out now.
Has anyone listened to 'B'Wana' on the PBS 'Complete Singles' to compare and contrast? I still don't own it, do I can't check it.
 
Thanks Don, at least I know I'm not crazy lol I was like did some one just say "Hey" I kept rewinding back to that spot and sure enough it sounds like that, now is that Richard? Ha
 
This is fascinating stuff! Thanks for posting the single, Harry. I need to dig mine out now.
Has anyone listened to 'B'Wana' on the PBS 'Complete Singles' to compare and contrast? I still don't own it, do I can't check it.

The COMPLETE SINGLES version sounds like the Remastered Classics version of PASSAGE.
 
I just checked and the single review ad from Billboard was posted Nov 11 1978. Usually these short single reviews will say what the flip is but on this one it doesn't.

The I Believe You Single full page promo ad ran in Billboard on Oct 28 1978.
 
Has anyone listened to 'B'Wana' on the PBS 'Complete Singles' to compare and contrast?

I've just checked out the song on the Japanese Singles box set and it sounds like the standard album version to me.
 
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As we're talking about Singles collections not containing all the true single mixes, I thought I'd add the introduction Richard included in the Japanese Singles box:

10.27.06
"I am delighted that our Japanese affiliate has given their time and effort to releasing this nifty 'Singles Box'. Created in typical, thorough Japanese fashion, the set features not only the original single mixes, but the original single sleeves as well. Terrific!"
 
I've just checked out the song on the Japanese Singles box set and it sounds like the standard album version to me.
The Japanese Single Box version of B'Wana sounds to me like the remastered classics version. It's dull maybe not quite as dull as the The Singles Collection but it does not sound at all like the US single 45 or US LP version. The Japanese Singles Box version sounds a tab brighter than the remastered classics but Karen's vocals still sound a little muddied.

The airiness and open feel along with the reverb/echo on the US 45 and LP...I just don't hear this on any other versions on CD, the original A&M CD comes closest but it's not the exact same as the 45/LP
 
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If you take a look at the liner notes on the album Passage, it states that B'wana was one of several "live" cuts from the album.
"When recording, we usually begin with bass, drums, piano and build from there" says Richard "but on several of these tracks, almost the whole thing was recorded live all at once, with just bass and strings overdubbed later. Certain pieces call for that"

So are we to take that what we hear on this single 45 and LP are "live" cuts? Anyone care to explain this? Could this be why is sounds so open and airy?
 
Harry's upload of Bwana has a reverb and brightness and less bass throughout the entire record to my ears without listening through headphones. It is an immediate notice and sometimes harsh in EQ levels to a distorted brightness. So I thought there must be an explanation apart from tome stem and stylus / cartridge conditions and I found this at psaudio.com. I will provide the link, for they link in the discussion as well to other sources. There is stuff about groove cuts, tone arm angles, out of phase balancing, different standards in 60' and 70's compar d to today, etc. which started to give me a headache, until I ran into compression. It explains that in mastering CDs the compression rate chosen can give a different comparison to the LP and make it brighter with reverb. Our situation may be in he Classical music example below.

Compression is used in mastering pop music for CDs not for technical but for commercial reasons. Many want to be the loudest sound on the radio. Despite CDs having a dynamic range of at least 1000 times greater than vinyl phonograph records, pop music is often mastered to deliberately drive them into overload to achieve this end. This creates even more horrible distortion than is often inherent in the performance itself. :)

Classical music is rarely if ever compressed for release on CDs. This eliminates increased gain at the end of each musical phrase and even between notes. That gain on phonograph records amplifies reverberation. The CDs being “drier” and having less of the reverberant sound are played so that the closely miked direct and earliest reflections are relatively louder. This alone is sufficient to make them sound brighter. Sound systems “balanced” for phonograph records may sound too bright, even shrill playing CDs.

Remarkable | PS Audio

Now, there must be an explanation, even if we can't see it. I don't think it was done to lessen the product but to gain in quality. We just all wish it was just mixed differently. But I would rather have the CD than a 45 that sounds too bright. Since we beg for reverb, it has an enhanced feeling but if you listen closely it it also sounds distorted and it is all over the record, just not on Karen's voice. Since we know that 45s are made of the worst material and pressing was always a concern, my vote is on the compression issue. I wish I was the engineer who could definitely tell us, but I don't think a product, the Complete Singles, was intentionally lessened, but tried to give us the best quality of those original recordings.
 
So are we to take that what we hear on this single 45 and LP are "live" cuts? Anyone care to explain this?

It just means that all or most of the instrumentation was cut during the same take, as opposed to doing let's say, a final master take of the rhythm section only, followed by then the overdubbing of electric guitars, acoustic guitars, tack piano, acoustic piano, electric piano, strings, horns, bells and whistles, percussion or what have you.

It does explain at least some of the "grouping" or sub-mixing sound we hear in the final mix on B'wana, simply because when you position all of the musicians in one or two large rooms at the same time, all mic'd simultaneously and playing together, you don't have as much freedom with the overall separation during recording. This is largely due to the fact that there is leakage from one instrument mic to another. Some of this can be semi-isolated given a great recording engineer, but not in the same way it would be if some of the instrumentation was recorded in one take, and then added to with further instrumentation on another take and so on.

Does this make any sense?
 
Does this make any sense?

It does to me, but is there any reason to believe they were all in the same room mic'd up and playing together? It's possible the track was recorded "live", but with the musicians still isolated from one another, as there were four separate studios at A&M. If that were the case, it wouldn't explain why the finished article sounds the way it does.

I don't think I've ever seen so much debate on this forum over a single track, it's fascinating stuff.
 
It does to me, but is there any reason to believe they were all in the same room mic'd up and playing together? It's possible the track was recorded "live", but with the musicians still isolated from one another, as there were four separate studios at A&M. If that were the case, it wouldn't explain why the finished article sounds the way it does.

I don't think I've ever seen so much debate on this forum over a single track, it's fascinating stuff.

Yeah they most likely wouldn't have used all four rooms, as it would defeat the purpose of the "live" feel. Remember, part of the live atmosphere is playing off of each other, the energy, visuals and what have you. So to stick everyone in totally separate rooms wouldn't have made sense. The only reason you'd do that is either because you had far too many musicians to fit in a single room (which I doubt was the case), or perhaps like you might with strings and horns, you'd do some isolating for EQ and mix down purposes as far as the separation goes. :)
 
Since we know that 45s are made of the worst material and pressing was always a concern, my vote is on the compression issue.

Remember too that the album version on the LP is very close in sound to this 45. We hear differences in a couple of instances, but the reverb trail to the right still exists, and the overall brighter EQ is present there too. Albums were usually pressed on better material than 45s.
 
So getting back to the "live" aspect for a moment...as I mentioned earlier in the thread there is a spot in the song where I hear a male voice say "hey" as we know toward the end of the song it's mostly instrumental where they really go at it so would like spoken word I hear at 4:33 be from part of that "live" take (someone whose playing one of the instruments? or was that injected after when laying down the vocal track and backing vocals?)
 
It was likely a musician just verbalizing his feel of the music he was playing. Happens all the time in live performances.
 
It was likely a musician just verbalizing his feel of the music he was playing. Happens all the time in live performances.
I'm thinking the same thing and having a jazz feel it's now easy to understand how that could be placed in the mix. I'd love to hear Richard's thoughts on how this track was completed and the reasons for the 45/Lp to sound as they do.
 
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