Carpenters Original Issue CD's Early First Pressings

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I read an interesting listing on ebay about the Carpenters Voice of the Heart, first pressing CD. I own this exact CD, just as the photo shows mine also has that exact same barcode on the back and my CD looks just like the one pictured. It doesn't suprise me because I bought it when it was first released on CD.

In this listing (which can be found by searching this item # on ebay 4845a958e4) the seller talks about early edition CD's and how the sound benefits compared to the CD's of today or compilations or box sets that sometimes over-compress the sound giving the listener a fatigue feeling after listening. So my question to all you Carpenters fans, do you agree with this and do you still have all your original first pressing CD's of the Carpenters music. Do you feel these early pressing CD's sound better? Do you prefer them over other releases including any box sets or even any of the remastered classic Cd's.

For me, I still have all my original pressing CD's, just like the seller mentioned below, mine are all that mirrored finish and the jewel cases are thicker and more sturdy. I still continued to collect all recent releases but I am afraid to ever part with these first pressings.

Here are photos from the listing showing what a first pressing issue CD looks like:

Here is what the seller wrote:

ABOUT THIS CD
In many cases, the CDs I sell will be first editions, or the very first time that title ever appeared on CD. In addition to being coveted by collectors, many audiophiles prefer these early CDs as they tend to be transferred straight from the tape, without any over-compression (excessive LOUDNESS), digital tricks/editing/processing, or crazy EQ applied of the kind that ruins so many modern versions or so-called "remasters". In many cases, the only place to get these original masterings with full-range dynamic sound is on these early first CD pressings. Also, the quality of the discs themselves is often superior to modern versions, which you can easily see and feel when you hold one of these great old CDs. They are thicker and more sturdy, and have a mirror finish to them. It is believed that the extra care and quality control used at early CD pressing plants also contributes to the increased sound quality of many of these older CDs. Heck, even the old jewel cases are thicker and heavier!

 

[Harry]

Well, I have a first pressing of this also. The disc is similar to the one pictured above, but mine says "Product Mfgd. at Nippon Columbia. Made by DENON, Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. Japan", so mine is what the "first pressing guys" call a Made in Japan for USA disc. Early on, there were only a few CD pressing plants in the world that had to supply all other countries. The one pictured above is a Made in USA disc. The jewel case on mine is not only thicker in material, but it has the smooth edges top and bottom common with early pressings.

However, mine has NO UPC barcode. probably because it was made in Japan, though the back insert says Printed in USA. Go figure...

Harry

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I don't have any of the "first pressing" Carpenters CDs except for A SONG FOR YOU but I can say that many, many early CDs were made directly from the LP masters, which were themselves "compressed" in order to allow for the limitations of vinyl. This was done mainly to get lots of CD titles into the stores as quickly as possible, since the market grew so fast.

Once engineers got used to working in the digital domain, in which there are no such limitations, recordings could be made to sound much more "alive" than they had on LP. Many albums "remastered for CD" sounded great...until the "loudness" phenomenon kicked in. For some reason, the mindset developed that "louder is better" and this was done at the expense of dynamic range.....one of the very features that CD was supposed to enhance.

SO what does this have to do with early Carpenters pressings? Nothing really....I don't know if they were tweaked for their original CD release or not. Knowing Richard Carpenter's ear for quality, I'm guessing they were. But I would also venture a guess that the fairly recent "Original Remasters" series (which feature the original LP mixes) would have about the best sound possible, if the original LP mixes is what you're after.

As with all of these things, your mileage may vary. I'd be interested to hear others opinions on this...how DO the original CDs (or the original LPs for that matter) sound compared to the "Original Remasters?"

 

[Toolman]

The difficulty I have in making comparisons is that -- being not nearly as astute as most of you on every tweak Richard has made to the mixes over the years -- I don't know if the subtleties I hear on remaster editions were on the original releases but less noticeable due to technology, or were never there to begin with. I remember being very excited at hearing "Yesterday Once More" on the Classics Volume 2 set (hearing this track marked my very first exposure to Carpenters on CD) and, being quite naive, thinking, "Holy crap, this makes it sound like a whole new song!"...not realizing until later that to some extent it WAS a whole new song.

 

[mr J.]

The original CD's from the mid-eighties were very good-including "Voice Of The Heart"."Christmas Portrait" is the only disc from that era with substandard mastering(unbelievably,that same disc is still on the market).Some of the 1998 remasters had a more crisp sound-including "Made In America".But,the "A Kind Of Hush" and "Now and Then" don't seem to be as good as the original "audio masters plus" discs.I would say the 80's albums(Made In America,VOTH,Old fashioned Christmas,Lovelines) benefitted the most from the remasters.("Old Fashioned Christmas is on the "Christmas Collection")

The only thing we need at this point is the original "Christmas Portrait" remastered with the original mixes,the original version of "Ave Maria"-without the choir,and the original cover.

 

[gregnewyorkcity]

nd maybe thishas been dealt with long before, but can someone explain the vinyl releases - what, if anything you can tell, from what's etched in (and the labels change too)