⭐ Official Review Carpenters Royal Philharmonic Review and Comments Thread

[Simon KC1950]

So I had no idea what people were talking about regarding the updated mixes, I listened to the album on YouTube and now I hear the differences compared to the CD (my copy is from the UK) so I'm guessing this is because they were pressed over a month ago and Richard only recently finished his tweaking. I don't do digital so I hope that these updated versions will be on the vinyl.

 

[Harry]

An interesting date here is November 2nd, 2018. The CDs were pressed on that very date. It also happens to be the date that we got our first listen to "Yesterday Once More" and "Merry Christmas Darling" on YouTube and with downloads.

 

[Harry]

So I had no idea what people were talking about regarding the updated mixes, I listened to the album on YouTube and now I hear the differences compared to the CD (my copy is from the UK) so I'm guessing this is because they were pressed over a month ago and Richard only recently finished his tweaking. I don't do digital so I hope that these updated versions will be on the vinyl.

Simon, we need ultimate clarity here. Which mixes do you hear on your CD, and which mixes on YouTube?

 

[byline]

I'm still waiting for my CD, thanks to ongoing issues within Canada Post. I hadn't been planning on buying downloads, but it looks like I may need to, since early reports indicate that the Canadian CD also has those two pre-release versions mentioned earlier.

Amazon in Canada doesn't have the MP3 downloads, but Amazon in the States does. But it appears I can't order MP3s from Amazon in the States because I live outside that geographic region. *sigh*

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

So here's my review of the Target CD w/ bonus...I wrote down some notes on my first and still only listen last night.
The digital downloads I only used to listen to the 2 tracks YOM and TTR to confirm I had 2 different versions.
Before the review...I wanted to agree with every one that Karen has never sounded so good on a CD before in my life.
Her vocals are so crisp and clear, upfront where she belongs, no longer any annoying reverb and no longer buried in the mix.
Get ready it's a long one and I'm very happy I waited this long because hearing these all in order provided a much better experience.

Booklet - Nice photos of Richard but wished for at least 1 Karen photo inside, for me front photo is better than back photo. I never liked that orange tint to that photo.
Overture - Not crazy for it, it was actually ok until the choir came in..I was hoping for something that was going to wow me, the choir didn't.
YOM - No harp version here. To be honest I actually feel the harp flourish sounds better so I will give it to the downloads on this one. Still happy to have both versions. The song works well here.
Interlude - Wow so haunting and I love it!! However I didn't like how abrupt it went right into HEO.
HEO - Very nice orchestra on this one but I don't like the abrupt stop at the end.
Interlude - Love it...I'm getting more and more impressed as the interludes go by...
INTBIL - For some strange reason I immediately said to myself that Karen sounded more relaxed and this version sounds a tab bit slowed down compared to the studio version. It almost reminded me of the BFS except for the live vocal part. I actually really really love this version. Karen has never sounded so clear in my ear..I really like the ending piano keys too. Some of my favorite lyrics ever and Karen would be proud of this version.
Interlude - WOW just wow the first word that came into my head was exquisite!!
FAWK - Ok but not a stand out track for me.
TMWWD - This is pretty good...still not a favorite song of mine. This one might grow on me...who are those background vocals?
IBY - Different vocal line but I've heard it before. I always thought that this song on MIA had a harshness to her vocals like on the high parts but here it's very toned back and it works beautifully. It sounds much smoother, still not my fav song but I like how it sounds here.
Interlude - Wow again...it's just perfect...so sentimental...so touching..it plays like a tribute to Karen for me. I love this one.
IJFILA - New feel to an old song, love how the orchestra weaves in and out effortlessly, this version is more intimate to me.
MCD - Sounds so majestic w/ orchestra, love all the little flourishes, ending sounds more vocally defined, Richard sounds more pronounced on his ending vocals.
*I was so surprised at how well the segue works from MCD to BIY. It works perfectly.
BIY - Major stand out track...I want more album tracks next Richard, ok? This is my current favorite off the CD. Early Karen vocal made fresh and current. This one's gonna get lots of plays.
CTY - Sounds more current, the ending is different.
Superstar - The sad guitar is awesome, just what was missing, Karen would be so impressed with this version. I'm not hearing any phaser or distortion on my Target CD. This one gets a huge thumbs up.

Still reading??? Thank you

RD&M - Not sure how I feel about this one, the beat is too prominent. The song lost some of it's sadness and that bothers me. I need more listens. I like the orchestra towards the ending.
This Masq - Will this song ever get a remix? I feel it's too much like the studio version. Can I have Those Good Old Dreams instead?
TTR - Original piano, I've listened to both versions and the new piano sounds fresher more dramatic but why do I like the original piano better?
Both are great, happy to have both in my collection.
Goodbye - OMG will someone please get that trumpet off my favorite song? So out of place, it's cause me to lose the magic of this song, why, why, why was it added?
TOTW - Just ok, nothing really stands out for me. What is that annoying instrument that pops throughout the song, it's much too loud.
WOJB - Beautiful intro...why does this sound like a tv version to me, I think it's the chorale, did I say I don't like the chorale in Carpenters music except the Christmas albums? Yup many times. Otherwise I like the song w/ RPO
There is a 7-8 sec delay from WOJB to PMP
Bonus Track PMP - Different drum sound at the very start, cool...the background ahh's at 1:13-1:35 sound silent, muted sounding. Wow very nice string section at 1:21-1:35. I really like these added strings and they work very well. Cool!!! It's pretty much the original but I like this track.

I'm really impressed on first listen and I'm sure will become a favorite album for me.
Now I'm wondering how this will flow on the LP version. Something's gonna be different I'm sure and I'm not talking about the pre-release tracks.

 

[Mark-T]

^^ So glad, Rick, that you finally got to hear it!

 

[Darthskyguy]

Hello all. New to the forum and lifelong Carpenters fan.

I hope that there will be some sort of way to tell the difference between first pressings with the pre-release versions of the songs and second pressings with the finalized versions of these tracks. I pre-ordered and received the Amazon version, then bought the Target release after discovering the bonus track was available. I haven't listened to either, as my wife is going to "give them to me for Christmas". I bought the iTunes tracks, so that is all I have been listening to over and over since they have been released. It would be great if someone here with time and patience could post a track by track comparison of the "finalized versions" with the "early CD" versions. Maybe there are more differences than most of us know since we only heard three tracks prior to their release?

 

[byline]

I hope that there will be some sort of way to tell the difference between first pressings with the pre-release versions of the songs and second pressings with the finalized versions of these tracks.the CDs contain pre-release versions of "Ticket to Ride" and "Yesterday Once More" (the newer version of "Ticket to Ride" reportedly has piano newly recorded in stereo, while "Yesterday Once More" has a harp intro).

Welcome to the forum! Based on what I have read here, the MP3 downloads have updated versions of these two songs: the newer version of "Ticket to Ride" has piano newly recorded in stereo, while "Yesterday Once More" has a harp intro. The CDs have the pre-release versions of these songs lacking those changes, which are the only ones I've read about.

Apparently digital downloads are available only in the U.S. So I guess the rest of us are out of luck.

 

[CARPENTERS-COLLECTOR]

There is only ONE bonus track that we know of anywhere in the world. It's "Please Mr. Postman" and it appears on the Japanese SHM-CD and on the US Target first pressing CD. The song has been given the RPO treatment. On the Target CD at least, there was six extra seconds of blank space added to the end of "We've Only Just Begun" so that the bonus track has a little separation from the main album.

Oh - and this is just the normal way that record companies and retailers interact with each other these days. Japan has been the land of bonus tracks for a lot of years. It's done to get the Japanese to buy the more expensive and heavily taxed Japanese pressings rather than to let them purchase the cheaper international versions. Consequently fans of an artist often seek Japanese pressings to get it all.

Meanwhile, retailers in the US like Target and Best Buy often sign contracts with the record companies to have their own versions with a little something extra to entice shoppers to their stores. Again, this is nothing new - but it hasn't affected much in the Carpenters canon as most of their stuff had been released years ago.

helps a lot Harry thank you!

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

So here's my review of the Target CD w/ bonus...I wrote down some notes on my first and still only listen last night.
The digital downloads I only used to listen to the 2 tracks YOM and TTR to confirm I had 2 different versions.
Before the review...I wanted to agree with every one that Karen has never sounded so good on a CD before in my life.
Her vocals are so crisp and clear, upfront where she belongs, no longer any annoying reverb and no longer buried in the mix.
Get ready it's a long one and I'm very happy I waited this long because hearing these all in order provided a much better experience.

Booklet - Nice photos of Richard but wished for at least 1 Karen photo inside, for me front photo is better than back photo. I never liked that orange tint to that photo.
Overture - Not crazy for it, it was actually ok until the choir came in..I was hoping for something that was going to wow me, the choir didn't.
YOM - No harp version here. To be honest I actually feel the harp flourish sounds better so I will give it to the downloads on this one. Still happy to have both versions. The song works well here.
Interlude - Wow so haunting and I love it!! However I didn't like how abrupt it went right into HEO.
HEO - Very nice orchestra on this one but I don't like the abrupt stop at the end.
Interlude - Love it...I'm getting more and more impressed as the interludes go by...
INTBIL - For some strange reason I immediately said to myself that Karen sounded more relaxed and this version sounds a tab bit slowed down compared to the studio version. It almost reminded me of the BFS except for the live vocal part. I actually really really love this version. Karen has never sounded so clear in my ear..I really like the ending piano keys too. Some of my favorite lyrics ever and Karen would be proud of this version.
Interlude - WOW just wow the first word that came into my head was exquisite!!
FAWK - Ok but not a stand out track for me.
TMWWD - This is pretty good...still not a favorite song of mine. This one might grow on me...who are those background vocals?
IBY - Different vocal line but I've heard it before. I always thought that this song on MIA had a harshness to her vocals like on the high parts but here it's very toned back and it works beautifully. It sounds much smoother, still not my fav song but I like how it sounds here.
Interlude - Wow again...it's just perfect...so sentimental...so touching..it plays like a tribute to Karen for me. I love this one.
IJFILA - New feel to an old song, love how the orchestra weaves in and out effortlessly, this version is more intimate to me.
MCD - Sounds so majestic w/ orchestra, love all the little flourishes, ending sounds more vocally defined, Richard sounds more pronounced on his ending vocals.
*I was so surprised at how well the segue works from MCD to BIY. It works perfectly.
BIY - Major stand out track...I want more album tracks next Richard, ok? This is my current favorite off the CD. Early Karen vocal made fresh and current. This one's gonna get lots of plays.
CTY - Sounds more current, the ending is different.
Superstar - The sad guitar is awesome, just what was missing, Karen would be so impressed with this version. I'm not hearing any phaser or distortion on my Target CD. This one gets a huge thumbs up.

Still reading??? Thank you

RD&M - Not sure how I feel about this one, the beat is too prominent. The song lost some of it's sadness and that bothers me. I need more listens. I like the orchestra towards the ending.
This Masq - Will this song ever get a remix? I feel it's too much like the studio version. Can I have Those Good Old Dreams instead?
TTR - Original piano, I've listened to both versions and the new piano sounds fresher more dramatic but why do I like the original piano better?
Both are great, happy to have both in my collection.
Goodbye - OMG will someone please get that trumpet off my favorite song? So out of place, it's cause me to lose the magic of this song, why, why, why was it added?
TOTW - Just ok, nothing really stands out for me. What is that annoying instrument that pops throughout the song, it's much too loud.
WOJB - Beautiful intro...why does this sound like a tv version to me, I think it's the chorale, did I say I don't like the chorale in Carpenters music except the Christmas albums? Yup many times. Otherwise I like the song w/ RPO
There is a 7-8 sec delay from WOJB to PMP
Bonus Track PMP - Different drum sound at the very start, cool...the background ahh's at 1:13-1:35 sound silent, muted sounding. Wow very nice string section at 1:21-1:35. I really like these added strings and they work very well. Cool!!! It's pretty much the original but I like this track.

I'm really impressed on first listen and I'm sure will become a favorite album for me.
Now I'm wondering how this will flow on the LP version. Something's gonna be different I'm sure and I'm not talking about the pre-release tracks.

Great review. BTW, the background vocals on "Touch Me..." are Karen, Richard, and Carolyn Dennis. Carolyn is a singer/actress who was, for a brief time, married to Bob Dylan.

Ed

 

[Darthskyguy]

Welcome to the forum! Based on what I have read here, the MP3 downloads have updated versions of these two songs: the newer version of "Ticket to Ride" has piano newly recorded in stereo, while "Yesterday Once More" has a harp intro. The CDs have the pre-release versions of these songs lacking those changes, which are the only ones I've read about.

Harry previously said that he understood future pressings and the vinyl release would have the "finalized" versions that we currently hear online. It would be great if Universal would identify them somehow so that when we purchase them, we know that they are not the same pre-release versions that we hear on our CD's today.

 

[Darthskyguy]

Has anyone heard whether a Super-Audio CD DSD version would be released online? Right now, I see a lot of albums getting a DSD release, but the PHO is only FLAC 192 kHz and 24 bit

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Harry previously said that he understood future pressings and the vinyl release would have the "finalized" versions that we currently hear online. It would be great if Universal would identify them somehow so that when we purchase them, we know that they are not the same pre-release versions that we hear on our CD's today.

Correct, if they fix the CD pressing you want to be able to identify the packaging in the stores or even online retailers. Good point.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Has anyone heard whether a Super-Audio CD DSD version would be released online? Right now, I see a lot of albums getting a DSD release, but the PHO is only FLAC 192 kHz and 24 bit

We can only hope!!

 

[Harry]

Correct, if they fix the CD pressing you want to be able to identify the packaging in the stores or even online retailers. Good point.

I have seen these kind of things go both ways. There was a Beatles release of their American Capitol Records albums and the second set had a whole set of wrong mono mixes. Capitol set up a program where those who wanted replacements could send in their defective discs and get corrected ones. They also placed a little "SK1" designation on the outer label so people could identify the corrected future sets.

But an example the other way was A&M's own Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. The CLASSICS VOLUME 1 disc issued in 1987 had a track indexing error, where two songs were combined under one track number, and then the long "Zorba The Greek" track was split into two tracks. It got a "stealth" re-issue as later pressings had the error fixed, but there was no way of telling from the outside packaging which one you were getting. The music all played the same, but the track numbering was affected.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I was just thinking do you really think these Cust Serv reps who response to emails at universal are really going to know there is a different release on the CD’s vs the downloads. I would be surprised if they do. It will be interesting if they make any adjustments for people or just release new CD pressings and tell people to buy the new pressing or just told to buy the digital downloads.

 

[Harry]

I was just thinking do you really think these Cust Serv reps who response to emails at universal are really going to know there is a different release on the CD’s vs the downloads. I would be surprised if they do. It will be interesting if they make any adjustments for people or just release new CD pressings and tell people to buy the new pressing or just told to buy the digital downloads.

They might just think that Carpenters fans are whiners and complainers!

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

They might just think that Carpenters fans are whiners and complainers!

That's precisely why you don't inundate them with emails and complaints. Just a few well-placed emails go over better than a thousand of them. That just irritates.

Ed

 

[WYBIMLA]

I haven't heard this album completely, yet. I'll be getting a copy for Christmas so I've heard YOM, TTR, MCD, IJFILA and TMWWD. I'm slowly hearing bits and pieces and easing my way into giving each song attention.
Perhaps I'll give a more detailed review once I get a copy.

From what I've heard, what struck me is how upfront and centre Karen is on this project.
The sound, at times, is much fuller than previous records. That's a treat.
"I just fall in love again" is superb on this. It almost sounds like a re-recording.

I couldn't resist downloading "Touch me when we're dancing." This is the first time Richard addressed complaints that Karen was buried on the original album mix. Maybe he decided on his own or took fans' comments to heart.
The part with the sax solo and "aaahs" bothered me, but Richard corrects that and emphasizes the vocals with the RPO.
He didn't need to change much, but he should be happy to have had the chance to get around to bringing out things like that. Karen and Richard put so much into every recording, so those devilish little details make all the difference and let us hear the work.

He stayed true to the songs and didn't over do it with the orchestra; while adding fullness and augmentations here and there. Now, think of that for a second... Here's a man who's been known to over do it on production, had a full orchestra available to him, and was able to use it very effectively. How easy would it have been for him to get carried away... Lol So kudos to him.

I gave some thought to the different reactions so far on this board. Honestly, this is the first time we've experienced The C's in the digital age. So, much of the clarity on certain parts would be striking to lots of us. We're so used to the original masters.

Karen sounds incredible, and it goes to show that her voice transcends time.

I find the choice to make a lot of the vocals a bit drier on the mix is good too.
The decisions on certain vocal effects (reverb) and overdub cues make more sense. Not to say they never did... I'm used to Richard drenching us in reverb on remixes (which I don't mind, btw) but I'll never hear these songs the same way again.
Thanks to Richard for sparking our imaginations with this great project!

 

[Murray]

They might just think that Carpenters fans are whiners and complainers!

But Harry, if we don't "whine and complain", as you put it, how are the powers that be at Universal going to know that there's a problem? Squeaky wheel gets the grease...

I have a solution to propose to Universal, that I'm sure we'd all be happy with. How about they re-release the CD next year, worldwide, with the updated tracks, and including both "Postman", and "Those Good Old Dreams" as bonuses. They can call it the "50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". I'm sure we'd all buy the CD again, in a heartbeat!

 

[Eyewire]

Please forgive the wording in my post. I promise I'm not the least bit angry, though I know it appears I was. It is what it is. I'm going for the best possible version and that seems only to be available as a lossy download at the moment. I see it on HDTracks but I don't know if that's the right one either. If it is, that will make me happy.

Ed

Tidal sells CD-quality lossless FLAC files that you can convert to AIFF or WAV without any loss of quality. If you go here and click on the previews, the album on the Tidal store appears to have the updated, finalized versions of YOM and TTR:

Carpenters With The RPO on TIDAL

HDTracks doesn't seem to have previews, but it's probably the finalized version if I had to guess.

 

[Graeme]

Listening to my CD version (bought in the UK) it definitely doesn't have any harp at the beginning of YOM and the piano on TTR isn't stereo. I just had a listen to the preview of TTR on Google Play and the piano is definitely in stereo on that (the preview starts near the beginning of the song so it's a good comparison). So am I right in thinking the Japanese CD that's on it's way is likely to contain the non-harp YOM and mono piano TTR mixes then?

 

[Simon KC1950]

Simon, we need ultimate clarity here. Which mixes do you hear on your CD, and which mixes on YouTube?

Harry, on the UK CD I'm hearing literally the 3 singles that were released in November. The overture track ends, track two starts with it's 3 piano notes (no harp) just like it originally did and in the digital single. Ticket To Ride is the same as the single which is why I was a little confused when people here were saying that it had a new piano, I was thinking "what!?!" the piano sounds the same. I don't have anything digital so today I checked the album on YouTube and was surprised listening to YOM and TTR.

Here's the videos which are different from the UK CD. Quote annoying really because I like these mixes more ! I hope they are on the LP in Feb

 

[Nawvish74]

Simon, we need ultimate clarity here. Which mixes do you hear on your CD, and which mixes on YouTube?

Hi, I've just received my CD from Amazon UK ( a pre-order- I live in Ireland) I had a quick listen to Ticket to Ride and it's the version released as an early download with mono piano. Hope that's of help, Siobhán

 

[Graeme]

Harry, on the UK CD I'm hearing literally the 3 singles that were released in November. The overture track ends, track two starts with it's 3 piano notes (no harp) just like it originally did and in the digital single. Ticket To Ride is the same as the single which is why I was a little confused when people here were saying that it had a new piano, I was thinking "what!?!" the piano sounds the same. I don't have anything digital so today I checked the album on YouTube and was surprised listening to YOM and TTR.

Here's the videos which are different from the UK CD. Quote annoying really because I like these mixes more ! I hope they are on the LP in Feb

Gosh, YOM is quite different.