⭐ Official Review Carpenters Royal Philharmonic Review and Comments Thread

[Portlander]

I would add Sweet Sweet Smile (#8 Country), Solitaire, It's Going To Take Some Time, A Kind Of Hush and Let Me Be The One to your list Kyle. The very popular Bacharach/David Medley would be my bonus track for a total of 18. Calling Occupants was also a mild hit but already has the orchestra treatment with nothing to improve on.

 

[Darthskyguy]

There are plenty of great songs that would sound terrific (and a number of big hits) with an RPO2:

Only Yesterday
I Won't Last a Day without You
A Song for You
Desperado
Because We Are In Love
All You Get from Love is a Love Song
Bless the Beasts and the Children
Sometimes
I Can Dream, Can't I
Ordinary Fool
I Can't Make Music
Sing

But my biggest hope would be for a Carpenters Christmas with the RPO...

I would love to hear "You" on the next compilation. Richard could really do something with this song based on her vocal lead.

 

[Mark-T]

I'd add "Look to Your Dreams".

 

[no1kandrfan]

I would LOVE to hear Eve and Crescent Noon.

 

[Kacfan]

And I would love to hear the zodiac melody (a house is not a home) from make your own kind of music given the RPO treatment !

 

[Jeremy Cawili]

Only Yesterday
I Won't Last a Day without You
A Song for You

I would add Sweet Sweet Smile (#8 Country), Solitaire, It's Going To Take Some Time, A Kind Of Hush and Let Me Be The One to your list Kyle. The very popular Bacharach/David Medley would be my bonus track for a total of 18. Calling Occupants was also a mild hit but already has the orchestra treatment with nothing to improve on.

Desperado
Because We Are In Love
All You Get from Love is a Love Song
Bless the Beasts and the Children
Sometimes
I Can Dream, Can't I
Ordinary Fool
I Can't Make Music
Sing

I would add Sweet Sweet Smile (#8 Country), Solitaire, It's Going To Take Some Time, A Kind Of Hush and Let Me Be The One to your list Kyle. The very popular Bacharach/David Medley would be my bonus track for a total of 18. Calling Occupants was also a mild hit but already has the orchestra treatment with nothing to improve on.

I would add Sweet Sweet Smile (#8 Country), Solitaire, It's Going To Take Some Time, A Kind Of Hush and Let Me Be The One to your list Kyle. The very popular Bacharach/David Medley would be my bonus track for a total of 18. Calling Occupants was also a mild hit but already has the orchestra treatment with nothing to improve on.

These are the songs I'll want to add if there will be a second rpo album.
1. Only Yesterday
2. I Won't Last a Day without You
3. A Song for You
4. Desperado
5. Love Me For What I Am
6. All You Get from Love is a Love Song
7. Bless the Beasts and the Children
8. A Kind of Hush
9. Sweet Sweet Smile
10. Solitaire
11. It's Going To Take Some time
12. Make Believe It's Your First Time ( Karen Carpenter album version vocal)
13. Lovelines
14. Sometimes
15. I Can Dream, Can't I
16. Ordinary Fool
17. I Can't Make Music
18. Trying To Get the Feeling Again
19. Rainbow Connection

 

[Sue]

NOW and YOU are a must!

 

[newvillefan]

An obvious one for me (and one I'm sure Richard would love to have another crack at with the bigger orchestra) is When It's Gone.

 

[Jeremy Cawili]

These are the songs I'll want to add if there will be a second rpo album.
1. Only Yesterday
2. I Won't Last a Day without You
3. A Song for You
4. Desperado
5. Love Me For What I Am
6. All You Get from Love is a Love Song
7. Bless the Beasts and the Children
8. A Kind of Hush
9. Sweet Sweet Smile
10. Solitaire
11. It's Going To Take Some time
12. Make Believe It's Your First Time ( Karen Carpenter album version vocal)
13. Lovelines
14. Sometimes
15. I Can Dream, Can't I
16. Ordinary Fool
17. I Can't Make Music
18. Trying To Get the Feeling Again
19. Rainbow Connection

NOW and YOU are a must!

Now that you've mentioned it. Let me revise my list:

1. Only Yesterday
2. I Won't Last a Day without You
3. A Song for You
4. Desperado
5. Love Me For What I Am
6. All You Get from Love is a Love Song
7. Bless the Beasts and the Children
8. A Kind of Hush
9. Sweet Sweet Smile
10. Solitaire
11. It's Going To Take Some time
12. Make Believe It's Your First Time ( Karen Carpenter album version vocal)
13. Lovelines
14. Now
15. You
16. Ordinary Fool
17. Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore
18. Trying To Get the Feeling Again
19. Rainbow Connection

 

[Darthskyguy]

I keep thinking of other songs I would love to hear remixed on part 2. Richard has a gold mine of songs he can pick and choose from and I'm sure they'll be great. I wish they would release a single from this album. Maybe Merry Christmas Darling?

 

[Proudofyou]

Maybe it's you. (not baby it's you). Walks along the waves of velveteen...that one.

 

[Joeyesterday]

Someday
Sometimes
Karen's Theme revisited

 

[newvillefan]

I put a select few of these new tracks onto my favourites on Spotify and I Just Fall In Love Again has just come on while the tracklist was playing on random. I was absolutely stopped in my tracks. It is indeed "jaw-droppingly beautiful". My absolute favourite from the album. I can't believe how crystal clear Karen's lead vocal is. She's no longer swamped by the choir and overpowering backing of the original, but right up front and sitting on top of the entire track. And has anyone noticed the amazing, sweeping classical chops Richard displays on piano from 2:37? They are on the original track but I never noticed them before this remix. The track is simply stunning in every respect.

 

[Jeremy Cawili]

I AM ACTUALLY HOPING FOR A SECOND RPO ALBUM . ESPECIALLY ON THE NON SINGLE TRACKS OF THE ALBUMS. I HOPE RICHARD IS CHECKING THIS FORUM OR AT LEAST HER P.A. SO THEY WOULD KNOW WHAT FANS THINK OF THE ALBUM AND HAVE MOTIVATION FROM US FANS TO CREATE THE SECOND ALBUM

 

[tomswift2002]

If there is a RPO 2, it would be nice to hear Richard re-orchestrate “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day” and give the song a much better instrumental track.

Of course it would be nice if he did a 2-disc Christmas set with the RPO, with added tracks like “Toyland”.

Of course for a non-seasonal album, “All You Get From Love Is A Love Song” needs to be done and maybe “Who Do You Love” From his solo.

 

[Portlander]

For there to be an RPO 2, RPO 1 needs to be a success and at least reach Gold status in the UK and Japan and sell moderately well in the US in my opinion. I'm hoping for Platinum in the UK and Japan and Gold for the US!

 

[Kacfan]

NOW and YOU are a must!

Love these two and would like to add You are the one !

 

[byline]

Where is the sitar?

Oh dear, I have no idea how to describe this. It sort of weaves in and out of quieter parts of "Touch Me When We're Dancing." It has a slightly metallic sound. Can anyone else do a better job of explaining this? I know it when I hear it (I think), but that's as good as it gets.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I'm having an issue that Joey and Mark and others talked about back on page 16 regarding hard breaks between tracks.

The digital downloads from The Carpenters Official Store (email) have hard breaks. For instance YOM at the very end of the song there is a 1 sec hard break before the intro starts for HEO.

My Target CD (which I ripped in iTunes) does not have any hard breaks. For instance YOM at very end flows seamlessly right into the intro for HEO.

Is anyone else having this issue with the downloads from the Carpenters Official Store? I don't know how to fix this and don't see anything in setting of the file to remove that 1 sec hard break, is it even possible?

 

[byline]

The digital downloads from The Carpenters Official Store (email) have hard breaks. For instance YOM at the very end of the song there is a 1 sec hard break before the intro starts for HEO.

I wouldn't call them hard breaks, but I did notice slight gaps in a couple of places, in segments that are supposed to flow seamlessly. I'll have to listen again to hear where they are.

 

[Song4uman]

Yes. Small gaps.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Here is more info I just determined
The Digital Downloads have small breaks (maybe 1 sec or less but a very small break) BUT it only occurs for me between these tracks:

Overture to YOM
YOM to HEO
MCD to BIY

All the other tracks are fine, no breaks and transition is smooth. So why is it just happening on these 3 above? This is really bothering me.

Correction: The Target CD is also placing small breaks between the same exact songs I listed above. So it's on both the Downloads and the Target CD but the breaks are only on these above.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Does anybody else LOVE the "Someday" interlude right before HEO? Wow that caught me off guard because I knew that song was not on the track list. Very clever.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

In the booklet Richard says, "along with dialing back the amount of reverb used in our later recordings and remixes, makes Karen's lead sound cleaner, closer, warmer and better than ever"

This says it all for me and I'm so happy to read Richard say this...less reverb and this recording from the RPO is like hearing new recordings from the duo.

 

[Eyewire]

Here is more info I just determined
The Digital Downloads have small breaks (maybe 1 sec or less but a very small break) BUT it only occurs for me between these tracks:

Overture to YOM
YOM to HEO
MCD to BIY

All the other tracks are fine, no breaks and transition is smooth. So why is it just happening on these 3 above? This is really bothering me.

Correction: The Target CD is also placing small breaks between the same exact songs I listed above. So it's on both the Downloads and the Target CD but the breaks are only on these above.

Are you by any chance using iTunes to play back the files? I find that if I only play back the last 5 seconds or so of the previous song, the gapless feature won’t work. But if I move the scrubber back 30 or more seconds and then let the previous song proceed into the next song, the segue will be gapless. And of course, playing the album from start to finish also results in perfect, gapless segues for the entire duration of the album.