⭐ Official Review Carpenters Royal Philharmonic Review and Comments Thread

How would you rate Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra?

  • ⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕ (Best)

    Votes: 38 36.5%
  • ⁕⁕⁕⁕

    Votes: 47 45.2%
  • ⁕⁕⁕ (Average)

    Votes: 16 15.4%
  • ⁕⁕

    Votes: 1 1.0%
  • ⁕ (Worst)

    Votes: 1 1.0%
  • Did not listen to this album yet

    Votes: 1 1.0%

  • Total voters
    104
I have to say that this album is really growing on me more and more. I loved it when I first heard it and each subsequent listen it manages to grow on me more.

I contacted Richard to let him know that it has just been certified Silver here in the UK and he is very pleased with the good news and hopes it "reaches Gold and beyond".
I really hope that as the sales of this album and the positve reactions to it continue that Richard and especially universal music will push for a second one. With the 50th coming up as well, it's a great time to be a Carpenters fan !
 
If it is any indication of the "power" of this album, every morning I wake up with a different track playing in my head. One morning MCD, next morning TMWWD, next morning IBY. You get the idea. There are far worse things I could wake up to running through my brain; I will take Karen's voice flowing through my mind any day of the week.
 
Has anyone else noticed the odd percussive sound on “Superstar” at the :38-:39 mark? It sounds slightly off the beat making me wonder if it’s intentional or not.
 
So now that we have heard the new songs, do you think “Those Good Old Dreams” would have had a place on the album? I don’t think it would have fit...even the opening line...as a child I was known for make believin’ would have seemed out of place.

However I do think it should have been a bonus track. They missed an opportunity for additional sales. The UK could have had one bonus and Japan another and Target another. They should have designated 3 separate tracks recorded with the RPO exclusively for bonus tracks in different countries.

So 1 more month for the LP’s..sure hope there the finalized digital versions.
 
However I do think it should have been a bonus track. They missed an opportunity for additional sales. The UK could have had one bonus and Japan another and Target another. They should have designated 3 separate tracks recorded with the RPO exclusively for bonus tracks in different countries.

Inspired ideas, Rick! The only downside is that most of us would have felt compelled to buy all the versions you mentioned in order to fulfill our roles as completists! I remain hopeful, especially given the success and critical acclaim given to this project, that a Volume II will be produced. At that point, we can (hopefully) have "Those Good Old Dreams" as well as some of my other favorites: "Solitaire," "Only Yesterday," "There's a Kind of Hush," and "All You Get From Love Is a Love Song," ...
 
So now that we have heard the new songs, do you think “Those Good Old Dreams” would have had a place on the album? I don’t think it would have fit...even the opening line...as a child I was known for make believin’ would have seemed out of place.

However I do think it should have been a bonus track. They missed an opportunity for additional sales. The UK could have had one bonus and Japan another and Target another. They should have designated 3 separate tracks recorded with the RPO exclusively for bonus tracks in different countries.

So 1 more month for the LP’s..sure hope there the finalized digital versions.

holding on to it, as they have, whets the consumer appetite. this product would have sold, with or without, a bonus track. universal is not going to give anything away.
 
Inspired ideas, Rick! The only downside is that most of us would have felt compelled to buy all the versions you mentioned in order to fulfill our roles as completists! I remain hopeful, especially given the success and critical acclaim given to this project, that a Volume II will be produced. At that point, we can (hopefully) have "Those Good Old Dreams" as well as some of my other favorites: "Solitaire," "Only Yesterday," "There's a Kind of Hush," and "All You Get From Love Is a Love Song," ...

I agree, I asked my friend on holiday in the U.S. to go into any target store and get me the bonus track version, which he kindly did.
 
RPO deja vu moment with Moody Blues’, Days Of Future Passed:

So there’s an orchestral flourish on the new Carpenters RPO album that's been taking me, sonically, back to the classic Moody Blues album, Days Of Future Passed. While the Peter Knight influence is palpable throughout the new Carpenters / RPO album (that I enjoy more and more with each listen...), THE big DOFP deja vu moment for me is at the :14 through the :25 point of the “Hurting Each Other” intro. It’s reminiscent of the 1:15 through the 1:35 point on “The Day Begins” from the Days Of Future Passed album.

At least I think so. Maybe it’s just me.

Or “...maybe it’s you; maybe it’s me...” :phones:
 
An observation not criticism. The stereo drums used on Hurting Each Other don't kick in until 2:11, correct me if I'm hearing incorrectly.
 
^^You are correct, Chris Mills.
Now, as much as I enjoy this new RPO version of Hurting Each Other,
that drum-beat (or, lack thereof, compared to the original) at roughly 2:11
really bugs me....sorry to say.....
 
^^You are correct, Chris Mills.
Now, as much as I enjoy this new RPO version of Hurting Each Other,
that drum-beat (or, lack thereof, compared to the original) at roughly 2:11
really bugs me....sorry to say.....
Could be a problem isolating Hal Blaine’s drumming from Karen’s vocal?
 
I really, really wanted to like this. I'm not sure why I feel disappointed. One thing that really bothers me is the volume of the bass in the mix. It seems overwhelming. And honestly, I thought Top of the World really didn't benefit much from the orchestral arrangement. I would have preferred something like Only Yesterday instead. I'm probably in the minority here, and I love all things Carpenters, but this album just didn't do it for me.
 
I really, really wanted to like this. I'm not sure why I feel disappointed. One thing that really bothers me is the volume of the bass in the mix. It seems overwhelming. And honestly, I thought Top of the World really didn't benefit much from the orchestral arrangement. I would have preferred something like Only Yesterday instead. I'm probably in the minority here, and I love all things Carpenters, but this album just didn't do it for me.

I couldn't tell any changes had occurred with TOTW, I thought it was included because of the interlude following.
 
As time gets by us now...
Honestly, I wanted to be over the moon about this project.

Discovering that it didn't meet expectations can get you down.
It's a good addition to the collection don't get me wrong, but I see why it is like it's own album.
Mind you, we still have the original mixes.

I think what I didn't want to happen... happened.
It seems rushed, and there are places where the orchestra could've been used/brought up more.
I hate to say this of course. After all, we thought Richard was "all done" and weren't even sure if Karen would be featured.

It's like the inverse of Made in America. The orchestra fought Karen on that album and now Karen is brought up just a touch too high on some tracks in my opinion. It's great they cleaned up the tracks though, but in parts didn't hit that sweet spot for me.

I like hearing "Touch me" with Karen more prominent in the mix and "I just fall in love again."
There are places where this new album works well.
No doubt, yet there are anomalies. Like the drum stereo pop in "Hurting Each Other" mentioned earlier, and around the 2:02 min mark on "Baby it's you" the backing vocal's gain sounds like it jumps.
Little things that could be corrected with more time.

Of course mixing different albums from over 40-50 years ago there's bound to be inconsistencies.
But, why oh why are there things like this going on for The Carpenters but for Elvis, Aretha and Roy there isn't anything that jumps out at you as an error?

As a listener you don't like to be asking "what am I listening for here?" We're super-fans, so perhaps we hear it differently than your average buyer.

My excitement didn't linger as long as I had thought. Maybe it's really that you we miss Karen. Imagining what she could've been up to today.

It didn't hit me in the same warm, whimsical fashion as the originals and other remixes. If there's a Part 2 I'll listen, but there's something about digitizing music that doesn't give it that same ol'feel.
 
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It's probably a function of age. We all remember the first time we heard the originals, but there's no way to get that same thrill when we're hearing .... the same songs again, enhanced/improved or not. Yet we keep chasing the thrill.

I have quite a few favorite artists and I always get a kick when they come out with new music, but I always wind up going back to the older albums.
 
I listened to the album only a few times before "putting it away". I too was more disappointed than thrilled.
 
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I haven't put it away, but also have been playing other recently purchased CDs a lot more often than this. Largely I think that's only because I'm not as attuned to the nuances as some others who post here are. I was never bothered by air conditioner noise on YOM. Never heard it. So the fact that it's gone isn't a big deal to me. I do really like the cold stop on HEO, the guitar on "Superstar", the changes on "Baby It's You" and "I Just Fall In Love Again", some of the other tweaks. So I'm sure I'll listen to those again. But it hasn't held my interest quite as long as I expected it would. No slights at Richard intended here. The fact that this album exists at all is a major surprise to me, and I'm glad it's out there keeping the legacy alive.
 
It's probably a function of age. We all remember the first time we heard the originals, but there's no way to get that same thrill when we're hearing .... the same songs again, enhanced/improved or not. Yet we keep chasing the thrill.

I personally don’t think age has anything to do with why people don’t care for the album. I just discovered this indie band of young guys in there 20’s that I’m finding is so awesome and I’m connecting to their music. The lead singer has this incredible voice and there lyrics and their songs are like poetry. The lead singer has this incredible voice and there lyrics to their songs are like poetry. I feel it’s more about people opening themselves up to new discoveries and to hear something fresh. The originals will always be there for the Carpenters but I can’t listen to them all the time, I’d go stir crazy. Lol
 
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^^ I must be crazy....I listen to "the originals" all the time !
I never--read NEVER--tire of listening to the originals.
In fact, I find listening to the vinyl albums incomparable to anything else,
with the possible exception of listening to the cd-compilation
From The Top, which--being as it is chronological and full of rarities--
always enjoyable, from first to last disc (I listen in order).
By the way, as I have elsewhere explained, the only way I can really
enjoy the new RPO cd is to listen from beginning to end, without interruption.
Then the "project" makes sense. I do not compare it to an earlier "compilation."
It is a nice surprise to get it (RPO) and would be a nice beginning for a "new" listener.
 
I just discovered this indie band of young guys in there 20’s that I’m finding is so awesome and I’m connecting to their music.
I hear "new" music all the time that I really like, but it's relatively rare for a recent discovery to find its way onto my list of favorites that I keep returning to years or decades later. Let's check back in five years and see if you're still listening to the music of that new indie band. (I would say let's check back in 20 years, but I'll be 82 then and may not remember this conversation! LOL)
 
I hear "new" music all the time that I really like, but it's relatively rare for a recent discovery to find its way onto my list of favorites that I keep returning to years or decades later. Let's check back in five years and see if you're still listening to the music of that new indie band. (I would say let's check back in 20 years, but I'll be 82 then and may not remember this conversation! LOL)

I’ll only be a kid of 73. I can remind you.

Jonathan
 
After listening to the album countless of times. Mostly with headphones. I must say my current favorite is Please Mr Postman a refreshing song about joy. .. Among so many melancholic tracks.. My first favorite after hearing all of them was TIcket to ride.. Songs i didnt care much on this album. Top of the world, close to you,tiuch me when were dancin... Saw not much improvement over original tracks. Not a fan of the ray coniff esque overture and chorus either..
 
I really am enjoying reading all the comments, but a little sad that not everyone is crazy about this release as I am. Definitely, the best way to listen is from start to finish, with headphones. It's hard for me to pick a favorite, because just as I think I've identified it, another one takes it's place. This release, as of now anyway, is my favorite of all their albums, and hope there is a second one on the horizon.
 
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