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Thank youVery nicely done, Jonathan!
This kind of thing has always been a puzzlement to me. If you look at the popularity gauge on individual songs on iTunes and what-not whenever a new compilation album comes out, you will find that the biggest hits are always the most-downloaded or streamed from the new compilation. People just seem to always prefer the hits, rather than songs they haven't heard a thousand times.
When the Tijuana Brass albums came out after many years of not being available on CD, the Whipped Cream album immediately jumped and stayed at the head of the pack for the new releases, even though it was the one album that had been the most prominently available beforehand. You'd think everyone who wanted that CD already had it.
So it's no surprise that they packed the RPO album with hits. If they hadn't, it probably would have had weaker sales than it has had.
Definitely the originals for me. I am "one and done" with this one.I wonder if we need two polls...a "listening experience" one and a "how much I liked it" one. I would rate the listening experience a 5 out of 5 especially in the vocals department, but as for overall enjoyment I'd give it about a 3...I like this album, but I still prefer the originals (or occasional remixes thereof) and always will, I think.
You've pretty much summed up my feelings regarding the album. It's a nice enough album, when listened to in its entirety. It has its moments, especially the two album tracks and some of the segues, and it's especially nice to hear Karen's lead vocals cleaned up, and upfront in the mix. However, most of the changes are so subtle, and the tracklist so similar to many existing compilations, that I could have skipped this one, gone on happily listening to what I already owned, while not really feeling that I missed out on that much. In other words, while nice to have for the collection, it's not what I'd call essential. That's not so much a critique, as it is an acknowledgement that Richard's original arrangements were already so close to perfect, that they really didn't need, or actually benefit that much, from any further "enhancements".I haven’t listened to the album in its entirety more than twice since it was released. The “buzz” for me subsided almost immediately because the changes were too subtle to make any real difference. New drum and piano tracks don’t make up for the palpable lack of any real orchestral changes, although the two album tracks - the absolute standouts in my opinion - are now on my regular playlists. Honourable mention also goes to the new version of For All We Know, which I love. I voted it 3 stars.
Just for fun I downloaded Buddy Holly with the RPO. Carpenters with the RPO is far superior, in my opinion. Karen's vocals are the highlight of each track. On the Holly songs, you can barely hear him sing over the violins (normally I appreciate a well-played violin). This is especially noticeable on "It Doesn't Matter Anymore".
IMHO, the sound on the CD is great - even if it's not the finished version. I wonder what the LPs will have on them.
I rated it four stars. It was a very pleasant surprise and is a good album experience to listen to, but it does not rise to the levels of new albums with new songs.