My first post: Yesterday Once More - UK 1984 Compilation

Alan71

Active Member
Hello, I’ve just registered but have been following this site for a few years now and have learnt a lot from it.

What prompted me to finally register was that I have done something I daren’t tell anyone in “real life”.

I’ve bought, off a well-known auction site, the rare Yesterday Once More 1984 UK compilation on CD... for £60. Yep, I’m probably mad but the entry for this on this site state that it’s very rare and includes a mix of Those Good Old Dreams not available anywhere else on CD (and also Please, Mr Postman single mix).

It was this album (in its vinyl version) that helped get me into The Carpenters in 1988. That summer, the Yesterday Once More video program was shown on ITV (UK commercial TV network). It was shown late night but my brother videoed it and we watched it loads of times. From that, we got the UK vinyl album.

Surprisingly, I didn’t venture further into the Carpenters catalogue until 2000, when Carpenters Gold was released in the UK. A few years later The Ultimate Collection, and then in the last few years, Carpenters Collected. From there I got the UK 1990 “Compact Disc Collection” off that same auction site for a very good price, finally giving me most of their albums in one go (and I’ve since got the others - As Time Goes By, Live at the Palladium etc).

I’ve also acquired some of the main compilations, but it was this 1984 one I really wanted again as it was what started it all for me 32 years ago.

I know I’ve paid a ridiculous price - I missed a listing in January where a seller sold it for £7.99 as a buy-it-now, obviously not aware how rare or sought-after it is.

Certainly not every day I pay £60 for one double-CD. I’d also like “The Complete Singles” but as that goes for even more extortionate prices, it’s unlikely.
 
Welcome to the forum, Alan, and congratulations on finding the UK YESTERDAY ONCE MORE CD set. There are those here that found it rather quickly and unspectacularly, while others of us sought long and hard to find one, myself included. It remains the only CD source for "Those Good Old Dreams" original LP version.

All of us at one time or another have paid a high price for an item that we want - that's the nature of the hobby. After a time, you'll still have your prized item, and the money won't be missed any longer.
 
Thanks Harry. I suppose you’re right. It’s a couple of weeks’ supermarket shops and that’s for food that will be gone within a week. Something like this is a one-off and is there forever.

I won’t be checking the listings again though. I had this as a saved search for several months but I’ve now deleted it. I don’t want to know if it comes up again cheaper! I managed to knock £10 off the asking price (my first and second offers for it were rejected).
 
Hi Alan,
I remember working in WH Smith on the record department when this compilation came out. I bought the vinyl but didn't get the cd.
I drove people mad in the store as i constantly played it through the store speakers. The manager one day said ' as much as i appreciate the Carpenters, could we please listen to something else!' lol
Like you did, I bought it many years later to complete my collection.
I like the collection, however a couple of things bug me a bit - even though it just lists "don't cry for me argentina" it also includes the OTT prelude.
Also, the trilogy of superstar,rainy days and goodbye to love, is in the slightly sped up version as per the original Singles 69-73 verson.
It also incorrectly lists Yesterday once more as being from the close to you album. It correctly says that ticket to ride redone version is from 69-73 singles, but then the redone top of the world as being from a song for you album.
OK, i know the world is still revolving but it just bugs me a bit!

I do love the silver/ grey cover, the photos on the gatefold of the vinyl ( apart from made in america sleeve I'd not seen before ).
Plus there isn't any of the reverb full remixes.
After many MANY years of compilation buying I have come to the conclusion that singles 69-73 and 74-78 take a lot of beating. All the others ( apart from carpenters collected which includes some muddy remastered tracks ) include remixes which I'm not that keen on.

Harry, have we had a favourite compilation poll? Or is there too many to pick from?

With best wishes to all my Carpenters friends in these very difficult times - A good time to play " a place to hideaway'!!

Rob
 
Hi Rob,

WHSmith would have been my “go to” record shop in those days! Even though we did have an HMV in Derby, I didn’t know about it until a few years later.

I didn’t know until more recent years that the front cover artwork of Yesterday Once More was based on that of the Only Yesterday single. I have to say (admittedly with some bias) that the UK version does it best. The US edition doesn’t look as good and I’m not really a fan of the current maroon issue.

The only song on the UK one that I wasn’t keen on (and still not) was Don’t Cry For Me Argentina. Karen does a more than acceptable job on it, but not a song I’ve ever been fond of. That same year (1988), I picked up an old Olivia Newton-John album that had her own version on it (Making A Good Thing Better, 1977) - it seemed like everyone thought they should be recording it!
 
There's something unique to the version of "Only Yesterday" on the UK YESTERDAY ONCE MORE (both CD and LP - I would assume cassette as well). If you listen to the iconic opening Jim Gordon drumbeats, the third one has the faint sound of a cymbal vibration along with it. It's not present on any other version of the song on any collection.
 
Yes, that's the synth line from the original LP, and it's found on the YOM or GOLD DVD's. But - this DVD version ends early, and has an elongated beginning with an edit to repeat those lines.
 
That’s interesting, Harry. The site’s article on this album labels it as “album length” (a common mix). At least that’s another bonus to my £60 buy...
Yesterday Once More (UK)

This slight change in "Only Yesterday" was noticed by me after I'd already written that page. It's really the same album mix, but that cymbal rattle somehow leaked through on this version. I should make a mention on that page. It's not really enough to describe it as a different mix.
 
Thanks Harry.
I seem to remember once you mentioning on this completion that the first drum beat on only yesterday is very quiet - as though they haven’t got the volume turned up properly or weren’t ready for it kicking in.
My WH Smith branch Alan was the Redcar one in the north east / North Yorkshire. I moved to London the following year.
Do you remember the huge selling ‘only yesterday ‘single cd compilation from 1990 I think?
That was number 1 in the UK for weeks and sold a huge amount. The first time I’d heard any remixes. I was quite excited at the time !
New releases were SO exciting then. Going to the shop and actually BUYING them and going straight home to play them, rather than just waiting for them to be delivered through amazon !
 
Robert, yes, I’ve actually just mentioned Only Yesterday in another topic. Number one for weeks, how did that happen? There was no film or TV special to promote it was there? One of the most amazing chart runs in the UK ever.
 
Do you remember the huge selling ‘only yesterday ‘single cd compilation from 1990 I think?

I've got three of them, all with different titles and covers, but all identical sonics.

ONLY YESTERDAY - RICHARD AND KAREN CARPENTER'S GREATEST HITS CDA 1990 (UK white cover)
CARPENTERS - THEIR GREATEST HITS 397 048-2 (UK white cover)
CARPENTERS - THEIR GREATEST HITS 397 186-2 (Germany red cover)

and then there's a Hong Kong VCD (video CD) with that title and cover, but it's the same video as YESTERDAY ONCE MORE (GOLD).
 
Not sure why they changed the name of the Only Yesterday compilation. With its original title it was a massive success. To retain the tracklisting and artwork but not the title seemed a bit of an odd move.

Harry, so it’s you I have to thank for being my main source of info on what mix appeared where?! Some of those songs I think have up to 10 versions (or near enough). Must have been a huge task to decipher them all and determine where they all were!
 
and then there's a Hong Kong VCD (video CD) with that title and cover, but it's the same video as YESTERDAY ONCE MORE (GOLD).
I’d take the VHS version over the VCD any day. Whoever mastered that VCD did a poor job (I’ve only seen 2 videos on VCD, the Carpenters VCD and the 1990 Dick Tracy—- Dick Tracy I would place closer to Laserdisc quality). The VCD is incredible soft and is a lot softer than the VHS.
 
Just realised that there are two different versions of the Yesterday Once More (UK) vinyl cover. The first has the titles and silhouettes in silver, the second the silhouettes in white. Guessing the first version was on the early issues and the second one used later on. The CD edition is based on the second version, but also with the Carpenters logo in white.
 
You must’ve purchased a copy on eBay that I was about to purchase. Enjoy. Still hoping to find it somewhere. I didn’t purchase the one that I saw on eBay because it looks like the artwork was all bent but perhaps that was just the nature of the photograph.
 
I used to own both the UK version and USA version. If I remember correctly, the UK version had original single or album cuts and the USA version was the first that I owned that had remixes. I was surprised by the different drum takes, which first brought my attention to it being a remix. The songs felt and sounded different so I knew it was more than remastering. I liked hearing some things more prominent but still preferred the original and usually the single version if different than the album. Little did I know of what was to follow in the next 30 years of tinkering; some good and some ‘why in the world’? I can’t even imagine the task Harry has taken with the Carpenters Recording Resource. It is a true gift to fans!
 
Welcome to the forum, Alan. This is a good time to hop aboard; most of us have a bit too much free time now and this site is a pleasure to dig through and enjoy mutual fan views and opinions.
 
You must’ve purchased a copy on eBay that I was about to purchase. Enjoy. Still hoping to find it somewhere. I didn’t purchase the one that I saw on eBay because it looks like the artwork was all bent but perhaps that was just the nature of the photograph.
Oops, sorry! Yes, you’re right. It didn’t look in the best condition, but passable. It hasn’t arrived yet but the seller assured me they posted it next day (but haven’t marked it as posted). Obviously with lockdown, there will be staff shortages in the postal service.
 
It arrived today and I’m listening to it right now, sat in the sun in the garden!

The sound quality is very good, especially for a non-remastered, 36 year-old CD. This is the order I heard most of those songs in for the first time, 32 years ago. I Need To Be In Love, Make Believe It’s Your First Time and Sing especially go well together in that order, and brings back some memories.

Those Good Old Dreams (LP mix) sounds much better quality on here than what I’ve heard on YouTube. Back in My Life Again also sounds better here than on other CDs I have it on (original Made In America and Carpenters Collected). In fact, it all sounds better!

Expensive purchase, but no regrets. I just won’t be checking eBay listings again for it, as I don’t want to know if it ever comes up again and goes for less!
 
Brilliant, Harry!

Having heard the entire compilation, the only thing that spoils it is the sped-up trilogy. In 1988, I wouldn’t have realised it. I’ve got the original Singles 1969-1973 CD where it’s similarly sped-up, but here, because it closes the whole album, it seems more of a disappointment. I’ve long since got used to those songs at their true speed. I love the actual segues, but the songs have less of an impact at that speed. I know the remastered Singles 1969-1973 has it correctly, but I don’t have that (well, not yet anyway).
 
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