Offering LP Questions

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Would someone who has the album answer a question for me since I don't have it & can't afford to pay such high prices for this.

**I already Understand that the album was first called Offering & then later changed to Ticket to Ride***

The song "Ticket to Ride", is the version on this Offering LP the same version that is on the Ticket to Ride LP???

Another question, why is this album so pricey? Is it just because the album cover is different & Richard pulled it?

Or are the songs different (mixed) on the LP that are different to the Ticket to Ride LP that came out after?

Are both vinyl's the same for Offering & Ticket to Ride? Is one in Full Mono & one Stereo? I know in some other artists album in the early 70's they came out with full mono records.

 

[LPJim]

OFFERING and TICKET TO RIDE (SP 4205) are the same album. After "Close to You" became a hit, the original title and art (OFFERING) were replaced and the album was reissued.
A look at the rear photo of OFFERING makes it easy to see why. It's quite unflattering, especially 'the wet look' hair styles.
The reissue sports a more confident 'dry look' image both on front and back.
I picked up a copy of OFFERING at a used record store for $4.50. Apparently nobody there was aware of its rarity.
JB

 

[Mike Blakesley]

... and of course "Ticket to Ride" (the song) was re-recorded for the SINGLES 1969-1973 album, and that was the version used on every Carpenters compilation thereafter. So if you want to hear the "original" TTR, it's good to seek out the album no matter what the artwork.

 

[mr J.]

Actually,the reason for OFFERING being reissued as TICKET TO RIDE had nothing to do with the artwork.A year after its release,OFFERING turned out to be a bomb(wasn't selling).When CLOSE TO YOU became a platinum seller in 1971,A&M changed the OFFERING album title,hoping to garner more sales.After 33 years,TICKET TO RIDE,despite being a consistent catalog seller,remains the poorest selling album,aside from PASSAGE and MADE IN AMERICA.(and,of course,the solo album)

 

[Harry]

It was a combination of both. Just after the Close To You album was released, it was pretty hard to find any copies of Offering out there. I know - I looked for it. Thankfully my sister found it for me in an out-of-the-way record store. All of that remaining year (1970), the first album went largely unavailably and it wasn't until sometime in 1971 that the revised title and artwork, Ticket To Ride, became available.

As already stated, soundwise, there are no differences between Offering and Ticket To Ride. And if you have any version of the CD, you'll have the original version of the song. There are very few differences (and minor ones, at that) between the CD versions of Ticket..., original and Remastered.

Offering remains a sought after album on eBay because of its cover. It's rare, but not impossible to find. It was reissued only once, in that mini-LP format in Japan as part of a set. Other than that, you'll have to try and find an LP, cassette, 8-track, open-reel or 4-track format.

Harry
...Offering owner since Christmas, 1969, online...

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Thanks

Do you think Richard regrets "how" Offering was originally issued? Seeing that it did so poorly & then re-issuing it under a diff name & diff cover pic, I guess that couldn't save it from making it a huge blockbuster album.

Do you think had it been marketed differently it would have taken off with the public? How do you think Karen & Richard felt about this Offering album after it got released & then they decided to change it.

 

[SakuraSYayoi]

I don't have "Offering" nor black box.
Mr. Okano(Universal Music) told, in a book "Carpenters" which I talked about another topic, about "Offering" in a black box (1998 December) that
Richard didn't like the cover, but "if it is only a box set" he gave permission of releasing the set at last. Richard brought recording data on original master tapes, and they took photos. The photos were on the set.

Sakura

 

[SakuraSYayoi]

I found Richard's comment on album cover in White Box Set(in Japanese). Richard & Karen had not seen "Offering" cover until it was released. If Richard complained, he thought the record company might dislike them. So he decided to be silent. "Close To You" became a hit, he offered the change of a title. He thought it would be the first excuse he would have a photo changed for.

Richard talked about album covers on BBC2 (September 2001). Is there anyone who remembers or taped it? I remember Richard said "Sunflower sunflower". I love the BBC2 special. We could hear Karen's interview, too.

I wish Richard appears on an internet radio again.

Sakura

 

[W.B.]

Apparently, the change in LP title from Offering to Ticket To Ride probably took place in or around the fall of 1970 (this seems to confirm Richard's timeline, as that was when Close To You literally exploded into the public consciousness and A&M's bottom line). That's because when "We've Only Just Begun" (#1217) was released at that point in time, its B-side was "All Of My Life" -- and below that title was the legend "(From the A&M Album "TICKET TO RIDE" SP-4205)." The same thing with their next non-holiday single, "For All We Know" (AM-1243-S), the flip of which was "Don't Be Afraid," which likewise listed the source LP title as Ticket To Ride. But it does appear that there was a considerable time gap between when this title change took effect and its début on the LP charts.

Funny that on the reconstituted LP cover, Richard and Karen with their "dry look" were on a sailboat(?) facing the water, whereas on the original Offering with their "wet look," they were on dry land.

Also, on the new-title records, Columbia/Pitman pressed copies (with the ochre label, of course) showed the title, artist and producer's credit in their own fonts, while using the original West Coast (Columbia/Santa Maria) label copy artwork for all the other sections (catalogue number, side designation, selections etc.).

 

[350hunny]

Personally I've wondered what was so wrong with the sunflower cover.
If something was wrong with the photo, I felt it was messy around their feet.
Comparing the original cover with the sailboat cover, I think the renewed version was not so appealing as the former one. as I feel both Karen and Richard looked too small in size so it doesn't seem appropriate for their debut album cover. The sailboat has nothing to do with the title track, either.
The buyers of the record should have wanted to know how they looked.
Yes, they appeared in a magnified version on the back of the album.
Maybe it should have been reversed and set at the front in my opinion.

 

[350hunny]

Yuka has put up this item for auction

http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d35869868

anybody interested?

Gee, I can't afford to buy it. Sigh

So what was the yen rate to the dollar?

 

[Jeff]

Last fall I shelled out $200.00 for a near-mint copy of the OFFERING lp. I was fortunate as another fan was doing some collection liquidating. It makes a nice cornerstone to an already burgeoning collection. However, if I could've found it in a used record store for the price indicated in a previous post, I'd of thought I found the golden goose.

Roasting in Portland, Or.

Jeff

 

[350hunny]

And I hope you won't kill the golden goose.

BTW, I would be happy to have one but the problem is that I'm not so good at handling this expensive kind of collector's items, taking care of fingerprints, wrinkles, dust or other possible damage and trying to keep the item in as good conditions as possible.

I would be putting it up on my wall or on my desk, kept in a plastic film but I would be afraid of letting it just standing or sitting there for what it would cost me.

I wonder how such owners keep their precious things in store.

Richard seems to have an excellent archives room in his new house.

 

[Jeff]

The way I store all of my CarpenterS albums and 45's is first to handle as little as possible so as to not contaminate the cover w/ oils from the skin. Then I slide them into a protective vinyl cover and into a dark, cool storage chest. This has worked well and I've successfully preserved many copies of the various albums this way. Periodically, when I need a special treat, I'll haul the collection out and admire my stash. Then it's right back into storage. I'd be curious to hear how other enthusiast's are maintaining their archives?

Fanaddictally speaking,

Jeff

 

[350hunny]

Some Japanese buy 3 copies of a thing.
One for actual playing.
One for their collection and kept in mint and sealed.
One for a rainy day.

From my experience, it looks better if you keep the disc and its jacket separately so the jacket won't have the contours of the disc appear on itself as time goes by as far as records are concerned.