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And I can't tell you how many times I've looked at the Resource, Harry! Thank you again for your hard work on it.It's interesting how many of us kept the originals, yet still bought the Remastered Classics.
I feel obligated to take everyone back to the earlier 1990s, or even the late 80s. I recall how I - and I suppose many - yearned for the Carpenters albums to be released in the same form as the old LPs were. We'd all "grown up" on those LPs and knew just how they were supposed to sound. But the A&M CD of CARPENTERS came out with the remixes of "Rainy Days" and "Superstar" rather than the original recordings. I surely wanted a digital representation of those old originals, and kept hoping, with each subsequent compilation or even foreign release, that those originals would be there somewhere. But they never showed up until the Remastered series.
A SONG FOR YOU had even more oddities with the single mix of "Top Of The World" and some speed differences on side 2. Then MFSL put out a near total remix version of the album that stood as the standard through the 90s. The booklet for the old A&M CD was sparse - that was fixed for the MFSL and beyond.
I once detailed all of this in the Resource:
Differences between album versions.
As Compact Disc technology grew in the 1980s, A&M Records naturally sought to get its popular LPs out in the new format. Carpenters, being one of the premiere acts on the label, were given pret…carpenters.amcorner.com
I'll take the original, unaltered albums as reissued on the Remastered Classics versions, even though they are somewhat compromised from an audio standpoint. If there's one single remixed or re-recorded part, it's a hard no here. I'm not into revisionist versions of the originals--there was nothing wrong with them.
Sealed original or early pressings on vinyl are hard to find, but they would be my go-to versions over any digital version.
What difference do you hear on the AM+ that you don't hear on the remastered classics? I purchased horizon from Qobuz. Qobuz having the remastered classics version of the album.Amen to the second part for sure. The AM+ "Horizon" steamrolls the Remastered Classics version and that's the only one I bother with. I didn't get all the Remastered Classics albums and I'm glad I didn't. I'm with you on the "revisionist history" thing and in every instance I can think of, wish Richard hadn't tinkered at all. It's done nothing but create confusion for those who aren't devoted fans.
Ed
What difference do you hear on the AM+ that you don't hear on the remastered classics? I purchased horizon from Qobuz. Qobuz having the remastered classics version of the album.
I noticed that too, specifically on the CD for "A Song For You" two songs that I immediately know are remixes are "It's Going To Take Some Time" and "Bless The Beasts and Children." Now, I think the remixed version of "It's Going To Take" is better than the original, but in my opinion, the remix of "Bless The Beasts" is not. There are just too many new drum fills and the drums overall are too prominent in the whole track and override a lot of the other instruments. The piano does sound better rerecorded in stereo, though; I will give it that.I picked originals, but with a caveat. The original CDs weren't always true to the original albums. Single mixes and remixes were placed on them sporadically, mostly on CARPENTERS and SONG FOR YOU.
The Remastered Classics remain true to the original albums' intent, but suffer a little sonically at times, mostly on the earlier albums and PASSAGE.
For the later albums, there's hardly any difference at all, but the original A&M CDs weren't maximized or brickwalled.
There are of course exceptions to these generalities, but overall, if I want to listen to Carpenters, I'll throw on an original A&M CD.
Also, for the purposes of a non-audiophile type, the differences in actual listening are very small, and most Carpenters CDs are mastered pretty well.