Public Broadcasting Exclusive: Carpenters The Complete Singles Release

EXCLUSIVE! It's Yesterday Once More: Carpenters "Complete Singles" Released For Public Television - The Second Disc »

EXCLUSIVE! It’s Yesterday Once More: Carpenters “Complete Singles” Released For Public Television

AUGUST 24, 2015 BY JOE MARCHESE




BUY NOW FROM KQED.ORG

On November 5, 1969, the very first single by Carpenters was released on A&M Records. “Ticket to Ride” b/w “Your Wonderful Parade” announced the fresh talents of Richard Carpenter, 23, and Karen Carpenter, 19. The dramatically reinterpreted Beatles song introduced radio to Karen’s richly intimate voice, and the bitingly ironic flipside heralded the songwriting team of Richard Carpenter and John Bettis – while both sides revealed Richard’s prodigious gifts for arrangement and orchestration. On Valentine’s Day, 1970, “Ticket to Ride” entered the Billboard Hot 100 where, five weeks later, it peaked at a more-than-respectable No. 54. With their very next single, “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” the Carpenters would reach No. 1 on the Billboard Pop and Easy Listening charts, as well as topping Cash Box and Record World. In a career that spanned 1969 to 1983, Richard and Karen would notch 20 Billboard top 40 hits, including three #1s and five #2s, as well as fifteen Adult Contemporary #1s. The brother and sister earned three Grammy Awards, fifteen more nominations, and two song inductions into the Grammy Hall of Fame. More than 100 million Carpenters records have been sold. Now, the enduring music of Richard and Karen Carpenter is being celebrated with a very special new 3-CD release in conjunction with the public television return of the definitive documentary devoted to the duo.


CarpentersThe Complete Singles features, for the very first time, the A- and B-side of every Carpenters single released on A&M Records in the United States between 1969 and 1989 in their original single versions. As longtime fans and collectors know, the Carpenters’ singles frequently featured variations in mixes, length, vocals and instrumentation from the familiar album versions and subsequent remixes. These unique single versions have been highly sought-after on CD, and some of the tracks have never previously been released in the CD format at all.

The Complete Singles collects 66 songs on three discs, from 1969’s “Ticket to Ride” through 1989’s cassette-single release of Karen’s solo “If I Had You.” “Ticket to Ride” and “Your Wonderful Parade” are heard in their original mono single mixes, while the remaining 64 tracks are presented in their original stereo single mixes. I’m thrilled to announce that I have written the new liner notes for the 16-page booklet included with The Complete Singles. The set has been beautifully designed by Bill Pitzonka and includes rare and previously unpublished photos of the duo. Every shimmering track on this first-of-its-kind anthology has been freshly remastered at Universal Mastering with Jim Pierson and Richard Carpenter himself having assembled and supervised the release.

The Complete Singles is being released as a Public Television exclusive in conjunction with the upcoming broadcasts of Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters as part of the acclaimed seriesMy Music. The Complete Singles will not be for sale in stores or through online retail outlets and can only be purchased by making a contribution to Public Television stations when they begin airing Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters this December. However, KQED-TV in San Francisco will be airing an advance, sneak-peek broadcast of Close to You on Thursday, August 27 at 8:00 pm and is already offering The Complete Singles on their website which allows fans nationwide to make a contribution to KQED and receive The Complete Singles CD set by October, two months prior to the nationwide release on Public Television.

To order, please use the following link:

Pledge Catalog | KQED »

CD 1

  1. Ticket to Ride (A&M 1142, 1969)
  2. Your Wonderful Parade (A&M 1142, 1969)
  3. (They Long to Be) Close to You (A&M 1183, 1970)
  4. I Kept On Loving You (A&M 1183, 1970)
  5. We’ve Only Just Begun (A&M 1217, 1970)
  6. All of My Life (A&M 1217, 1970)
  7. Merry Christmas Darling (A&M 1236, 1970)
  8. Mr. Guder (A&M 1236, 1970)
  9. For All We Know (A&M 1243, 1971)
  10. Don’t Be Afraid (A&M 1243, 1971)
  11. Rainy Days and Mondays (A&M 1260, 1971)
  12. Saturday (A&M 1260, 1971)
  13. Superstar (A&M 1289, 1971)
  14. Bless the Beasts and Children (A&M 1289, 1971)
  15. Hurting Each Other (A&M 1322, 1972)
  16. Maybe It’s You (A&M 1322, 1972)
  17. It’s Going to Take Some Time (A&M 1351, 1972)
  18. Flat Baroque (A&M 1351, 1972)
  19. Goodbye to Love (A&M 1367, 1972)
  20. Crystal Lullaby (A&M 1367, 1972)
  21. Sing (A&M 1413, 1973)
  22. Druscilla Penny (A&M 1413, 1973)
  23. Yesterday Once More (A&M 1446, 1973)
  24. Road Ode (A&M 1446, 1973)
  25. Top of the World (A&M 1468, 1973)
  26. Heather (A&M 1468, 1973)
CD 2

  1. I Won’t Last a Day Without You (A&M 1521, 1974)
  2. One Love (A&M 1521, 1974)
  3. Please Mr. Postman (A&M 1646, 1974)
  4. This Masquerade (A&M 1646, 1974)
  5. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (A&M 1648, 1974)
  6. Only Yesterday (A&M 1677, 1975)
  7. Happy (A&M 1677, 1975)
  8. Solitaire (A&M 1721, 1975)
  9. Love Me for What I Am (A&M 1721, 1975)
  10. There’s a Kind of Hush (All Over the World) (A&M 1800, 1976)
  11. (I’m Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You (A&M 1800, 1976)
  12. I Need to Be in Love (A&M 1828, 1976)
  13. Sandy (A&M 1828, 1976)
  14. Goofus (A&M 1859, 1976)
  15. Boat to Sail (A&M 1859, 1976)
  16. All You Get from Love is a Love Song (A&M 1940, 1977)
  17. I Have You (A&M 1940, 1977)
  18. Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (A&M 1978, 1977)
  19. Can’t Smile Without You (A&M 1978, 1977)
  20. Sweet, Sweet Smile (A&M 2008, 1978)
  21. The Christmas Song (A&M 1991, 1977)
CD 3

  1. I Believe You (A&M 2097, 1978)
  2. B’wana She No Home (A&M 2097, 1978)
  3. Touch Me When We’re Dancing (A&M 2344, 1981)
  4. Because We Are in Love (A&M 2344, 1981)
  5. (Want You) Back in My Life Again (A&M 2370, 1981)
  6. Somebody’s Been Lyin’ (A&M 2370, 1981)
  7. Those Good Old Dreams (A&M 2386, 1981)
  8. When It’s Gone (It’s Just Gone) (A&M 2386, 1981)
  9. Beechwood 4-5789 (A&M 2405, 1982)
  10. Two Sides (A&M 2405, 1982)
  11. Don’t Cry for Me Argentina (A&M 8629, 1983)
  12. Make Believe It’s Your First Time (A&M 2585, 1983)
  13. Look to Your Dreams (A&M 2585, 1983)
  14. Your Baby Doesn’t Love You Anymore (A&M 2620, 1984)
  15. Sailing on the Tide (A&M 2620, 1984)
  16. Honolulu City Lights (A&M 8667, 1986)
  17. I Just Fall in Love Again (A&M 8667, 1986)
  18. If I Had You (A&M 1471, 1989)
  19. The Uninvited Guest (A&M 1471, 1989)

Harry
What are the extras on the dvd
 
Can anyone tell me how the "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" single on this singles collection sounds? I have it on vinyl, and have been searching for its digital release for years. Does it sound like a vinyl transfer? It is probably one of my very favorite recordings ever. I have many of the other singles already, so I am really only interested in this one song. Would it be worth buying this collection for this one song? Thank you!
 
It is from a master tape source and sounds great. I'm sure we detailed it within this thread.

Welcome to the Forum.
 
Can anyone tell me how the "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" single on this singles collection sounds? I have it on vinyl, and have been searching for its digital release for years. Does it sound like a vinyl transfer? It is probably one of my very favorite recordings ever. I have many of the other singles already, so I am really only interested in this one song. Would it be worth buying this collection for this one song? Thank you!

As Harry said above, it is from a master tape source, but it's also in stereo. There is another digital version out there (not to mention the 1984 Remix that appears on "An Old-Fashioned Christmas" and "From The Top") of the single version, and that's on the "Perry Como Christmas show" DVD, but that version is in mono, as it was mastered from the 2-inch Quad video master made in 1974. And in 1974 there was no such thing as stereo TV broadcasts. But you should check out the video that goes with it, it is a really nice video, but check out the entire special, as it's nice to see the Carpenters in a full length special.
 
Thank you! I appreciate the info. Yes, I have the "Christmas Collection" which contains the 1984 Remix. I have also seen clips from the "Perry Como Christmas Show," but have not seen the whole special. I will look into that DVD as well. There is something so special to me about the 1974 original single…maybe it's just the fact that it has that true mid-'70s pop sound. The '84 version is nice as well, but it almost sounds too clean to me. In my opinion, the original single just can't be topped. I will begin my search for the "Complete Singles" collection. Thanks again!
 
Hi.
Does anybody have an idea when this will be available to people outside of the US. I'm in the UK and the only way I could get it would be to pay a ridiculous amount on eBay. ☺
 
The word we got was that it would NEVER be issued outside of the Public Broadcasting offer on US television. It's been over a year now and still holds true.
 
The word we got was that it would NEVER be issued outside of the Public Broadcasting offer on US television. It's been over a year now and still holds true.

I think it was a silly decision to keep its scope so limited given the work that went into it as well as Richard's involvement. I think the compilation would have widespread appeal, especially in the UK, Japan and Europe.
 
I think it was a silly decision to keep its scope so limited given the work that went into it as well as Richard's involvement. I think the compilation would have widespread appeal, especially in the UK, Japan and Europe.

I believe the reason for this is because of the loyalty Richard has to PBS. The whole idea that this is a rarity, exclusive to the PBS network makes it more 'special', therefore the high asking price (or "donation request" I should say). However I wouldn't be surprised if at some point down the line it gets a clever repackaging, with international distribution.
 
However I wouldn't be surprised if at some point down the line it gets a clever repackaging, with international distribution.
Exactly. This specific package will not have a general release, but now that these new single masters exist, there is no reason they (Universal) couldn't release them in some other configuration at some point.
 
I'm still waiting to sell one of my limbs for 'The Complete Singles' set. Really want to hear these original 45 mixes digitally.
 
Exactly. This specific package will not have a general release, but now that these new single masters exist, there is no reason they (Universal) couldn't release them in some other configuration at some point.
I completely agree! When I started collecting singles, in 1973, there was a certain magical element in the arrangement and / or instrumentation that each single had apart from the album version. That excitement is still felt as fresh as the first listen with this package. Sometimes, I think my subconscious wants to replicate the same level of repeated relentless listening in celebration of "the singles" mix in digital form!
 
I think we are bound to get at some point a U.S. Singles set released by Universal that will appeal to the general public and be much more readily available to purchase. I'm happy that it was finally released on this PBS presentation and that Richard was involved but it wasn't really available to everyone in the world and was limited in tuning in to PBS. I would imagine much of the public wasn't even aware of this release unless they watched PBS or found out about it online. I would welcome Universal to put something like this together for a wider audience for purchase.

So many of these singles were released in mono (a popular format back in those days) Universal could package it with many more mono's along with their stereo sides. That would be a set I'd pay big bucks for and I think a great idea to market in selling the package. They could even make the CD's look like a 45 design. I just recently bought Amy Grant's new Christmas CD called Tennessee Christmas (get it at Target w/ 2 bonus tracks) and when you look inside the CD picture is a replica of a 45 record. It's pretty awesome and a nice touch, would love to see something like that on a Carpenters US Singles set from Universal.
 
Just a heads up. WTVSD out of Detroit is reairing the special tomorrow night from 10-11:30 p.m., 1-2:30 a.m on Sunday, and then from 2:30 -4 a.m on June 16. My cable box TV guide is giving it a 2015 year, so this appears to be just the 1997 documentary and not the version with the added Christmas videos.
 
This just in...CPTV, a Connecticut PBS station, aired the Close To You documentary yesterday. In addition to the "pay-all-at-once offer, they also have a plan to make an on-going contribution and receive these gifts. $17 a month gets you The Complete Singles, Christmas Portrait, Christmas Memories DVD and Close To You: Remembering The Carpenters DVD.
Not a bad price for someone who can't afford to dish out all that money at once...plus the contribution to PBS.
Details at www.cptv.org
 
$17 a month gets you The Complete Singles, Christmas Portrait, Christmas Memories DVD and Close To You: Remembering The Carpenters DVD.
Not a bad price for someone who can't afford to dish out all that money at once...plus the contribution to PBS.
Details at www.cptv.org
Still hoping that some sort of release with the complete singles mixes will someday soon be available to international fans, as well as the Christmas DVD.... but not bundled in with other releases that we've already got two or three times over.

Oh, well, I guess we can do without them.....
 
Still hoping that some sort of release with the complete singles mixes will someday soon be available to international fans, as well as the Christmas DVD.... but not bundled in with other releases that we've already got two or three times over.

Oh, well, I guess we can do without them.....
If a version was made available in Europe, it would need to include tracks that were released there like "Jambalaya", "My Body Keeps Changing My Mind" (from the "Rainy Days" Radio Remix single) and "Trying To Get The Feeling".
 
If a version was made available in Europe, it would need to include tracks that were released there like "Jambalaya", "My Body Keeps Changing My Mind" (from the "Rainy Days" Radio Remix single)

The solo track featured on the radio remix single was Still Crazy After All These Years, along with Maybe It's You, Ordinary Fool, and Let Me Be The One. Is that what you're referring to?
 
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