🥂 50th The Complete Carpenters Recording Resource

After consulting with some other members in this thread, I've done some adjustments to some entries in the CRR.

ANTHOLOGY (89) remains the title of the album entry as that was the year it first appeared on CD, however the notes now indicate that a limited-edition, numbered LP set was released in 1985.

"A Song For You" (1987 remix) has been corrected to the (1985 remix) on all entries where it appeared.

Notes on "(They Long To Be) Close To You" have been corrected to reflect that the middle length edit first appeared in 1985, and ANTHOLOGY (89) is updated to reflect this edit.

"Goodbye To Love" with Karen's breath and count-in is now listed as a 1985 remix in the two entries where it occurs.

Thanks again to all who've helped out. Keep up the good work!

Harry
 
Sorry for the long delay in getting back to you, Harry. Sounds like you've already made the adjustments.

All of the following is correct regarding the 1985 red "ANTHOLOGY" vinyl set:
"A Song For You" is the same remix that was wrongly titled "1987 Remix", "Close To You" segues into "Ave Maria" and "Goodbye to Love" remix includes the count-in. Just a confirmation. Thanks for your patience! :)
 
Are there any plans to include Carpenters recordings that appear on various-artists collections? I suspect there aren't a lot of them out there, but there are a few.
 
Are there any plans to include Carpenters recordings that appear on various-artists collections? I suspect there aren't a lot of them out there, but there are a few.

Hi Tim.

I suspect that there are more than we know - certainly more than I know. But if someone wants to tackle that, it would be great to add - if not the full compilations, at least a mention of the mixes used and listing them within each song.

Harry
 
Just a petit addition...

Maybe consider adding the "Yesterday Once More - Short version" that appeared on k7 and 8-tracks of "Now & Then."?
 
I was just tipped off by our Chris An Ordinary Fool that there was a link error in the site. The song "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" was pointing towards the wrong SWEET MEMORY disc of the six-disc set from Japan. It's now properly aimed at disc five.

He also reminded me that the SWEET MEMORY version of "...Clancy..."is the same as the OFFERING/TICKET TO RIDE version but is shortened a bit by not including Richard's "One...Two..." count-in, so I attached a note about that in the entry.

Harry
 
Harry, very late in this thread, but Anthology from Japan (LP) was definitely an 1985 release. I own it. Just an FYI. Thanks for your work on this discology and everyone else's too.
 
See post #26 above.

It was determined a while back that ANTHOLOGY was indeed released on LP in 85, but in limited, numbered fashion. We believe it didn't get a CD release until 1989 and that is generally the thrust of our efforts here - compact discs and the versions that appeared there.

If you'll notice on the page http://carpenters.amcorner.com/album/anthology-89 , I mention the LP from 85, but we continued the naming convention of referring to the CD as an '89 release. New mixes listed on the album were corrected to say 1985 though.

Harry
 
Hi Rudy and Harry, I am new here and really love this site. You guys are to be commended for all you hard work and diligent efforts. I sincerely applaud you all. There is one more item I would like to submit because I didn't see it anywhere. You gave an alternate site to find the Quad lps which I have, but there is one more that I really regret never buying. It was a CX edition of Close To You. It was made for those who had a CX button on there amplifier back in the 80's. I guess it was a sound enhancing or hiss canceling tool, not quite sure. It was on many laserdisc players, mine included, but I couldn't tell any difference in the sound when I pushed the button. Anyway I think that was the only Carpenters title released in that format. Does anyone know about it. Thank you, Ken
 
I know that Rudy dabbled in some CX LPs, and he may have that one, but I'll let him chime in here when he gets a chance. As far as including it the database, I suppose it could use a mention somewhere, but in reality, there are no different mixes about the album as far as I know. It would just be the standard LP mixes on that album with the CX processing applied (and yes, I too have that processing on various old LaserDiscs and players, but I never dabbled in the LP version of that noise-reduction technology).

Part of the problem with dredging LPs into the mix is that there are so many iterations in various countries, and I never hoped to see very many of them. CDs though proved to be where the mixing differences showed up, so that became the thrust of the site - to identify once and for all which mixes/remixes were found on which discs.

Harry
 
I had dbx LPs. CX was something Columbia used on some of their albums, and I've never seen the "CX" logo on anything other than Columbia product, as it never caught on for audio like they hoped it would have. CX was for "Compatible eXpansion" where the records could be played without a decoder and still sound somewhat normal (if slightly compressed). The idea was similar to Dolby B in that processing was mild enough that records could be played without decoding (around 10dB noise reduction), where dbx LPs were unlistenable without a decoder. CX did indeed get adopted by Laserdisc as a noise reduction technique, up until LDs began using digital audio.
 
Thank you for the correction. It was dbx then, and I didn't get it because of the reason you mention. It wouldn't play without the decoder which I never ever saw in any audio store back in the 80's. It was also pretty pricey if I remember correctly. 20-25 for an album was way too much to spend back then, with Japanese imports being the exception. I confused it with CX which Columbia put on pretty much all their better releases back then. Thanks Harry and Rudy. Again you guys are amazing and I appreciate your exceptional work here.
Talking to myself and getting old...........
Ken
 
I have a couple of other cd collections to add to the list. There are the gold editions of Now&Then and The Singles 1969-73, limited edition Japanese only pressings mid 90's They were probably trying to keep up with Mobile Fidelity pressing back then. I also have the 1995 Twenty-Two Hits Of The Carpenters Gold CD POCM-9022. It was limited with a slip case and numbered. Mine is 008882. The sound quality is very nice. These first three were extremely rare and sought after just for the obi labels. It's the precursor to the SACD and HDCD 96khz/24bit faze of recordings. Two more collections from Hong Kong I believe are the two disc set,Carpenters hit 1969-1981, I typed it the same as the cover reads,gold plated CDs HDCD on Universal HDCD-020, and a three disc set on Sony called Carpenters The Vest Of, yes that's the correct spelling, also gold plated HDCD. Sony Music-K-059. Some of my favorite tracks on this set are Love Jnes, Hon Lu Lu Ckty Lights, Raing Kay's and Mondays,Stow Dance, and the best one is If We Fry. Something lost in the translation here, and Sony Music, really? Hope you all get a chuckle from this. Remember When Lovin Tookall Night....

Ken
 
I wanted to thank everyone, once again, for your work on this discography site. It continues to be so helpful!
 
Glad it's of use to someone. I know I use it all the time - it remembers, so I don't have to!

Harry
 
I still can't thank Harry, Chris and anyone else enough for the work on that site! I just wish I had volunteers to help with our other sites in the same fashion. Could do so much with amcorner.com, but it is an uphill battle for me just to keep the technical side of things going!
 
I noticed something missing in the entry for the song "Maybe It's You." There are two different versions of Karen's vocal for this song. As Richard says on the Carpenters website:

"In 1970, we punched in and got 'maybe it's just that I have never been the kind who can pass a lucky penny by', as we weren't happy especially with that line on the master lead. The trouble was, it was recorded on a different day and the sound didn't quite match even though the EQ, mic, studio, engineer - ald singer - were the same. When remixed the second time, we went back to the original."

I have heard the differences in these vocals and it appears the original master lead appears in every mix starting with the one on From The Top (which I guess is the 1990 remix). The "punched in" vocal can be heard on the original LP and original CD release of Close To You.

Just thought you might want to update the entry.
 
Thanks Will. Welcome to the forum.

In the original mix with the flown in vocal, Karen sings the two syllables of the word "never" on the same lower note. Starting with the 1990 remix, she sings the second syllable of "never" up higher with the word "been"

I've added a couple of lines to the song "Maybe It's You".

Harry
 
There are two numbers on this set and I'm not sure which one qualifies as the catalogue number.

On the bottom of the tray card it says:

Copyright © 1994 Reader's Digest (Australia) Pty Limited (ACN 000 565 471)

Above that and to the right is the number 300647300-1/2/3/4. These numbers are also on the CDs.

Both sets of numbers can be seen in the tray card image if you click on it.

Are these the only countries that this compilation was produced, United Kingdom & Australia? I had heard that there was a version from Austria but not sure.
 
Just curious... When I look at the compilation albums on the iTunes Store (U.S. or Canada), a lot of the songs have different years listed for the remixes as compared to what is listed on the Resource section of this website. Some of the differences range from 1 year to 5 years.

For example, in iTunes, Rainy Days and Mondays is listed as the 1991 remix on The Essential Collection. In the Resource page, it listed as the 1985 remix. In iTunes, Mr. Guder is listed as the 1991 remix and on this website it is listed as the 1990 remix.

Of course, I consider the information on this site to be authoritative because it specializes in all things Carpenters, but I was just wondering if the songs on iTunes are actually different remixes than the ones that are on the Compact Disc/LP versions.

I've attached a screenshot of The Essential Collection, but it seems like all the other compilations on iTunes (Gold, Singles 1969-1981, Love Songs, etc.) also have discrepancies compared to what is presented on this website's Resource section. It just seems odd that there would be so many differences. Are they all just simply typos on Apple's part? Doesn't Apple get this sort of information directly from the record label?

Essential.png
 
Part of the reason for the Resource's existence is because of such discrepancies which were rampant across many Internet age lists. And part of the reason that there exists misinformation is because one mistake carried over from one list to another, simply from laziness to verify.

For the Resource, every song on every compilation was verified, by ear and further examination if necessary, with the goal of providing the single, most accurate lists possible. As for iTunes, I couldn't say what they were offering as I always start with CDs (or in some cases vinyl), to make the comparisons. Who knows what their source is? Based on the number of incorrect lists out there, I wouldn't trust what iTunes lists to be accurate in that regard.

Now, that said, I know that there exists what we call "stealth reissues" on some titles. ESSENTIAL COLLECTION was originally released in 2002, but also got a re-release in 2006 with the outer-box package altered. I've not encountered one of those, and it IS quite possible that the revised version had a different remix placed on it, assuming anyone went to the trouble of remastering a disc. It's not likely, but stranger things have happened. My guess is 'no', but then again, I cannot verify it without the revised discs in hand.

Harry
 
...I wouldn't trust what iTunes lists to be accurate in that regard.

Their marketing gimmick, "mastered for itunes," is a clue as to what type of operation they run. Just a ploy to get their customers to pay again for bog standard tracks you can get on CD or as downloads anywhere. Someone sent me some of those Led Zep gimmicks, many "saying" they heard differences, but all I heard were the same 1990 masterings. The new remasters out now are a real remaster...and on vinyl as well.
 
Just curious... When I look at the compilation albums on the iTunes Store (U.S. or Canada), a lot of the songs have different years listed for the remixes as compared to what is listed on the Resource section of this website. Some of the differences range from 1 year to 5 years.

For example, in iTunes, Rainy Days and Mondays is listed as the 1991 remix on The Essential Collection. In the Resource page, it listed as the 1985 remix. In iTunes, Mr. Guder is listed as the 1991 remix and on this website it is listed as the 1990 remix.

Of course, I consider the information on this site to be authoritative because it specializes in all things Carpenters, but I was just wondering if the songs on iTunes are actually different remixes than the ones that are on the Compact Disc/LP versions.

I've attached a screenshot of The Essential Collection, but it seems like all the other compilations on iTunes (Gold, Singles 1969-1981, Love Songs, etc.) also have discrepancies compared to what is presented on this website's Resource section. It just seems odd that there would be so many differences. Are they all just simply typos on Apple's part? Doesn't Apple get this sort of information directly from the record label?

Essential.png

The other issue I've seen in the past with iTunes was the fact that the samples aren't always accurate with what's featured on the box set or collection etc. I think somewhere down the line stuff got so cross-catalogued that even at that level, it's hard to believe that what is listed in print or sampled audio is actually what you're going to get. I have found however that if I went to a particular album or collection on iTunes for a quick download needed, I always got what was expected. Hope that all made sense!
 
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