All I can say is WOWWWWW!...And I have only heard the 2-channel mixes.
I must say that overall, this is IMHO some of Richard's finest remixing. Everything sounds fantastic, but the most noticeable remixes are "Superstar" "Top of the World". The least obvious is "We've Only Just Begun".
"SUPERSTAR" uses the ORIGINAL tracks, with the exception of the sparse acoustic piano and sparse Fender Rhodes electric piano (in intro only). Richard mixed in the '73 harp (intro swell) and Wurlitzer electric heavily throughout the mix (which was deleted for the '85 mix and subsequent remixes, and replaced by Rhodes throughout), the ORIGINAL bass and drum tracks, and even brought up some of the drum fills, particularly between the second to last chorus/final chorus. It sounds like a remix from the original '71 tracks, with very little "updating" of the instrumentation!!
"TOP OF THE WORLD" is incredible! He FINALLY remixed that damn kick drum to sound like the early mixes, unlike the obnoxious mid-range sounding kick we've been hearing since '91! The electric piano sounds warmer, slide guitar more present, and praise God, LESS REVERB on Karen's voice. That goes for MOST of the remixes here! It seems in a lot of the past remixes, Rich really beefed up the reverb a bit. The mixes here (most, not all) have Karen's voice less reverbrated, more "present" and natural sounding!!!!
"I BELIEVE YOU" is remixed for the first time--Sounds great. "ONLY YESTERDAY" is remixed of course, and sounds fantastic. "TOUCH ME WHEN WE'RE DANCING" is the same treatment and sounds wonderful". Nothing new instrumentally added on any of these remixes from the latter "Carpenter" years.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS, DARLING", "I WON'T LAST A DAY", "TICKET" etc... are all remixed from the original instrumentation. Karen's voice is extremely present on "I WON'T LAST A DAY" and less reverbrated. Incredibly nice...
There is plenty more to say, but until I give this album yet another listen, especially in 5.1, I better keep quiet! I'm sure there is plenty more to hear. All I can say, is that having only listened to the 2-channel fold mixes, I have heard a BRAND NEW Carpenters album!! Will post more later. Would love to hear what each of YOU think as the days and weeks unfold...-Chris (...who thinks this one is going to make a GREAT future poll topic, online...)
I must say that overall, this is IMHO some of Richard's finest remixing. Everything sounds fantastic, but the most noticeable remixes are "Superstar" "Top of the World". The least obvious is "We've Only Just Begun".
"SUPERSTAR" uses the ORIGINAL tracks, with the exception of the sparse acoustic piano and sparse Fender Rhodes electric piano (in intro only). Richard mixed in the '73 harp (intro swell) and Wurlitzer electric heavily throughout the mix (which was deleted for the '85 mix and subsequent remixes, and replaced by Rhodes throughout), the ORIGINAL bass and drum tracks, and even brought up some of the drum fills, particularly between the second to last chorus/final chorus. It sounds like a remix from the original '71 tracks, with very little "updating" of the instrumentation!!
"TOP OF THE WORLD" is incredible! He FINALLY remixed that damn kick drum to sound like the early mixes, unlike the obnoxious mid-range sounding kick we've been hearing since '91! The electric piano sounds warmer, slide guitar more present, and praise God, LESS REVERB on Karen's voice. That goes for MOST of the remixes here! It seems in a lot of the past remixes, Rich really beefed up the reverb a bit. The mixes here (most, not all) have Karen's voice less reverbrated, more "present" and natural sounding!!!!
"I BELIEVE YOU" is remixed for the first time--Sounds great. "ONLY YESTERDAY" is remixed of course, and sounds fantastic. "TOUCH ME WHEN WE'RE DANCING" is the same treatment and sounds wonderful". Nothing new instrumentally added on any of these remixes from the latter "Carpenter" years.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS, DARLING", "I WON'T LAST A DAY", "TICKET" etc... are all remixed from the original instrumentation. Karen's voice is extremely present on "I WON'T LAST A DAY" and less reverbrated. Incredibly nice...
There is plenty more to say, but until I give this album yet another listen, especially in 5.1, I better keep quiet! I'm sure there is plenty more to hear. All I can say, is that having only listened to the 2-channel fold mixes, I have heard a BRAND NEW Carpenters album!! Will post more later. Would love to hear what each of YOU think as the days and weeks unfold...-Chris (...who thinks this one is going to make a GREAT future poll topic, online...)