Ticket to Ride 1973 Version

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I recently got Interpretations Canada Version and recently got the Singles 69-73 remastered classics CD.

I was listening to Ticket to Ride on both these CD's and something seemed different to me. From all I know, Richard has not re-mixed this song. The original was the 69 verison and then in 73 Karen re-recorded her drums and lead that appeared on the singles album.

Every compilation that seems to be out contains the 73 version.

1. Has this track ever been re-mixed by Richard since 1973?

2. If you listen with "headphones" on (I use Sony MDR-V600) and compare the opening piano on the Interpretations Canada version the opening piano comes in on the right side and then opens up with both sides. Now on the Singles 69-73 remastered classics CD the opening piano comes in on the left side and then opens up to both sides.

The Gold Cd Disc 2, Ticket comes in on the left side with piano.
Yesterday Once More GH 69-83 Remastered Classics, Ticket to Ride the piano comes in on the right side and then opens up to both sides.
22 Hits (1995 release) Ticket comes in on the right side.
Their Greatest Hits, ticket comes in on the left side.
Readers Digest-Ticket comes in on the right side.
Not going to mention the SACD-that's a whole diff animal.

What explains why some come in on the left and some come in on the right? Do you also think Richard has ever re-mixed Ticket to Ride without us knowing it?

I'm basically just speaking about the 73 version here.

 

[Chris May]

Yes, I believe the change to Ticket was made in '91 for inclusion on "From The Top". The most obvious change was the stereo shift on the piano (right to left). I have always questioned whether this was an actual "remix", or whether the pan (L-->R) was simply inverted, therefore making (2) separate 'versions' if you will.

Also, most people don't know this, but aside from the piano in '73 having been "re-cut" vs. the original '69 track, the reason the piano opens up on both sides where you're talking about is because there is actually a second piano overdub to fill out the mix at that point (where the cymbal swell and cello come in at the intro). -Chris

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

So I wonder why Richard has never mentioned any change to this track if something was done in 91' It's never been mentioned on any of his lyrics booklets.

Everytime I see the track on the many compilations, it's always listed as, "This is the 73 version"

If this track has never been remixed from Richard then all I can say is it sure has held up very very well over the years since 1973. It almost sounds like something that was recorded today and not in 1973.

 

[Chris May]

Well like I said, at the very least, the mix was "inverted". I almost wonder if this was a technical glitch similar to that of "Ave Maria" featured on From The Top (the story with "Ave" was a bit different however).

It could be that the connections got crossed during re-mastering, and a reverse print was made without Richard's initial knowledge. The only other thing I can think is that Richard could have flipped the mix intentionally as a "concept" idea, perhaps the idea that a song prior to "Ticket" on a compilation could cross-fade into a hard left-channel piano intro as opposed to a right-channel. Sounds silly, but these kinds of production tricks are not uncommon.

The other possiblity is that when "Ticket" was originally included on "The Singles" in 1973, it could have been inverted then either intentionally or by mistake, therefore giving us an incorrect stereo image of the song all these years, to be fixed on later compilations. -Chris

 

[SakuraSYayoi]

Last Sunday I heard a radio show. A Japanese musician was asked about his reverse print by his fan. He said the reverse was simply print mistake. There are some who are not careful that they connect 'red' to which, 'white' to which. The reverse was not the singer's fault.
'If you'd like to right sound, just connect cables on the contrary, please. I know other examples.'

I think I heard that he wrote about Carpenters harmony before. I wonder if he thought about this "Ticket To Ride".

Last year I bought a music magazine which featured him and his band. The magazine has Universal Music advertisement for 22 Hits 10th Anniversary Edition with Karaoke. One of articles was about 4 paper sleeves by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.

Sakura

 

[newvillefan]

Chris

Surely if the channels got crossed or something during mastering, the entire song would be crossed, therefore everything that should be stereo left and right would be the opposite?

The only other feasible explanation I can come up with is that it has been crossed over so that it 'matches' the fade-out of an previous song that it's been segued with. I can think of at least two: Top Of The World and (Want You) Back In My Life Again.

Stephen

 

[Chris May]

Surely if the channels got crossed or something during mastering, the entire song would be crossed, therefore everything that should be stereo left and right would be the opposite?

If memory serves me correctly, the entire mix *is* flipped. The best indicator is when you hear the piano on the "right", the Wurlitzer electric piano is mixed "hard-left" (if you're not sure what you are listening to, listen for the keyboard fills heard throughout the song basically, breaking into choruses, etc). On the subsequent mixes, piano on "left", you'll hear the Wurlitzer panned "hard-right".

I haven't A-B'd these recordings in years, so I'll give them a listen. -Chris

 

[Harry]

I've been meaning to weigh in on this thread, as I'm following it with great interest. I've just been tied up with other things and wanted to be "educated" about my reply.

Harry
...who needs to investigate this, online...

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

A few other CD's that I just listened to that I didn't mention above:

From the Top Collection-Ticket opens on the right, piano on the right.
The Essential Collection-Ticket opens on the left, piano on the left.

If you listen to this track from just these 2 Cd's I mentioned here, there reversed, piano on the right for "From the Top" and piano on the left on The Essential Collection.

Many times I will go back to lyrics booklets to see what Richard has wrote about a track but on this one he always seems to just say this is the 73 version. Since he is so adamant about telling us about remixes, I still wonder if this track has ever been remixed or enhanced since 73.

 

[Harry]

OK, I've given these a listen - and I've concluded one thing at least - the Carpenters' rendition of "Ticket To Ride" still gives me goosebumps after all these years!

I think the best way to approach this is chronological. The first 1969 recording of "Ticket..." isn't really a factor since it's never used in compilations. In that one the opening piano is pretty much centered.

Piano opens on the left
So we start in 1974 with SINGLES 1969-1973, when the song got its "re-do" for that album. On the LP, and on the original CD from the '80s, the track starts with the piano mixed to the left.

The only other compilations I have after that and before the real CD age began are two: the British YESTERDAY ONCE MORE LP (silver color) and a GOLD SERIES CD from Japan. Both of those mimic the SINGLES 73 version, with the piano on the left.

The switch to the right.
The big change occurs in 1985 with the preparation of YESTERDAY ONCE MORE, the four-LP set for general US consumers, also on CD as a 2-disc package with the blue cover. It's here that "Ticket To Ride's" stereo image gets flipped to put the piano on the right. CLASSICS VOL 2 used the identical recording as well. There could be two reasons for this flip. One - totally a goof in the hookup of the stereo image; two - an intentional change to actually place the string section where it "belongs", on the left, (opposite the piano), in a classical orchestral positioning.

This 1985 reversal of the track then appears to be the one used for the tweaking of the track in the early '90s. On FROM THE TOP, the piano is now not only on the right, it's on the hard right with this tweak/remix. If you listen in headphones to the old YOM version, the piano sounds comfortably on your right. On FROM THE TOP, the stereo image is widened so that the piano is exclusively in the right channel, leading to that uncomfortable feeling when your left ear is hearing absolutely nothing.

This 'hard right" version then appears on virtually all compilations through the '90s: the TIME/LIFE COLLECTION, INTERPRETATIONS (UK), SWEET MEMORY (Japan), REFLECTIONS (UK), READERS' DIGEST (US), 22 HITS (Asia), ANTHOLOGY reissue (Japan), YESTERDAY ONCE MORE REMASTERED CLASSICS (US). The one exception to this '90s trend is a German disc I have called THEIR GREATEST HITS, which used the old SINGLES 69-73 version with the piano on the left.

...and back to the left again.
As part of the Remastered Classics series, SINGLES 1969-1973 was re-issued. Just as in the '70s and '80s versions of this album, "Ticket To Ride" once again presented the opening piano on the left. But now it was a reversal of the '90s tweak/remix, putting the piano on the hard left (with no sound at all on the right in that opening).

As we entered the 21st Century, the first Carpenters compilation to pop up was BY REQUEST in Japan. That 1998 reversal stuck here, and has been used on all Carpenters compilations to date. The piano on the hard left appeared on: SINGLES 1969-1981 (Japan/US), GOLD (UK single disc 2000), GOLD (Japan 2001), THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION (US), GOLD (2-disc US 2004), GOLD (UK 2005), and GOLD (US reissue 2005).

My best guess is that Richard originally wanted the piano on the left for that first SINGLES LP in '74. For whatever reason, it got flipped in '85 to the right, and then, again for that SINGLES CD was returned to the left, where it's remained ever since.

Here's another theory: it's a Beatles song - blame George Martin!

Harry
...pianos to the left, pianos to the right, online...

 

[Chris May]

Thank you Harry for taking time to nip it in the butt! You know, it sort of takes me back a few years reading all of that. I do remember now a lot of what you're saying, as far as the mix being "soft-right", then later "hard-right", and I think it was with the From The Top set that I first noticed that (which is why I originally thought this change took place in '91 I think).

BUT, I do remember hearing that and wondering at the time (now that you mention it) if the mix had been "hard-right", even for YOM, but during mastering Richard pulled the pan in a little toward the center for whatever reason, only to follow it up in '91 with a hard-pan version.

Well, I don't want to beat a dead horse here...thanks Harry for investigating! -Chris

 

[Harry]

BUT, I do remember hearing that and wondering at the time (now that you mention it) if the mix had been "hard-right", even for YOM, but during mastering Richard pulled the pan in a little toward the center for whatever reason, only to follow it up in '91 with a hard-pan version.

I'm guessing this might have more to do with the change from LPs to CDs as a main format. In 1985, LPs were still king, and I suspect that YESTERDAY ONCE MORE was compiled with that format in mind. Indeed, I suspect that A&M just used that LP master from which they made the CD. And in the LP days, it was uncommon, if not impossible to have that kind of hard right/hard left sound. LPs, by their very nature have a certain degree of "leakage" from one channel to the other, so masterers, being aware of that, would tend to pan in the sounds just a bit.

With CDs, there's no leakage between the channels, so now a hard right/hard left sound was possible. It may indeed be for that very reason that George Martin wanted those early Beatles CDs in mono, to avoid that uncomfortable separation between the channels on those early recordings.

As I was listening to the different mixes of "Ticket To Ride" this morning, I was struck by the many layers of keyboard sounds throughout - not just left or right but centered as well. Richard's arranging genius shines through on that track, for sure.

Harry

 

[Jeff]

Tix 2 Ride in and of itself is brilliant! No dispute. The poprock of RC's ballad completes a different tune entirely. KC's re-recording of same is enchanting. W/O disregarding the orig...the maturityand subsequent delivery of '73 makes this tune CarpenterS. Simply spoken this endeavor will be/is realized as the defenitive version of this classic composition.

'nough said,

Jeff

 

[Harry]

I checked the video versions of "Ticket To Ride" as well, which tend to bear out the chronological theory.

In 1985, when YESTERDAY ONCE MORE was released as both a CD and a VHS tape video, and both feature the initial release of the "piano on the right."

Laserdiscs became popular in Japan, and two titles were issued that both contained "Ticket To Ride". Both YESTERDAY ONCE MORE and INTERPRETATIONS used the hard right version, so I'm guessing these were mastered after the 1990 remix that put the piano on the hard right.

The first DVD I acquired with the full song was that SUPER HITS from Brazil. It uses the hard-right version too.

Then we get to the GOLD release from a few years ago, and sure enough, being consistent with the audio recordings of the same time period, the piano is now moved to the hard left.

I've not yet received my 22 HITS/Karaoke package from Japan - it's due any day. It'll be interesting to see if that's a straight repeat of the "hard right" version that it originally was, or if it's been switched to the left as all releases since around 2000 have been.

Harry
...with some additions to the list, online...

 

[newvillefan]

Harry

I can check that one out at home tonight, my 22 Hits came in the past few weeks, so I'll post and let you know

Stephen

 

[Harry]

My copy of 22 HITS (10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION) arrived yesterday - and it's an exact copy of the 1995 edition of the compilation - so here, "Ticket To Ride", starts its proceedings with the piano on the hard right.

Harry

 

[newvillefan]

Oops, I was meant to check that out myself, apologies for the oversight guys.

Love the karaoke tracks on disc 2 by the way, I hadn't heard most of them until I got my 10th Anniversary edition of 22 Hits.

Stephen

 

[manifan]

All the technical stuff aside, the only version of "Ticket to Ride" I want to hear is the original. The remixes never did it for me the way the original does.

 

[Harry]

I stumbled onto this old thread the other day, and today just happened to have the 40/40 compilation playing and noticed the wide stereo separation of "Ticket To Ride". It seems that the consistency theory that I alluded to back in 2006 is still holding as the piano remains hard left on both the US and Japanese 40/40 compilations as it has since the second reversal.

Harry