Weren't the Carpenters good?

Track listing:

OVERTURE

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE

HURTING EACH OTHER

I NEED TO BE IN LOVE

FOR ALL WE KNOW

TOUCH ME WHEN WE’RE DANCING

I BELIEVE YOU

I JUST FALL IN LOVE AGAIN

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DARLING

BABY IT’S YOU

(THEY LONG TO BE) CLOSE TO YOU

SUPERSTAR

RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS

THIS MASQUERADE

TICKET TO RIDE

GOODBYE TO LOVE

TOP OF THE WORLD

WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN
 
Oh sorry, I didn't realise it was a LONG TERM THING and all that.

ANYHOO, I'll probably throw it on the Christmas list.
 
I've got much of the Carpenters OEUVRE on vinyl nowadays, though I can rarely be troubled to sit through anything other than the QUITE WONDERFUL Greatest Hits...
 
Sheena said:
I've got much of the Carpenters OEUVRE on vinyl nowadays, though I can rarely be troubled to sit through anything other than the QUITE WONDERFUL Greatest Hits...
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I've picked up a couple of their studio albums. But getting disturbed from a blissful reverie by a Richard lead vocal is never a pleasant experience.
 
lolly said:
I've picked up a couple of their studio albums. But getting disturbed from a blissful reverie by a Richard lead vocal is never a pleasant experience.
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Ain't THAT the truth :D

I quite like Karen's SLUTTY SOLO project
 
lolly said:
With the right promo, absolutely. The ideal present for grandmothers and gay uncles.
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Indeed. It's definitely got the Elvis factor behind it.

The Aretha one was JUST TOO BLACK for that audience...
 
Quite a late release which suggest they know it's stocking filler material, almost aimed at the supermarkets but I can really see it having a lifespan.
 
lolly said:
I've picked up a couple of their studio albums. But getting disturbed from a blissful reverie by a Richard lead vocal is never a pleasant experience.
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:D It's such a jolt to the senses after wallowing in all that lush comfort. I suppose Karen needed to exercise her drumming skills from time to time...
 
I really would have loved a full-blown orchestral version of "Soliaire". It would have been the ultimate case study in just how over the top a song can get.
 
That's a lot more subtle (Yesterday Once More) than I was expecting. I really need to hear a high quality bitrate instead of Spotify's paltry streaming version.
 
What have they done to the end of it?! :o I don't like that.
 
I do worry it's a little TOO subtle, personally. Although I hope I'll be able to notice more with headphones rather than through my phone.
 
I suppose the logic is that they want to keep Karen's voice front and centre which is fine with me!

The flourishes just enhance the beauty of the vocal.

I still don't like the sudden ending though.
 
I get wanting to keep Karen's voice central. But there are plenty of compilations out there - surely the major selling point of this is the RPO.
 
To be fair, I think Yesterday Once More was always going to get a rather conservative reworking. I'm hoping some of the other tracks are more substantially orchestrated.
 
lolly said:
I do worry it's a little TOO subtle, personally. Although I hope I'll be able to notice more with headphones rather than through my phone.
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They probably want to make sure the tracks they preview show that they've been sensitive as well as bold. Next one will likely show off the orchestra a bit more, I'd have thought.
 
I won’t pretend I know ANYTHING about The Carpenters because I DO NOT. But I’ve had Karen’s solo album on in the office today and it’s quite lovely.
 
lolly said:
I do worry it's a little TOO subtle, personally. Although I hope I'll be able to notice more with headphones rather than through my phone.
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The same issue with Aretha. They just didn’t sound that DIFFERENT. What’s the point?
 
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I've just heard YESTERDAY ONCE MORE with ADDED BELLS AND WHISTLES and I DO NOT LIKE IT
 
Karen had such an unusual voice, there are not many contralto singers out there. I always wonder what they'd have done next had she not passed away. They're a band I like, but I don't know much of them outside their GH.
 
Kalabaliken said:
Karen had such an unusual voice, there are not many contralto singers out there. I always wonder what they'd have done next had she not passed away. They're a band I like, but I don't know much of them outside their GH.
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I think it's more that there aren't many contralto pop singers, isn't it? It's more common in other genres.
 
This is out and yes it’s LOVELY but just a bit too subtle. It’s been a nice excuse to revisit the tracks but also a reminder that most of them either already had quite lush orchestrations or just didn’t need them. Close To You is an example of the latter and Richard is clearly too protective of it to experiment.

The one enjoyable new element is all the orchestral links between the tracks and new introductions, which explain the sudden ending to Yesterday Once More when you listen to it in isolation.
 
Yes, I gave it one listen last week and that was enough.
 
I don’t understand the point of these albums. I haven’t heard the Elvis one but I’m guessing that was significantly different. Who thinks “I’d rather not listen to the songs I really know and love, i’m going to listen to them slightly different”.

It’s bizarre!
 
The really strange thing is that all the reviews are citing the faithfulness to the originals as a good thing, when surely the whole point of an album like this is to present the songs in a new way - otherwise you’d just listen to the originals.

I guess it’s mainly to do with Richard’s involvement. He’s clearly seeing this as an opportunity to tweak and polish the originals rather than play around with them.

That and make a quick buck off the back of his sister’s voice.
 
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