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Label:
  A&M Records - http://www.amrecords.com/
Serial:
  B0002996-36
Title:
  Carpenters: The Singles 1969-1981
Description:
  "Singles 1969-1981"

Carpenters
Track listing:
  1. Yesterday Once More
2. We've Only Just Begun
3. Superstar
4. Rainy Days And Mondays
5. Goodbye To Love
6. I Believe You
7. It's Going To Take Some Time
8. This Masquerade
9. Ticket to Ride
10. Top Of The World
11. Only Yesterday
12. Hurting Each Other
13. Please Mr. Postman
14. Merry Christmas, Darling
15. Sing
16. Bless The Beasts and Children
17. I Won't Last A Day Without You
18. Touch Me When We're Dancing
19. For All We Know
20. (They Long to Be) Close to You
21. Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)
Genre:
  Pop/Rock
Content:
  Stereo/Multichannel
Media:
  Hybrid
Recording type:
 
Recording info:
  Produced for SACD: Richard Carpenter
Surround Sound mix: Al Schmitt and Richard Carpenter at Capital Studios, Hollywood, California
Pro Tools Editing: Bill Smith at Sky's the Limit Studios, Studio City, California
Mastering: Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, California
Digital Editing: Stewart Whitmore at Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, California
Stereo Fold-down mixes: Richard Carpenter and Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Studios, Hollywood, California
SACD authoring: Lon Neumann
Supervised for SACD: Paul Bishow and Michael Etchart

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Related titles: 1


 
Reviews: 14 show all

Review by Darla February 27, 2005 (9 of 12 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
Well... got this SACD two weeks ago and wasn't really sure what to expect.
Didn't know many songs of the Carpenters (so I thought) except of "Close to You".

By listening to the SACD I repeating got the feeling "oh, I like that one, didn't know it was a Carpenter-Song, yai!"

But I guess most of the people know what to expect from the musical content of this CD.

Now to the SACD-Multichannel Track... IT'S BEAUTIFUL! It's clear, warm, great sonics, sounds natural and recent!
There are barely some Surround-Effects, but that wouldn't fit to that kind of Music anyway!

I didn't listen to the Stereo-Track but as a matter of principal I think that SACDs only make sense if they have a Multichannel-Track and you are able to use it! ;)

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Review by Compression Must Die February 21, 2005 (8 of 23 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
I bought this disc primarily for the WAF (wife approval factor). My wife has enjoyed the "improved" 2-channel SACD layer for what it is, a collection of soft rock tunes. Karen Carpenter's voice still sounds great, even if the material is dated.

During our listening sessions I have pretty much kept my opinions to myself though. Not even the benefits of DSD/SACD mastering can save the majority of these tracks from death by compression. This disc really could be the poster child for a "you can't make crappy source material sound better by remastering it" national campaign.

Little if any improvements are made to the sound of the backing instruments, save a couple. You CAN hear the lower register of Richard Carpenter's piano more clearly. You can also hear the drums more clearly (though whether you'd want to is subject to debate). Subtle improvements may also exist in the vocals, but the overall compression is so bad on this one that I cannot bear to listen to it without my wife.

Only the last track has any degree of fidelity. While the viability of the tune and its precepts are easily mocked, track 21 (Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft) actually does sound good. All the instruments and vocals are clear. It makes you wonder what the rest of the disc would be like sans death by compression.

Buy it for the WAF only....

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Review by jaybird100 April 27, 2006 (7 of 7 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
There seems to be something of a stigma to admitting you're a fan of The Carpenters. Karen was in possession of one of the finest set of pipes in popular music. Richard's genius with arranging and producing is matched only by Brian Wilson. Had Karen not been taken from us at such a young age, there would have been no limits on where she could have gone-- with or without her brother.
All of the songs on this disc were hits for The Carpenters. Some songs were originals, others were covers of songs done by other artists, but with the Carpenter flair. "Please Mr. Postman" is a great example. "This Masquerade" is a perfect song for Karen's smooth, expressive voice. Actually, there isn't a clunker on this disc! So stigma aside, I'm proud to say I'm a Carpenters fan.
As for the sonics of this disc, there's only one word to describe them...flawless! The surround mixes are tasteful and don't detract from the music. The clarity and detail in the tracks come through effortlessly. Clearly, if you own an SACD player, you MUST add this one to your collection.

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