Carpenters Album: “40/40”

Some things just get better with age, and the Carpenters music ranks up there with cheese and wine! Can you really go wrong here? All the classics and remastered to sound better than ever.

Finally, the perfect collection of my all favorite Carpenters songs. Karen's voice is one-of-a-kind, one of my all-time favorites. What a wonderful way to celebrate her legacy.

I wasn't around in their heyday but so many of their songs I know and love! Glad they are now all on one compilaton!!

To preface this review, I must state that I own every original CD the Carpenters made. Karen Carpenter continues to be my favorite female voice of all-time. Her recordings are timeless and impeccable. She is the voice of "soft-rock" to me. I will never ever forget her, and she is dearly missed to this day.

As for 40/40, as a long-time Carpenter fan, I must ask the question: "How many times can Richard Carpenter present the Carpenter hits?" While I like every song on this 2-disc collection, I have the songs on multiple CD's already. This said, perhaps the album is targeted at those who are not familiar with the smooth, layered harmonies of the Carpenters. For the first-time buyer, this is a great introduction to Carpenter music. For fans of 40 years, like myself, it is a rehash of music I already own.

This is a great album for the newbie, but another ditto for the long-term fan.

konedog

p.s. For those interested in the life of Karen Carpenter, a new book by Randy Schmidt, tells her story, with all the painful details of her illness and tragic death. It is an honest retelling of the entire Carpenter story, without the usual editing by the Carpenter family. Karen and family are presented warts and all. I highly reecommend the book to fans of Karen and Richard's music. The story behind the music is as compelling as the music itself. Here is the link:

Karen & Richard Carpenter have been a huge musical influence on me. First performers that started me on my record collecting hobby back in the day. It is amazing to think this was 40 years ago, and Karen has been gone almost 27 years. Still, thanks to recordings of that gorgeous voice and the best arrangements and technical stuff done by a very talented Richard, it is preserved. I had the pleasure of meeting Richard once at the theater named for them at CALState Long Beach. I thanked him for all he's done and hoped to hear more from him in producing and performing (he had just done a song with Petula Clark at the time, and I was hoping he would have done a full album with Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick individually after their stunning performances on Richard's "Time" album in the mid 80s). I still hope he decides to produce and arrange again and work with Barbra Streisand and Linda Eder. I met Richard before I discovered Linda, or I would have mentioned her. It is also ironic that this Friday, Nov 6, 2009, I am seeing for the first time in concert Herb Alpert and his wife, Lani Hall, in their jazz concert. If there is a chance of meeting them, I am certain to thank Herb for signing Karen & Richard back in 1969.

For this particular collection, it is a great set, as it mixes remixed versions of favorites (hits & album tracks) with a few original releases. My surprise was "Let Me Be The One", one of my personal favorites, where Karen stopped on the vocal, and there is some patter at the end and Richard plays it out on the piano. Don't think I've heard this version before, so if this is a surprise rarity, you GOT me. As this is a nice overview and includes the remixes, if your not a collector but like The Carpenters, go with this one, as well as "The Ultimate Collection" from overseas. The latter includes an overview of songs in their original release non-remixed format. The German issue also has a 3rd CD of a few additions from Karen's and Richard's minimal solo work.

If you're like me, you are going to have all the albums & a few compilations. For those who want to keep it small, Ultimate and 40/40 are the way to go. Knowing it is 40 years later, and that I still sing with Karen while driving or walking, my voice is deeper now, and I can finally hit her low notes with clarity instead of force. Knowing this, it proves all good things mellow with age.