Carpenters Album: “Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition”

Just listening to the samples of this new remix of "GOLD:35th Anniversary Edition ~ The Carpenters" I found it to be in my opinion sadly remixed very badly. Certainly not a tribute to the excellent talent Of Karen Carpenter and Richard as well. I wonder what Richard was thinking when he remixed these songs? As another review noticed and I agree with, is the bass on some is so loud it almost drowns out the pure excellence of Karen's deep resounding truly perfect voice. This is not a CD you want to get if you really want to appreciate the true pure sound of The Carpenters. The older CDs (if still in production or if you can find them used) "Carpenters Classics 25th Anniversary" a 2 CD disc 98:04 minute Collection remastered digitally, is a much better pick. Especially for those who remember The Carpenters when Karen was still alive and the original arrangements were nothing to mess with. The other CD's worth finding of The Carpendters especially if you like the Talent of Karen's deep resounding perfect voice, would be The CD "Voice Of The Heart" This is a hautingly beautiful collection of Love songs by Karen who lets each song touch your Heart and Soul making you feel as if you were right there as she sings each song. The other one I would highly recommend, if Christmas is your Holiday, would be "Carpenters Christmas Portrait"... "Special Edition digital version....Celebrating 70 continuious minutes of the Seasons best..." with Karen and Richard. There are 34 Carpenters songs as timeless as their sound,and 11 performances heard on this Holiday CD for the first time. These CDs are all the songs you fell in love with the first time you heard Karen sing. These are the arrangements so beautifully done with her and Richard. This new remix maybe OK if you have not been familiar with how wonderful the original songs The Carpenter's recorded and later remastered-Not Remixed- sounded. For this reason I give this 35th Anniversary remix a 2 star rating. These older CDs are how The Carpenders really won over their fans, took the Music Industry by storm and gave a generation of Music lovers reason to Love The Carpenders music and the sound they gave each song. Talent that can still win over anyone who truly appreciates the timeless talents only The Carpenters could deliver. As I more or less said in my Title for this review and taken from an old saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it!" or in this case Don't Remix it!

I own many CDs. Most fall somewhere in the rock/metal genre, and I'm very picky about what I keep and listen to. I don't normally listen to Adult Contemporary (or Classic, in this case) because it just doesn't appeal to me. And yet...there was this song that kept playing in my head for all these years, even through the Triumph phase, the hair metal phase, the shred metal guitarist phase, the Dream Theater phase, up to recently: "We've Only Just Begun." How can a guy who spins Pantera regularly come to terms with this luscious 70s-pop tune that won't stop playing in my mind? For years, I resisted. This is what my parents liked when they were in their 20s; this couldn't be anything I could relate to, could it? I was metal to the core - okay, with a lot of other styles complicating my tastes, but it's mostly about the metal - and yet there was this one song that just wouldn't let go.

It's called a "hook", and this collection is a master class in crafting hooks. And some of these songs aren't exactly pop, either; there's old-school country styling here, and some semi-Latin tastes, and other stuff I can't even pin down. To tell the truth, I don't even know the song titles because I just keep playing these CDs over and over. Between Karen's honey-smoked voice and Richard's virtuostic arrangements, I can't pull this collection from the CD player. Here I am, waiting impatiently for Queensryche's sequel to "Operation: Mindcrime" and Symphony X's follow-up to "The Odyssey," yet this is the CD set I keep repeating. It's weird. It almost feels unnatural. And yet, this music touches a part of me, a sensual caress that makes me shiver in ways no distorted artificial harmonic could.

This is music that needs to be re-discovered and re-distributed. Some of the parts are dated, yes, and I understand that Richard remixed and even re-recorded parts of these songs after Karen's death, so maybe purists won't be satisfied with this collection. But I'm not writing for the long-time fans, I'm writing for people like me, people who wonder whether it's worth buying 40 songs that definitely show their age. Maybe you, like me, only knew a couple of songs by name; they were pretty, but you weren't sure whether you could stomach much more. Yes, you can. These songs are amazing - magical, golden, and deeply satisfying. If you want your music to reach more emotions than modern pop (or rock/metal) can, this is the collection you need to buy. This is great, great music sung by the greatest voice you'll ever hear.

I love this collection and I'm very pleased I bought it. I honestly think anyone who can listen with an open mind will find all kinds of material to love here, too.

"Carpenters Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition" (2004) commemorates the thirty five years that have elapsed since Karen and Richard first signed to A&M Records. This 40 track compilation includes deceptively simple and addictive hits like "Please Mr Postman", "Top of the World" and "Sing" (who would dare to mine a song from Sesame Street?) and a remarkably varied selection of covers, including the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride", Barry Manilow's "Trying to Get the Feeling Again", Klaatu's "Calling Occupants (of Interplanetary Craft)", Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire', Herman's Hermit's "There's A Kind of Hush", and Hank Williams' "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)".

Also included for the first time are their endearing version of the Muppet's "Rainbow Connection," written by long-time Carpenters compatriot Paul Williams, a beatnik cover of the Mamas and the Papas "California Dreaming", with vocals recorded in 1967, and instrumentation added to complete the track in 1999, and their modern Christmas classic, "Merry Christmas Darling".

Karen Carpenter's own tragic story of life and love is heartbreaking, and adds to the mythology of the catalog. She was blessed with a distinctive and pure voice, one of the treasures of the era, and an uncompromising ability to express both unbridaled joy and devastating heartbreak. Richard's daunting role was to harness and direct this energy, to place this sparkling gem in a perfect setting; he did so with layers and layers of lush vocal harmonies, unique and flawless instrumentation, and perfect arrangements, giving the Carpenters a distinctive and timeless sound.

1975's "Only Yesterday" is arguably their musical and commercial peak, defining the Carpenters magic. Deceptively rich, emotionally brutal, but unequivocably honest, Karen's perfect pitch nails every note; the sly ache and soaring wonder in her voice, the richness of the multi-tracked vocals, the exuberance of the instrumentation, and the signature key change going into the last chorus wrap up a perfectly produced package.

- Rod Reynolds Los Angeles February 2004 ©2004 The Art Dept LA

There are many who are a lot bigger fans of the Carpenters than I. However, Karen Carpenter's voice has always been captivating to me. It is rare to find such a low voice that is so clear and soft and even rarer to find one in the pop realm that usually favors very high and loud voices. So, I was walking through Target, saw this, remembered her voice and decided to buy it to see how well the songs have aged.

This collection has forty songs on two disks and was put together to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their signing with A&M. Karen was only 32 when she died of Anorexia Nervosa in 1983. What a loss.

So, how do does the music hold up? Very well indeed. While all the Carpenter songs are quite mellow by today's standards, and everything seems no louder or more intense than mezzo forte and the tempi tend to hang around a nice walking andante, there is also a surprising variety of songs. Happy, sad, silly, hopeful, even dark are all here. Karen has a real subtlety in the way she delivers lyrics. She also makes all that she sings sound effortless. You can prove it to yourself by trying to sing along with her. You will find yourself making all kinds of mistakes that she avoids without strain. One of her gifts was to make it sound so easy.

Her brother, Richard, is also a much better arranger than I remembered. If you listen closely you will realize that he has put together some very rich charts. Compared to the commercial music of today he comes across as a monster talent, actually. In a pre-synthesizer age, he used orchestral instruments in a lavish way for pop music. His ear for timbre is very good and he showcased Karen's voice perfectly. His own singing is usually limited to multi-track support. It is good, but not in her league. Together they are the Carpenters. Neither would have been so able to use their gifts to such fame and success without the other.

Richard provides an introductory essay and very interesting notes about each of the numbers. You will have your own favorites. If you have not heard the Carpenters before, you owe yourself this treat. In any case, it is hard to capture what this music sounded like when it was new. Richard notes that the fuzzy guitar on "Goodbye to Love" actually got him hate mail for selling out and going "hard rock". I remember how shocking that sound was back then. It sounds nothing but beautiful today.

"Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition" opens on a very strong note with the outstanding 1971 classic "Superstar", followed by the equally superior "Rainy Days And Mondays". All of The Carpenters' top 40 hits are included along with several favorite album tracks. Most notably "Jambalaya" which was a huge hit in Japan, Holland and the UK.

This collection contains three songs previously unreleased in the U.S.

The liner notes were written by Richard Carpenter in December 2003, and also contains song by song descriptions.

About the song "There's A Kind Of Hush", Richard states, "I wish we'd never recorded it". Though ironically the song has become a big favorite with Carpenters fans throughout the years.

All in all, with 40 tracks, this is one of the very best Carpenters compliations released to date. I look forward to future compilations and hope for the eventual release of the remaining eleven unreleased Karen Carpenter solo recordings.