Essential Collection: 1965-1997 [Box set]

Amazon.com
The sprawling suburbs that sprang up south of Los Angeles during the postwar industrial boom gave white pop two of its most accomplished icons, Brian Wilson's Beach Boys, out of Hawthorne, and Downey's Carpenters. That geography subtly permeates the first disc of this four-CD, 89-track anthology, from the living room demos and indie singles that pushed them to a Hollywood Bowl battle of the bands victory while still teens to their first triumphs for A&M Records, just across town in Hollywood. Assembled, burnished, and annotated with loving care by Richard Carpenter, it's a collection that chronicles an expansive musical vision rooted in prerock pop, yet fueled by the ambitious, neo-baroque arrangement consciousness of the '60s L.A. music scene. Karen Carpenter's warm, inviting alto may have been the band's trademark, but it's Richard's perfect studio frameworks--and a far-ranging taste for material that spans standards, Bacharach's "Close to You," Leon Russell's "Superstar," "A Song for You, " and "This Masquerade"--that made the Carpenters' music considerably more than the sum of its parts. Filled with a wealth of rare outtakes, remixes, radio spots, TV performances (including a duet-medley between Karen and the great Ella Fitzgerald), and commercial spots, Essential is exactly that for a Carpenters fan. --Jerry McCulley

Essential Collection: 1965-1997,The Carpenters,A&M,Box Sets (Audio Only),Pop,Pop Vocals,Popular Music,Soft Rock,United States of America,Vocal

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Average customer rating: Essential Carpenters, especially early Carpenters Essential (and unessential, too) Essential Collection: 1965-1997 Completely Covered Great songs

Essential Collection: 1965-1997 Carpenters Manufacturer: A&M ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Contemporary | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Pop | Box Sets | Stores | Music Similar Items: Christmas Collection Close to You - Remembering the Carpenters Gold: Greatest Hits Deluxe Sound & Vision Carpenters Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition As Time Goes By ASIN: B00006LWSM Release Date: 2006-08-31

Tracks:

1. Caravan
2. Parting Of Our Ways, The
3. Looking For Love
4. I'll Be Yours
5. Iced Tea
6. You'll Love Me
7. All I Can Do
8. Don't Be Afraid
9. Invocation
10. Your Wonderful Parade
11. All Of My Life
12. Eve
13. Ticket To Ride
14. Get Together
15. Interview
16. Love Is Surrender
17. Maybe It's You
18. Close To You, (They Long To Be)
19. Mr. Guder
20. We've Only Just Begun
21. Merry Christmas Darling
22. For All We Know (from "Lovers And Other Strangers")

Tracks:

1. Rainy Days And Mondays
2. Superstar
3. Let Me Be The One
4. Bless The Beasts And Children (from "Bless The Beasts And Children")
5. Hurting Each Other
6. It's Going To Take Some Time
7. I Won't Last A Day Without You
8. Song For You, A
9. Top Of The World
10. Goodbye To Love
11. This Masquerade
12. Sing
13. Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
14. Yesterday Once More
15. Oldies Medley: Fun, Fun, Fun / End Of The World, The / Da Doo Ron Ron / Deadman's Curve / Johnny Angel / Night Has A Thousand Eyes, The / Our Day Will Come / One Fine Day
16. Yesterday Once More (Reprise)
17. Radio Contest Outtakes

Tracks:

1. Morinaga Hi-Crown Chocolate Commercial
2. Please Mr. Postman
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
4. Only Yesterday
5. Solitaire
6. Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again
7. Good Friends Are For Keeps
8. Ordinary Fool
9. Sandy
10. There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)
11. I Need To Be In Love
12. From This Moment On
13. Suntory Pop Jingle #1
14. Suntory Pop Jingle #2
15. All You Get From Love Is A Love Song
16. Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day)
17. Sweet, Sweet Smile
18. Christ Is Born
19. White Christmas
20. Little Altar Boy
21. Ave Maria

Tracks:

1. Where Do I Go From Here
2. Little Girl Blue
3. I Believe You
4. If I Had You
5. Karen/Ella Medley: This Masquerade / My Funny Valentine / I'll Be Seeing You / Someone To Watch Over Me / As Time Goes By / Don't Get Around Much Any More / I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
6. 1980 Medley: Sing / Knowing When To Leave / Make It Easy On Yourself / Someday / We've Only Just Begun
7. Make Believe It's Your First Time
8. Touch Me When We're Dancing
9. When It's Gone
10. Because We Are In Love (The Wedding Song)
11. Those Good Old Dreams
12. Now
13. Karen's Theme

Amazon.com

The sprawling suburbs that sprang up south of Los Angeles during the postwar industrial boom gave white pop two of its most accomplished icons, Brian Wilson's Beach Boys, out of Hawthorne, and Downey's Carpenters. That geography subtly permeates the first disc of this four-CD, 89-track anthology, from the living room demos and indie singles that pushed them to a Hollywood Bowl battle of the bands victory while still teens to their first triumphs for A&M Records, just across town in Hollywood. Assembled, burnished, and annotated with loving care by Richard Carpenter, it's a collection that chronicles an expansive musical vision rooted in prerock pop, yet fueled by the ambitious, neo-baroque arrangement consciousness of the '60s L.A. music scene. Karen Carpenter's warm, inviting alto may have been the band's trademark, but it's Richard's perfect studio frameworks--and a far-ranging taste for material that spans standards, Bacharach's "Close to You," Leon Russell's "Superstar," "A Song for You, " and "This Masquerade"--that made the Carpenters' music considerably more than the sum of its parts. Filled with a wealth of rare outtakes, remixes, radio spots, TV performances (including a duet-medley between Karen and the great Ella Fitzgerald), and commercial spots, Essential is exactly that for a Carpenters fan. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Essential Carpenters, especially early Carpenters.......2007-06-24

If you were to obtain only one Carpenters greatest hits compilation, this would be it. As a Carpenters fan myself, most all of the Carpenters songs are hits, so there are always a few songs missing that you would like to have been included. For a beginning Carpenters fan, however, this is a very good collection. Especially valuable are the early Carpenters collection, disc one of four, 1965-1970. It has some very good recordings of pre-Carpenters songs, and some original recordings of early Carpenters songs, which were later re-recorded for the Carpenters albums. Richard Carpenter's booklet narratives explaining the history of the songs is very informative and entertaining. One interesting thing Mr. Carpenter said was that most of the master tapes recordings of the pre-Carpenters from their early days on the Magic Lamp label with Joe Osborn were destroyed in a fire in 1975. This may explain at least partially why there are so few recordings of early (pre)-Carpenters music available. In any event, I highly recommend this album, most especially for its early Carpenters songs, which you may not be able to find anywhere else.

Essential (and unessential, too).......2007-05-28

The output and legacy of The Carpenters is as easy to overrate as it is to underrate. It's true that they were rather catagorically dismissed as uncool during their heyday, but in the haste many folks make these days to say, "Hey, we really did love 'em, we just couldn't SAY so," there were some pretty good reasons why The Carpenters got dissed back then. Exhibit A is "Sing," a little ditty that can put you into insulin shock upon first contact, and their renditions of "Please Mr. Postman" and "Ticket To Ride" didn't do the Marvelettes or the Beatles any favors either. But there's also a lot of music Richard and Karen Carpenter put out that not only justifies the belated critical acceptance today, it exceeds expectations the casual listener might have that this was just a sappy pop duo and nothing more.

Much of the evidence for this can be found on this collection, where the hits ("Close To You," "For All We Know," "We've Only Just Begun," etc.) comingle with less-heard material, including Richard and Karen's early days as two-thirds of the jazzy Richard Carpenter Trio (a solid rendition of the Duke Ellington standard, "Caravan") and album tracks/singles that deserved more exposure ("Maybe It's You," "Ordinary Fool," "Make Believe It's Your First Time"), and some genuinely inventive and WEIRD stuff as well (a drum roll for "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" and the rock 'n roll medley from the album NOW & THEN). There's also, inevitably, the tracks you skip over immediately when they come on, but two things are predominant throughout. There's Richard Carpenter's arrangements, which, when they work, REALLY soar into pop heaven, not unlike those of fellow Angeleno Brian Wilson. But most of all, there's the lovely voice of Karen Carpenter, as graceful and full a voice as any pop singer could ever want. She was capable of making you fall in love, breaking your heart and putting your emotions in a whirl, sometimes all in the same song. When the two siblings' particular talents click together, as they often do on this retrospective, few things in pop music sound better.

I have a few quibbles with this collection, more with omissions than with what's included. I would have like to have seen "Look To Your Dreams" from VOICE OF THE HEART included; for my money, it showcases the finest singing Karen Carpenter ever did. And the inclusion of "Mr. Guder" and "Your Wonderful Parade" just underscores the fact that songs of social protest were not The Carpenter's strong suit. But balance this out with what's here ("Solitaire," "Those Good Old Dreams," "Goodbye To Love," the list goes on and on) and what you have left is ample proof that there was much depth and breadth to The Carpenters....and that they were pretty cool after all.

Essential Collection: 1965-1997.......2007-03-20

This collection is truly essential for any Carpenters fan. The only thing missing in the wonderful book that accompanies the collection is the lyrics to the songs.

Completely Covered.......2007-02-14

This CD covers all the major hits
and throws in some Holiday music also.
I noticed this CD had Ave Maria on it and I wanted to hear her version.
Also Superstar, A Song for you and some interviews are included here.
I give the brother and sister team 5 stars.
A&M records really had a diverse group of artists signed to its label as a sign of the '70s music itself.

Great songs.......2006-08-22

I bought this CD for my sister because she is a big carpenters fan and she loves it.

Average customer rating:

The Essential Collection (1965-1997) The Carpenters Manufacturer: Universal ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Soft Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Pop | Box Sets | Stores | Music Pop | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B00007KKX9 Release Date: 2003-02-10

Tracks:

1. Caravan
2. Parting of Our Ways
3. Looking for Love
4. I'll Be Yours
5. Iced Tea
6. You'll Love Me
7. All I Can Do
8. Don't Be Afraid
9. Invocation
10. Your Wonderful Parade
11. All of My Life
12. Eve
13. Ticket to Ride
14. Get Together
15. Interview
16. Love Is Surrender
17. Maybe It's You
18. (They Long to Be) Close to You
19. Mr. Guder
20. We've Only Just Begun - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
21. Merry Christmas Darling
22. For All We Know

Tracks:

1. Rainy Days and Mondays - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
2. Superstar
3. Let Me Be the One - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
4. Bless the Beasts and Children
5. Hurting Each Other
6. It's Going to Take Some Time
7. I Won't Last a Day Without You - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
8. Song for You
9. Top of the World
10. Goodbye to Love
11. This Masquerade
12. Sing
13. Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
14. Yesterday Once More
15. Oldies Medley: Fun, Fun, Fun/The End of the World/Da Doo Ron ...
16. Yesterday Once More (Reprise)
17. Radio Contest Outtakes

Tracks:

1. Morinaga Hi-Crown Chocolate Commercial
2. Please Mr. Postman
3. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
4. Only Yesterday
5. Solitaire
6. Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again
7. Good Friends Are for Keeps
8. Ordinary Fool
9. Sandy
10. There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)
11. I Need to Be in Love
12. From This Moment On
13. Suntory Pop Jingle No. 1
14. Suntory Pop Jingle No. 2
15. All You Get from Love Is a Love Song
16. Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
17. Sweet, Sweet Smile
18. Christ Is Born
19. White Christmas
20. Little Alter Boy
21. Ave Maria

Tracks:

1. Where Do I Go from Here?
2. Little Girl Blue
3. I Believe You
4. If I Had You
5. Karen/Ella Medley: This Masquerade/My Funny Valentine/I'll Be ...
6. 1980 Medley: Sing/Knowing When to Leave/Make It Easy on Yourself/S ... - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
7. Make Believe It's Your First Time
8. Touch Me When We're Dancing
9. When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)
10. Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)
11. Those Good Old Dreams
12. Now - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
13. Karen's Theme

Album Details

Contains Tracks Not Included on the Four CD 'from the Top' Collection. Also Includes Some New Tracks.

Average customer rating: Completely Covered Essential Collection missing some great songs!

The Essential Collection (1965-1997) The Carpenters Manufacturer: Universal ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Soft Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Contemporary | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Pop | Box Sets | Stores | Music Pop | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0007ZHWTK Release Date: 2005-03-21

Tracks:

1. Caravan
2. Parting of Our Ways
3. Looking for Love
4. I'll Be Yours
5. Iced Tea
6. You'll Love Me
7. All I Can Do
8. Don't Be Afraid
9. Invocation
10. Your Wonderful Parade
11. All of My Life
12. Eve
13. Ticket to Ride
14. Get Together
15. Interview
16. Love Is Surrender
17. Maybe It's You
18. (They Long to Be) Close to You
19. Mr. Guder
20. We've Only Just Begun - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
21. Merry Christmas Darling
22. For All We Know

Tracks:

1. Rainy Days and Mondays - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
2. Superstar
3. Let Me Be the One - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
4. Bless the Beasts and Children
5. Hurting Each Other
6. It's Going to Take Some Time
7. I Won't Last a Day Without You - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
8. Song for You
9. Top of the World
10. Goodbye to Love
11. This Masquerade
12. Sing
13. Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
14. Yesterday Once More
15. Oldies Medley: Fun, Fun, Fun/The End of the World/Da Doo Ron ...
16. Yesterday Once More (Reprise)
17. Radio Contest Outtakes

Tracks:

1. Morinaga Hi-Crown Chocolate Commercial
2. Please Mr. Postman
3. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
4. Only Yesterday
5. Solitaire
6. Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again
7. Good Friends Are for Keeps
8. Ordinary Fool
9. Sandy
10. There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)
11. I Need to Be in Love
12. From This Moment On
13. Suntory Pop Jingle No. 1
14. Suntory Pop Jingle No. 2
15. All You Get from Love Is a Love Song
16. Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
17. Sweet, Sweet Smile
18. Christ Is Born
19. White Christmas
20. Little Alter Boy
21. Ave Maria

Tracks:

1. Where Do I Go from Here?
2. Little Girl Blue
3. I Believe You
4. If I Had You
5. Karen/Ella Medley: This Masquerade/My Funny Valentine/I'll Be ...
6. 1980 Medley: Sing/Knowing When to Leave/Make It Easy on Yourself/S ... - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
7. Make Believe It's Your First Time
8. Touch Me When We're Dancing
9. When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)
10. Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)
11. Those Good Old Dreams
12. Now - The Carpenters, The Carpenters
13. Karen's Theme

Customer Reviews:

Completely Covered.......2007-02-10

This collection leaves nothing else to be searched for (except maybe this about their personal lives).
This is a full coverage CD.
I collect a lot of 70's music and if you do also, then this should be included.
Ok there is a lot of Pop here but there also is alot of deeper substance here if you like...
Superstar, Song for you, this Masquerade, and the reason I got this perticular CD was for to hear her version of Ave Maria for to gain some Christmas Spirit... I am still in awe over Chris Cornell's version on A Very Special Christmas3 but that's a different CD..so I give the brother and sister team 5 stars for this one.

Essential Collection missing some great songs!.......2006-06-01

This is a 73 song set, in chronological order, from 1965-1997. It comes with a nice booklet with liner notes and rare pictures. You also are treated with some of the very early recordings, alternative takes,and jingles, etc. Buy this set, if nothing else for the booklet and rarer gems. Do be aware though, that this is basically the FROM THE TOP set, repackaged with about 95% of the same stuff.

Meditation Music:

1. Gentleman of Music With His Orchestra & Choir
2. Get the Party Started [CD-single] [Import]
3. Hammered
4. Have yourself a FAB-ulous Little Christmas
5. Hip Hop Hymns
6. Hold a Match for a Gasoline World
7. Hope for Tomorrow
8. Imagination
9. In Search of
10. Just an Old Fasioned Love Song [Import]

Meditation Music

meditation music

Meditation Music

Chronicles [Limited Edition] [Import]

Parsadanjan: A Musical Portrait

Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in Ef; Divertimento K136

Music: Heaven's Prisoners: Music From The Motion Picture - A

Open Rhythm System [Explicit Lyrics]

Ministry of Sound: The Soul of Disco

Marinella [Import]

Passenger

Mind Over Money Pt. 2 [CD-single] [Import]

Mad About Sopranos

Paramount Piano Blues, Vol. 3

Lluvias de Amor

La Historia de los Chalchaleros [Enhanced] [Live] [Import]

Fruit of Spirit: Love

Poodle Hat