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78 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still the one to get, 26 April 2005
Karen Carpenter died on 4th February 1983 and, although the phrase "sadly missed" is overused and often misused, in her case it is absolutely justified. Her distinctive, liquid-golden-honeyed vocals, all-American but always crystal clear, backed by brother Richard's lush arrangements and orchestrations, graced the world's singles and album charts for most of the 1970s, serving as a melodic counterpoint to some of the excesses of the pop and rock industry's output at the time. It was easy listening par excellence - and, oddly, there has never been anything quite like them since.There can be little argument that the twenty tracks on this collection are the best-selling or most popular of their songs. They are scheduled somewhat randomly, but at least putting the twee Sesame Street anthem, "Sing", before the finale of Klaatu's "Calling Occupants..." gives things a satisfactory sense of ending. Three of the tracks are marked "1991 remix" - in truth, a lot of the other tracks have also been remixed at various times since their original release, as Richard, presumably at a loose end after Karen's death, couldn't resist tinkering with them. Fortunately no harm has been done, and you'd have to be a Carpenters "trekkie" to notice any differences. It is difficult to imagine that there can be a household that doesn't already have a copy of this collection, in this or one of its several earlier releases, but if there is then this is still the one to get.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an unbeatable duo, 28 Sep 2007
with Karen's rich, sweet as honey voice and Richard's talent for arranging this duo were unbeatable in their day and still are. Sadly, All was not as well as it appeared in their songs and with the death of Karen, a true female legend died. all the great songs are here, from the joyous 'top of the world' to the bitter sweet 'I need to be in love' , the spine tingling 'goodbye to love' (makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end) the amusing 'Calling occupants of interplanetary craft'
The very romantic 'we've only just begun' and the ever so slightly moody 'Rainy days and Mondays' the brillaintly uplifting 'close to you and the oh so sad 'Superstar'are all included on this wonderful album. So, while the story may not have ended happily you can listen to this and recall the legacy Karen left.
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67 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely popular in the seventies, 19 Mar 2005
During the seventies, the Carpenters had considerable success in the pop charts on both sides of the Atlantic with their brand of pop music. Richard's expert arrangements and Karen's superb voice combined to create something special. They recorded plenty of original songs but some of their biggest hits were covers. Close to you is a Bacharach-David song, originally recorded by Dionne Warwick, but her version was not released as a single. Please Mr Postman was a huge American success for the Marvelettes (and was covered by the Beatles on one of their early albums). Jambalaya is an old Hank Williams song, while Ticket to ride is a Beatles classic.
Of the original songs, Top of the world was never originally intended to be a single. However, Lynn Anderson covered the song and had a major country hit with it. She might have had a pop hit, too, but the Carpenters wisely decided to release their own version. The strangest song here is Calling occupants of interplanetary craft. Whether you like it or not, it demonstrates that Richard and Karen were always trying to do something different.
There are so many classics here including For all we know, We've only just begun, Rainy days and Mondays, Goodbye to love, Only yesterday, Yesterday once more and I won't last a day without you. You can't get all the great Carpenters songs on a single CD but the songs here are all excellent. Among the omissions are Hurting each other, Sweet sweet smile and All you get from love is a love song, but if those were included, others would have to be left out. If you only want a single CD of Carpenters music, this is a good one to choose.
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