The Carpenters - Singles 1969-1981 (2004/2013) [HDtracks]

In 1990, Richard Carpenter revised and expanded the Carpenters' 1973 compilation LP Singles 1969-1973 for the CD era, retaining that album's 12 tracks and adding nine more in his survey of his and his sister Karen's run on the pop chart. Now, the set included all of the duo's 12 Top Ten hits (and their holiday chart-topper, "Merry Christmas Darling"), but it did not contain all their Top 20 hits, eschewing "Solitaire" and "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)," along with Top 40 hits "I Need to Be in Love" and "All You Get From Love Is a Love Song" in favor of minor chart entries "Ticket to Ride" (their chart debut), "Bless the Beasts and Children" (the B-side of "Superstar"), and "I Believe You," as well as the non-charting B-side "This Masquerade." Richard Carpenter also took the opportunity to re-sequence the collection, giving a sense of the retrospective tone by starting with "Yesterday Once More," followed by the introductory "We've Only Just Begun." Both songs are in the Carpenters' familiar ballad style, with Richard Carpenter's piano prominent in the mix along with Karen Carpenter's (or Hal Blaine's) drums in the center of the mix, and strings and background vocals (by Karen and Richard) in the back. Gradually, the tempos of the songs increase and other instruments appear, such as the electric guitar solo by Tony Peluso on the fifth track, "Goodbye to Love," the flute by Bob Messenger on the eighth track, "This Masquerade," and the pedal steel guitar by Buddy Emmons on the country-inflected "Top of the World." The sequencing relieves the sameness of Richard Carpenter's arrangements at least somewhat. Of course, the group's real draw remains Karen Carpenter's melancholy alto, which makes even the happier lyrics seem heartbreaking. The 2004 reissue on an SACD hybrid disc adds clarity and increases space between the instruments so that each part can be focused on separately. This is not always an advantage, since it sometimes tends to make music that sounded lush and full in its old, compressed analog form seem surprisingly spare and austere. But Karen Carpenter's vocals benefit from the central attention they receive.