For some the Carpenters music is too polished and the multiple vocal tracks can sound corny. Karen's voice is the savior though. Her deep alto voice is always a pleasure to listen to. They experimented with jazz and rock, especially the guitar solo in Goodby to Love. At that time they had backlash and some people thought it was a slap to their music. Like all good musicians they tired new things even though their fans weren't always appreciative. The songs are as memorable as Beatle tunes as they have a strong melody.

I have been a Carpenters fan from their beginning. I still greatly miss Karen's one of a kind voice and style!

I love the Carpenter's music. However, my CD's both skip, ruining the continuity of the music. Now I'm actually reluctant to buy any more CDs.

There is no understanding girlhood in the early 70's without at least a cursory familiarity of (the) Carpenters. They ruled. And, for me, that was queer. Socialized as a boy, Carpenters were off-limits; I was supposed to get down with Grand Funk Railroad, or something. My Carpenters greatest hits LP was yet one more secret.

In a parallel universe, there was this "mystery group," supposedly the secret synthesizer reunion of the Beatles. Sucker. Really, just Klaatu, lightweight pot pop following the Dark Side of the Oz, or something. Boys did listen to that, including my stoner pals. Long version (LP) and short version (45).

Now meanwhile back in femland, there was the Carpenters' long and short version, too. These two conflicting demographics could not exist within the same timespace. Nope. The illogical association incinerated both careers in a flash. But, me, a secret girl performing, poorly, boyhood, I understood the unity of opposites contained within.

"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft," the Carpenters version, remains one of the proto-postmodernist jukebox achievements of the era. For that reason alone, this CD is essential. Plus, as any normatively gendered person will assure you, "Rainy Days And Mondays" is a capital S standard.

I remember and still adore you.

I love them...karen has a great voice..so sweet...so gentle...so touching...

light up some candles...switch off the lights...and play the cd's

if you are in a hug, then it's better..or even if you are alone these cd's will keep you the best company.

the lyrics are perfect..and this compilation is the best (As a best of)

even if you dont own any of their previous albums, this compilation is all you need! :)

Everything is OK the product arrived promtley and is being saved for a christmas present. Thank you

I am biased towards this CD! This is my era of music and the Carpenters were among my favorites. If you have similar leanings you should not miss this CD.

"Carpenters Gold" includes their greatest hits (the 12 songs on the album "The Singles 1969 - 1973"), the best of their later releases ("Let Me Be the One," "Bless the Beasts and the Children," etc.), a few of their off beat forays ("Sweet, Sweet Smile," "Calling All Occupants of Interplanetary Craft") AND a special treat or two.

Everyone knows about the Carpenters' hits. To this day they are staples on easy listening and 70's music stations. I remember many of the later albums ("Horizons," "Passage," "A Kind of Hush") and am thrilled so many of the best from those releases are included on these two discs. Add a couple of stabs at country music like "Jambalaya" and "Sweet, Sweet Smile" and this album has everything a Carpenters fan could want.

The best thing this album does is give more than it has to give. Beyond all of the above, it includes a couple of previously unreleased songs (at least in the U.S.). One of those is a joyful, beautiful, charming rendition of "The Rainbow Connection." Another is a "work lead" vocal Karen recorded in 1978. Richad completed production of it in 1999, "Leave Yesterday Behind."

The real gold nugget of this CD set is a Barry Manilow hit, "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again." According to the jacket notes "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" was recorded in 1975 for the 'Horizon' album. Dicarded at the time because that album had enough other ballads, Karen's lead vocal was lost until the early 90's. Her "work lead" of this song was orchestrated and mixed, being released in 1994. I had not heard it until I got this CD. Karen's recording is vocally PERFECT. But the recording wasn't perfect. Karen left a ghost of herself after the first chorus. There, in the quiet before the second verse starts you can hear her turn the page, a ruffle of paper. It gives me chills every time I listen to it. The notes also say these are the original words to the song. Barry had some changed for his interpretation.

I'd like to add a plug for JACKET NOTES. These are under appreciated inclusions in CD packaging you just don't get when downloading a song or a CD from the a music store. The one included with this CD is excellent. Richard has written a touching tribute to his sister. His memories become insight to fans.

As I write this iTunes version 7.5 is available for download. The last several iTunes versions allow a higher quality download IF you go to "Preferences>Advanced>Import," you can select a 256 kbps quality in AAC encoding or 196 kbps for MP3 encoding. These are quite a bit larger files than 96 kbps, taking longer to import and more space to store, but it also follows that they will provide better sound. I assume other music software has similar options available. I recommend the higher quality.

Karen Carpenter had a unique voice. It had great depth, resonance and color. But it is her soul that drove that voice to greatness, to the place it occupies in my heart. This CD set captures all of that charm, power and magic. It's well worth the investment. Even if you have never been a fan, you will find the soothing vocals by Karen will move you.

The Carpenters CD came OK and I have already heard many of the hits of 30 years ago. Thanks.

I heard a Carpenters song on the radio one day and decided to look for a CD since I loved their music growing up. It's amazing how much beautiful music they made in such a relatively short period of time. The mastering of this CD is great. The songs sound as fresh as they did back then.

I received these CD's yesterday and put them directly into the CD player. Karen Carpenter may be my alltime favorite vocalist. I was not disappointed. Everything I hoped for and then some.

You try not singing along with Karen on "Close To You" - I challenge you!

Karen Carpenter had a great voice,and here is a big collection of songs from this brother and sister team.To name the best songs from this duo is difficult because there is so many to choose from.But a definite favorite is Top Of The World.I love that tune.
But a song that realy established them was (They Long To Be) Close To You.That song is about their most known song and i love it.There is a great assortment of songs here like We've Only Just Begun.I wont go through all the songs as The Carpenters were consistently good.

"Listen to the melody
'Cause my love is in there hiding
I love you in a place
Where there's no space or time
I love you for my life
You are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and . . .
I was singing this song for you." ~ A Song For You ~ Words & Music by Leon Russell

"Karen and I turned out to be the number one American-born hit makers of the 1970s and to date, with successes in every decade following our debut, our worldwide sales have topped 100 million units. Not too shabby for a pair of siblings from middle-class suburbia, who at first were more interested in listening to music than performing it." ~ Richard Carpenter, Liner Notes - June 2005 ~

Where were you when the Carpenters were so sensational and their songs were hitting the airwaves almost every hour? Where were you when their albums were selling like hotcakes?

Karen's vocal artistry is a pearlescent beauty full of luster, it's almost impossible not to be swept away by it and Richard has the exceptional creativity as a pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. With their extraordinary talents combined, they paved the way to many of their bestselling albums that contain their all-time hit songs. This 2-CD-set, "Carpenters: Gold" is a compilation of their most remarkable recordings - forty of their most-loved songs of all-time. My only concern is why an achingly beautiful song "I Can Dream, Can't I?" is not in this compilation. It would have been perfect if this favorite song of mine is included.

There are so many nice songs from this gold collection but the ones that particularly appeal to me are the following:

Disc One:

"We've Only Just Begun," "This Masquerade," "Superstar," "Rainy Days And Mondays," "Let Me Be The One," "Maybe It's You," "Reason To Believe," It's Going To Take Sometime This Time," There's A Kind Of Hush" "Only Yesterday" and "California Dreamin'."

Disc Two:

"A Song For You," "I Won't Last A Day Without You," "They Long To Be Close To You," "I Just Fall In Love Again," "Ticket To Ride," "Trying To Get The Feeling Again," "Yesterday Once More," "For All We Know" and of course "Merry Christmas Darling."

"Karen's Theme" is also a favorite of mine. It's a charming instrumental piece showcasing not only Mr. Carpenter's piano skills but also his creativity in composing remarkable music. He wrote the opening melody used for the biopic "The Karen Carpenter Story" in 1989, and he completed the melody, arranged and recorded this beautiful piece in late 1996 for his album Richard Carpenter: Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor that was released in March of 1997 by A & M Records.

The above-mentioned songs are so powerful that they can penetrate your ears down to your heart to forever reside in there. They also symbolize an emotion gently and tenderly unfolding like the love growing in your heart.

You will most definitely love these CDs not only for the perfect set of songs but also for its 23-pages CD booklet with self-written Liner Notes by Mr. Carpenter plus the track listing with brief information of each song.

A heartwarming treasure.

Great CD with all the hits! Karen had a wonderful voice and the music is so enjoyable to listen to.

When I listen to music of Carpenters, memory of youth is remembered, and it lets you spend time of supreme bliss with nostalgia.
The reason is because I like music completed by a combination with Paul Williams very much, and they sound through a heart.
I hope that it is loved by many people from now on.

I have always enjoyed the Carpenter's music. It brings back a lot of happy memories and Karen Carpenter had the most beautiful alto voice I have ever heard. The album was everything I hoped it would be and I listen to it all the time. Thank you.

I grew up listening to Karen Carpenter's throaty alto vocals on my parents' favorite "easy listening" station as a young man, so purchasing this album was purely to satisfy my sentimental side. When I first purchased the album and began listening to it, my daughter was only two, and she very much took to "Yesterday Once More," which will forever be known in our household as "the Sha-la-la-la song." Toddlers latch onto melodies and will not let go, as we quickly discovered. My daughter sang the sha-la-la-la song everywhere: in the car, on walks, in the grocery store... One day, she broke out into the verse in our neighborhood Target store, and as if to demonstrate the universality of the Carpenters' appeal, a middle-aged woman approached her and reminisced that "they just don't write music like that anymore, do they?"

No, they don't. This collection puts together all of the favorites that will recall those golden, bell-bottom wearing, bicentennial, Gerald Ford-era years of the mid-seventies when everybody was glad that Watergate and Vietnam were but a bad memory. Some of the tracks resonate better than others today (I didn't copy such tracks as Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft or Bless the Beasts and Children to my iPod), but I can always rely on the Carpenters' sweet but sappy renditions of "There's a Kind of Hush," "Touch Me When We're Dancing," "Yesterday Once More," or "Top of the World" to put me in a mellow, mid-seventies mood. A must-have anthology for anyone who lived through some of the really awful music that dominated the 70s.

I'm a real Carpenters fan. Love Karen's mellow alto voice. Miss her.

Great collection of all their best.

Finally... someone who can put together an anthology. This is the one to buy if you've been trying to get all of your old stuff on 45s and LPs on CDs. I want to thank Richard Carpenter for this compilation job well done. Rest in peace, Karen. I miss your voice.

I throughly enjoyed the Christmas CD I received from Amazon, and I am sure the 35th Anniversary Edition is wonderful as well. BUT when I received the Christmas CD the 35th Anniversary Edition was not included. I e-mailed Customer Service, but have never received a reply. Perhaps you can tell me what I need to do. I was charged for both CD's on my Discover card. Please reply

In or around 1969,Richard Carpenter and his now-deceased sister Karen got a contract with A&M Records. For nine solid years,the pair have had at least one recording on hit parade each year. This is a great collection of easy listening songs in pop form. Many easy listening and adult contemporary radio stations in America and other countries play the Carpenters' recordings. CLOSE TO YOU sounds undoubtedly beautiful. The trumpet heard on the track may be Herb Alpert's(he and Jerry Moss founded the A&M label). TICKET TO RIDE is a Lennon-McCartney classic in a style all the Carpenters' own. From 1973's NOW AND THEN are SING,JAMBALAYA and YESTERDAY ONCE MORE. TOP OF THE WORLD,GOODBYE TO LOVE and SUPERSTAR are OK. I love RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS,a hit from 1971. Karen sings,"Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.". No one could have blamed her,I have to admit. PLEASE MR. POSTMAN was made famous by the Marvelettes in 1961 and later covered by the Beatles,unbelievably. 1977's PASSAGES brought another great song,ALL YOU GET FROM LOVE IS A LOVE SONG. From that same album is the somewhat comical CALLING ALL OCCUPANTS OF INTERPLANETARY CRAFT. From 1981's MADE IN AMERICA,Karen,by this time a married woman,delivers her usual gorgeous vocals on TOUCH ME WHEN WE'RE DANCING,later covered by the country band Alabama. She and her brother also give us another cover of a Marvelettes hit,BEACHWOOD 45789. Sadly,Karen spent her final years battling anorexia and complications from the disease claimed her in April 1983 at age 33. Richard moved on to a solo career which was disappointing compared to the one with his sister. The other songs are great. I dedicate this item to the memory of Karen(1950-1983).

When I was young I'd listen to the radio, waitin' for my favorite songs, When they played I'd sing along, it made me smile.

Those were such happy times and not so long ago, how I wondered where they had gone. But they're back again, just like a long lost friend, all of the songs I loved so well ...

Looking back on all those years gone by, so much has changed ... Those old melodies still sound so good to me as they melt the years away ... all those oldies but goodies! ...

Just like before It's yesterday once more!

Yes, those are some of the lyrics to Yesterday Once More, but they really do summarize, now, how I feel about these oldies but goodies. THIS IS SALVE TO HEAL THE SAVAGE BEAST within us all. I listen to all kinds of heavy music, I'm pretty much an acid-rock electric guitar player, but this is like an ointment for bandaging the many wounds to my melodic senses that my usual listening dishes out (go ahead, laugh it up - if you aren't old enough to have listened to these on the radio back then, you may never get it). I get back on track to being a more melodic/harmonic player by taking breaks with music like this. I ADORE Karen Carpenter, what a delightful, charming and beautiful human being -WOW! There IS a kind of hush (all over the world) when her gorgeous voice floats through the atmosphere. And for double the pleasure, check out the self-harmonizing vocally on most songs here, an unreal and almost too perfect harmony lesson.

Richard was often less in the spotlight than Karen, but he rocks too (and is an impressive keyboardist)! I hear Richard's brilliant musical sense all over these recordings too. Songs like Goodbye to Love are very interestingly arranged and carry a great melody. And check out the many other great musicians: Ron Tutt on Drums in many songs (I have many Jerry Garcia albums with his great playing). Tony Peluso is an excellent guitar player (and also on many songs). Buddy Emmons, Tim May, Joe Osborn, Bob Messenger, Hal Blaine, Tim Weisberg, Tom Scott ... it goes on and on. Well, since this is the most successful American hit-making group (well over 100 million sold, from essay notes), that is understandable so many talented guests participated. And don't forget how many songs Karen herself played drums on. She gives me Reason to Believe!

I know more than half of the songs on the two cds (filled up, with great track notes, interesting comments from Richard, but no lyrics unfortunately) from years back, and it is nice to hear so many more to see how they grow with me (the slight changes to some aren't bothering me). My favorites on here have stuck with me like my love for cherry pie. Calling All Occupants of Interplanetary Craft ... beam into the Carpenters pulsating signal, crank up your space radios, lay back in your most comfy anti-gravity meditation spot ... Enjoy!

This set was released in 2004 and is the best compilation of Carpenters material I have in my collection. All the hits are included as well as material I've never heard before eg. 'Make Believe It's Your First Time', 'I Need To Be In Love', etc. Each and every one of these 40 tunes are gems. This is not a set of cd's to be downloaded because you would miss out on the liner notes and history of each song as told by Richard Carpenter. He seems very proud of the artistry of him and his sister and so he should be. A must have set for Carpenter fans.

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!

Richard Carpenter needs to release an album called Singles 1965-1989...starting with :

Looking For Love
I'll Be Yours
Ticket To Ride
(They Long To Be)Close To You
We've Only Just Begun
For All We Know
Rainy Days And Mondays
Superstar
Hurting Each Other
It's Gonna Take Sometime
Goodbye To Love
Yesterday Once More
Sing
Top Of The World
I Won't Last A Day Without You
Please Mr. Postman
Only Yesterday
Solitaire
There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)
I Need To Be In Love
Goofus
All You Get From Love Is A Love Song
Calling Occupants (Interplantary Craft)
Sweet Sweet Smile
Merry Christmas Darling
The Christmas Song
I Believe You
Touch Me When Were Dancing
Those Good Old Dreams
(Want You) Back In My Life Again
Beechwood 45-789
Make Believe It's Your First Time
Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore
Santa Clause Is Coming To Town
Little Altar Boy
Honululu City Lights
If I Had You (Karen Solo)
Something In Your Eyes (Richard Solo)


This is what should be released as new Greatest Hits. Let's hope it will look like this next time. Because the Carpenters are one of the greatest groups of all time.

This is an excellent collection of the best and most popular music of Karen and Richard Carpenter, otherwise known as (The) Carpenters.

I confess. I'm a closet Carpenters fan and have been since I was an admitted one in the 1970's.

There is something about their sound that seems to grab you, almost regardless of what type of music you most prefer. That was true in the 1970's and is still true 30+ years later.

The death of Karen was sad and tragic and brought an end to the group. Karen had a phenomenal voice. A sweet soothing alto. I've not heard anything like it before or since.

They also had a knack for picking songs from some of the best writers (including but not limited to) Paul Williams, Burt Bacharach and Richard Carpenter himself (who was also an excellent arranger).

All of their big hits are here and then some. I have to agree that I'm somewhat disappointed with Richard's remixing on some of the tunes. It's not that they sound worse, it's just that they are somewhat different.

And it seems a bit odd for half of the group to mess with the original music, when the other half has no say in it......

However, if you're new to the Carpenters, then you're not going to notice. If you are indeed new to their music, I can't recommend this CD enough.

As a dedicated fan I have to say that one of the most glaring flaws is the inclusion of (what I believe is) the single mix of "(They Long to Be) Close to You". The track from the original album is somewhat longer and ends with (for lack of a better term) a fake ending, before "bursting back" into more of the chorus. It doesn't add much time wise to the song, it just makes it even more interesting.

True aficionados might want to purchase the "Close To You" CD as well, in order to get the original album track. Not to mention, the CD as a whole (along with their first 4-5 original albums) is comprised of excellent material in it's own right.

I will say that the remastering of all the material is superb. The whole CD sounds as if it were recorded yesterday.

So despite some flaws, "Gold: 35 Anniversary Edition" is a very good collection of the best of the Carpenters and then some.

Were it not for the unnecessary remixes and the exclusion of the best version of "(They Long to Be) Close to You", I'd give it 5 Stars. Alas, I gave it 4.

I am not an expert on the 'Carpenters' and cannot provide the kind of detailed knowledge about their records that other reviewers can.
I am one of the I suspect many many listeners who simply 'fell' for some of their songs when they heard them. Among those for me are 'Close to You' and 'Yesterday Once More'.
I am also one of those who was saddened at the early passing of Karen Carpenter. She had given so much beauty in music, it is sad to think that she did not have an especially happy adult life.
The 'Carpenters' have a sound all their own. Sometimes when hearing their songs begin I feel a special joy. They kind of lift you up and then hold you there. I think the heart of it was Karen's voice .
Strangely when I hear them now there is also some residual restraint or sadness that the singer whose voice I am hearing is no longer here.

I listened to virtually no post-rock-and-roll pop music until I discovered the Carpenters on a airplane flight. It was love at first listen. I then bought this collection, loved it, and never looked back.

This collection has all Carpenters' major hits (as Richard states in the liner notes, there isn't supposed to be a "the"), such as the number ones 'Close To You', 'Top Of The World' and 'Please, Mr. Postman', and the top tens 'Superstar', 'Yesterday Once More', and, of course, 'We've Only just Begun' and many songs that should have been hits as well, such as 'Let Me Be The One' and 'A Song For You'.

There are many great songs here, some of which I would consider among my all-time favorites, such as 'Goodbye To Love' and my favorite Carpenters song ever, 'Only Yesterday'. They are largely romantic in nature, though some can be interpreted platonically as well, though few besides me would probably want to. In any case, they are also just good songs in any case.

The most obvious strength to the music here is Karen's incredible voice, which has not only incredible range, but a warm, soothing quality as well. This is perfectly complemented by Richard's arrangements and their overdubbed harmonies, both truly beautiful.

These factors combine to create a wonderful sound that has an almost magical effect on me. (I have a low appetite normally, but listening to them often enables me to clean my plate within minutes.)

Carpenters will always have a special meaning to me. I've since explored various kinds of music, but this was where it began.

Many of these songs resonated deeply with me when I first heard them, and, trite as it may sound, gave me a sense of hope. I have some trouble expressing myself, and one of the qualities I look for in songs is whether they describe things I've experienced, or felt, and many of these did, and most of those that aren't are still great to listen to.

This collection covers their entire career from their first recordings ('California Dreamin'') to their very last work ('Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore' and other tracks from the 'Made in America' sessions). I personally would have left off 'Tryin' To Get The Feelin' Again' and included 'Those Good Old Dreams' and 'Now'.

On the negative side, this collection has so much, there may not be much reason to buy the original albums if you haven't already, apart from the remixing issue. Over half of the album 'A Song for You' is here.

And also, because it's so long, I find I rarely have the time to listen to all of it.

And the end of the day however, if you like slow, pretty stuff with a bit of a rock and roll sensibility, and meaningful lyrics, you can't go wrong.

This is the Carpenters finest collection ever released, but there are some open ended questions. Did these songs need added music or did they get it right the first time? Do these songs have to be remixed? The answer to both is "No". This act was never meant to be heard in a souped up sound. The Carperters were never meant to come off like The Miami Sound Machine. They were suburbia-vanilla with wonderful vocal overdubs led by one the greatest pop singers of the century - Karen Carpenter. Richard Carpenter often being given not enough credit for his contribution to the duo goes a bit too far. He would do everybody a favor and release a second version of this collection in original form. If you are a purist music listener and decide to purchase this baby lower your bass to about 1/4 because Karen's vocals at times gets lost. The only other alternative is buy the original albums if you got the bread. What should have been easy became difficult. God bless you Karen Carpenter! You are right there with Barbara Streisand and belong in The Rock Hall Of Fame. Too bad we can't get a collection that finally serves your legacy to the max. Maybe brother Richard will one day figure it out and get off his perfectionist ways.

Karen Carpenter is a gal I think about often. I miss...very much miss what I can only characterize as the purest Alto I have ever heard. I purchased another Carpenters' greatest hits album awhie back, and it somehow went missing. I just purchased this one tonight and I can't wait to hear that sublime, divine, voice once again. Now this isn't to ignore the extraordinary gifts in composition and arranging of Richard. Indeed, some huge names in Music still consider him to be among the best arrangers of all time. This album is very much evidence of that fact. I would recommend this purchase to anyone who simply loves the best-of-the-best. It's all here, including...the purest soul-and-Alto, Karen.

.. but their music still makes me cry. It has such an honest and deep quality in the way it describes life, its pains and worries. And yet, it always projects a positive outlook without being unnecessarily spiritual. I just love them.

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.

Metamorpho, I had the same experience as you. I have trully fallen in love with Karen Carpenter, and it makes me so angry that she is gone. If you really want to have a real love experience with Karen, go to ebay.com and buy a copy of the Carpenters LIVE in Japan, and watch what real talent is all about. Karen and Richard were EXELLENT! and just watch how Karen can really SING LIVE and play drums at the same time and be totally flawless. Who needs all these no talent bimbos like Britney Spears, J-Lo, Jessica and Ashlee Simpson when we can go back and really enjoy a REAL talent like Karen was. Where ever Karen is, God Bless her.

O.K. So Metamorpho was young and naive. What did I know? I mean, that's what life is about, isn't it? Rethinking, relearning? Yes.... way back when they came out with "We've Only Just Begun" and I thought of it as pop fluff. But they had more hits and I thought them as some Ken and Barbie Nixonites! Yuch! Let me tune into Jefferson Airplane instead!
Well people........ I now admit, to the WHOLE WIDE WORLD of the internet that I, wise Metamorpho, was wrong!!!!!! .... O.K. don't rub it in, I'm NOT repeating that. No.
When I finally got smart and decided to greatly branch out and seriously contemplate ALL music, this Karen Carpenter and her voice just absolutely FLOORS ME! So rich, so pure.... omigosh....I could go on and on. The flawless intonation! Ahh... but maturity, I suppose, gets the best of us. I am crying, mourning Karens loss like you wouldn't believe! I am begging forgiveness........I think she will, don't you? But on to this c.d.
There are people out there that can recite you every detail you'll ever need to know about each song. Metamorpho doesn't do this (maybe because he doesn't know everything - but don't let that tidbit stray too far!). I work on a more emotional level and this set is generous - giving you all their glorious hits, "Rainy Days and Mondays", "For All We Know", "We've Only Just Begun", "Hurting Each Other", while including very considerable gems, "Merry Christmas Darling" and "Solitaire". I am appreciating Richard Carpenters arrangements as really fine works. (He did a song with Dusty Springfield. Check out my review. Get enlightened!).
People.... this is just wonderful, relaxing, expertly done music by extremely talented Americans. I am so proud of them. I am just so grateful that I moved from being an angry youth to the humanistic, beloved Seer that I am - moving from ignorance to pure vision. This c.d. is well worth it. A wonderful collection and Karens' pure vocals have serious resonance and digital clarity. I hope you all have good systems to listen to this through. If not, get one you cheap things! Karen is worth it!
Anyway....... Metamorpho gives it 5 stars. But, I'm really getting tired of the rating system and feel the need to create something new. Like a 7 star system! Then one must ask - do we all have to work within boundaries set by some outside mysterious force? Food for thought. But, I will not belabor the point (but save it for another time with Zen puzzles to spare!). Suffice to say-- Carpenters = a real JOY, a very high QUALITY! Stop reading this and go treat yourself. YES.....You deserve it! Metamorpho has spoken. Bye for now.

What can I say that hasn't been said already. Karen's voice and Richard's arrangements. A lot has been said about Richard altering the songs over the years but one thing he never tried to alter, change or replace was Karen's voice. If you were around in the 70's then a lot of this music will bring back memories in a time when rock and metal ruled. Listen to your favourites. Listen to them all and you may discover something new to you. There isn't a bad one among the bunch. Thanks Richard and Karen.