2004 and Carpenters

[Rick Henry]

2004 so far has been quite a successful year for the Carpenters. By the end of October there wil have been four new Carpenters releases in the U.S. Those are the already released "Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition", and "As Time Goes By" in the next few weeks we will see the release of "Gold (Sound + Vision)" and "Singles 1969-1981" the SACD edition. This is enormous, how many artists do you know release four entries in one year?

Also earlier this year C's reached #101 on billboard's album chart with "Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition". And the video/DVD "Close To You: Remembering The Carpenters" was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Concerning "Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition" I really think if Universal would have put more muscle behind promotion on this disc it most likely would have made the top 40, but promo on this disc was very hap-hazard, regardless it fared well, and will most likely be certifeid gold in the next year or two.

[smoothie2]

;)hi ! Indeed! Carps. are better than: even a good "hair day"
Just Cuz!
Beautiful People
Glad that their music remains popular with the old timers as well as the new timers!
;D

[beaner]

We can all be so proud that chose Karen and Richard as our favorites throughout the years. Their music is the BEST!!!!

[BethMosior]

Thanx ever so much Rick for the information and I whole heartedly agree with you, it really would have gone far higher on the charts if the company cared to push it, well it's the company's loss, I know that I am reallly, really enjoying anything Richard puts out and I can't wait to see what Richard will do next like a Christmas CD YAHOOOOOOOOO and I agree with Smoothie and Beaner also- Karen & Richard are truely the GREATEST :oBRAVO

[Rob813]

Thanks for all the info. Rick. I'm not surprised at the response to all the releases. The Carpenters have real staying power. I wish Universal would promote this material more. Don't they realize how much more money they can make by doing so? I've been listening to the Gold CD and of course it's outstanding. What a treat to listen to all those fabulous songs. I try to figure out why Richard placed them in the order he did - to look for a pattern - which I usually find. Superstar and Rainy Days and Mondays are always paired. I like the placement of the early songs from Close To You included right after Top Of The World. Of course every one of them holds up so well after all these years. Side two begins with Yesterday Once More and is followed by the oldie Please Mr. Postman. All the great ones are in this collection - a total of 40 superb songs!!!

[Mariah Andrews]

I guess any year that the Carpenters release something is always special. The Gold album had 3 new songs, new to us but long and lost to Richard.

Speaking of success, my new novel "Awakening From Broken Dreams" has been submitted to a self-publishing company and will be released very soon. No kidding.

This book does mention the Carpenters in it, as one of the lead character's favorite bands. No, it's not a Karen or Richard fanfic. But the lead character loves the Carps music because her mother used to listen to them all the time when she was alive. After her death, the young child carried on the tradition.