Carpenters The Singles 1969-1981 in Multichannel SACD

[soundboy]

Is this the only surround SACD from The Carpenters? I heard that it will be re released in 2016 but found nothing yet.

Yes. And the master tapes to this particular multi-channel mix on the SACD was destroyed in a fire at the Universal Music vault. This bit of information was revealed by Richard Carpenter in an interview that was available online about 3 years ago. So the multi-channel SACD is as close as you can get to the now-gone master tapes of this release.

 

[soundboy]

And to think that a scant few years ago, Columbia House was selling this and many other Universal/Columbia SACD titles for $6 when they had their frequent sales.

Yourmusic.com, the successor to the BMG Music Service, had it on a regular basis for $5.99.

I ordered an extra copy just in case. Still factory sealed. If only I can find it.

 

[GOS]

Yourmusic.com, the successor to the BMG Music Service, had it on a regular basis for $5.99.

I ordered an extra copy just in case. Still factory sealed. If only I can find it.

I'll double your profit. I'll buy it from you for $12!!

 

[4-earredwonder]

I'll double your profit. I'll buy it from you for $12!!

The last of the big spenders.:violin

Yourmusic.com had all the Dylan SACD digipaks, Layla, the Elton Johns SACDs, etc, etc for $5.99. IF only they existed today.:banana:

 

[soundboy]

I mentioned earlier in this thread that there was an online Richard Carpenter interview in which he revealed that the master tapes to the multi-channel mix of the Carpenters SACD was destroyed in a fire. The interview is still gone, but the below thread at the Steve Hoffman Forum will give you some insights to the Carpenters SACD....

http://www.forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/richard-carpenter-interview.340781/

 

[soundboy]

I'll double your profit. I'll buy it from you for $12!!

If I remember correctly, instead of a Super Audio Jewel Case, the your music.com version of the Carpenters SACD came in a regular jewel case.

It's in here somewhere....

Inside this climate-controlled public storage unit....

 

[soundboy]

In the "Multi-Channel SACD" section of the forum, in the Carpenters SACD thread, I mentioned about a fire at the Universal Music vault that ultimately destroyed many master tapes.

Another fire in 1996, at the Garley Building in Hong Kong, also rumored to have destroyed the master tape vault of then-PolyGram Records (later to be HK Universal Music). HK PolyGram occupied 3 floor of the building, one of which was its recording studio, "Dragon Studio". The company has since rebuild in another location and now operates an all-digital recording facility.

What is the deal with master tape vaults and fires?

Here is a TV news report regarding the fire....

[video=youtube_share;Hm9V5CVVJkE]https://youtu.be/Hm9V5CVVJkE[/video]

 

[GOS]

Wow!!

 

[John Svensson]

Fort Knox

 

[mlrocker]

immediately insurance scam comes to mind...

 

[Old Quad Guy]

This comes from a fan website for The Carpenters. The information is old. And possibly before the Universal Studies fire.
If you click on SACD from this page:

Carpenters Fans Ask-Richard Answers Archive

Carpenters Fans questions answered by Richard Carpenter

www.richardandkarencarpenter.com

Richard Carpenter answers fans questions. He was very generous to answer all the questions that were asked. Fascinating information from awhile back.
_______________________________

Question:
Having recently re-mixed ‘The Singles 1969-1981’ for SACD/DVD-Audio release, was there anything about the process which surprised you?”

Answer:
"Not really; it all seemed as natural as mixing in stereo."

Question:
Will the new surround mixes use the original instrumentation, or will some of the later re-recorded instrumentation be used?

Answer:
"Both, depending on the particular track."

Question:
Is Richard considering using recordings used for the Quad mixes from some 30 years ago on the new SACDs? Fans would simply eat that up.

Answer:
"No, no, no, no. Quad was a dubious experiment, and Karen & I were on the road and had no time to oversee the quadraphonic mixes ourselves. An A&M staff engineer - not Ray Gerhardt - did the remixes and I was anything but happy with them. Technology has come light years and I can guarantee the 5.1 remixes will be far superior to the Quad."

Question:
Just wondering if there is any likelihood of another 5.1 release as there are so many more Carpenters songs that would be great to hear in surround, ie, "Those Gold Old Dreams" & "Let Me Be The One".

Answer:
“There are currently no plans for additional SACDs. The record company is the one to decide if the format is economically worthy to produce another.”
______________________________

So, anyway, we have to remember that these Q & A most likely came around the release of the SACD and before the Universal studios fire. It’s also possible he might reconsider the matter. The original multitrack tapes allegedly burned up in the fire. And we don’t know if The Carpenters Quad tapes still exists.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Sadly, Old Quad Guy, this came from an interview with Richard Carpenter in 2009 after the fire:

Master tapes destroyed by fire ?* | A&M Corner Forums​

HTTPSforum.amcorner.com/threads/master-tapes-destroyed-by-fire.9655
Jun 24, 2009 · According to Record Collector's Magazine 2009 7 (published on June 15), Carpenters master tapes were destroyed by fire at Universal Studio. Richard said that most master tapes were lost!

This comes from a fan website for The Carpenters. The information is old. And possibly before the Universal Studies fire.
If you click on SACD from this page:

Carpenters Fans Ask-Richard Answers Archive

Carpenters Fans questions answered by Richard Carpenter

www.richardandkarencarpenter.com

Richard Carpenter answers fans questions. He was very generous to answer all the questions that were asked. Fascinating information from awhile back.
_______________________________

Question:
Having recently re-mixed ‘The Singles 1969-1981’ for SACD/DVD-Audio release, was there anything about the process which surprised you?”

Answer:
"Not really; it all seemed as natural as mixing in stereo."

Question:
Will the new surround mixes use the original instrumentation, or will some of the later re-recorded instrumentation be used?

Answer:
"Both, depending on the particular track."

Question:
Is Richard considering using recordings used for the Quad mixes from some 30 years ago on the new SACDs? Fans would simply eat that up.

Answer:
"No, no, no, no. Quad was a dubious experiment, and Karen & I were on the road and had no time to oversee the quadraphonic mixes ourselves. An A&M staff engineer - not Ray Gerhardt - did the remixes and I was anything but happy with them. Technology has come light years and I can guarantee the 5.1 remixes will be far superior to the Quad."

Question:
Just wondering if there is any likelihood of another 5.1 release as there are so many more Carpenters songs that would be great to hear in surround, ie, "Those Gold Old Dreams" & "Let Me Be The One".

Answer:
“There are currently no plans for additional SACDs. The record company is the one to decide if the format is economically worthy to produce another.”
______________________________

So, anyway, we have to remember that these Q & A most likely came around the release of the SACD and before the Universal studios fire. It’s also possible he might reconsider the matter. The original multitrack tapes allegedly burned up in the fire. And we don’t know if The Carpenters Quad tapes still exists.

 

[Old Quad Guy]

It’s possible that there are Quad dubs in a vault in Japan or Europe. And although it’s a real bummer that the master multitracks are gone, it is possible to extract tracks from stereo and even mono now. But in any event, there would have to be interest and sign offs for anything to happen.

FWIW, I found this interview with Richard Carpenter from Sacramento Public Radio. It’s about 38 minutes long. And includes a transcription. No mention about surround or lost tapes, but the writing and recording process was discussed:

Richard Carpenter and his sister, Karen, made up the '70s pop duo the Carpenters. Dec. 5, public television begins airing Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters. Originally broadcast Nov. 25, 2009.

Richard Carpenter Weighs In On How To Craft The Perfect Pop Song

Richard Carpenter and his sister, Karen, made up the '70s pop duo the Carpenters. Dec. 5, public television begins airing <em>Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters.</em> <em>Originally broadcast Nov. 25, 2009. </em>

www.capradio.org

 

[jaybird100]

In the "Multi-Channel SACD" section of the forum, in the Carpenters SACD thread, I mentioned about a fire at the Universal Music vault that ultimately destroyed many master tapes.

Another fire in 1996, at the Garley Building in Hong Kong, also rumored to have destroyed the master tape vault of then-PolyGram Records (later to be HK Universal Music). HK PolyGram occupied 3 floor of the building, one of which was its recording studio, "Dragon Studio". The company has since rebuild in another location and now operates an all-digital recording facility.

What is the deal with master tape vaults and fires?

Here is a TV news report regarding the fire....

[video=youtube_share;Hm9V5CVVJkE]

Has anybody thought about the chance there are copies of those master tapes in Europe, used for the releases in those countries? Or how about Japan? Everything I've seen, regarding the UMG fires, haven't mentioned anything about tapes possibly stored in those locations.