The Carpenters. Studio/Live/Solo/Selected Compilation Albums Poll.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Bobby Morrow, Aug 6, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Again, where are you getting these numbers? Is there a source where others can verify this?
     
  2. NYGiordano

    NYGiordano Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Yes- between 1978-1980: CP sold 500,000+ copies (certified Gold January 1981)
    between 1981-1991: CP sold approximately 500,000 copies
    between 1991-2016: CP sold approximately 2 million copies(Soundscan data).

    Soundscan didn't come into existence until 1991-all album sales since then can be tracked through Soundscan sources.The Christmas Portrait Wikipedia page does confirm these sales figures,also.

    Christmas Portrait has also re-entered the Billboard Top Albums chart several times since the 1980's. Just a few years ago,it did chart as high as #93. It was certified Platinum in 1998.
     
  3. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I don't know if you are deliberately being vague or if this information just isn't available online, but apart from the Wiki page for Christmas Portrait that does have Soundscan era sales figures I couldn't find Soundscan figures for the other albums. So I will ask a third and final time: Do you have a source that you can provide to the rest of us where we can all see the data that shows that Christmas Portrait and Horizon have been outselling all other Carpenters' albums for the past two decades? Or are you an industry insider who has access to this data but cannot share it directly with anyone other than stating what you've read? I searched and couldn't find a way to look up Soundscan sales data online.

    I certainly don't find it difficult to understand that Christmas Portrait would keep selling more copies every holiday season so that eventually it will overtake some other albums sales-wise. But without the use of some song on Horizon in a TV show or movie that might account for a sales spike (and I'm not aware of that happening with any of Horizon's tracks), I just don't see what it is about that album that would have caused it to enjoy more robust sales over the past few decades versus any other Carpenters catalog title. It had a couple of big hits but so did most of their albums (some even more), and if the general public just wanted the hits they probably would have purchased one of the many hits compilations.
     
  4. NYGiordano

    NYGiordano Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    As I stated previously, Christmas Portrait and Christmas Collection are the best-selling studio albums-followed by Close To You and Horizon(in that order). Close To You is moving more copies than Horizon.

    Some of the compilations are doing very well,also-particularly Love Songs,Gold & 40/40. The Singles 1969-1981,Interpretations & 20th Century Masters are good-selling titles.

    I've provided quite a bit of documentation above regarding CP sales figures. If you desire more than that-you will have to do your own research.


    Horizon hasn't had more "robust" sales in recent years-it's always been a steady-seller in the CD era. But,over the years,other albums have dwindled in sales as they got older,whereas Horizon(and Close To You) have remained consistent sellers. This has nothing to do with the number of hits on the album-it's just that, over time,Horizon has become one of Karen's signature albums.
     
    PhantomStranger likes this.
  5. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    So in other words you don't have any evidence.
    These rubbish posts about the Christmas albums are just trying to derail this thread.
     
    Bobby Morrow likes this.
  6. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    Telling it like it is. As always.:laugh:
     
    bob60 likes this.
  7. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I am not going to make any specific political point so I hope this post doesn't get removed, but I guess in the era of "truthiness" and "I made the claim so you should just believe me" I shouldn't be surprised that every time I asked for some supporting evidence I was met with a "because I said so" response.

    It isn't like it really matters. For all I care, Carpenters' biggest seller could change from the original Singles album to Made In America. It isn't going to affect my appreciation of Richard and Karen's music, and it isn't going to change my view about which albums represent Carpenters' peak from an artistic perspective.
     
    fr in sc likes this.
  8. NYGiordano

    NYGiordano Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    The information I provided above (RIAA certifications/Soundscan data/Billboard chart info) is the most solid documentation of sales figures available.

    The Christmas Portrait Wikipedia page contains much of this information.
     
  9. NickCarraway

    NickCarraway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gastonia, NC
    The Dutch 3CD set called "The Ultimate Collection". It has 2CD of the Carpenters, all original versions (no remixes or re-records!) culled from the Remastered Classics series, and a bonus 3rd disc of R&K solo material. This set was reissued (again only in The Netherlands) as "Collected" with a different cover.

    A different version of "The Ultimate Collection" was issued in other countries, but it contains remixes. The way to tell them apart is that the all-originals release contains "Goofus" on the 2nd disc, while the remix version contains "Sandy".

    Ultimate Collection (NL)

    [​IMG]
     
  10. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    The Netherlands does a few of these 3cd greatest hits sets that aren't available anywhere else. I think they are usually called Collected.
     
  11. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    I only own the Singles 69-73.

    I would love an acoustic version of her songs with maybe a bass, piano, and drums with no backup singing, overdubs, etc.....


    I'm sure Richard could do it if he wanted to.
     
    belardd likes this.
  12. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

  13. John Adam

    John Adam An Introvert In Paradise

    Location:
    Hawaii
    Bobby Morrow likes this.
  14. I'm surprised Richard Carpenter didn't try producing other acts. He's one of the few big names from the 1970s to have just disappeared from the business.
     
  15. John Adam

    John Adam An Introvert In Paradise

    Location:
    Hawaii
    He actually did produce a couple others, I think in the later 80's, early 90's. Someone with more knowledge on this, feel free to chime in. We both can learn something! :)
     
  16. NYGiordano

    NYGiordano Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Richard produced albums in the late 80's for two international female pop singers: Veronique Beliveau(Canada) and Akiko Kobayashi(Japan).
     
    PhantomStranger and John Adam like this.
  17. duggan

    duggan Senior Member

    Location:
    sydney
    Everything released up to, and including, 1976.

    Particularly enjoy the Singles 1969 - 1973.
     
  18. NYGiordano

    NYGiordano Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Richard actually wanted to complete one of the outtakes back in the 90's for inclusion on a Carpenters release-I believe it was "Something's Missing". He was going to add the orchestration & mix it. I'm not exactly sure why it didn't materialize-but I don't think he was able to get clearance from A&M to finish it.

    But,an expanded solo album release is something that will probably never happen.
     
    John Adam likes this.
  19. John Adam

    John Adam An Introvert In Paradise

    Location:
    Hawaii
    Thanks, I didn't know that. A friend gave me a CD of the outtakes for my 30th birthday, including "Something's Missing." That is (one) of my favorites.
    Like they say, "I Can Dream, Can't I?"
     
  20. Scott S.

    Scott S. lead singer for the best indie band on earth

    Location:
    Walmartville PA
    This is kind of a questionable idea for a poll. I mean for instance, I have The Singles but am not sure which version. Can I add though, I consider Karen the voice of God.
     
  21. The more and more music I listen to, the more convinced I become that Karen had the sweetest-sounding singing voice of all time.
     
    Scott S. and John Adam like this.
  22. Adkchaz

    Adkchaz Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Oxford, PA
    I only have the blue a & m 25th anniversary cd set and like it.
     
  23. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    Never realised the Gold album was released on SACD last year..

    Does anyone have it? How does it sound?

    [​IMG]
     
    Jarleboy likes this.
  24. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    I bought it half a year ago, along with a Diana Ross "BEST OF". ("ALL THE GREAT HITS".) The Carpenters compilation is the better sounding of the two, I found. The "GOLD" compilation doesn´t sound quite as good as the earlier SACD compilation, which also had a multichannel layer, but it does sound good. I still have the CD version, and the SACD sounds better. It´s not in a different league, but a minor improvement. I think it was worth having, mainly because it includes some tracks not found on the previous SACD.
     
    PhantomStranger and Bobby Morrow like this.
  25. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    Thanks. I didn’t know anything about it. Sadly it’s quite expensive now. It’s a shame that 11 of the 20 tracks are on The Singles 1969-73 comp too...
     
    Jarleboy likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine