UMe1970s pop legends The Carpenters are the latest artists to have their classic music augmented with newly recorded symphonic arrangements performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a new album.
Carpenters with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a 18-track collection that will be released on CD and digitally on December 7, and as a two-LP 180-gram vinyl set on February 8, 2019.
Original Carpenters keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, backing singer and producer Richard Carpenter created and conducted the new orchestral arrangements at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios, which were combined with existing instrumentation and the late Karen Carpenter‘s original vocals.
Among the group’s memorable hits enhanced for the new project are “Yesterday Once More,” “Hurting Each Other,” “For All We Know,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” “Superstar,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “Top of the World,” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.”
Reflecting on having the chance to revisit his group’s famous tunes, Richard says, “There have been more than a few times when I have thought, ‘I wish I could have a second crack at that’…And there were places where things could be augmented without overdoing it. That’s the trick.”
He adds, “These refreshed tracks more than ever showcase Karen’s remarkable voice…And that to me was reason number one for undertaking the project.”
Carpenters with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is available for pre-order now. Purchase the album online and you’ll receive three of the tracks as instant downloads — “Yesterday Once More,” “Merry Christmas, Darling,” and the group’s cover of The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride.”
Check out a behind-the-scenes video about the project at The Carpenters’ official VEVO YouTube channel.
Here’s the album’s full track list:
“Overture”
“Yesterday Once More”
“Hurting Each Other”
“I Need to Be In Love”
“For All We Know”
“Touch Me When We’re Dancing”
“I Believe You”
“I Just Fall In Love Again”
“Merry Christmas, Darling”
“Baby It’s You”
“(They Long to Be) Close to You”
“Superstar”
“Rainy Days and Mondays”
“This Masquerade”
“Ticket to Ride”
“Goodbye to Love”
“Top of the World”
“We’ve Only Just Begun”
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