Japanese Single Box

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davidgra

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Here are photos of the Japanese Single Box. Review to follow.

boxfront.jpg


Dimensions of box are approximately 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" (slightly larger than a 45 rpm single). The UBI strip is a separate sheet of paper that wraps around the left side of the box and contains pictures of each single sleeve on the back.

boxfront2.jpg

boxback.jpg


The box itself is white with gold printing, blank on the back and numbered on the side.

boxside.jpg


The interior of the box is divided into four chambers, with a stack of 3" CD singles in each compartment.

boxinside1.jpg


Also inside the box is a 56-page booklet. It contains the complete track listing, a handwritten note from Richard Carpenter, notes on every song, and all lyrics. However, only the note from Richard and the lyrics are printed in English. All the notes about each individual song are in Japanese only. There are no photos in the book.

boxcomplete.jpg


David
 
So could this be limited to 100000, (hundred thousand)? since David appears to have 000430.

I'm getting pretty close to wanting this. :)


David, how did iTunes match this up? When I went to import my German Christmas Portrait into iTunes, it really didn't know what it was so it thought it was the Special Edition. :confused:
 
The note on page four of the book is in Richard's handwriting. It is dated October 27, 2006. It says:

"I am delighted that our Japanese affiliate has given their time and effort to releasing this nifty 'Singles Box.' Created in typical, thorough Japanese fashion, the set features not only the original single mixes, but the original single sleeves as well. Terrific!"

It is signed "Richard."

David
 
David, I wish you would have posted all this information in the EXISTING thread about the singles box, which you yourself started. Now we have two threads, each with good information about the same item. Maybe Rudy has a way of combining the two (and then deleting this post)??? All I can do is lock one thread or the other and I hate to do that, since both have good information.
 
Actually, Mike, this follows a trend we've seen with other anticipated releases, with an "On The Way" thread about the pre-release news and hype. Then there's usually an actual, "It's Here" thread with reviews and comments from those who've bought it or are about to.

David, the set looks good, and we're all waiting for more definitive comments on the Santa Claus track. That song, as originally released, had HAECO-CSG processing applied, and it was recorded/mastered very "hot". Perhaps you're hearing these things as "distorted"? Perhaps it was mastered from a 45?

Harry
 
this follows a trend we've seen with other anticipated releases
True, but the other thread contains a lot of post-arrival information too. Oh well, in the big picture it's not a huge deal.

Back on topic: About the Santa Claus track possibly being mastered from a 45.....if that's true, it could explain why it's been such a "Lost Treasure" all these years. Maybe the original master is lost or destroyed and they were able to finally clean up the sound to Richard's satisfaction. I didn't realize the original song had the evil HAECO-CSG applied.
 
Mike Blakesley said:
About the Santa Claus track possibly being mastered from a 45.....if that's true, it could explain why it's been such a "Lost Treasure" all these years. Maybe the original master is lost or destroyed and they were able to finally clean up the sound to Richard's satisfaction. I didn't realize the original song had the evil HAECO-CSG applied.

Yeah - I have the white label promo 45 and it's got the CSG processing on the stereo side and the mono on the flip side. Every year I give each a listen, and every year I swear I prefer the mono, since it doesn't have that phasey, out-of-phase sound to it, particularly with headphones.

Even on the vinyl promo 45, the track always had a bit of distortion, particularly in the loud horns.

Harry
 
Does anyone else think that this box set "cover" looks like it imitates the 12 x 12 cover of From the Top although it is smaller in size. I noticed that right away.

..whose within moments of wanting to order....
 
Except the logo looks like it's black on this box...isn't it gold on FTT? (Don't have mine handy.)
 
Mike Blakesley said:
...David, I wish you would have posted all this information in the EXISTING thread about the Singles Box, which you yourself started... ...Now we have two threads, each with good information about the same item...

_________________ :neutral:inkshield:



Dave
 
Here's the run-down of all the tracks in the first half of the set. "Album version" just means that there is no essential difference between the Japanese single and the original U.S. album releases.

Disc 1:
"Ticket to Ride" -- original 1969 stereo album version, not the mono edit used for the U.S. single
"All I Can Do" -- album version

Disc 2:
"(They Long to Be) Close to You" -- single edit, nearly a minute shorter than album version (this is the version of the song found on most compilation albums)
"I Kept on Loving You" -- single version, with clean opening (unlike album version, which segues from previous song)

Disc 3:
"We've Only Just Begun" -- album version
"I'll Never Fall In Love Again" -- album version

Disc 4:
"For All We Know" -- album version
"Baby It's You" -- album version

Disc 5:
"Rainy Days and Mondays" -- album version
"Saturday" -- album version

Disc 6:
"Superstar" -- album version
"Merry Christmas, Darling" -- original 1970 single version

Disc 7:
"Bless the Beasts and Children" -- version from the movie soundtrack album, NOT the version from A SONG FOR YOU. Has vibes at the beginning of the song, instead of the English horn.
"Help" -- album version

Disc 8:
"Hurting Each Other" -- album version
"Maybe It's You" -- has a clean open, not faded in

Disc 9:
"It's Going to Take Some Time" -- album version
"Flat Baroque" -- album version

Disc 10:
"Goodbye to Love" -- album version
"Crystal Lullaby" -- album version, fades at end (before segue to "Road Ode" on album)

Disc 11:
"Top of the World" -- original 1972 album version (NOT U.S. single version)
"Druscilla Penny" -- album version

Disc 12:
"Sing" -- album version
"I Won't Last a Day Without You" -- album version

Disc 13:
"Yesterday Once More" -- U.S. single version (this is the version of the song that appeared everywhere except on the original album release)
"Road Ode" -- album version, fades in at the beginning and fades out at the end

Disc 14:
"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" -- album version
"Heather" -- album version

Disc 15:
"Top of the World" -- 1973 version (U.S. single)
"Druscilla Penny" -- album version

Disc 16:
"I Won't Last a Day Without You" -- album version
"One Love" -- album version

Disc 17:
"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" -- original 1974 single version
"Merry Christmas, Darling" -- original single version

As to the discussion of the sound quality on "Santa Claus," there is distortion present in several places, where the brass and backing vocals get the loudest. It has the sound of a record that was mastered too "hot." There is also a little distortion in a few places where Karen says the letter "S," which makes it sound very much like this CD was made from a 45 rpm single, rather than from a master tape.

A number of years ago I transferred a vinyl record version of this song to CD -- it was an LP called HENRY MANCINI SELECTS GREAT SONGS OF CHRISTMAS, and it contained the original stereo version of the song. There is less distortion on that version of the song than there is on this new CD version.

While this new CD version is free of pops and clicks, I think it must have been mastered from a mint-condition 45.

Other than that, all the tracks in this half of the collection sound quite good. Most sound almost as good as the "Remastered Classics" versions, in fact.

David
 
I have a very clean 45 of Santa Claus the Stereo side containing that Haeco CSG Processing (I do understand what you are talking about David with your description), I'm kinda bummed out about that too. The Mono side of my 45 is clean no Haeco, I think the Mono side of this song is possibly the best sounding of the original I have with very little noise normally associated with 45's. I wonder why they just couldn't use the Mono version.
 
yesstiles said:
So, we're not getting the single version of "I Won't Last A Day Without You?"

What's the deal with that? :confused:

It's possible that the Japanese single release featured the album version, I suppose. Gee, your handle looks vaguely familiar...

Welcome to the A&M Corner!

Harry
 
OK guys. Here's the run-down of the second half of the set. There were no huge surprises here, except a revelation about the use of "singles" masters, which I'll get to after the listing.

Disc 18:
"Please Mr. Postman" -- original single mix, only released on CD on UK version of YESTERDAY ONCE MORE, otherwise unavailable on CD
"This Masquerade" -- album version

Disc 19:
"Only Yesterday" -- single edit, fade starts just after key change, about 23 seconds shorter than album version
"Happy" -- album version

Disc 20:
"Solitaire" -- single mix, previously only available on CD on GOLD (U.S. version)
"Love Me for What I Am" -- album version

Disc 21:
"There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" -- album version
"(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You" -- album version

Disc 22:
"I Need to Be In Love" -- single edit, missing solo piano at intro
"Sandy" -- album version

Disc 23:
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" -- album version
"I Have You" -- album version

Disc 24:
"All You Get from Love is a Love Song" -- album version
"Eve" -- album version

Disc 25:
"Sweet, Sweet Smile" -- album version
"Can't Smile Without You" -- single version

Disc 26:
"The Christmas Song" -- single version, clean start (unlike album version, which segues from "Santa Claus")
"Merry Christmas, Darling" -- original 1970 single version

Disc 27:
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" -- single edit, significantly shortened from album version
"Mr. Guder" -- album version

Disc 28:
"Silent Night" -- album version
"Jingle Bells" -- album version
"Ave Maria" -- album version from the CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT special edition, 1984 remix with choir

Disc 29:
"I Believe You" -- album version
"B'wana She No Home" -- album version

Disc 30:
"Beechwood 4-5789" -- album version
"Because We Are In Love (The Wedding Song)" -- album version

Disc 31:
"Those Good Old Dreams" -- single version (the synthesizer riff at the end is very much buried in the mix, as on the U.S. single and subsequent CD versions of the album)
"I Just Fall In Love Again" -- album version

Disc 32:
"Make Believe It's Your First Time" -- single mix (no spoken part during intro)
"Look to Your Dreams" -- album version

Disc 33:
"Honolulu City Lights" -- album version
"When You've Got What It Takes" -- clean opening (no segue from previous song as on album)

*****

Now for the realization I made while listening. I kept feeling like some of the songs sounded EXACTLY like the "Remastered Classics" versions. It made me think that, perhaps, not all of these new CDs were mastered from the Japanese single masters. In cases where the single mix was exactly the same as the album mix, perhaps they used the LP master (in the event the single master was lost, damaged or just sonically inferior).

The problem is that the single containing "Silent Night," "Jingle Bells" and "Ave Maria" was released in 1978. The mix on this CD is very obviously the 1984 version, since the choir backs Karen here. This means that the ORIGINAL single master could not have been used, simply because the choir had not been recorded in 1978.

That got me to wondering how many other of the tracks were made from inauthentic masters. Not that it really matters, if the album version of the song was used for the single, but it would be interesting to know which tracks here were REALLY made from the single masters.

My next message will contain a summary of the facts I consider significant about this set.

David
 
Here's my summary of what is significant about this set:

"I Kept on Loving You" -- single version with clean start, never before issued on CD.

"Bless the Beasts and Children" -- original movie soundtrack version of the song, never before issued on CD.

"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" -- original single version, never before issued on CD.

"Please Mr. Postman" -- single mix, only issued on CD once before on an impossible-to-find compilation.

"Solitaire" -- single mix, only available on one other CD compilation.

"The Christmas Song" -- single version with a clean start (rarely found on compilation CDs)

"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" -- single edit, nearly three minutes shorter than album version, never before issued on CD.

"Make Believe It's Your First Time" -- single version, without Karen's spoken part during the intro, almost never found on CD.

"When You've Got What It Takes" -- single version with a clean start, rarely found on CD compilations.

It's unfortunate that this set is missing one of the most significant singles in the "never-issued-on-CD" category: the U.S. "Ticket to Ride"/"Your Wonderful Parade" single on which both songs differ greatly from their album counterparts. But this single was not issued in Japan, so it doesn't belong in this set.

Also unfortunate is a lack of a really good master for "Santa Claus." With that exception, though, the rest of the set sounds quite good.

The third unfortunate aspect of the set is the remixed version of "Ave Maria." Having the original mix of the song here would make it accessible on CD for the first time since the German CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT release of the early '80s.

So there are good things about the set, and some imperfect things about the set. Is it worth spending $250 for a few new-to-CD mixes? Hard to say. I'm glad I bought it. I wish it had been a normal 5" CD set on three discs, with all the artwork collected into a nice book, but I'll take it any way I can get it...

David
 
David, On the single of "Look to Your Dreams" could you address if that has the piano tag added from Richard or is it like the US single that is shortened with no piano tag. Could you clarify that ending for me. I have the US 45 and it does NOT have the tag piano ending.

If if does NOT have the tag ending then....isn't this the first time on CD?
 
As for "Look to Your Dreams," I didn't really say much about it because it's the complete album version of the song, not the edited single version.

I guess the real truths here could be compiled by someone who has all the original Japanese 45s, and who could compare and contrast them with the CD versions of the singles. This way we could find out if "Look to Your Dreams" is supposed to have the piano tag at the end or not.

I don't have many Japanese 45s, so I can't undertake that project.

Covering a question someone else had, "I Won't Last a Day Without You" is virtually identical to the "Remastered Classics" version of the song -- same tape speed/pitch and everything. Even though the song appears on two different singles in the set, the recordings are identical. The same goes for the three "Merry Christmas, Darling" singles -- all identical.

We need to get Richard interested in releasing some sort of U.S. equivalent to this set -- but, in addition to including ALL the original single mixes, it needs a track-by-track commentary from Richard describing what (if any) changes were made for the single mixes.

(As a side note, I've been working on adding all the U.S. commercially-released singles to my discography, along with descriptions of any differences found on the singles. It's a slow process, but I've got most of the records and sleeves scanned in and I'm in the process of assembling the information into a usable format.)

David
 
David, your list of "significant" items in the set was enough, even at first, to convince me to go ahead and order the set. That, and Yuka's email urging people to make up their minds as the set is already hard to find, being such a limited edition. Even CD Japan, from where I ordered, listed the item as low stock availability, so I also urge anyone on the fence about this to pull the trigger and get it if you think there's a slight chance you'll want this some day.

I was initially of mixed feelings about the set, since I have no recollection of the Japanese singles and their covers, since I never had any of them. Yet, now that I see them pictured, there are enough similarities with US releases to make this set more worthwhile than not. I think the clincher for me might have been, "I Kept on Lovin' You" with a clean open. That's always been a favorite, and though I have the 45, that great Roger Nichols song deserves to stand on its own. And of course "Santa Claus..." finally making its first CD appearance as far as I'm concerned. That remake always bothered me.

The other thing that held me back was the three-inch CD aspect. It'll make the set a curiosity for sure, and will also make it difficult to access the tracks. I, like you, would be happier with a couple of CDs full of tracks, and with the ease of making one's own discs, that's probably what most of us who get the set will do - transfer the tracks to a CD-R or two.

Glad to hear you're working on adding the singles to your discography. As things stand now, yours is about the most respected one out there on the Web, and I for one, appreciate the work. (P.S. Are you going to add that recent British version of THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION?)

Harry
 
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