The Singles: 1974 - 1978 is Not Up To Par
James Koenig | Minnesota | 08/07/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
""The Singles: 1974 - 1978", is the second Carpenter Greatest Hits album. It is a follow-up to the immensely successful "The Singles: 1969-1973".
The songs included on this album were not as big a hits as those on the first album. The Carpenters made a big splash on the music scene in the early 1970's and the creative genius of Richard and Karen Carpenter is clearly evident, as they had a string of phenomenal hits from 1970 to 1975. It is extremely difficult for any group to stay on top of the charts for an extended period of time, and the Carpenters are no exception. Their record sales dropped off in the mid-70's somewhat and their single releases did not top the charts as high as their previous successes. This is not a reflection of the quality of their music, but rather a the fickle nature of fans and the gradual evolution of music.
I cannot honestly recommend this album because the songs here are included on a number of other greatest hits albums that are more complete than this one. Richard Carpenter has released a half-dozen greatest hits compilations and of all the "hits" albums, this one is perhaps the weakest. Instead, I'd recommend the double disk album, "Yesterday Once More", "Carpenters Gold", or better yet, one of their box sets. Most of the songs on this album are on the ones mentioned, but you get much much more as well.
As a lifelong Carpenters fan, I hate to not recommend an album of theirs, but in this case I'd purchase on of the others as mentioned.
Jim "Konedog" Koenig
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A fabulous collection Carpenters' songs from 1974-1978
James Koenig | 03/27/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Singles 1974-1978 will of course have no songs that aren't on previous compilations, however it contains the best hits from "Sweet Sweet Smile" to "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft". The most pleasant surprise is "Can't Smile Without You". This CD contains a slightly different version, with an unheard line in the beginning..."You know I can't smile without you, can't smile without you. I can't laugh and I can't sleep, I don't even talk to people I meet." Karen's vocals throughout are superb. This is definitely worth adding to your Carpenters' collection if you don't already have it!"
Carpenters' second hits collection
DVD buff | Austin, TX USA | 09/17/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album is the follow-up to the hugely successful THE SINGLES: 1969-1973. However, it doesn't have the strength or impact of that first collection. The songs represented here were, for the most part, moderately successful singles ("Please Mr. Postman" is the only one of the bunch that reached #1 on the charts in the U.S.). Interesting to note is the fact that this album was never released in the United States (was A&M Records losing confidence in the Carpenters, or did Karen and Richard have something to do with this decision?).This collection is not as carefully crafted as the first one; THE SINGLES 1969-1973 contained newly-recorded segments which created introductions and segues between some of the songs, and other songs had new vocals recorded or instruments added in a remix to create a "new" sound for some songs. The only thing different about THE SINGLES: 1974-1978 is the inclusion of the single version of "Can't Smile Without You," which has a modified lead vocal (Karen sings some different lyrics at the beginning) and a different instrumental mix. Otherwise, it's just a collection of songs that can be found elsewhere."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1