"We’ve Only Just Begun" - Carpenters

need some help, here class....all 3 of the cd's i have
with
the song 'we've only just begun'...'classic', 'gold' and
'singles 69-81' has a pronounced piano tinkle at the 0:39
mark....right during the lyrics 'before the rising sun,
we
fly'......in addition, my vinyl 45 starts off with the
piano intro, panned all the way in the left channel,
while
the cd versions have it centered and maybe a tad to the
right.....so it looks like all three of these cd's should
have the "some instrumentation rerecorded; remixed"
notation next to them.....do any of the cd's in the db,
have the piano tinkle removed and the piano intro panned
to
the left?

Edited by edtop40

About the only sure-fire way to get the single versions is
to get the original A&M or the "Forget Me Nots" reissue
45s.

edtop40 wrote: need some help, here class....all 3 of the cd's i have with the song 'we've only just begun'...'classic', 'gold' and 'singles 69-81' has a pronounced piano tinkle at the 0:39 mark....right during the lyrics 'before the rising sun, we fly'......in addition, my vinyl 45 starts off with the piano intro, panned all the way in the left channel, while the cd versions have it centered and maybe a tad to the right.....so it looks like all three of these cd's should have the "some instrumentation rerecorded; remixed" notation next to them.....do any of the cd's in the db, have the piano tinkle removed and the piano intro panned to the left?

Interesting, Ed... I have the Carpenters Ultimate Collection Holland import 3-CD set (Universal 983584) and I've always been under the impression all the tracks on this compilation consist of the original recordings. However, I just gave a quick listen to "We've Only Just Begun" and while the opening piano is panned hard left like you describe on the vinyl 45, the piano track does abruptly kick in at the :39 mark (it clearly sounds like an edit or tape splice was performed at this point). So you're saying there is no piano track beginning at :39 on the 45, Ed?

ok......paul was kind enough to send me a copy of the song
from his dutch import cd titled 'The Ultimate Collection"
Holland import - Universal 983584'....and good news....it's
the same as the vinyl 45 i have.....i have just sent both
you and brian a copy of the vinyl 45 for your
review.....also...i sent you a copy of the cd version from
'a&m classics v2' which has an extra piano tinkle at the
0:39 mark, very noticeable if you do a headphone A/B side
by side listen......so....the three cd's i have,
'classics', 'gold' and 'singles 69-81' are all the remixed,
additional instrumentation' versions....this should be
noted in the db

I was listening to AT40 on Sirius and heard this song at
# 11. (I could not talk about a countdown show and
exclude the chart position! It had just fallen out of
the Top 10.) I was stunned when the version of the song
that was played was not the 1970 single version, but a
later version featuring that piano flourish that is first
played when Karen sings the "Before the rising sun, we
fly" lyric. I was stunned - I thought Sirius' AT40
programs were authentic and unchanged from when they
first aired. I'm reminded of this when Sirius plays
shortened versions of some songs as Kasem often did.    
(I always found that very annoying back when...and still
do now!) So, did Sirius alter the past or was this piano
flourish version of "Begun" already circulating 51 years
ago? Considering how frequently Richard always tinkered
with their recordings, it wouldn't surprise me if he did
then already.