"Superstar" - Carpenters

EdisonLite wrote: Re: "Please Mr. Postman" <(the original 45 mixes of Please Mr. Postman and Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft are also MIA on CD).> I don't think this has ever been mention before, or even in Pat's book -- there's a 45 mix of "Please Mr. Postman"??? And only the "LP version" and re-mixes have made it to CD? Is this true?

The 45 mix of Please Mr. Postman probably doesn't qualify as a "45 version" under Pat's criteria due to the fact that it sounds like just a rebalancing of instruments & vocals, with no unique instrument or vocal elements on the 45. However, you can definitely tell a difference in the mix. The 45 mix has a more "lo-fi" sound than the LP mix.

BTW, those 90's Time/Lifes are DEFINITELY bogus - I got 'em when they first came out, (futilly) hoping. As for the new 3-CD import, it has just arrived. MOSTLY good news. Richard's tinkering is gone. The only REAL clunker is on "Yesterday Once More", where essential and original mix guitar parts are MISSING. I never recall hearing it like that, but I don't have that original LP, so it could still possibly be the original LPv, but I doubt it; it DEFINITELY isn't the 45v, though. And, predictably, the LP, not the 45 versions, for "Ticket To Ride", "Top Of The World" and "Calling Occupants" are used. However, I am THRILLED to report that my 3 top "original version wants", "We've Only Just Begun", "Superstar" and "Goodbye To Love", have been "De-Richard-remixed". I believe both the LP and 45 versions for those 3 songs were the same. Also, "I Won't Last A Day Without You", "Hurting Each Other", "For All We Know", "It's Going To Take Some Time", and "Close To You" are the correct originals, although I'd previously gotten those on CD correctly. I haven't yet listened to from "Please Mr. Postman" on with a critical ear yet (I'm sure the LP mix on that one, a current Board topic, will be on the new Import), but the aforementioned songs were the ones Richard did most of his "embellishing" damage on. So, at long last, I have now finally gained a little personal confidence to some prior thread statements that this "latest" round of "Carpenters Remasters" may actually, FINALLY be the CORRECT original album mixes. If buying, however, you may wanna check the "Born On" date for the CDs. 2005/2006 - you're probably OK. 1990s "Carpenters Remasters" - buyer beware.   

Sorting through the mess that has been created with the various remixes issued on CD over the years has perplexed me.

Armed with a copy of the original A&M 45 of Superstar that I recently acquired, along with the original "Carpenters" vinyl LP and the "Remastered Classics" CD (A&M 828393502), here is my assessment as it relates to those specific products:
- The mix of Superstar on the original Carpenters LP and the Remastered Classics CD is the same. They both contain the light high hat tapping from :14 to :20.
- The 45 mix of Superstar is different than the original LP mix; no high hat at :14.

So, the 45 version of Superstar is a different mix than the original LP version. Simple enough. My open questions are:
- Does the Remastered Classics of Singles 69-73 contain the original 45 mix, LP mix, or a new mix altogether?
- Which mix is on the recent 3-disc import (45 mix with no high hat or the LP mix)?

Well, if Roscoe and David want to email me their respective 45 dubs of Superstar, I'll see what I can hear. Maybe there were two different 45 versions. My email addresss is superbu1 at yahoo.

my commercial 45 for the carpenters song 'superstar' issued
as a&m 1289 lists a run time on the label as 3:49 and does
indeed run that length...and matches perfectly the version
on the japanese box set....this 45 run time s/b added to
the db.....as many of the remix versions run short