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	Singular Recordings by Dan Those old melodies still sound so good to me Singles, much more than albums, were the must have for teenage pop-music buyers back in the Seventies. Like the premium MP3 song downloads of today, you could collect all the latest top tunes and play just those. If you were a fan of any bands and singers, you also bought their albums. On bulk, however, the individual tune was and is the best buy for the teenage buck.       The transition from vinyl to digital format during the late Eighties left many of the earlier tunes unplayable, as most people were replacing their turntables with Compact Disc players. Although many recording artists transferred much of their catalogues to the new format, some did not. Those who did usually remixed or tweaked their original recordings so that the music did not necessarily sound exactly the way listeners remember first hearing it on either their radios or former stereos.       Thankfully, the original vinyl records are available in a variety of places, including specialty music stores, flea markets, and online. Turntables are now even being added to portable stereo systems as well. The generation who bought, played, and eventually tossed out these records in their youth are collecting them today, mainly in an effort to recapture those remembered sounds. Some are burning them onto blank CDs then putting the vinyl and its vintage jacket or sleeve inside a clear-plastic protective cover. This way they can both enjoy and preserve "all the songs (they) loved so well."       Carpenters recordings exemplify this phenomena. The duo's pianist, arranger, composer, conductor, co-founder, producer, and everything else most important, is also inventor of its famous sound. Richard Carpenter's adaptation of the multi-track overdubbing technique pioneered by Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford in the early Fifties, made him and his sister Karen sound like a full chorus. His later remixing of that sound in the digital era has become legendary among the siblings' fans. While generally regarded as new and improved, many fans preferred the mixes they remember from their vinyl albums and singles. Consequently, in 1998, Richard Carpenter released those original mixes on the Remastered Classics series of Carpenters CDs, giving all fans a chance to hear for the first time in this format the same sounds older ones heard when they listened to them on their turntables.       Although Carpenters fans now have on CD the same sounds found on the duo's vinyl albums, this is not the case for all their vinyl singles. Until Richard Carpenter releases the latter's mixes on, say, an original-singles compilation, fans still must return to those 45-RPM records to find the same Carpenters sounds first heard on radio during the Seventies and early Eighties.       During Karen Carpenter's lifetime, A&M Records released thirty such singles in the United States. Ten not only charted in the Top Three but went Gold (one million copies sold), among which were their three Number One hits. Below are each single's known issue (or catalogue) number, release date, and A- and B-side song titles, matrix numbers, and associated albums: 1142 (Oct. 1969) Ticket To Ride  1882 Ticket To Ride *  SP-4205 (Nov. 15, 1969) Your Wonderful Parade  1883? Ticket To Ride *  SP-4205 (Nov. 15, 1969) 1183 (May 15, 1970) (They Long To Be) Close To You  1962 Close To You   SP-4271 (Aug. 28, 1970) I Kept On Loving You  1961 Close To You   SP-4271 (Aug. 28, 1970) 1217 (Aug. 1970) We've Only Just Begun  2028 Close To You   SP-4271 (Aug. 28, 1970) All Of My Life  2029 Ticket To Ride *  SP-4205 (Nov. 15, 1969) 1236 (Nov. 20, 1970) Merry Christmas, Darling  CSG 2068 -- Mr. Guder  CSG 2069 Close To You   SP-4271 (Aug. 28, 1970) 1243 (Jan. 1971) For All We Know  2085 Carpenters   SP-3502 (May 13, 1971) Don't Be Afraid  2086 Ticket To Ride *  SP-4205 (Nov. 15, 1969) 1260 (Apr. 1971) Rainy Days And Mondays  2120 Carpenters   SP-3502 (May 13, 1971) Saturday  2121 Carpenters   SP-3502 (May 13, 1971) 1289 (Aug. 12, 1971) Superstar  2179 Carpenters   SP-3502 (May 13, 1971) Bless The Beasts And Children  2180 Bless The Beasts and Children (soundtrack)  SP-4322 (Aug.? 1971), A Song For You   SP-3511 (June 13, 1972) 1322 (Dec. 17, 1971) Hurting Each Other  2244 A Song For You   SP-3511 (June 13, 1972) Maybe It's You  2245 Close To You   SP-4271 (Aug. 28, 1970) 1351 (Mar. 1972) It's Going To Take Some Time  2300 A Song For You   SP-3511 (June 13, 1972) Flat Baroque  2301 A Song For You   SP-3511 (June 13, 1972) 1367 (June 1972) Goodbye To Love  2331 A Song For You   SP-3511 (June 13, 1972) Crystal Lullaby  2332 A Song For You   SP-3511 (June 13, 1972) 1413 (Jan. 1973) Sing  2425 Now & Then   SP-3519 (May 9, 1973) Druscilla Penny  2426 Carpenters   SP-3502 (May 13, 1971) 1446 (May 1973) Yesterday Once More  2493 Now & Then   SP-3519 (May 9, 1973) Road Ode  2494 A Song For You   SP-3511 (June 13, 1972) 1468 (Sep. 1973) Top Of The World  2538 The Singles 1969-1973 **  SP-3601 (Nov. 1, 1973) Heather  2539 Now & Then   SP-3519 (May 9, 1973) 1521 (Mar. 1974) I Won't Last A Day Without You  2641 A Song For You   SP-3511 (June 13, 1972) One Love  2642 Carpenters   SP-3502 (May 13, 1971) 1646 (Oct. 1974) Please Mr. Postman  11689 Horizon   SP-4530 (June 6, 1975) This Masquerade  11690 Now & Then   SP-3519 (May 9, 1973) 1648 (Nov. 1974) Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town  11693 -- Merry Christmas, Darling  2068 -- 1677 (Feb. 1975) Only Yesterday  11749 Horizon   SP-4530 (June 6, 1975) Happy  11750 Horizon   SP-4530 (June 6, 1975) 1721 (July 18, 1975) Solitaire  11840 Horizon   SP-4530 (June 6, 1975) Love Me For What I Am  11841 Horizon   SP-4530 (June 6, 1975) 1800 (Feb. 12, 1976) There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)  11998 A Kind Of Hush   SP-4581 (June 11, 1976) (I'm Caught Between) Goodbye And I Love You  11999 Horizon   SP-4530 (June 6, 1975) 1828 (May 21, 1976) I Need To Be In Love  12054 A Kind Of Hush   SP-4581 (June 11, 1976) Sandy  12055? A Kind Of Hush   SP-4581 (June 11, 1976) 1859 (Aug. 1976) Goofus  12108 A Kind Of Hush   SP-4581 (June 11, 1976) Boat To Sail  12109 A Kind Of Hush   SP-4581 (June 11, 1976) 1940 (May 2, 1977) All You Get From Love Is A Love Song  12xxx? Passage   SP-4703 (Sep. 23, 1977) I Have You  12xxx? A Kind Of Hush   SP-4581 (June 11, 1976) 1978 (Sep. 9, 1977) Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft  EDITED VERSION 12335 Passage   SP-4703 (Sep. 23, 1977) Can't Smile Without You  12338 A Kind Of Hush   SP-4581 (June 11, 1976) 1991 (Nov.? 1977) Christmas Song  12357 Carpenters' Christmas TV Special ABC (Dec. 9, 1977) Merry Christmas, Darling  2068 -- 2008 (Jan. 1978) Sweet, Sweet Smile  12389 Passage   SP-4703 (Sep. 23, 1977) I Have You  12261 A Kind Of Hush   SP-4581 (June 11, 1976) 2097 (Oct. 20, 1978) I Believe You  12556 Made In America †  SP-3723 (June 9, 1981) B'wana, She No Home  12557? Passage   SP-4703 (Sep. 23, 1977) 2344 (May 1981) Touch Me When We're Dancing  02344-A? Made In America   SP-3723 (June 9, 1981) Beacuse We Are In Love (The Wedding Song)  02344-B? Made In America   SP-3723 (June 9, 1981) 2370 (Sep. 1, 1981) (Want You) Back In My Life Again  02370-A Made In America   SP-3723 (June 9, 1981) Somebody's Been Lyin'  02370-B Made In America   SP-3723 (June 9, 1981) 2386 (Nov. 1981) Those Good Old Dreams  02386-A Made In America   SP-3723 (June 9, 1981) When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)  02386-B Made In America   SP-3723 (June 9, 1981) 2405 (Mar. 2, 1982) Beechwood 4-5789  02405-A Made In America   SP-3723 (June 9, 1981) Two Sides  02405-B Passage   SP-4703 (Sep. 23, 1977) * originally entitled Offering. ** re-recorded version; original version on A Song For You. † originally intended for a planned 1978 or 1979 album.       Several more singles were released after Karen's death, including "Make Believe It's Your First Time" backed with "Look to Your Dreams" (Oct. 17, 1983), "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore" b/w "Sailing On The Tide" (Jan. 31, 1984), and "Honolulu City Lights" b/w "I Just Fall In Love Again" (1986).       Eventually, however, practically all recording artists abandoned the vinyl format, releasing their new material exclusively on CD. Reissues of pre-digital material started then appearing in only the new format also. While the latter efforts are by no means complete, we are well on our way to seeing most if not all of the best sounds ever spun under a needle lit up again, this time by a focused laser beam.       sources:       Yesterday Once More (Richard Carpenter/ John Bettis) Almo Music Corp./ Hammer and Nails Music (ASCAP).       "Discographical & Programmatical Information," Musical, The Karen Carpenter Remembrance Page. http://karencarpenter.anothersong.com/information/musical       Carpenters album & song lyrics. http://ourworld.cs.com/rockduos/lyrics       "Carpenters" (search, titles & descriptions), 45 RPM, eBay. http://www.ebay.com       further reading:       "The Carpenters Exhibit," General Information, The Richard & Karen Carpenter Preforming Arts Center. http://carpenterarts.org/exhibit.asp       "The Singles," The Carpenters Online. http://carponline.bravepages.com/page6.htm       "Birth of the 45 R.P.M. Record," The History of Rock 'n' Roll. http://history-of-rock.com/fortyfive_birth.htm       "Cylinder, Disc and Tape Care in a Nutshell," Preservation, Library of Congress. http://loc.gov/preserv/care/record.html       "45 RPM Records: Record Care Tips," 45s.com. http://45s.com/music/music-history/record-care-tips.htm       "Vinyl Days: Caring for Your 80s Vinyl," 80s Music, About.com. http://80music.about.com/library/weekly/aa080198.htm       "Record Accessories," The Record Collector's Guild. http://recordcollectorsguild.org/accessories2.html