The Essential Collection: 1965-1997

Catalog number: 06949 34162-6

Disc 1:

1. Caravan
2. The Parting of Our Ways
3. Looking for Love
4. I’ll Be Yours
5. Iced Tea
6. You’ll Love Me
7. All I Can Do (Spectrum version)
8. Don’t Be Afraid (demo version)
9. Invocation (demo version)
10. Your Wonderful Parade (demo version)
11. All of My Life (1987 remix)
12. Eve (1987 remix)
13. Ticket to Ride (1973 version)
14. Get Together (Your Navy Presents version)
15. Interview (Your Navy Presents)
16. Love Is Surrender (1987 remix)
17. Maybe It’s You (1990 remix)
18. (They Long to Be) Close to You
19. Mr. Guder (1990 remix)
20. We’ve Only Just Begun
21. Merry Christmas Darling (1970 version)
22. For All We Know

Disc 2:

1. Rainy Days and Mondays (1985 remix)
2. Superstar
3. Let Me Be the One
4. Bless the Beasts and Children (1991 remix)
5. Hurting Each Other (1973 tweak)
6. It’s Going to Take Some Time
7. I Won’t Last a Day Without You (1991 remix, Single version, slow)
8. A Song for You (1985 remix)
9. Top of the World
10. Goodbye to Love (1991 remix)
11. This Masquerade (1990 remix)
12. Sing (1994 remix)
13. Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (1991 remix)
14. Yesterday Once More (1985 remix) (revving)
15. Oldies Medley: (1990 remix)
– a. Fun, Fun, Fun (1990 remix)
– b. The End of the World (1990 remix)
– c. Da Doo Ron Ron (1990 remix)
– d. Deadman’s Curve (1990 remix)
– e. Johnny Angel (1990 remix)
– f. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1990 remix)
– g. Our Day Will Come (1990 remix)
– h. One Fine Day (1990 remix)
16. Yesterday Once More (Reprise) (1990 remix)
17. Radio Contest Outtakes

Disc 3:

1. Morinaga Hi-Crown Chocolate Commercial
2. Please Mr. Postman (1991 remix)
3. Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1984 remix)
4. Only Yesterday (1991 remix) (single length edit)
5. Solitaire (2002 cleanup)
6. Tryin’ to Get the Feeling Again (1995 cleanup)
7. Good Friends Are for Keeps
8. Ordinary Fool
9. Sandy
10. There’s a Kind of Hush (All Over the World) (album mix)
11. I Need to Be In Love (1990 remix)
12. From This Moment On (Live)
13. Suntory Pop Jingle #1
14. Suntory Pop Jingle #2
15. All You Get from Love Is a Love Song
16. Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (1989 remix)
17. Sweet, Sweet Smile
18. Christ Is Born (1990 remix)
19. White Christmas (1990 remix)
20. Little Altar Boy
21. Ave Maria (1990 remix)

Disc 4:

1. Where Do I Go From Here
2. Little Girl Blue
3. I Believe You
4. If I Had You (1989 remix)
5. Karen/Ella Medley:
– a. This Masquerade
– b. My Funny Valentine
– c. I’ll Be Seeing You
– d. Someone to Watch Over Me
– e. As Time Goes By
– f. Don’t Get Around Much Any More
– g. I Let A Song Go Out of My Heart
6. 1980 Medley:
– a. Sing
– b. Knowing When to Leave
– c. Make It Easy On Yourself
– d. Someday
– e. We’ve Only Just Begun
7. Make Believe It’s Your First Time
8. Touch Me When We’re Dancing
9. When It’s Gone (It’s Just Gone)
10. Because We Are In Love (The Wedding Song)
11. Those Good Old Dreams
12. Now
13. Karen’s Theme

————————————————————————————————————————

2002’s ESSENTIAL COLLECTION is basically an updated, new and improved version of FROM THE TOP. After a decade in the marketplace, Universal felt it could better the Carpenters box set, so Richard was asked to re-compile it, this time making sure that all of the hits were included – one of the weaknesses of FROM THE TOP.  Richard added a couple of rarities to it as well – the Karen/Ella Medley, which hadn’t yet been issued in the States, and a Japanese Morinaga High Crown Chocolate commercial that had been an extra on a DVD release. ESSENTIAL COLLECTION marks the first appearance of a minor change to the album mix of “Solitaire” as a few mouth/saliva sounds are removed to make Karen’s vocal track sound smoother.

The ESSENTIAL COLLECTION also balanced out some of the remixing by placing some genuine original mixes of some of the early hits alongside later remixes of other tracks. The track “Good Night” is omitted here as are a couple of Karen’s solo tracks.

After four years in the marketplace, ESSENTIAL COLLECTION got a re-release in 2006 with slightly revised packaging, omitting the outer cardboard box.