The Carpenters Set to Release Collaborative Album with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Carpenters have been collaborating with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) to release a brand new album that will pair original vocal and instrumental tracks of classic Carpenters songs with brand new orchestral arrangements. The collaborative album is set to be released on Dec. 7.

Richard Carpenter has curated and produced all of the new versions as well as conducted the orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.

See the clip that The Carpenters posted about the new collaborative album below.

Although RPO have previously recorded similar albums with artists such as Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, this is the first time that the featured artist has played a key role in the recording process.

Royal Philharmonic orchestral manager Ian Maclay said, “I think that’s what makes it very special: the fact that it’s his music and he knows it and that he was there from the start. It’s not somebody else interpreting, which is what normally happens.”

Richard Carpenter has expressed a lot of excitement about this project as he noted that “these refreshed tracks more than ever showcase Karen’s remarkable voice, and that to me was reason number one for undertaking the project."

Currently, 2 tracks, "Yesterday Once More" and "Merry Christmas, Darling," are available to stream and download. The collaborative album, Carpenters With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is available now for pre-order on CD and digital. The 2-disc vinyl set is also available for pre-order now and will be released on Feb. 8.

Check out the full tracklist below.

1. Overture
2. Yesterday Once More
3. I Need To Be In Love
4. For All We Know
5. Touch Me When We're Dancing
6. I Believe You
7. I Just Fall In Love Again
8. Merry Christmas, Darling
9. Baby It's You
10. (They Long To Be) Close To You
11. Superstar
12. Rainy Days and Mondays
13. This Masquerade
14. Ticket To Ride
15. Goodbye To Love
16. Top Of The World
17. We've Only Just Begun

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_{Article image: Karen and Richard Carpenter posing for Billboard Magazine in 1973. (A&M Records [Available through Public Domain])}