As the title suggests, this boxed set is the essential collection, save for a few deletions from the previously released boxed set titled "From The Top", released in 1991. This set is pretty much a re-release of that set as the previous reviews indicate, additions made now include all the hits and the overall package design is a standard sized double jewelcase with a cd sized booklet featuring updated liner notes.

"A Song For You," not a hit but a very popular album cut is now here though not in it's original form, the title is the 1987 remix, done for the gold cd issue of "A Song For You." Another favorite album track now here is "Sandy," from 1976's "A Kind Of Hush." There are a number of remixes available on other compilations sold overseas that far outshine the original mixes and should have been included here. "Baby, It's You" and "I Can't Make Music" from "Treasures" and the recently released "By Request" feature these superior versions. Remixes that were available on "From The Top" were deleted in favor of the original versions, namely "For All We Know" and "Let Me Be The One," both remixes are excellent, the tag Karen adlibs at the end of the "Let Me Be The One" remix showcasing her sense of humor colored with sarcasm is now missing. The original versions are available on the recently released remasters of the entire Carpenters catalog, releasing the remixes would have not sent the originals into obsecurity. Richard presents here the best known Carpenters songs in what he feels are the absolute finest versions.

The medley featuring Ella Fitzgerald is a welcome addition, The excellent remixes from Karen's solo album except "If I Had You," have been deleted. Probably due to copyright laws, only the Karen/Ella medley represents the album "As Time Goes By," released in 2001 in Japan. "The Rainbow Connection" and "Leave Yesterday Behind" would have made fine additions. Richard's 1987 solo album "Time" is represented only by the album art featured at the end of the booklet, a track or two should have been included here, he's a Carpenter too. The addition of the chocolate commercial is nice, but it's really short. 25 seconds. "Make Believe It's Your First Time" is not Karen's solo version, as Amazon.com indicates in the track listing, but the version released on "Voice Of The Heart." This time, this set closes with a track from Richard's second solo album in 1997. It gives this set a feeling of closure. The mastering of this set is the best ever for a Carpenters album, I feel Richard should have taken advantage of the programming space and not made the deletions that he did, but this set is not as thin as "From The Top." Even so, this set is excellent for any collector, casual and avid.

There have been many great female vocalists throughout history and so many women with "big" voices in pop music. Quite frankly though many of them truly lack distinction and real influence. I mean when listening tentatively to a radio pop song can you really tell the difference quickly between Celine Dion or Shania Twain or Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston or half a dozen other popular singers? There are few vocalists in popular music who have had as stunning, as influential or as distinctive a voice as Karen Carpenter. Her vocals are immediately recognizable, always pitch perfect and simply, richly beautiful. Regardless of what you may think of the Carpenters' choice of music or the sometimes sugary arrangements of their later years, Karen's voice is eternal and incomparable.

There is something for everybody here. For the diehard Carpenters' fans there are the very early, previously unreleased tracks (even some lively jazz-oriented instrumental songs featuring Karen on drums), in addition to other oddities and even some tunes written and recorded for commercials. For the occasional fan or casual listener, all of the Carpenters' hits throughout the years are here as well...interlaced with other album tracks to produce over four hours of music.

Someone once said if you don't like at least some Carpenters' music, then you simply must not like music at all. If there is one Carpenters' collection to own...this is certainly the ultimate and most essential.

Carpenters: The Essential Collection (1965-1997), is a remake of the original box set, "Carpenters - From The Top". The only difference is this box set has about a dozen songs not included on the "From the Top" collection. If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with "The Essential Collection" as it is more complete.

Both sets give a complete retrospective of Carpenter recordings from their earliest in 1965, to 1997. The quality of the music and recordings is evident from start to finish. For someone wishing to have a fairly complete set of the most popular Carpenter songs, this is the set that I would recommend. Of course, there are other little known gems that are not included in this set. I have put together a listmania on "Little Known Carpenter Gems" if the reader has further interest.

Jim "Konedog" Koenig

The essential collection,which is basically an expansion of the previous "From The Top",is a fairly good anthology of Karen and Richard's recording catalog.It is good to finally have Karen's jazz medley with Ella Fitgerald on CD(disc 4).A good portion of the material on this set,however,is not exactly "essential".The presence of so many jingles,interviews,radio contest outtakes and early demos makes this compilation less cohesive and listenable than the single-disc compilations,like 20th CENTURY MASTERS or INTERPRETATIONS.There's also too many of those bubblegum songs here-like "sing" "sweet sweet smile" "calling occupants""deadmans curve" "da doo ron ron" and "theres a kind of hush".More of the jazz and broadway standards should have been included-like "I can dream can't I", "Don't cry for me Argentina","When I fall in love" and "I got rhythm".If you want a more definitive set of Karen Carpenter's best work,buy HORIZON,VOICE OF THE HEART,INTERPRETATIONS,CHRISTMAS COLLECTION and 20th CENTURY MASTERS-the "Essential 5-Album Collection".

I purchased this compilation hoping to find some of the long overdue rare tracks that have yet to be released. What I ended up with is a re-vamped edition of "From The Top". It is missing the instrumentals from "FTT" and has many extra album cuts. If it is an "Essential Collection" then where's "Honolulu City Lights", "Beechwood 4-5789", and the jems that were released on the "As Time Goes By" CD. In the booklet they show all their LP/CD releases including "As Time Goes By". Last I knew it hasn't been released in the USA. I would have liked to see such titles as "The Rainbow Connection" or "Leave Yesterday Behind". Instead the American people only get a greatest hits compilation while the Japanese get all the recordings. Not fair at all. Also the version of "Solitare" has always been the same on every collection. I would rather have the original 45 version which is different than the LP. If you have "From The Top", this isn't much different.