Tori Holub & James Wilkas Close To You - Carpenters cover REACTION

[@ronraskind]

John, your insightful and appreciative comments demonstrated the respect you have for Tori and Jim. And they deserve it! I also grew up with the Carpenters, and this is as close as I have ever heard any vocalist or group cover this song. One thing though regarding covers that I would like to say. There are many vocalists and bands that cover songs, and the vast majority are mediocre. I would call those songs covers. This on the other hand is an entirely different level! This is in the top tier and nobody can do it better. To me it is not a cover for that term does not give it the recognition it deserves. It is a reincarnation or reimagination or recreation of this legendary song. I would say that for every performance Tori has done. Thank you for recognizing the needs of the artists and encouraging viewers to subscribe to their channels. They require the same benefits as you for your channel. Peace out.

[@jbs256]

Beautiful reaction, John. Your love of Carpenters, Tori and Jim showed through so respectfully. This was such a detailed and loving production. Such talented people all with a love of Carpenters music and music in general. Over the summer, when you were going through your move, Tori collaborated with Dan Wesley from the UK. They made two videos together. They were; It’s Impossible, the Perry Como classic and Suddenly from the movie Xanadu. I dare say you won’t be disappointed in either. 😊 They are both linked on Tori’s channel in a collaborations playlist. Suddenly will give you a side of Tori I don’t think you’ve experienced, yet. Peace, my friend, Joe

[@jimmididr]

Thank you John for your kind words and heartfelt reaction to our Carpenters project! Many of my musician friends are local in Connecticut, and it's cool that you are almost a local yourself there in Vermont! My two friends from Australia and I have recorded together on many various projects for several years. Thanks to the Internet, distance is not a hinderance when it comes to collaborating on a music project. We do these recordings purely for the love of the music... and working with the super talented Tori is an absolute joy! Again, thank you for your great review! -Jim

[@c4sb2008]

Always a real pleasure my friend!!!

[@PopHorizonScanner]

Thanks for a great reaction! Where you are must be a beautiful place to live. A video like this is such an amazing way to gain a better appreciation for what the Carpenters and their supporting musicians (Hal Blaine and Joe Osborn, etc.) were able to create. At the same time, we can be wowed by the superb musical skills of Tori Holub and James Wilkas (and Tina Sampogna, Gary Badger, Ynping Mak, Dave Daddario, and Tom Devino). I think I read (from a comment from James Wilkas, I believe) that, in the video depiction of the backing vocals, where you see both Tori and James in four boxes representing the different voice parts, they actually tripled each one of those, so that each one of the boxes represents three recordings made of the backing vocal parts. It's an incredible and Herculean effort in producing this video... a real labor of love. The beauty of Tori's voice in covering, not just Karen Carpenter, but also Olivia Newton John, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, etc., is truly astounding. What additionally impresses me about Tori is how adept she is at production and putting layered vocals together, which helped with this, because, if I'm not mistaken, she recorded her vocals for this video at a studio remote from James, who put it all together, just like the musicians from New South Wales, Australia did. Another thing that impresses me about 21-year-old Tori is that she is brilliant and well-versed as a student of music. I really love what these fine musicians are doing, and I greatly appreciate all their time and effort. 👏

[@jbs256]

You said it so perfectly, PHS. 😃

[@jimmididr]

Thanks for the in-depth comment on our project! I really appreciate that we are recognized for all of the work that goes into creating these projects...especially coordinating the efforts of my great musician friends from around the world. You are mostly correct about the backing vocals in that the four parts are tripled, but rather than try to squeeze 12 videos into the space, I limited it to 8 as to not be left with very tiny videos... four of them are left out for the sake of space. Again, thank you for your kind comments! -Jim