GINX Reacts | Tori Holub - We've Only Just Begun - cover | Live Reaction Replay 

58 year old man here, grew up with the Carpenters. Heard this a bunch of times. Chokes me up every time. 😊

Thanks Gina for your thoughtful reaction to our recording! We do it for the love of the music. And certainly, Tori's voice is amazingly beautiful! I did most of the music, but incorporated some of my talented friends to help out - Yoann (Canada) on drums, Gary (Australia) on trumpet, Ynping (Australia) on violin, and Clayton (USA) on Bass. Glad you enjoyed our work, and thank you again for your kind words! - Jim Wilkas

Tori is an audio engineer as well.

Thanks Ginx for reacting to this and posting it so quickly. Your reaction was as expected. What seems to be the norm is shock and awe! Tori has a timeless voice that allows her to sing almost anything. She does carpenters, other artists, and even has an original currently. She also has many short TikTok videos. She is phenomenal and the world needs her now! Tori has a voice that takes me back to the 60s and '70s. I have not heard a tone like that since Karen Carpenter in the '70s. Tori is capable of more and has covered different artists and also has an original. Please support this girl at all cost because this world needs her! Please continue in 2024 to generously and spread the love and kindness that Tori demonstrates. Please provide links in your description, not only to the artist's original video, BUT ALSO to their official channels. Most importantly, encourage viewers to use those links to watch, like, share, and comment, the same as for your channel. Your verbal encouragement will lead viewers to the artist's links as well as your valuable information, since most do not go to your description on their own. You may also include links to the artists' social media and streaming services. Each artist provides us so much joy, and reactors have a platform that can help boost both artist AND reactor analytics on RU-vid. Help enable Tori to attain her goal of spreading love to the world. This should apply to all featured artists on your channel. Thanks in advance for doing your part. Peace and love.

Ginx, When you see Tori's and James' backing vocal boxes (4 each) pop up in the video, I believe they tripled each of those when recording the voices. In other words, Tori's four backing boxes represent 12 distinct recorded tracks. It gives a much fuller sound, approaching the rich fullness that the Carpenters achieved in their recordings. Also to note: during the bridge Tori's lead vocal is doubled, just like Karen did in the original.

This was such an incredibly enjoyable reaction to watch because the look on your face throughout the entire video and the subsequent description of your impressions so echoed the feelings I had when I first saw it. The real timeless nature of this song, in my opinion, is in the genius of Richard Carpenter's arrangement, coupled with Karen's incredible vocals and both of their harmonies. While many other artists may have subsequently covered the song, I dont believe those versions will ever resonate like the original. That's what makes this version so good, because it literally breaks down the arrangement in a way that allows the viewer to see many of the intricacies that are involved in how the original was created. Add to this amazing visual representation Tori's phenomenal vocal presence and tonality, as you aptly put it, and you are served up an amazing tribute that gives Karen and Richard the ultimate compliment for the contributions they made. And while Tori shares many vocal similarities with Karen, who is in a class all by herself, she has an incredible voice that is distinctly angelic and sublime. Thank you for a genuine, heartfelt and insightful reaction.

Fil at Wings of Pegasus did comparisons of both Tori and Karen

I never got to hear Karen Carpenter live. Awesome to have Tori keeping The Carpenters music alive. Tori also has a couple original songs and she is just 20 years old. I hope to see her perform.

This song is so awesome Karen Carpenter would be so proud of this cover just close your eyes and enjoy while your on your chill time . Wintersun Alex ❄️👋❤️

As a fellow engineer I thought I would offer my observations of this performance. I had a similar reaction at first hearing. I don't consider this a cover. Often due to the band or singers unique abilities covers are never reproductions and reflect their own spin. This is an exceptional successful recreation of the original song. The opening clarinet is the only part that sounds slightly off to me. Check out her channel for her Olivia Newton John shorts. An unbelievable talent. For a revealing technical comparison analysis with Karen see: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--g0jHAyLqvM.html

Ginx! Oh boy, since you're an audio engineer, I can leave a comment without watering it down. What do I mean? Well, Tori's singing is so good that her brilliance, musically and technically, is overshadowed. At her site she's posted a video explaining how the Carpenters overdubbed. She sings individual parts into her TASCAM multitrack deck (explaining that her Pro Tools sequencing software is giving her trouble that day). Then she brings all the faders up to full and plays all the parts back at the same time. She does this all in her anechoic wedge foam-festooned home studio all by herself. A recent song she produced herself was a redo of a song she sang at the recent Carpenters 55th Anniversary Celebration. She sang in a church and the recording didn't capture her gorgeous voice. She was unhappy with the on-site recording, which is why she redid it. On this studio version, she sang all the parts and overdubbed. Well, that's impressive 'technically,' but what's impressive 'musically' is that she determined the notes to present the harmonies she wanted on the recording. The actual song was one that Richard couldn't have Karen sing because she'd passed by that time.

Hi Gina! I lived it all over again. I’m used to it now, so I don’t get shell shocked. I just enjoy others discovering Tori for the first time. I can’t wait for “Eyes” that was mine and an emotional roller coaster. Don’t be worried you were not the first and won’t be the last. I’m going to leave a link to her most recent short video. So you and the crew think she sounds like Karen? Eh? It’s about a minute so a quick look see… Joe Sam: ru-vid.comWzrpXaZKT7Y?si=uJ8YGkdXagWd3kmq . Edit: Gina I meant to add, Tori is an aspiring audio engineer. For this video she did everything in her studio and sent the files to Jim for mixing and inclusion in the video. On her own productions she does everything. She’s one helluva talent. And on an audio note in the short I linked above. First look at the microphone in her video box in WOJB, it’s a Blue Bottle, I believe. In the short above sweetheart got a new toy. Recognize it? Know the significance of it? These and many questions can be answered. ❤

Awesome song! If you close your eyes you would think Karen Carpenter had come back to life! Terrific reaction!

Why do the original when it was perfect? She should just make it her own instead of copying the original. It's good, but I just keep comparing to Karen and falls short. Sorry.

all I hear is the autotune 😂