An Old-Fashioned Christmas Favorite Song

What Are Your 3 Favorite Tracks?


  • Total voters
    43
I went with What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve which has always been my favourite Christmas vocal from Karen. I’ve also got a soft spot for the title track which is sad and wistful in the context of being on a posthumous Christmas album. Honourable mention also for Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.
 
newvillefan, you realize that you could vote for 3?

Anyway I went with “An Old-Fashioned Christmas/Do You Hear What I Hear/What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” although “Home For The Holidays” was almost picked instead of New Year’s.
 
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR, I feel that this song is going in crescendo in voice and orchestra I think the end is epic as if one came to a kind of Olympus and that I'm not religious..:angel: greetings
 
Matched my choices song for song :)
They're irresistible choices, really. The Carpenters' version of "Santa Claus" is my all-time favorite rendition. I was listening to "Old Fashioned Christmas" the other day and was rather taken aback by it. You introduced me to "New Year's Eve"-- that song is awesome! It's a shame it's never heard. :D

"Do You Hear What I Hear?" would have been an honorable mention for me. I really like it. I can look past the lyrical flubs (no "do you know what I know" :laugh:) because it's that good. The arrangement is top-notch, and the lead is impeccable.
 
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" would have been an honorable mention for me. I really like it. I can look past the lyrical flubs (no "do you know what I know" :laugh:) because it's that good. The arrangement is top-notch, and the lead is impeccable.

It’s only when Karen comes in after Richard’s wispy, weak vocal intro that you realise how majestic her voice really was.

A great song, terrific lead vocal and stunning arrangement :love:
 
And how powerfully she sings at the end of it!
The more I listen to, and study that beautiful voice of Miss Carpenter; I have noticed that she is really gifted at "closing" a song. Holding the final lyric of the song for an amazing amount of time, at just the right tone, pitch, vibrato, and emotional "effect". She is a "master" at interpreting lyrics IMHO. I'm really at a loss to explain it adequately.
 
I guess I’m the odd man out because ‘He Came Here For Me’ is in my top 3 of ALL Christmas songs by Carpenters. Karen’s using that incredible lower register to great effect. The recording is so clear and bright and you can really hear her so well. My other two favorites (today, anyway) are ‘Little Altar Boy’ and ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’. The vocals blow me away and those 3 tunes (along with the 1970 version of ‘Merry Christmas Darling’) are the first ones I play every year.

Going off on a tangent here, but the single version of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ and, of course, ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ are classic and timeless.
 
I guess I’m the odd man out because ‘He Came Here For Me’ is in my top 3 of ALL Christmas songs by Carpenters. Karen’s using that incredible lower register to great effect. The recording is so clear and bright and you can really hear her so well. My other two favorites (today, anyway) are ‘Little Altar Boy’ and ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’. The vocals blow me away and those 3 tunes (along with the 1970 version of ‘Merry Christmas Darling’) are the first ones I play every year.

Going off on a tangent here, but the single version of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ and, of course, ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ are classic and timeless.

"He Came Here For Me" is amazing! I completely agree with you.
 
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR, I feel that this song is going in crescendo in voice and orchestra I think the end is epic as if one came to a kind of Olympus and that I'm not religious..:angel: greetings
I know that “Do You Hear” was released as a radio single. It’s to bad that the song wasn’t released as a commercial single. It probably would’ve gone up the chimney on the Christmas charts (I was going to say “burned up the charts”, but that didn’t seem appropriate for Christmas).
 
Hmm, tricky. Today:

He Came Here For Me. A kind of companion piece to Christ Is Born. Lovely and a tad sombre but in a good way.

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Possibly her most sensual vocal.

What Are you Doing New Year's Eve. Their version is the first time I'd heard this song and is the standard by which all other versions are measured. Kacey Musgraves' version is a very close 2nd.

Runner up: Richard's slightly swinging medley.
 
I guess I’m the odd man out because ‘He Came Here For Me’ is in my top 3 of ALL Christmas songs by Carpenters. Karen’s using that incredible lower register to great effect. The recording is so clear and bright and you can really hear her so well. My other two favorites (today, anyway) are ‘Little Altar Boy’ and ‘Do You Hear What I Hear’. The vocals blow me away and those 3 tunes (along with the 1970 version of ‘Merry Christmas Darling’) are the first ones I play every year.

Going off on a tangent here, but the single version of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ and, of course, ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ are classic and timeless.

Being, apparently, one of the only actual "religious" persons here, this both LAB and He Came Here For Me bring a tear to my eye. Fantastic reading by Karen and impeccable arrangement!
 
Little Altar Boy is--simply put--
one of my all-time favorite Karen Carpenter vocals !

Also, beautiful,
He Came Here For Me.....
 
Being, apparently, one of the only actual "religious" persons here, this both LAB and He Came Here For Me bring a tear to my eye.
I’d disagree. For me I was raised in and still attend Protestant churches, however I never was a part (although on a few occasions because of baptisms and such I was at services in) Of Anglican or Lutheran churches, and I’m not Catholic, so songs like “Little Altar Boy” and “Ave Maria” I don’t really understand what the song is about in relation to Christmas and the religious part.
 
Being, apparently, one of the only actual "religious" persons here, this both LAB and He Came Here For Me bring a tear to my eye. Fantastic reading by Karen and impeccable arrangement!
I want to chime in. I think there are many believers in Jesus Christ here. Count me in as one. Merry Christmas- you're not alone. :)
 
I don't know whether faith is essential in appreciating the power of a performance. I'm not a believer, but I can still appreciate the strength of the performance on 'He Came Here For Me'. I only heard it for the first time a few years ago, having never bothered before to search out the elusive An Old Fashioned Christmas as I assumed (wrongly) that all the best tracks from it had been put on the special edition CD of Christmas Portrait. It's an astounding performance - chock-full of passion and drama in such a short song.
 
I’d disagree. For me I was raised in and still attend Protestant churches, however I never was a part (although on a few occasions because of baptisms and such I was at services in) Of Anglican or Lutheran churches, and I’m not Catholic, so songs like “Little Altar Boy” and “Ave Maria” I don’t really understand what the song is about in relation to Christmas and the religious part.

I understand what you are saying. LAB and Ave Maria are not particularly "Christmas" songs. But they do touch on "faith" in a general sense and the emotions one brings with that faith. I'm very glad Karen sang these songs and I do connect with them on an even deeper level because of my faith. We played Carpenters version of Ave Maria at my father's rosary before his funeral (we are quite Catholic) and it was very special. Won't go into on this forum, as it's not appropriate, but hit me up off-line and I can explain to you the significance and scriptural reference of the Ave Maria.
 
They're irresistible choices, really. The Carpenters' version of "Santa Claus" is my all-time favorite rendition. I was listening to "Old Fashioned Christmas" the other day and was rather taken aback by it. You introduced me to "New Year's Eve"-- that song is awesome! It's a shame it's never heard. :D

"Do You Hear What I Hear?" would have been an honorable mention for me. I really like it. I can look past the lyrical flubs (no "do you know what I know" :laugh:) because it's that good. The arrangement is top-notch, and the lead is impeccable.

I'm right there with the folks that cited Do You Hear What I Hear? as one of their faves. My perspective isn't always popular amongst the staunch Karen-only fans, but Karen and Richard together were like peanut butter and jelly on those records. Both were phenomenal and noteworthy in their own individual talents, but put them together and you have a whole other dynamic going on that is exponential. I enjoy hearing the doubled vocal by Richard, which sets up the anticipation while awaiting Karen's entrance. Just perfect :)
 
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