🎄 Holidays! CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT, SIDE "A" [POLL]

[Chris May]

“CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT”
Side A​

​

Track Listing:

1.) O Come, O Come Emmanuel*** :28 (P.D. Arrg. & Adapted by Richard Carpenter)
2.) Overture*: 4:38

a. Deck The Halls (With Boughs Of Holly) / (P.D. Trad French Carol)
b. I Saw Three Ships (P.D. Trad Welsh Carol)
c. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Martin/Blane)
d. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (P.D. Trad English Carol)
e. Away In A Manger (Luther’s Cradle Hymn) / (P.D. Luther/Mueller/Spilman)
f. What Child Is This? (Greensleeves) / (P.D. Will C. Dix)
g. Carol Of The Bells (P.D. Trad Ukranian Carol)
h. O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) / (P.D. English version: Oakeley/Wade/Reai)

3.) The Christmas Waltz* 2:15 (Cahn/Styne)
4.) Sleigh Ride** 2:39 (Parish/Anderson)
5.) It’s Christmas Time/Sleep Well, Little Children* 2:53(Young/Stilman/Bergman/Klatzkin)
6.) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas** 3:55 (Martin/Blane)
7.) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town* 1:05 (Giliespie/Coots)
8.) The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)** 3:39 (Torme/Wells)
9.) Silent Night* 3:19 (P.D. Orig. Music by Franz Gruber, Arrg. & Adapted by Peter Knight)

 

[Jeff]

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is certainly a top 10 Karen Carpenter performance.

More later,

 

[Mark-T]

Although I love hearing Karen sing "Silent Night", I would have to say that Christmas Waltz is my favorite on side one. I just LOVE it.

 

[cam89]

I love SLEIGH RIDE. I too also love HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS and it kinda reminds me of a SOLITAIRE type song. SLEIGH RIDE though, is just a fun Christmasy song which is why I love it!! I can still remember the first time I listened to that particular song, my first time in wintry December 1988 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada!!!

 

[Must Hear This Album]

The final, “Hang a shining star upon the highest boooooough” line is one of Karen’s finest performances, ever.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

"The Christmas Waltz," for sure. I still remember hearing this album for the first time. The short little Emmanuel intro, followed by that long instrumental medley -- it was pretty different for a Carpenters album. Then when the medley segued directly into "Waltz"....well, that to me was the first real indication that this was going to be like no other Christmas album before. Most Christmas albums of that day were just a bunch of randomly-chosen songs arranged into two sides. This album was obviously thought-out as a full performance, not just a group of songs. This one just flows. Every other Christmas album ought to take a lesson from this one.

 

[Mark-T]

Well said, Mike!

 

[Harry]

Gotta agree with Mike and go with "The Christmas Waltz" for all the same reasons.

I remember our radio station program director putting this on when it came out and stating that he wouldn't have to program anything for Christmas. He could just track that album!

Harry

 

[no1kandrfan]

"The Christmas Waltz" - most definitely. I agree with all the comments too. This is the 1st song I listen to every season and my ringback song - what people hear while they're waiting for me to answer my cell phone. Sleigh Ride, probably my 2nd favorite, is my actual ringtone. Everything about this song/album is PERFECT.

 

[Geographer]

It was a toss up for me between "Christmas Waltz" and "Sleigh Ride." And as I predicted, "Christmas Waltz" would get the lion's share of votes, so I went with "Sleigh Ride." We can only pick one, unfortunately!

 

[Chris May]

We can only pick one, unfortunately!

These polls are always so fun, especially with the Christmas stuff! I love the tension it creates, but even more so the wonderful discussions that transpire.

 

[Dave]

I'm one of the ones who also chose "Christmas Waltz" though I still love the familiar strains of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", which can be too much of a sound-alike of "The Christmas Song", but still a second-contender in my fav's...

I still find various numbers done by a various assortment of artists, hence comparing "Christmas Waltz" here w/ my newfound interest in Pat Boone, with his...

So "...Waltz" is unique, and very well-paced, and even slower than Boone's version (after all it's WALTZ< not MARCH!) so I'm glad to have chosen and although the closest we've been to a "WHITE Christmas" has mainly been "Frosted window panes", so far, Karen's suave & relaxed treatment, I do enjoy...!


-- Dave

 

[PJW]

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". To me, no one has ever sung a better rendition of this song. Guess I am just a minority, but every Christmas this song just STICKS in my head!

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for me!!
I agree with the comments above, there have been so many versions of this but Karen's is one of a kind, she sings it so effortlessly, it's like her vocals just soar above the heavens....so light but so convincing and memorable.

 

[jaysee]

Hmmm. It looks like, so far, I’m alone in finding ‘Silent Night’ most special. It’s always been a favorite of mine; the hook is Karen’s use of the two step-slides ‘born’ and ‘birth’. Perhaps it’s the precision that gets to me — other artists do this too, but I can’t recall ever hearing from others the level of what Karen accomplishes here. Looking at her slides you see that, despite the different instances and phrasing, they’re virtually identical:

 

[BarryT60]

"The Christmas Waltz," for sure. I still remember hearing this album for the first time. The short little Emmanuel intro, followed by that long instrumental medley -- it was pretty different for a Carpenters album. Then when the medley segued directly into "Waltz"....well, that to me was the first real indication that this was going to be like no other Christmas album before. Most Christmas albums of that day were just a bunch of randomly-chosen songs arranged into two sides. This album was obviously thought-out as a full performance, not just a group of songs. This one just flows. Every other Christmas album ought to take a lesson from this one.

In all of the entire Carpenters Music Library.... that first line of The Christmas Waltz - may (to me) just be the most goose-bump rendering moment... I agree with the exact tenor of your entire statement above!!!!

 

[Passenger]

"Christmas Waltz" for me, too. However, honorable mention definitely has to go to "Sleep Well, Little Children". Although not a full-length cut, I REALLY enjoy it. The ease of Karen's lilting vocals and lower notes remind me of "Our Day Will Come".....another all-too-short track that I wish were longer.

 

[A&M Retro]

Just listened to 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' tonight in the car, and it blew me away. It's the quintessential Karen song that captures her magic in every way. Second place goes to 'It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well, Little Children'. Just primo.

 

[Rudy]

Looks like my top two choices are the same as everyone else's! Cool. It is really hard to pick favorites though, since the way the album is sequenced and segued, it plays out more like an entire holiday music program.