Christmas Album Covers - Favorites Poll

Which is your favorite cover?

  • Christmas Portrait

    Votes: 23 79.3%
  • An Old Fashioned Christmas

    Votes: 3 10.3%
  • I do not like either/prefer other version

    Votes: 3 10.3%

  • Total voters
    29

K.C. Jr

Well-Known Member
Which album cover do you prefer most? Seems to me Christmas Portrait is the common favorite, but I wanted to see what everyone else thinks...

christmasportrait.jpg


carpoldfash.jpg
 
I like Christmas Portrait better, but still- there's just something about seeing that Carps logo on the front of an album. Makes them both good. :)
 
I like Christmas Portrait better, but still- there's just something about seeing that Carps logo on the front of an album. Makes them both good. :)
I agree; that logo really stands out. It's definitely one of the classiest I've seen!
 
I've got to go with'Christmas Portrait' because it's Norman Rockwell, Saturday Evening Post look. And the familiar Carpenters logo is there - it's just small and subtle!
 
I like Christmas Portrait the better of the two, for the exact reason KJKenney mentioned above.

My favorite Christmas album cover of all is the first Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album. That's a classy cover. A lot of Christmas album covers are cheesy.
 
I don't like either, they both reinforce the cheesy image the duo tried so hard to shake off. The 1978 album has a non-logo version of their emblazoned across it and the 1984 album reminds me of the inner sleeve photos on the Now & Then album - they look like chipmunks.

Bah humbug :mad: :laugh:
 
I don't like either, they both reinforce the cheesy image the duo tried so hard to shake off. The 1978 album has a non-logo version of their emblazoned across it and the 1984 album reminds me of the inner sleeve photos on the Now & Then album - they look like chipmunks.

Bah humbug :mad: :laugh:
Bah humbug indeed! Sounds like you are in need of some spiked eggnog to take the edge off! Ho-ho-ho...
 
I don't like either, they both reinforce the cheesy image the duo tried so hard to shake off. The 1978 album has a non-logo version of their emblazoned across it and the 1984 album reminds me of the inner sleeve photos on the Now & Then album - they look like chipmunks.

Bah humbug :mad: :laugh:
I agree. I also find the elves a tad creepy.
 
I actually like the concept of the "Christmas Portrait" album quite a bit. It's a far cry more creative than most of their album covers! The only thing I don't like about it is the illustration of K&R that "Santa" is painting. It copies an old picture of Richard from the "A Kind of Hush" photo sessions and one of Karen that looks like it might have been taken from "Passage"-era photos. For me, it gives the LP cover a sort of cheap, patchwork feel when they could easily have drawn a classy, new illustration representing the duo from '78. Picky, picky...
 
I actually like the concept of the "Christmas Portrait" album quite a bit. It's a far cry more creative than most of their album covers! The only thing I don't like about it is the illustration of K&R that "Santa" is painting. It copies an old picture of Richard from the "A Kind of Hush" photo sessions and one of Karen that looks like it might have been taken from "Passage"-era photos. For me, it gives the LP cover a sort of cheap, patchwork feel when they could easily have drawn a classy, new illustration representing the duo from '78. Picky, picky...

They should have used Chris Tassin's artwork for the picture of Richard and Karen :wink:
 
I was disappointed as a teen that 'Christmas Portrait' didn't include an actual photo of Karen and Richard. I have recently thought that the promotions people might have thought that Karen looked too ill to be photographed, but, then again, she did appear in tv specials and promo appearances around that time. The Bruce Forsyth appearance shows what she was like at the end of '78, when 'Christmas Portrait' was released - the thinnest I've ever seen her. I would still prefer a photo to a painting on the cover of the album, though. That would present those intensely personal, evocative and touching vocals and songs in a more warm and personal way, visually.
 
I don't like either, they both reinforce the cheesy image the duo tried so hard to shake off. The 1978 album has a non-logo version of their emblazoned across it and the 1984 album reminds me of the inner sleeve photos on the Now & Then album - they look like chipmunks.

Bah humbug :mad: :laugh:

the cp cover was what led me to think something was wrong. passage had no photo, then cp has an illustration pf a photo that was at least two years old. something just didn't seem right considering major photoshoots taken for other albums.
 
Have to go with "Christmas Portrait". Such great detail. Santa sitting on the stool dipping his brush and the elf trying to keep the jar of paint from spilling over. Santa painting the duo from photo pinned to his easel. And I prefer the standard "Carpenters" in black over the official logo in this case.
 
Richard does not like "An Old Fashioned Christmas" cover. Here's what he has to say about it:

"Additionally, it was my ill-conceived idea to ask the artist Robert Tannebaum, who did such a clever job with the 'Christmas Portrait' cover to have a go at the new cover, not remembering that "Lightening doesn't strike twice in the same place". The resulting cover doesn't come close to the original, in no small part due to the fact that, for some reason unknown to me, he decided to position Karen as tall as I! This looks a bit odd to my eye, as I'm 6' and Karen was 5'4 "
 
I don't get Richard on the Old-Fashioned Christmas artwork, as Santa could've taken artistic liberty and just painted Karen at the same level as Richard. The only major thing is that the front painting canvas is rectangular while the back of the LP features a square canvas.

But I like how both covers remind you of a Christmas Card and that's what I think they were going for with the Christmas Portrait cover: Here's a Christmas card from the Carpenters.
 
Hang on, it's still only August, just. Will refrain from grumpy old man 'Christmas starts earlier and earlier these days' mutterings :)
 
I always thought An Old-Fashioned Christmas was fine. The 'hight difference' thing hadn't really registered, as I thought Karen was in the foreground, and would therefore be taller. The painting might have been improved if they were wearing red or green, instead of yellow. Plus, it has a really nice type-face for the text. If only there'd been an inner sleeve ...
 
It would appear that Mr. Tannebaum used the inner sleeve photo from Made In America as his inspiration for the AOFC illustration and he may have playfully dealt with Karen's height difference by tilting her end of the frame up to bring her up to Richard's level. Maybe there was another photo of them taken in a similar pose where Karen was not wearing the sweat shirt.
 
I also do not like how Karen's hair does not fall normally down if she were standing as opposed to the seated, leaning forward photo inner cover of mia.....it's obvious the artist took the photo of inner sleeve of mia....and having them almost cheek to cheek at same height....surprised rc did not have a say abt this LPGA cover, as he did re: now and then, a song for you....just not a great album cover
 
Back
Top Bottom