🎄 Holidays! AOTW: Carpenters, "Christmas Portrait"

[Rudy]

As I haven't had time to post the track listing, this is a placeholder for AOTW discussions about this classic A&M Christmas album. Note: this post will refer to the original LP version of this album--I'll scan the appropriate cover art later. The original Old Fashioned Christmas will be featured in a subsequent topic within the next week or two, since we may push up the schedule of AOTW releases to get as many in before the holiday as we can.

With that in mind, this original Christmas Portrait album has long been a favorite of mine from the day it came out!! It all flows nicely, like one long program of holiday music. Far better than the overdub/filler collection that became An Old Fashioned Christmas, IMHO. (And is it just me, or does anybody like the CD "special edition" that mixed tracks from both albums? I never did like it, mainly due to the major disappointment that finding out one of my favorite holiday albums had been tampered with!)

I just may go dig out my LP version of this album and give it a spin. I have the double-CD collection, but there's something about spinning the vinyl that brings back a lot of nice holiday memories.

-= N =-

 

[Murray]

(And is it just me, or does anybody like the CD "special edition" that mixed tracks from both albums? I never did like it, mainly due to the major disappointment that finding out one of my favorite holiday albums had been tampered with!)

I remember being VERY disappointed with the "special edition", especially since several songs from the original "Portrait" had been left off. I only listened to it a couple of times, and then went back to playing the LP until the double CD was released.

I just may go dig out my LP version of this album and give it a spin. I have the double-CD collection, but there's something about spinning the vinyl that brings back a lot of nice holiday memories.

I was also extremely disappointed with the double CD set. Although all the songs are present this time, the Christmas Portrait disc is full of remixes, and there is a choir on "Ave Maria" which isn't on that track on the LP. The only reason I bothered to listen to it the past few years is because my LP doesn't sound too good anymore (it's pretty much worn out actually).


Fortunately, I recently found out that Christmas Portrait, with ALL it's original LP mixes, had been released on CD in Germany sometime in the '80's. Although it's long out of print, a friend burned me a copy. I'm in HEAVEN!!! This album is my favourite holiday album of all time. It just wouldn't seem like Christmas without it, and I can't begin to describe how happy I am to be able to hear it the way that I remembered it!

Murray
... getting into the Christmas spirit... artyhat:

 

[Rudy]

I remember being VERY disappointed with the "special edition", especially since several songs from the original "Portrait" had been left off. I only listened to it a couple of times, and then went back to playing the LP until the double CD was released.

That's nearly my experience as well...to me, the opening section of the "special edition" seemed to drag, and had a lot of syrupy choral parts in it. Seemed to take forever for "Christmas Waltz" to appear.

I was also extremely disappointed with the double CD set. Although all the songs are present this time, the Christmas Portrait disc is full of remixes, and there is a choir on "Ave Maria" which isn't on that track on the LP.

I'm sorry I missed the 80's CD, especially since I'd bought a lot of imports during that time, when CDs weren't so commonplace as they are now.

This album is my favourite holiday album of all time. It just wouldn't seem like Christmas without it, and I can't begin to describe how happy I am to be able to hear it the way that I remembered it!

I have about a dozen "must-play" albums each year, and this is always one of them! I do know that, each year, it gets harder to find any good NEW Christmas recordings. To me, the best one this year so far has been the new Boogie Woogie Christmas by the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

-= N =-

 

[Harry]

The original LP has to be considered the definitive version of the album, even though over the years, that Special Edition CD must've sold quite a few copies. I'll bet many people now consider that to be definitive, since they may have been listening to it for nearly twenty years now. I remember being excited that the new format's CD was updated to be 70 minutes long (unheard of in those days), but quickly realized that this new version of the album was really a mixture of the two LPs. The opening was a huge disappointment, since it mimicked the An Old Fashioned Christmas overture. Somehow that track listing just always seemed wrong, immediately getting off on the wrong foot. Kind of the way Beatles fans talk about the British vs. US versions of Revolver. But I was fortunate enough to have purchased the original Christmas Portrait on CD in Germany back in the late '80s, and have hardly listened to the Special Edition after that. Once in a while it makes a good compromise when you want a single disc representation of Carpenters Christmas music, but other than that, I'll reach for the original mix every time.

That said, I also have a beef with the original LP. At the time of the album's release, Carpenters had issued two Christmas singles, and neither one really appeared on this LP. "Merry Christmas Darling" was a re-record, and although "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" shows up in the track listing, it's just an O.K.Chorale-type connector used to get from one song to another in the album's medley-like approach. So the first listen through of the LP had those two surprises, one sort-of nice, the other disappointing.

The re-record of "Merry Christmas Darling" is a bit of a mixed bag for me, as I prefer the original mix. It didn't need tampering with IMHO -- the old single was perfect in every way. Whenever I'm in the mood to hear the song, I always grab for the single mix on From The Top or now, Essential Collection. I find it interesting how pervasive that re-recorded version is. Every year, countless radio stations trot it out (no doubt emanating from the ubiquitous Secial Edition), and play it many, many times, while the original single mix languishes forgotten on a box set somewhere. Oh well, at least I know where to find it. For those who never noticed the differences, here's two easy ways to identify the re-record or the original.

1. Listen to Karen's phrasing on the opening line, "...but I still have one wish to make, a special one for you..." On the word "special" on the re-record, Karen uses a more casual conversational approach, bunching the two syllables of "special" together with a heavy emphasis on the first syllable. On the original, she uses a more traditional straight through singing read of the word.

2. Toward the end of the song (at about 2:25 in), she sings a line "...Happy New Year too..." On the re-recorded lead, she repeats the same note on both "New" and "Year", rather than follow the song's real melody line where "Year" should be a lower note than "New". Again, the original reading was more traditional, sticking with the intended melody line. The re-recorded version comes off as more of a soundtrack to the TV show with more ad libs, which in effect it was.

There's yet a third official mix of "Merry Christmas Darling" out there, the remix of the re-record (yes, you read that right). It came out on that Time-Life compilation called Christmas With The Carpenters back in 1992, and hasn't been heard from again. It's a typical Richard remix, with a heavier, more modern recording of his piano parts played against the re-recorded version of Karen's lead.

Harry
...re-mixed up, online...

 

[Harry]

Christmas Portrait
SP-4726
Issued on CD in Germany as 394 726-2
Album remix on disc one of Carpenters Christmas Collection 31454 0603 2
Portions issued as the Special Edition CD, CD 3210 DIDX 186, and on various box sets.

Conceived and Produced by Richard Carpenter, Associate Producer Karen Carpenter, Arranged and Orchestrated by Peter Knight, Billy May, and Richard Carpenter

Track listing:

O Come, O Come Immanuel
Overture: Deck The Halls, I Saw Three Ships, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Away In A Manger, What Child Is This, Carol Of The Bells, O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
Christmas Waltz
Sleigh Ride
It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well, Little Children
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
Silent Night
Jingle Bells
First Snowfall/Let It Snow
Carol Of The Bells
Merry Christmas Darling
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Christ Is Born
Winter Wonderland/Silver Bells/White Christmas
Ave Maria

Keyboards: Pete Jolly and Richard Carpenter - Bass: Joe Osborn - Drums: Ron Tutt and Cubby O'Brien - Guitars: Bob Bain, Tony Peluso and Tommy Tedesco - Harp: Gayle Levant and Dorothy Remsen - Oboe: Earle Dumler and John Ellis - Tenor Sax: Bob Messenger - Vocals: The Tom Bahler Chorale and Karen & Richard Carpenter - Engineered by Ray Gerhardt, Roger Young and Dave Iveland - Mastering Engineer: Bernie Grundman - "Merry Christmas Darling" Produced by: Jack Daugherty - Special thanks to Ed Sulzer - Personal Management: Jerry Weintraub/Management Three - Art Direction and Design: Tim Bryant/Gribbitt - Illustration: Robert Tanenbaum

 

[Harry]

I was also extremely disappointed with the double CD set. Although all the songs are present this time, the Christmas Portrait disc is full of remixes, and there is a choir on "Ave Maria" which isn't on that track on the LP.

According to accounts by Richard himself, that choir was always SUPPOSED to be there, but the track got lost as they were mixing down the final album. Once it was found, it was re-instated on the Special Edition version of the CD. In an old review of the Special Edition CD from when it was new, the reviewer accused Richard of using the choir as a cover-up of a flaw in the analog recording of Karen's lead.

Harry
...preferring the non-choir rendition, online...

 

[Rudy]

The opening was a huge disappointment, since it mimicked the An Old Fashioned Christmas overture. Somehow that track listing just always seemed wrong, immediately getting off on the wrong foot. Kind of the way Beatles fans talk about the British vs. US versions of Revolver.

And Rubber Soul for that matter...the US version starts with "I've Just Seen A Face", where the UK starts with a rocker, "Drive My Car". (I've always preferred the British versions anyway--I got into Beatles later in life and assembled the tracks on cassette in their British order.)

Agreed about the start of the "special edition", though--that dour, maudlin opening has to be one of the worst Carpenters recordings on record, IMHO. To me, it's the kind of sappy, choir and string-laden mush that their harshest critics accused them of...and it did sour me to the rest of the CD somewhat, immediately skipping to the "good stuff" on future listens. The original album's opening was happy and upbeat, like an overture, and made you anticipate the "holiday programme" that followed. As I mention, it had a certain flow, which got disrupted with the "unspecial edition's" mangled presentation.

What would have been nice as a "special edition", with the CD's expanded time limit, is to add the additional KC tracks from Old Fashioned Xmas as bonus tracks to it, sequenced to add to the existing Portrait holiday songs, and lose the strings and choir crap!! In fact, I may try something similar with my two-CD Collection, which will require some extended trickery in Sound Forge to accomplish.

and although "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" shows up in the track listing, it's just an O.K.Chorale-type connector used to get from one song to another in the album's medley-like approach. So the first listen through of the LP had those two surprises, one sort-of nice, the other disappointing.

I forgot about that--yes, I was disappointed also, since I'd somehow broken my 45RPM single of that song a couple of years earlier and was very happy to see it on LP. But...umm...no, it wasn't the same version, and the 45 wasn't in print anymore (I looked). I just had to live with hearing it on the radio. And yes, on both singles, I prefer the original recordings to the remixes. (As I've always said, "don't tamper with perfection.")

...re-mixed up, online...

Me, too.

-= N =-
..."original" purist...

 

[Bruno]

CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT is my favorite Christmas album. And I mean the original LP version, ofcourse.

I bought the LP in 1982 and the CD in 1987, when it was released here in Germany.

The other versions of CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT (Special Edition or Christmas Collection) are interesting, but I don't like them. The original magic is gone, Karen's voice has too much reverb and so on.

The original AVE MARIA is just great; the sappy choir in later releases is destroying the whole song.

MERRY CHRISTMAS DARLING is my favorite Christmas single. And I mean the 1978 remix, because Karen's voice is much warmer, softer and clearer, much more female than on the original version.

 

[Murray]

Christmas Portrait
SP-4726
Issued on CD in Germany as 394 726-2
Album remix on disc one of Carpenters Christmas Collection 31454 0603 2
Portions issued as the Special Edition CD, CD 3210 DIDX 186, and on various box sets.

Just a word of warning, in case anyone was thinking of tracking down a copy of the German CD. Both the original mix, AND the special edition were released on CD in Germany, and BOTH discs have the IDENTICAL catalog number - "394 726-2"!! The original mix CD was never supposed to be released - A&M sent the original master tape (the one used to make the LPs) to Germany when they were supposed to send the "Special Edition" master. When the error was discovered, any copies remaining in the warehouse were destroyed, and new copies were pressed from the Special Edition master. The only way to tell the two apart is by the track listing (the latter doesn't say "Special Edition" on it the way the North American one does). If you see one of these German Christmas Portrait CDs for sale on eBay or elsewhere, make sure you confirm that it has the original LP tracklist before you bid.

Murray

 

[Harry]

Wow. Good point Murray. I was unaware that it was never SUPPOSED to be released and that remaining copies were destroyed. Now I feel even more fortunate to have picked it up on that incredibly hot day in old Munich!

Harry
...with a bit of insomnia, online...

 

[Bruno]

Well, I'm not quite sure if this is right, Murray. Because for several years in the Eighties, the original CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT was available in stores here in Germany on CD. So, there was really time enough to notice a possible error.

 

[Murray]

Well, I'm not quite sure if this is right, Murray. Because for several years in the Eighties, the original CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT was available in stores here in Germany on CD. So, there was really time enough to notice a possible error.

The error wasn't discovered until the '90's, when Richard began work on the "Christmas Collection". When he requested the original Portrait master tapes from the A&M archives, it was discovered that the production master was missing! A search was launched, and after several weeks the tape was located at Polygram in Germany. From what I've been told, Richard was very upset when he found out what had happened, as he had NEVER authorised the original mix to be released on CD. That's when the remaining copies in the Polygram warehouse were ordered destroyed and the CD reissued. Since it had been on sale for several years by that point, there are probably far more German original mix CDs out there than special edition ones. But since they have the same catalog number, one must be cautious when bidding on this CD.

Murray

 

[Bruno]

You're right, Murray. For several years, each year I bought another copy of the original CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT CD here in Germany, to give away as a present at Christmas. Suddenly, one year, this CD was no longer available at the stores, even not at SATURN, the biggest CD store in Germany, located in Cologne.

But the SPECIAL EDITION never showed up in German CD stores! So the only way to get CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT here in Germany nowadays is by ordering CHRISTMAS COLLECTION at amazon.de.

Holiday Greetings!

Bruno