šŸŽ„ Holidays! - "Christmas Once More" [Album]: Spoiler Thread | A&M Corner Forums

šŸŽ„ Holidays! "Christmas Once More" [Album]: Spoiler Thread

Now reading:
šŸŽ„ Holidays! "Christmas Once More" [Album]: Spoiler Thread

newvillefan

newvillefan

I Know My First Name Is Stephen
Here in the UK we're just over an hour away from this album dropping on streaming sites and it's great to see fans posting that they've already received their CD. I thought I'd create a spoiler thread for fans to post their thoughts on the new collection.

If you'd like to post your reaction without spoiling any surprises for those who haven't heard it yet, don't forget you can use the 'spoiler' feature. Write your review, then highlight the text you've written (that you'd like to keep hidden) and look above the dialogue box you're writing in, and hit this button ā¬‡ļø. It should wrap your message inside a [ SPOILER ] tag.

IMG_9898.jpeg

Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks!
 
A quicker/easier way for some might be to use tags: Just type [ s p o i l e r ] in front of, and [ / s p o i l e r ] at the end of, your spoiler text. (Leave the extra spaces out.)
 
OK, if you've not had a chance to listen in Dolby Atmos yet, please note... SPOILERS to follow.

Some initial thoughts after listening through it twice.



1. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
2. Happy Holiday
3. The Christmas Waltz

All of this initial introduction sounded great to me. I thought I'd miss the overture, but it sounded good the way Richard arranged the flow. And the part with the strings in the middle of Christmas Waltz where there was distortion is now removed. Karen sounds great.

4. Sleigh Ride
5. It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well Little Children
6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Not much to comment on these. What stands out to me about these mixes is how much is going on musically that you often can't catch in the normal mixes. By having the Dolby 'surround' effect, you get more layers of music, yet at the same time Karen is up front and center and sounds terrific.

7. Christ Is Born

This has always been one of my favorite underrated Christmas songs. I enjoy Perry Como's version also. What stands out in the Dolby mix are the voices of the choir. They sound more distinctive, to the point you can distinguish the voices in a way that in previous mixes was nearly impossible. Karen risks getting lost a little in the mix, as the choir gets louder in verse 3, but she's back and triumphant for the finale. The strings sound fantastic.

8. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

This is the mix I've been waiting for. And it didn't disappoint. It's got the sax solo from the 1984 version (which is the one I prefer), but without as much reverb on Karen's Voice, and a surround-stereo-effect on the harmonies, and a heightened attention to the strings. This is now the definitive version of this song, in my opinion.

9. Merry Christmas Darling (RPO)

Ironically, this is the worst sounding of this album in Dolby Atmos. I noticed it last year when the Atmos version was released and hoped it would be resolved. The RPO version sounds terrific in its normal mix, but in the Dolby Mix, Karen is pushed way too far into the background. She's not dominant in the mix. Because this is the case, MCD sounds different than the other mixes on this album, where Karen is front and center. Again, this is only in the Atmos mix, so I assume on CD and Vinyl it's going to sound as terrific as the regular RPO version does.

10. The Christmas Song

This mix is terrific, with enhanced acoustic guitar that I never noticed as much in the original. That's really the fun about all these mixes... there's instrumentation that was always there but gets missed in the regular mixes. Dolby brings them out so you can hear the musical layers. And the good news is, Karen's voice is front and center with no reverb.

11. Home for the Holidays

There's an interesting difference in the opening to this song right before Karen enters... just a difference in layering of the orchestration as the keyboard enters.

12. Little Altar Boy

This one stunned me. It's the first time I've heard this song in a different mix, of course, and the lack of reverb and the prominence of Karen's vocal makes it the "most present" sounding of all the songs on this album. This has never been a favorite of mine, but it may be the very best mix on this new compilation. The voice is so central that I even detected a little bit of vocal fry in a couple places. Also, the ending doesn't have those descending harp notes, which I thought I'd miss, and yet their absence actually heightens the drama somehow because of the sparseness of instrumentation there. And right at the last time she sings "Little altar boy", Karen takes a big gulp of air... All of it is noticeable. This one is not to be missed. if ever there was a song that sounds like Karen is in the room, this is it.

13. First Snowfall / Let It Snow

This was fun, and it sounds great to have a new and better mix of a medley that's always been underrated in their Christmas catalogue.

14. My Favorite Things

I complained that this was the song that Richard picked for this album, as O Holy Night or Carol of the Bells would have been better, but I'm pleasantly surprised. He did great in enhancing this song. The instrumentation is fantastic and there are some noticeable changes/re-recorded sections, etc. Listening to this made me picture Richard having fun revisiting and reworking this track in the studio, and I liked it a lot more than I expected.

15. White Christmas

This is basically the version of this song we get from From the Top, except Karen's voice doesn't have the reverb, so she sounds much closer and in front. There are some subtle instrumental sounds that are more noticeable (again, the guitar).

16. Ave Maria

What can I say? It's always been a terrific album closer, and this version is no exception. Yes, many of us would have rather had the intimate version without the choir, but I get it -- Karen and Richard had always wanted the choir there, to give it the sense of a grandeur as the album closes.

Overall, I'm super pleased with this collection and I hope it does well enough that it leads to more Carpenters albums being done in Dolby Atmos.
 
Kyle Thomas said:
OK, if you've not had a chance to listen in Dolby Atmos yet, please note... SPOILERS to follow.

Some initial thoughts after listening through it twice.



1. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
2. Happy Holiday
3. The Christmas Waltz

All of this initial introduction sounded great to me. I thought I'd miss the overture, but it sounded good the way Richard arranged the flow. And the part with the strings in the middle of Christmas Waltz where there was distortion is now removed. Karen sounds great.

4. Sleigh Ride
5. It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well Little Children
6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Not much to comment on these. What stands out to me about these mixes is how much is going on musically that you often can't catch in the normal mixes. By having the Dolby 'surround' effect, you get more layers of music, yet at the same time Karen is up front and center and sounds terrific.

7. Christ Is Born

This has always been one of my favorite underrated Christmas songs. I enjoy Perry Como's version also. What stands out in the Dolby mix are the voices of the choir. They sound more distinctive, to the point you can distinguish the voices in a way that in previous mixes was nearly impossible. Karen risks getting lost a little in the mix, as the choir gets louder in verse 3, but she's back and triumphant for the finale. The strings sound fantastic.

8. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

This is the mix I've been waiting for. And it didn't disappoint. It's got the sax solo from the 1984 version (which is the one I prefer), but without as much reverb on Karen's Voice, and a surround-stereo-effect on the harmonies, and a heightened attention to the strings. This is now the definitive version of this song, in my opinion.

9. Merry Christmas Darling (RPO)

Ironically, this is the worst sounding of this album in Dolby Atmos. I noticed it last year when the Atmos version was released and hoped it would be resolved. The RPO version sounds terrific in its normal mix, but in the Dolby Mix, Karen is pushed way too far into the background. She's not dominant in the mix. Because this is the case, MCD sounds different than the other mixes on this album, where Karen is front and center. Again, this is only in the Atmos mix, so I assume on CD and Vinyl it's going to sound as terrific as the regular RPO version does.

10. The Christmas Song

This mix is terrific, with enhanced acoustic guitar that I never noticed as much in the original. That's really the fun about all these mixes... there's instrumentation that was always there but gets missed in the regular mixes. Dolby brings them out so you can hear the musical layers. And the good news is, Karen's voice is front and center with no reverb.

11. Home for the Holidays

There's an interesting difference in the opening to this song right before Karen enters... just a difference in layering of the orchestration as the keyboard enters.

12. Little Altar Boy

This one stunned me. It's the first time I've heard this song in a different mix, of course, and the lack of reverb and the prominence of Karen's vocal makes it the "most present" sounding of all the songs on this album. This has never been a favorite of mine, but it may be the very best mix on this new compilation. The voice is so central that I even detected a little bit of vocal fry in a couple places. Also, the ending doesn't have those descending harp notes, which I thought I'd miss, and yet their absence actually heightens the drama somehow because of the sparseness of instrumentation there. And right at the last time she sings "Little altar boy", Karen takes a big gulp of air... All of it is noticeable. This one is not to be missed. if ever there was a song that sounds like Karen is in the room, this is it.

13. First Snowfall / Let It Snow

This was fun, and it sounds great to have a new and better mix of a medley that's always been underrated in their Christmas catalogue.

14. My Favorite Things

I complained that this was the song that Richard picked for this album, as O Holy Night or Carol of the Bells would have been better, but I'm pleasantly surprised. He did great in enhancing this song. The instrumentation is fantastic and there are some noticeable changes/re-recorded sections, etc. Listening to this made me picture Richard having fun revisiting and reworking this track in the studio, and I liked it a lot more than I expected.

15. White Christmas

This is basically the version of this song we get from From the Top, except Karen's voice doesn't have the reverb, so she sounds much closer and in front. There are some subtle instrumental sounds that are more noticeable (again, the guitar).

16. Ave Maria

What can I say? It's always been a terrific album closer, and this version is no exception. Yes, many of us would have rather had the intimate version without the choir, but I get it -- Karen and Richard had always wanted the choir there, to give it the sense of a grandeur as the album closes.

Overall, I'm super pleased with this collection and I hope it does well enough that it leads to more Carpenters albums being done in Dolby Atmos.
Click to expand...
Agree with almost all of this! Itā€™s so much brighter and cleaner with this new mix and in Atmos.

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear seems a little more muted, a little of the oomph is out of it to me, but the surrounding vocals are excellent!

Happy Holidayā€¦..at the start it feels like I am sitting in Symphony Hall somewhere, the Atmos mix is superb here.

One of the first most stunning things is the first 45 seconds of Itā€™s Christmas Time. This REALLY is a moment that showcases just Karen and Richard, at their most talented. Karenā€™s superior phrasing and breath control and Richardā€™s adept keyboarding are so well balanced here in this mix, neither one of them steals the show, they are equally presented and its an amazing 45 seconds.

I love the new ā€œspreadā€ on the choir, you really can hear more separation in the parts but well blended. And the surround spread on K&R background vocals in Santa Claus is amazing.

I agree, My Favorite Things seems to have some newly recorded piano phrases, mixed with the old. Seems like the more complicated ā€œorchestralā€ sounding ones he left in but re-recorded some of the simpler more outstanding phrases.
 
Those worried about spoilers may choose to consider whether to read on. I donā€™t consider the following a spoiler, but potential issue, soā€¦

Not sure whatā€™s going on with Merry Christmas Darling on the Apple Music track! It is definitely different than the RPO track in that Karen, although somewhat down in the RPO album version, is EXTREMELY buried in the COM version. Listening back to back sounds like the music is brought up louder in the COM mix, with Karenā€™s vocal volume the same as the RPO mix. Sounds like a technical issue rather than an intentional one and I hope it is fixable.
 
newvillefan said:
Write your review, then highlight the text you've written (that you'd like to keep hidden) and look above the dialogue box you're writing in, and hit this button ā¬‡ļø. It should wrap your message inside a [ SPOILER ] tag.
Click to expand...

Yep. šŸ‘

First, highlight the text you want to hide.

Click/tap the ā to open the extended editing menu (circled in yellow).

Then, click/tap the crossed-out eye (underlined in orange) to hide the text.

1730488382855.png

Alternately, the mask icon is the inline spoiler, will hide text inline, like this, which blurs it out. Clicking the blurred text will display it.
 
I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, but it sounded great. "Little Altar Boy" really stood out for me. I may have to order the vinyl record after all
 
Two more observations from me:

'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town'

At the very end of the song at 3m49s, Karen's lower harmony on the line "he's coming to town" is separated very clearly to the right of the stereo spectrum when listening on headphones. Something I've never heard in such clarity before.

'My Favourite Things'

I was right about much of this being re-recorded. At 3m31s there is a whole new piano arpeggio that isn't in the original recording. Sounds like Richard had a ball redoing much of this track.
 
Last edited:
newvillefan said:
The whole point of the thread was to use the spoiler feature to hide your review. Never mind šŸ˜‚
Click to expand...
The title says ā€œSpoiler Thread.ā€ I spent 5 minutes looking for a ā¬‡ļø symbol to put the ā€œspoilerā€ button up and didnā€™t realize till tonight you were using the ā¬‡ļø to point down to a symbol below it that weā€™re supposed to know is the ā€œspoilerā€ symbol. So I just said to myself ā€œforget itā€ and posted my comments anyway without it because, the thread is titled ā€œSpoiler Thread.ā€ 1730512356753.png
 
My Udiscover order is stuck in purgatory for now, but I did get the black vinyl from Amazon. The vinyl is amazingly quiet for a UMd pressing. An 8 out of 10 score from me. I listened to it entirely with the Sweetvinyl noise reduction off. The only bad track is Little Alter Boy. Itā€™s recorded too hot, and distorts when the choir comes in behind Karen. My Favorite Things is by far the best sounding track. For those of you with home theater set ups, all speakers fire on this one well. MCD starts side 2, and sounds fine, then The Christmas Song starts, and itā€™s noticeably clearer than MCD. Very happy with the vinyl overall. Iā€™m using an Ortofon LVB black cartridge for playback. Amazing sound.
As for the iTunes download. I listened first with my Bose quiet comfort headphones. It sounds great with them blocking out any background noise. Then I switched to my AirPods Pro 2, and heard it it Atmos. Even better. I didnā€™t notice any difference in MCD with either set. Richard did an amazing job remixing this album. Iā€™m ready forā€ A Christmas For Youā€, with the rest of the vocals left off of COM, plus O Holy Night, when Richard gets ready to go back in the studio again. Please!
 
My previous spoiler for ā€œChristmas Once Moreā€ was after listening to the CD. I wanted to listen to the CD initially using MDRV6 Studio Monitor Headphones which I figured might be better for critical listening/higher impedance. Today I listened in a more conventional environment ā€“ through my phono system with speakers. I agree with @GDBY2LV in that I am very happy with the vinyl.

When I opened the black vinyl, I was very excited that it was not the 180 gram. I have had some good luck with 180ā€™s but never with UM. I ordered a 180 ā€œPassageā€ once and it was beyond horrible.

UM has corrected all that with the standard weighted vinyl. The vinyl is very quiet/zero surface noise. There is no sibilance (EQ is great). It is the first time hearing the 2023 mix of ā€œHave Yourselfā€ on vinyl and it is stunning. All the vocals on the LP jump right out of the speakers (okay maybe not "Merry Christmas Darling" so much).

Iā€™m sensing from many of the reviews and spoilers that each format will offer a different experience. The black vinyl, to me, has that familiar warm/uncompressed rich sound of the records that I grew up. I will most likely order another one for backup. I am undecided about opening the Gold.
 
Last edited:
My Gold LP arrived today. I have not listed but itā€™s looks perfect, happy to report visually it looks stunning, even the holes are perfect. It doesnā€™t feel like 180 grams but that doesnā€™t bother me. Looks like Ume did a great job on looks will have to play it later. My CD also arrived, I havenā€™t listened at all yet to this album. Photos with shrink wrap so glare is obvious. Iā€™m very impressed, looks great in large LP size, gold color is more muted gold in natural light (first pic), on my turntable overhead light no flash and direct desk light (last pic) it does have some sparkle in direct light evident on the last pic. Holding it up to direct light you can see the gold swirl inside the gold. It also have a nice white paper sleeve lined. The LP insert has a nice write up on both side with photos. Iā€™m impressed with the LP photos on the jacket front and back, nice and clear in person, a bit blurry with plastic wrap which I will probably keep on.
Nice job.


Photos of the Gold LP click at your own risk
You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar discussions

Rudy
  • Article
ā­ Review Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas--A new twist on an old favorite
Replies
9
Views
479
BILLSJUKEBOX
BILLSJUKEBOX
Harry
Please use spoiler tags for the new Carpenters book threads (for now).
Replies
9
Views
1K
Rita
Rita
Simon KC1950
David Pomeranz Interview on Carpenters and "Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again"
Replies
16
Views
6K
1969
1
Steve Sidoruk
  • Locked
Suzanne Vega
Replies
0
Views
2K
Steve Sidoruk
Steve Sidoruk
DJS
  • Locked
BBC Ray Moore Interview September 1981 ******COMPLETED******
Replies
12
Views
5K
wisejester7
W
Back
Top Bottom