🎄 Holidays! CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT

[PHIL]

I don't think anyone has remarked on the fact that Christmas Portrait is 25 years old this year.

To me, this is the definitive Christmas album, by which all others are judged, and always marks the festive season like no other record.

It has so many memories for me, especially of my much missed mum who would always play the tape first thing on the big day. I would love to get hold of a CD of the original recording, as the CD I have is a combination of the 2 Christmas albums. My vinyl LP is not wearing too well, it's been played a million times!

Anyone else have any comments on a quarter century of magic?

 

[Tony]

Phil,

I, too, think that Christmas Portrait is the definitive Christmas album. Karen sounds wonderful and the music is perfectly suited for her voice. Her performance on "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" is just amazing. All in all, I think it's one of the classiest holiday recordings out there.

Tony

 

[ullalume]

True, I never realized it was a quarter of a century old this year (as I listen to the CD now on my computer.....sleigh ride's finishing now). Also the year I was born, so that's two major gifts to humanity 1978 blessed us with.

Favourite track : SILENT NIGHT (at the end of "sleep in heavenly PEACEEEEEE" Karen goes very deep and you can hear her finish of with the "ce" sound. Always finished off a noun did Karen.

Neil

 

[Laurie S]

Wow! It is hard to believe it really has been 25 years. I still play the album and cds the day after Thanksgiving and also on Christmas Day. I keep the cd in my car for those long drives to help keep me in the holiday mood. It just isn't the holiday for me unless I hear Karen's voice singing those beautiful arrangements.

The love of those Christmas albums was something I shared with my mother. We lost her to throat cancer almost three years ago now. It is so wonderful to have the music to remind me of the good times and how much she too loved Karen's voice.

May listening to Karen and Richard remind you all of treasured memories that keep those you loved close to you.

Happy Holidays to you all.

Laurie

 

[hammer&nails]

It's hard to believe that 25 years have gone by...I still remember back home in the Philippines when it came out in 1978 and asking my sister to buy it for me as I didn't have enough money.

Of all my Christmas albums (lps and cds) the Christmas Portrait is the one that gets played first - I started playing it this year back in the last week of September! It really brings back a lot of memories of Christmas when I was growing up.

 

[Harry]

Christmas Portrait is always one of the top albums in my Christmas rotation.

Until recently though, I wasn't aware of a different lead vocal from Richard on the opening tune, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". On the original vinyl mix, he sings "...and ransom captive Israel." On the remixed versions (both Time-Life and the Christmas Collection), he sings "...shall ransom captive Israel."

I proabably didn't notice since I rarely listen to the remixed version.

Harry
NP: radio at work

 

[thestitch]

Simply put--the very best, bar none!! Glad to see it's AOTW!!

Marilyn

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Your right Harry, that one slipped by me. Richard must have re-recorded the whole thing, cause if you listen to the next word ransom, he pronuces it different on Time Life CD & Christmas Collection than from the LP version. So if he re-recorded it, what year did he do this?

I still think it's strange that the "special edition" leaves this track off along with Do you hear what I hear and yet it is still the main seller in the stores, today I was at Barnes & Noble & right in front with all the other Xmas CD's was the Special Edition & Christmas Collection CD's.

 

[Harry]

That was pointed out to me by sometime Forum visitor, and great Carpenters fan, Scott B.

Harry
...still at work after a long day, online...

 

[Rudy]

Simply put--the very best, bar none!! Glad to see it's AOTW!!

Marilyn

Since I noticed someone mentioned it was 25 years old, I figured it was as good a time as any.

 

[thestitch]

And, thanks very much for it, Neil!!

Marilyn

 

[Jay Maynes/Juan Oskar]

I believe that Karen Carpenter was born to sing the "Christmas Portrait" album. You might want to check out my Christmas Pics ... Feliz Navidad...Jay http://www.juanoskar.biz/christmas_pics.htm

 

[Harry]

To make it all official and everything, here's the details on our Chrismas Album Of The Week, info resurrected from last year's thread:

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

 

[chpoof]

A friend of mine owns the original German CD and was kind enough to let me make a CD-R. So I have the original mix, the two-disc set mix, and even the special mixes from the Time-Life collection that came out around ten years ago. Goodness!

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

That german cd is very rare I hear. I wonder how many were actually pressed? I was fortunate enough to get a CDR too of that german pressing for my collection. I wonder how many of those are still sitting around in german used cd stores Not knowing what the've actually got there?

I've played it like 10x's already this past week.

 

[chpoof]

My friend got his on eBay last year. I think he paid around $60 for it, so it's pretty rare.

 

[Rudy]

One thing I've noticed about my LP is that it is just a little noisier than other A&M pressings. I believe it was cut at a lower volume in order to fit the longer program onto the disc. The grooves even look closer together. Despite that the LP is a very good sounding, warm pressing. I've always liked it.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Since this topic was about the 1st Carpenters Album. Instead of posting another thread, I had a question about the original CD issue.

I understand that the original Christmas Portrait was released on CD in Germany (which I have a copy) but was this also released in the USA at the same time the germany CD came out? Or was this exclusive to Germany? I'm talking about the original album version on CD.

My other question is the 2nd album, An Old Fashioned Christmas, was this ever released in it's original format on CD also? Was this in Germany too or also the USA? I've seen this CD on ebay but that was from Japan & it looked like a possible re-issue as the Obi strip was showing.

My questions are pertaining to the original LP versions that were released on CD. Not the combined CD's (Christmas Collection or The Special Edition) or the re-mixed versions.

 

[Harry]

Nope. The whole idea of the Special Edition came about BECAUSE of the CD's extended length capabilities. So when it was due to be released on CD, Richard created the mix of the two albums all on one disc. It sold well too, and for many years, was all you could get here in the States, Carpenters-Christmas-wise.

The German CD was, from what was posted earlier in this thread, actually a mistake. They too were supposed to get the Special Edition.

OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS remained unreleased on CD for at least a decade. The twin-pack CHRISTMAS COLLECTION came out in Europe and Japan first, and was the first time that the complete OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS saw release. It hit US stores a year later. I believe that only Japan has ever seen a complete single-disc release of OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS with original artwork, and that's what's also included in the new 35th Anniversary box set.

Harry
...just in from a bit of Christmas shopping, online...

 

[Tony]

I was looking at the track listing on Christmas Portrait this morning and I noticed that "Sleep Well Little Children" is not there. Although I'm not listening to it at the moment, I think it comes just after "It's Christmas Time", right? Is this an oversight?

Tony

 

[Harry]

^^ Are you referring to the track listing posted above? Or on a CD?

It's there in the list above as track 5, "It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well Little Children", just the way it appears on the CD.

Harry
NP: radio at work

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

It seems just about every Christmas season I end up buying 1 new or used Christmas CD from a different artist, However, why is it that nothing completely satisfies me like The Carpenters "Christmas Portrait"

Am I the only one? Is it that I have set my expectation of the "best" and nothing comes close? or Is it that I keep wishing another artist will touch me emotionally around the holidays as much as this Carpenters CD does?

It's not that I don't like the other artists Christmas Cd's, there just ok. Just why does Christmas Portrait have such a special place for me?

I hope I'm not alone, cause then I will feel stupid thinking this way.

 

[Rudy]

Compared to some of my not-so-musically-inclined friends, I own more Xmas CDs than they own CDs, period! (Don't ask our fellow member Tim Neely how many *he* owns... )

I haven't bought much this year at all. So far, just the Japanese Brian Setzer EP that contains the four extra Xmas tracks that have shown up on the different "retailer" versions of his CD from last year. I still need to get the new Michael Franks CD, plus there are one or two others I want to pick up in the after-holiday sales.

I think the only CD I own that is a "must-play" every year is the Tijuana Brass Christmas Album. I grew up listening to it from the year it was released, and I have similar feelings about it. I'll listen to selected tracks from the Carpenters, but because I have so many, I usually do this with most of my CDs and LPs. (And come to think of it, I still prefer the vinyl version of Christmas Portrait over any of the CD versions. )

I think a lot of you might be interested in what I did with my 2-CD Carpenters Collection though. As you know, there are a lot more "filler" tracks on Old Fashioned Christmas. I clocked it out--on that entire album, KC's singing only appears on 20 minutes, 40 seconds of the album. What I've always wanted to do was combine both albums into one, removing some of the ridiculous fluff that IMHO ruins the second album for me, while keeping KC's tracks intact. Also, the difficulty comes up when trying to split apart the tracks, as many of them are segued together.

So here is what I came up with. Amazingly, the tracks I wanted to use from Old Fashioned were easy to split out and, coincidentally, the instrumental tracks I chose were ones segued to KC tracks I wanted to keep. And the final result comes out to 77:30. Here's the rundown:

Tracks 1 thru 15 (up through "Christ Is Born") are the original Christmas Portrait album. These tracks from Old Fashioned follow:

He Came For Me
Little Altar Boy
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
O Holy Night
No Place Like Home For The Holidays
Do You Hear What I Hear?
My Favorite Things
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Then from this point, we finish up with the last two Christmas Portrait tracks...the Winter Wonderland medley, followed by Ave Maria. These seemed like the best ending to a "Christmas Program", and I couldn't see ending the disc any other way. You'll notice that the earlier tracks I used are more secular, so they're together in one group. And I like the New Year's song close to the end of the program.

It only took me a couple of tries to hit on this formula, and to get the edits precise, I used my usual CD Architect program to space them appropriately. It came out quite nicely, and we even include two nice instrumental tracks from Old Fashioned. This would have been an ideal "special edition" of Christmas Portrait since it doesn't upset the original program too much.

 

[chpoof]

I don't think you're unusual, Chris. The Carpenters' Christmas albums are the standard by which all others are measured, in my opinion. Of course, I'm just a wee bit biased!

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Thanks Mickey, I feel better now!!!

For me it's not the holiday's if I don't play this album at least 10 times original version of course.