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Merry Christmas Darling was remixed in 1992 by Richard Carpenter and was included on the Time life Christmas CD.
Did Richard specifically record this specifically for this CD? I find it strange that he would go to that effort and not release it as an official Carpenters release.
You know, I never gave this much thought until now. But I'm almost wondering if Time Life was delivered the wrong master for Merry Christmas Darling. There were several masters being utilized that were remixes of most of the Portrait soundtrack.
For starters, there's audible distortion on there which is enough to rule it out for inclusion. I also echo the sentiments of others here that I just don't care for the stereo re-record on the piano.
The other thing I forgot to mention about this remix is that it’s got that awful “thumper” kick drum effect done through Richard’s keyboard, similar to the one we hear on the 1987 remix of Love Is Surrender and the 1991 remix of Top Of The World. At least on this track it’s in time.
Do any of the other 1992 remixes on the Time Life collection have the same effect?
I really don't think I've heard the '92 mix of "Merry Christmas, Darling". The '78 is great, but the '70 version is the standard for me.
Not that I'm aware of. And from what I understand Richard went in and re-did some of those kick drum tracks to give them more punch, but I REALLY can't listen to those mixes.
Going back to the Merry Christmas Darling remix, it's also possible that this was a remix in the overall batch that he'd initially made the decision to include when the Time Life set came out, then changed his mind later on. I really don't know the definitive answer, but just knowing how he's handled these kinds of things, seems like a logical conclusion.
Too much reverb, too much bass EQ on the bassline...why mess with perfection?