"Merry Christmas Darling" with the RPO

I like the new version. The mix has a nice, measured clarity to it. The flute is a pleasant, unexpected addition teetering over the arrangment. The strings are subtle and compliment the original well - maybe too well. Though with changes this measured and subtle, it can beg the question, what was the point?
 
Though with changes this measured and subtle, it can beg the question, what was the point?

I think this was always the danger of a project like this. In one way, Carpenters material was not the best for re-orchestration because unlike Aretha, Elvis and Roy Orbison, the material is already so lushly orchestrated, it's difficult to work out how you improve on what's already close to perfect. Several people on this thread have already said as much and I do think it's something Richard found a challenge, judging by some of the comments I have read.
 
I think this was always the danger of a project like this. In one way, Carpenters material was not the best for re-orchestration because unlike Aretha, Elvis and Roy Orbison, the material is already so lushly orchestrated, it's difficult to work out how you improve on what's already close to perfect. Several people on this thread have already said as much and I do think it's something Richard found a challenge, judging by some of the comments I have read.

I agree. I think its a complex line to tread, between not compromising already perfected material and creating a new but faithful interpretation. I don't envy Richard's task and as someone with experience in mixing I sympathise with the many complex variables at play.
 
I agree. I think its a complex line to tread, between not compromising already perfected material and creating a new but faithful interpretation. I don't envy Richard's task and as someone with experience in mixing I sympathise with the many complex variables at play.

It must have been quite a challenge. Richard has said that he even changed his mind and removed some of the new orchestration, probably for these reasons.
 
It ends better than Yesterday Once More, but it still cuts off, I suppose because it's jumping right into "Baby It's You" as the next song. A pairing I look forward to hearing once the album is out.

I'm not so sure that "Merry Christmas Darling" will segue into "Baby It's You" because "Merry Christmas Darling" is the last song on side B of the LP version. My guess would be that the tunes ending sides A, B and C of the LP ("For All We Know," "Merry Christmas Darling" and "Rainy Days and Mondays") will all have "normal" endings. Otherwise, they wouldn't sound right on the LPs. (Unless, the LPs will have unique mixes/edits for those tracks.)
 
I do wish they had not included a Christmas track on this particular compilation. I realize that it is a classic Carpenters track, but I just throws off the balance.
 
I do wish they had not included a Christmas track on this particular compilation. I realize that it is a classic Carpenters track, but I just throws off the balance.

That was the first thing I thought when the final tracklist was revealed. I don’t think its placement right in the middle of the tracklist works either. If it was going to go anywhere, it should have gone at the end as a bonus track. It’s alright listening to the album when you buy it in December, but not when you’re playing it next summer...especially on vinyl when you’d have to get up and lift the needle to skip it.

The beauty of downloading the album on Spotify is that you can remove any given track from the tracklist, which is probably what I’ll do when we get into January.
 
That was the first thing I thought when the final tracklist was revealed. I don’t think its placement right in the middle of the tracklist works either. If it was going to go anywhere, it should have gone at the end as a bonus track. It’s alright listening to the running order when you buy it in December, but not when you’re playing it next summer...especially on vinyl when you’d have to get up and lift the needle to skip it.

The beauty of downloading the album on Spotify is that you can remove any given track from the tracklist, which is probably what I’ll do when we get into January.

Ah, but the CD sales are primed for December, so one Xmas track might make sense. And that's certainly why MCD is out front in the previews at this point--I would guess they hope to get airplay for it in hopes that it might help push sales further next month.

But I agree that its overall placement in the tracklist seems odd.

I wonder if John Eidsvoog has any sense of the decision-making process that brought about the track order for this project. There is a well-established consensus that MCD is the greatest of Karen's Xmas performances, and certainly the most successful as a stand-alone; those two facts could easily have been "checked boxes" in Richard's mind when it came time to pick tracks.
 
I wonder if John Eidsvoog has any sense of the decision-making process that brought about the track order for this project. There is a well-established consensus that MCD is the greatest of Karen's Xmas performances, and certainly the most successful as a stand-alone; those two facts could easily have been "checked boxes" in Richard's mind when it came time to pick tracks.

I’d love to know more about the thought process that led to the consideration and subsequent inclusion of tracks like I Just Fall In Love Again and Baby It’s You. The latter especially was a complete surprise to me and not one I would have ever considered a contender. Compared to the many already richly-orchestrated hits included, the orchestration on that track is quite sparse, which leads me to believe it may well turn out to be one of the biggest surprises for the die-hard fans amongst us and a standout track on the album.
 
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Hi all...

So I bought the new "Merry Christmas, Darling" track from both iTunes and Amazon, and they both cut off the end quite abruptly, so I guess it will be flowing into the next track on the CD version and we will get the full song on the LP version. I did email iTunes about it, and this was their reply:

I've carefully review the song you reported to us and found that it is free of defects and plays as the artist intended it to play. Actually, the album "Carpenters With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra" is what is called a gapless playlist. This means that the artist intended for the album to be played seamlessly from start to finish, instead of each song being played as a single. If you play the entire album from beginning to end, you’ll notice that a song doesn’t cut off but fades into the next song.

Looking forward to getting the new CD!

Greg
 
This means that the artist intended for the album to be played seamlessly from start to finish, instead of each song being played as a single. If you play the entire album from beginning to end, you’ll notice that a song doesn’t cut off but fades into the next song.

For the OCD among us, this will cause havoc when wanting just one or more tracks for personal playlists. Thankfully Spotify has a customisable crossfade option :laugh:
 
Forgive me this super basic question about “Merry Christmas Darling.” This thread has me listening to the ending over and over, and it just occurred to me that I don’t know: what is Richard’s "ad-lib” / harmony line at the end, when Karen’s singing, “...merry, merry, merry Christmas, merry Christmas...Darrrrliiiiiiing”? Sorry, I should totally know this (and thanks!).
 
Forgive me this super basic question about “Merry Christmas Darling.” This thread has me listening to the ending over and over, and it just occurred to me that I don’t know: what is Richard’s "ad-lib” / harmony line at the end, when Karen’s singing, “...merry, merry, merry Christmas, merry Christmas...Darrrrliiiiiiing”? Sorry, I should totally know this (and thanks!).

Great question! I too was just thinking about Richard's lines in the ending, particularly since they are a little more up front in this recent mix. I hear his voice singing the words 'Merry Christmas' but they are layered and sung in a way that makes our ears think we're possibly hearing other words that aren't there. He starts out with just the word 'Christmas'. Listening on headphones makes it easier, but this is what I basically hear from Richard with his breaks in between syllables: "Chr-istmas, Me-er-ry Chri-ist-maas, Darling".
 
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Sounds the same to me. I finally heard what Richard was singing - it was always garbled to me.

Forgive me this super basic question about “Merry Christmas Darling.” This thread has me listening to the ending over and over, and it just occurred to me that I don’t know: what is Richard’s "ad-lib” / harmony line at the end, when Karen’s singing, “...merry, merry, merry Christmas, merry Christmas...Darrrrliiiiiiing”?

Even though his parts are louder, they still sound garbled to me.
 
Great question! I too was just thinking about Richard's lines in the ending, particularly since they are a little more up front in this recent mix. I hear his voice singing the words 'Merry Christmas' but they are layered and sung in a way that makes our ears think we're possibly hearing other words that aren't there. He starts out with just the word 'Christmas'. Listening on headphones makes it easier, but this is what I basically hear from Richard with his breaks in between syllables: "Chr-istmas, Me-er-ry Chri-ist-maas, Darling".
Thanks, Chris. I think you’re right.
 
Great question! I too was just thinking about Richard's lines in the ending, particularly since they are a little more up front in this recent mix. I hear his voice singing the words 'Merry Christmas' but they are layered and sung in a way that makes our ears think we're possibly hearing other words that aren't there. He starts out with just the word 'Christmas'. Listening on headphones makes it easier, but this is what I basically hear from Richard with his breaks in between syllables: "Chr-istmas, Me-er-ry Chri-ist-maas, Darling".

Correct. It's easiest to hear on the SACD SINGLES 1969-1981 disc in SACD mode.
 
Most all of the 16 and 24 track multi-track masters were transferred to hi-res digital, so retrieving this stuff for remix is still possible.

Merry Christmas, Darling
and For All We Know were orchestrated on the same evening - November 13, 1970 and I believe stored on the same master. When Karen re-recorded her lead in '78, I believe it was recorded onto the original 16 track multi, so even if the grand master was destroyed in the Universal Fire, the hi-res back up still exists and can be used for future remixing if that makes sense.
This is such a great fact nugget! Thanks so much for this fun fact!
 
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