šŸŽ„ Holidays! THE OFFICIAL REVIEW: [Album] "CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT" SP-4726

How Would You Rate This Album?

  • ***** (BEST)

    Votes: 63 78.8%
  • ****

    Votes: 16 20.0%
  • ***

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • **

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • *

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    80
That was the last time I was fortunate enough to see them perform before Karen passed. I have that poster too. Itā€™s a thicker cardboard type and it got a couple of creases over the years. Wish I taken better care of it. Moving didnā€™t help any of my posters over the years. Thanks for posting the video here.
 
That was the last time I was fortunate enough to see them perform before Karen passed. I have that poster too. Itā€™s a thicker cardboard type and it got a couple of creases over the years. Wish I taken better care of it. Moving didnā€™t help any of my posters over the years. Thanks for posting the video here.
I was there as well!
 
The second song besides "Merry Christmas Darling" that I heard from that original album in late 1978 was their version of "Sleigh Ride" at the old "National Record Mart" at the brand new "Westmoreland Mall" in Greensburg, Pennsylvania when I visited my late aunts & relatives in December of 1978!! There was another "National Record Mart" at the old "Greengate Mall" also in Greensburg, PA (which was torn down back in 2008 which is now a strip mall).
 
Iā€™ve posted before about it in another thread. Their performance was short. Much of the concert was dedicated to the Cal State Long Beach Choirs before Carpenters came out to sing. The audience reacted politely to Karenā€™s extremely thin appearance. She still looked and sounded beautiful that day. It was a privilege to go at all. Small venue. I had a cassette recorder that I took in with me. The recording was poor and the tape is lost Iā€™m afraid. I donā€™t remember what songs they did from the album. Maybe Mark-T can write about that if he has a list, or better memory than mine. So long ago...thx.
 
My memories are similar. I remember MCD (of course) and It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well Little Children. And Ave Maria. I do not remember what piece Richard played but I remember it was not what was in the program. (Which I don't have. Of all the boxes to lose during a move!)
 
I wasn't there, but someone sent me a home recording that includes:

1. It's Christmas Time / Sleep Well Little Children

Thatā€™s strange because itā€™s been documented that Richard reduced their playlist down to such a degree that their set began with ā€œSleep Well Little Childrenā€. Excerpt from a concert review by Charles Carney at the time:

ā€œThe Carpenters finally arrived on the stage far too late in the show to make a difference, and stayed for too short a time. Their presence should either have been established during the early portion of the show and woven throughout or extended for a longer time at the end. As it was, their arrival broke the carefully designed momentum that had been building during the first two thirds of the show, and catapulted it into the predictability of a Las Vegas lounge actā€.
 
I think Its Christmas Time was done primarily by the choir, and then Karen stepped in with Sleep Well Little Children. Is that on your recording, Harry?
 
It came in an email from "The Carpenters Store" , so it could disappear at any time.
 
I really like this promo ad for The Carpenters ~ A Christmas Portrait on ABC
TV Guide Dec 16-22 1978
aYuYzih.jpg
 
I really like this promo ad for The Carpenters ~ A Christmas Portrait on ABC
TV Guide Dec 16-22 1978
aYuYzih.jpg
!
Such a shame that one of the last Carpenters noteworthy media circumstances was concerned with an ancient Gene Kelly, a C-lister Georgia Engel, and the non-existent Kristy and Jimmy McNichol. Thank You Jerry Weintraub!
 
Referring to magician Peter Pit as a "creep" (post 322, above)based upon his appearance in a Carpenters' 1978 TV special
is doing him a disservice, to say the least.
As Peter Pit was not the writer, director, or producer, he was not responsible for the quality of that TV special.
A bit of research on this human being--not "creep"--reveals a rather well-respected, intelligent, musician
who spoke five languages (born in Holland). He lost his life at age 65 due to leukemia.
Apparently, Steve Martin was a big fan (per Magic Cafe Forums):
"The late Peter Pit was hired by Steve Martin as a consultant to help put together the Flydini act. The original idea was Steve's, but when he wanted to do something more formal with it than just friend's parties, he got Peter to help him expand the act. Peter was always very proud of his part in producing Flydini, and thought it was one of the funniest acts he had ever seen. "
 
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