Christmas Portrait by Carpenters (CD, Oct-1990, A&M (USA))

Album Features
UPC:	075021517325
Artist:	Carpenters
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1990
Record Label:	A&M (USA)
Genre:	Christmas, Rock & Pop

Track Listing
1. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
2. Overture: Happy Holiday / The First Noel / March Of The Toys / Little Jesus / I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus / O Little Town of Bethlehem / In Dulce Jubilo / Gesu Bambino / Angels We Have Heard On High
3. Old-Fashioned Christmas, An
4. Christmas Waltz
5. Sleigh Ride
6. It's Christmas Time
7. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
8. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
9. Christmas Song, The (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
10. Carol of the Bells
11. Merry Christmas Darling
12. Christ Is Born
13. O Holy Night
14. Home For the Holidays
15. Here Comes Santa Claus / Frosty The Snowman / Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer / Good King Wenceslas
16. Winter Wonderland / Silver Bells / White Christmas
17. Ave Maria
18. Overture Miniature / Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies / Valse Des Fleurs
19. Little Altar Boy
20. I'll Be Home For Christmas
21. Silent Night

Details
Playing Time:	69 min.
Producer:	Richard Carpenter
Distributor:	Universal Distribution
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	AAD

Album Notes
The Carpenters: Karen Carpenter (vocals); Richard Carpenter (keyboards).Additional personnel includes: Bob Messenger (tenor saxophone); Pete Morgan (acoustic bass); Joe Osborn (electric bass); Ron Tutt, Barry Morgan, Cubby O'Brien (drums).The Carpenters were just about the last adult pop outfit of their era with anything resembling rock credibility (they did have a little of the latter in the early days, and weren't a kid act like the Osmonds) who could have pulled off a straight Christmas album. And they did it in superb style here, illuminated throughout by the delightful, complex, often playful arrangements, courtesy of Peter Knight, Richard Carpenter, and Billy May. Actually, for a change on a Carpenters album, Richard is the dominant personality on display across this record, as both co-arranger and producer, as well as the mastermind behind the project; Karen Carpenter's voice is also prominent, to be sure, most notably on "Merry Christmas, Darling" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and she threw herself into this next-to-last completed project (and their final release before a two-year hiatus), but it's Richard who comes to the fore everywhere here, in ways that are impossible to ignore. And the results are mightily impressive, as the mood never slackens in what amounts to a wall-to-wall celebration of the Christmas holiday. After a suitably festive introductory section, Karen Carpenter's solo voice comes up on the "Christmas Waltz" and the proceedings really take off, carrying us into the most engaging rendition of Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" that has come down in many a year, and it only gets better from there, through a brace of holiday staples that end up sounding fresh in her voice and his arrangements. There's not a slack moment on this album, which is also, curiously, one of the few Carpenters' albums that managed to sound good in every CD edition so far released on it (most of the others needed to be upgraded). ~ Bruce Eder