Excellent but...

For a very short time, the original "Christmas Portrait" album was available on cd but unfortunately, like many, I waited too long and had to console myself with the new, "deluxe" version.



While it had some tracks from "Christmas Portrait" and "An Old-Fashioned Christmas", a lot of great music was missing. Richard Carpenter even mentions in the liner notes of the new two disc collection how fans outright demanded the release of the two original albums on cd.



Owen Myers hit the nail on the head in his review. I thought I was the only one who noticed the reverb on the first disc. While I can ignore it when played as background music, I cannot when I'm truly listening. I have also noticed this on other tracks from other albums that have been remastered (and remixed) and it is unfortunate because on the original vinyl albums, Karen's voice is so clean and clear. She does not need vocal "diffusion" and while I have always had great respect for Richard as a producer and arranger, I cannot understand his need or desire to go back and "fix" something that is not broken.



It is interesting to note that the second disc, "An Old-Fashioned Christmas" sounds (at least to me) to be untouched with no remastering or remixing. You can almost hear the texture of Karen's voice. Perhaps, Richard thought it was too "rough" on the first disc and this is why there is an airy (if you like that) quality to it.



I may be wrong but I believe Karen passed away before the second disc was finished which would explain why there is so much instrumental filler (as nice as it is) and why there is such a long lead time (almost 15 minutes) before Karen sings a single note.



So now I have both the "deluxe" version and the double disc version with hopes of one day finding the original "Christmas Portrait" disc in a used cd store or on-line. For those with discerning ears, the original version is worth having.

one complaint about what should be a great set...

Having kept my two vinyl records around for years because only the edited single Carpenters Christmas Collection was available, I was thrilled when this CD was released. BUT, I was devastated when I discovered Richard took his remixing one step too far on the first CD. There is one glaring change that really bothers me. On the original recording, the segue between White Christmas and Ave Maria is played by an organ with a weird but beautiful reverb sound...on this mastering of the collection, the part was replayed with a piano!!! It just does not segue as smoothly into Ave Maria, which is accompanied by the same organ that led into it! I had to keep my single Carpenters Christmas CD just for that original mix!!! Also, it would be nice if the original 45 mix of the jazzy Santa Claus Is Coming to Town would eventually show up on one of their compilations instead of the remix that contains a very different instrumental break in the middle.

THIS IS THE COMPLETE CARPENTERS CHRISTMAS MUSIC

This double CD is the release to buy so you will have ALL of the wonderful Carpenters Christmas music. This contains both of their original Christmas albums in their entirety -- "Christmas Portrait" and "An Old Fashioned Christmas." The other Carpenters Christmas CD available is a single disc called "Christmas Portrait - Special Edition" and, although it includes all of the songs from the original "Christmas Portrait" album, it does not contain all the songs from the second Christmas album, "An Old Fashioned Christmas." For just a few dollars more you should buy this double CD and have everything. Timeless, beautiful music!