Customer Rating: 
Summary: Stunning voice, and classic Christmas CD
Comment: One of my favorite Christmas CDs, full of holiday classics!
Karen Carpenter's voice is stunning, and hauntingly emotional - one of the greatest voices of the 20th Century - remarkable in it's range, control and clarity. Her voice can be joyfully fun, or make you tearful in it's exquisit, unique beauty!
Richard Carpenter is likewise remarkable in his creative arrangements of the music included in this CD set.
So sad to have lost her so young, but so grateful to them both for sharing their unusual talent!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Carpenters Christmas
Comment: I was very disappointed with the cds. There is nothing to indicate in the product description that many of the songs are not vocals by Karen. Had I known I would not have purchased this product.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed the Carpenters Christmas
Comment: We were delighted to enjoy the beautiful voice of Karen Carpenter this Christmas. They are a timeless duo.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Closest to original Christmas Portrait, magical voice of Karen makes the season bright
Comment: The biggest reason to buy this is to get on CD the closest thing to the original Christmas Portrait (disc 1). Disc 2 is fine, and has some wonderful interpretations by Karen (notably "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays" and "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"), but it has far too much instrumental filler and cannot compete with Disc 1. Disc 1 is a classic, and unlike the "deluxe edition" of Christmas Portrait keeps the almost perfect sequence of the original Christmas Portrait album. There are no bad or even mediocre songs on this album, and the arrangements are wonderful and perfectly frame Karen's voice. On several classics, Karen outdoes the originals. The smooth line and wistful ache of her voice when she sings "hang a shining star upon the highest bough" in "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" are miraculous. Her versions of "The Christmas Song" and "White Christmas" are right up there with Nat King Cole's and Bing Crosby's. Lesser known songs like "The First Snowfall of the Winter" are equally delightful, and of course "Merry Christmas Darling" is the Carpenters own Christmas classic. Much has been written about the arrangements, and it should be noted that these were Peter Knight's, not Richard Carpenter's.
One gripe: in the original Christmas Portrait, "Ave Maria" was Karen and piano/orchestra only, and it was gorgeous. In the deluxe version and in this set, a choir is added - completely unnecessary, and takes away from the purity of hearing just Karen and the piano on this loveliest and most serene of songs. It is still my favorite song of the album. This is the one Christmas album I have to listen to every year (this plus the single "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee). I listen to a lot of other music, but nothing else is indispensable. There's never been another voice like Karen Carpenter's, and never will be.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This Christmas album is a real gem
Comment: The Christmas Collection is a 2 CD set by the Carpenters and is an excellent collection of traditional and contemporary Christmas music. Karen Carpenter has never sounded better. The world lost an unbelievable artist when we lost Karen. She truly had the voice of an angel. Get this great collection and sit back and enjoy the best sounds of the season.
|
