An Old-Fashioned Christmas

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An Old-Fashioned Christmas
An Old-Fashioned Christmas.jpg
Studio album by
Carpenters
ReleasedOctober 26, 1984
Recorded1974, 1978
GenreHoliday
LabelA&M
ProducerRichard Carpenter, Karen Carpenter, Jack Daugherty
Carpenters chronology
Voice of the Heart
(1983) 		An Old-Fashioned Christmas
(1984) 		Lovelines
(1989)

An Old-Fashioned Christmas is the second Christmas album and posthumous twelfth studio album by American music duo Carpenters, released on October 26, 1984, and after the death of singer and drummer Karen Carpenter.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[1]

Background[]

The album project had its genesis in several unused tracks from the Carpenters' previous Christmas album, 1978's Christmas Portrait. Richard Carpenter took these tracks and recorded new material around them, and this album was the end result. The album (in its original LP and cassette form) includes the slow version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (a faster version appeared on the Christmas Portrait album).

Reissue[]

A 1984 expanded CD reissue of Christmas Portrait included several tracks from An Old Fashioned Christmas. In 1996 a two-CD set, Christmas Collection, was issued containing both albums in their original running order.

Track listing[]

All lead vocals by Karen Carpenter, except where noted; all tracks produced by Richard Carpenter except "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by Jack Daugherty, R. Carpenter, and K. Carpenter.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (lead vocals: R. Carpenter)
0:43
2."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 (The Infant Jesus)"/"Angels We Have Heard on High" (overture)
8:14
3."An Old-Fashioned Christmas" (lead vocals: R. Carpenter)
2:14
4."O Holy Night" (instrumental)
3:10
5."(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays"
2:36
6."Here Comes Santa Claus"/"Frosty the Snowman"/"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"/"Good King Wenceslas" (medley)
3:42
7."Little Altar Boy"Howlett Peter Smith3:43
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Do You Hear What I Hear?" (lead vocals: K. and R. Carpenter)
2:53
9."My Favorite Things" (instrumental)
3:54
10."He Came Here for Me"Ron Nelson2:12
11."Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (lead vocals: K. and R. Carpenter)
4:04
12."What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"Frank Loesser2:51
13."Overture Miniature"/"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"/"Trepak"/"Valse des fleurs" (selections from Nutcracker)
6:14
14."I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
2:21

Notes

  • ^a signifies adapted by

Personnel[]

Unless otherwise indicated, Information is taken from Lead Sister[2]
Performance

  • Richard Carpenter - vocals (all on track 1, lead on tracks 3, 8, 11), vocal arrangements (1), musical arrangements (11), piano (4, 13),[3] keyboards, background vocals
  • Karen Carpenter - lead vocals (tracks 5, 7-8, 10-12, 14),[4] background vocals
  • Dick Bolks - O.K. Choir director, choir conductor
  • The English Chorale - background vocals
  • Robert Howes - English Choir director, choir conductor
  • Pete Jolly - keyboards
  • Skiala Kanga - harp
  • Peter Knight - musical arrangement (tracks 2-6, 7-9, 12-14)
  • Gayle Levant - harp
  • Billy May - musical arrangement (track 10)
  • Barry Morgan - drums
  • Joe Osborn - electric bass
  • Pete Morgan - upright bass
  • The O.K. Chorale - background vocals
  • John "Francis" Phillips - tenor saxophone
  • Ron Tutt - drums

Production and technical

  • Richard Carpenter - producer (All tracks)
  • Karen Carpenter - producer (track 11)[5]
  • Jim Cassell - assistant audio mixing
  • Jack Daugherty - producer (track 11)
  • Robert De La Garza - recording engineer
  • Ray Gerhardt - recording engineer
  • Mike Hatcher - assistant audio mixing
  • - assistant audio mixing
  • Dave Marquette - assistant audio mixing
  • John Richards - audio mixing
  • Alan Rouse - assistant recording engineer
  • Eric Tomlinson - recording engineer
  • Roger Young - recording engineer, audio mixing

Singles[]

  1. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (A&M SP-1648): US 7-inch single (1974)
    1. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
    2. "Merry Christmas Darling"
  2. "Little Altar Boy" (A&M SP-2700): US 7-inch single (1984)
    1. "Little Altar Boy"
    2. "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Chart positions[]

Chart (1984) Position
United States Billboard Pop Albums[6] 190

References[]

  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r3355
  2. ^ "An Old Fashioned Christmas". Lead Sister. 1984. http://leadsister.com/?page_id=1965
  3. ^ Paul Grein & Richard Carpenter. "Carpenters Christmas Collection: Album Notes". Carpenters website. June 1998. http://www.richardandkarencarpenter.com/Album_ChristmasCollection.htm
  4. ^ Carpenters. "An Old-Fashioned Christmas". Grant Guerrero. 1984. http://www.grantguerrero.com/carpenters/fashioned.html Archived 2016-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Carpenters. "An Old-Fashioned Christmas (Cassette, Album, Club Edition)". A&M Records. 1984. https://www.discogs.com/Carpenters-An-Old-Fashioned-Christmas/release/6402366
  6. ^ Allmusic Carpenters > An Old-Fashioned Christmas > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
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