Together At Christmas Again

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Rick-An Ordinary Fool

Rick-An Ordinary Fool

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Does anyone know if this song was scheduled to be on Richard's Christmas Album that never seemed to materialize?

We have 2 "live" versions. It would have been nice to have a studio version of this while Richard was still in good voice. I wonder if one exists...still in the vaults?

I never realized just how beautiful the instrumental was until hearing this live version in Japan at about the 2 min mark.



 
"Together At Christmas Again" was supposedly the title track of the album-recorded in 2001.The album was mostly original RC compositions(with John Bettis & Pamela Phillips Oland).Petula Clark did some guest vocals.
 
Geographer said:
I wish he'd release this, already! Geeze!
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It's a fine work, the music lending itself to various alternative arrangements (especially in relation to tempo, rhythm and orchestration). I'm surprised nobody else (to my knowledge) has picked it up and run with it!
 
Reminiscences of Tears on my pillow (Grease, etc), "it seems like yesterday that we were kids at play" = "you don't remember be but I remember you", and What are you doing New Year's Eve?, "traces of summer have long departed" = "maybe it's much too early in the game"...
 
Walter Kennedy said:
Reminiscences of Tears on my pillow (Grease, etc), "it seems like yesterday that we were kids at play" = "you don't remember be but I remember you", and What are you doing New Year's Eve?, "traces of summer have long departed" = "maybe it's much too early in the game"...
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I'd probably give Richard the all-clear on What Are You Doing New Year's Eve, but "It seems like yesterday, that we were kids" is sung the same as "You don't remember me, but I remem-". So yes, a case of (hopefully) subconscious plagiarism.
 
Geographer said:
I wish he'd release this, already! Geeze!
Click to expand...
At this point,it would probably be safe to assume that Richard's Christmas album will never be in release.It was recorded 12 years ago,and Richard hasn't been able to find a label that wants to release it.I believe Richard ultimately decided to "quietly" shelve the album & not pursue the project any longer.
 
mr J. said:
At this point,it would probably be safe to assume that Richard's Christmas album will never be in release.It was recorded 12 years ago,and Richard hasn't been able to find a label that wants to release it.I believe Richard ultimately decided to "quietly" shelve the album & not pursue the project any longer.
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So sad when you think about it....really it's the fans that miss out. It's yet another reason Richard just doesn't keep in contact with the fan base like I would have wanted him to (even to this day) It would not have been so hard to post a note on the official website that first...he was working on a Christmas album to make it official and then post another update years later that he has decided to shelve it. How hard would it have been to just keep us informed along the way....we still care and want to be involved whether something get's released or it doesn't. We have been hanging on to "hope" that year after year he would be releasing the album. Then we get teased from Joe Osborn's facebook page that Richard is laying down tracks...What ever happen to that? I thought it had to do with Richard's Christmas album. I don't know we just don't get a lot of information about what is really happening and we are left guessing.

I'm also having doubts about the 69-73 SACD release...past predictions have shown when things like this get pushed back multiple times it's not a good sign.

...trying to be optimistic :laugh: :)...online....
 
Tapdancer said:
I'd probably give Richard the all-clear on What Are You Doing New Year's Eve, but "It seems like yesterday, that we were kids" is sung the same as "You don't remember me, but I remem-". So yes, a case of (hopefully) subconscious plagiarism.
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Yes, I hear the What are you doing(...) reference not quite in the melody, I mean the notes are indeed different, but I guess it's the similar phrasing and the fact that the paces are identical. And I'm not an expert however I think you'd have to have more than a couple lines to technically something is plagiarized, I don't know much more about it. It could be considered an inspiration, I suppose.
 
Walter Kennedy said:
... I think you'd have to have more than a couple lines to technically something is plagiarized...It could be considered an inspiration, I suppose.
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Walter - that's the question I was asking myself too when hearing the similarity! i.e. "How much before the writer has crossed the line?" A couple of famous cases come to mind: George Harrison's My Sweet Lord c.f. The Chiffon's He's So Fine, and Men At Work's Down Under c.f. the Australian traditional song Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree. I think the findings were correct (What was Harrison thinking? And the Men At Work clip sees the flautist playing the two borrowed lines whilst 'sitting in the tree'!) Both examples make Richard's sound relatively 'honest'.

Credit must go to Paul McCartney too with Yesterday. The tune came to him pretty well complete. But before he'd had the lyrics finalised, he'd be hawking this new song to his contemporaries, always asking "Have you guys heard this tune anywhere before?" I think for reasons of his own professional pride, and also for not wanting to get into potential legal problems, he needed to be certain.
 
mr J. said:
At this point,it would probably be safe to assume that Richard's Christmas album will never be in release.It was recorded 12 years ago,and Richard hasn't been able to find a label that wants to release it.I believe Richard ultimately decided to "quietly" shelve the album & not pursue the project any longer.
Click to expand...
Self released CD's are common these days with CDBaby, it should be easy enough for Richard to do with some spare change. Is the album for the fans or to make a lot of $$?
 
I transcribed the song for our group BLUE VELVET and we started singing it 2 weeks ago - ffolks have loved it!! - demo recording on Youtube:
 
^^^^^^ This is awesome! Thanks for sharing. It's so good to hear a "new" RC composition. And superbly performed, too.
 
I agree, wonderful lyrics and most of all it's got this timeless feel that the song will last year after year....a trademark Carpenters track. I can't believe Richard couldn't get this released on his Christmas album, another Carpenter track lost to the vaults. I'd even take an album full of completed mismatched vaulted tracks. Carpenters (the lost recordings)
 
Yes - lyrically THIS SONG IS TIMELESS!! Maggie and I recorded 7 tracks for a holiday album and wanted to include this - the Youtube clip is a mono mix but our friends and fans are in love with this song .
 
Maggie and I were able to get the licensing rights to put out our version of "Together At Christmas Again" on CD (which we are selling currently on Ebay) and have been performing the song the past 3 weeks here in southern California to which folks are taken by the song immediately. We have also worked up a "duet" version of the song as well.
 
Geographer said:
Where in Southern Cal are you performing? I live in So Cal, too!
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We are in San Diego and doing private parties till the end of the year. We start back up with BLUE VELVET on Saturday nights at THE CALIPH Jan 3 and will be there every Sat till August. Where are you Geographer??

 
KevCav333 said:
We are in San Diego and doing private parties till the end of the year. We start back up with BLUE VELVET on Saturday nights at THE CALIPH Jan 3 and will be there every Sat till August. Where are you Geographer??

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Awesome. I'm about two hours up the I-15 in the mountain community of Wrightwood. I'll have to come down and catch a show sometime!
 
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