I was listening to this, a mix of old and new.... I really like Como's earlier RCA Christmas records.....
Interesting how assumedly most of us here have huge collections of music, and the majority of the real favorites being discussed are Ray Conniff, Perry Como, the Goodyear collections and similar. For me, it takes me back to being a kid in the chorus, and all the sheer joy and excitement that Christmas brought, and hopefully, still brings.
Two Christmas albums from the past 2 years that I cherish as much as the classics - J.D. McPherson - Socks Josh Rouse - The Holiday Sounds Of Josh Rouse
Of course, please let Mr @RSteven tell you about this great Jim Reeves reissue! It's a 'must have'.......
Oh wow, thanks so much for the shout out from Down Under my friend! I have been very honored to be involved in the reissue of three iconic holiday albums from the Golden Age of Christmas, including John Klein's A Christmas Sound Spectacular that I mentioned in a previous post as well as this very recent one from last year. I had the privilege of writing the liner notes for both projects, but the most exciting aspect of these two great reissues is that Real Gone Music managed to get them remastered at Battery Studios in New York from the original master tapes. Best of all, Vic Anesini, noted for his fantastic work on Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash's entire recording catalogue, handled the remastering duties for the Jim Reeves CD and it sounds just spectacular. You also get two very fine bonus songs with the Expanded CD version of Twelve Songs Of Christmas. Another bonus is hearing Chet Atkins playing a great acoustic guitar accompaniment on Jim's very tender version of Scarlet Ribbons. My current and most recent project for Real Gone Music is Felix Slatkin's Seasons Greetings CD, which we released exclusively on the RGM website for our Christmas In July special, but it is now available from wider retail including Amazon. Mr. Slatkin was Frank Sinatra's very favorite in studio conductor and a world class violinist. His wife was also an amazing cellist who played a specially written part on her instrument in the movie Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Mr. Slatkin recorded his gorgeous orchestral album in wide stereo with two separate string sections of 45 musicians each. Wow, what a truly beautiful instrumental album and it is now one of my top five favorite instrumental holiday albums of all time, right next to Percy Faith and Mantovani's great Christmas albums.
I would have to say that the first few Christmas albums I reach for would be Elvis' first Christmas album, Christmas with Chet Atkins (found an original pressing at a thrift store 3 years ago!) and The Original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry. Those start my season off, generally. It's always a hard time of the year for me, since losing all my uncles, a brother, nephew and father (I'll still grab for something my brother or dad would like for Christmas in a store, force of habit!) This is a good way to feel happy and know that they wouldn't want me, my mom, wife or daughter to be sad, especially this time of year.
Cd or vinyl? One of the few Christmas CDs I have. It was very limited and was only available for a short time, although I did only pay £1.99 for it as a new release!
I remember a few years ago, my mom and dad getting me a Perry Como Christmas album as a "joke" present for Christmas one year. They were rather taken aback at how excited I was to get it! My wife and daughter were subjected to multiple playings of the album that year, and every year since!
These are not traditional, but they’re perennial staples in our house: Reverend Horton Heat - We Three Kings Old 97’s - Love the Holidays Bad Religion - Christmas Songs More traditional, also played every Christmas morning: Willie Nelson - Pretty Paper Elvis - some CD reissue version under the It’s Christmas Time title, not the more awesome original version, but sometimes we take whatever was in the gas station’s bargain bin 20 years ago packaged together with the Beach Boys Christmas album and call it good... Also, the Beach Boys one.
The old compact. Import prices I'm sure... There was only one specialty shop in my area that dealt with them, and they priced accordingly
This is one of my very favorite "newer" Christmas albums released in the last 25 years. Anybody that is a fan of Les Paul or Chet Atkins or vintage rock 'n'roll Christmas guitar records should pick up this CD right away. What a kick in the pants and sure to up the vibe at any Christmas gathering.
Oh yes indeed, although we sold out immediately when it first came out in 2018, we ordered another production run quickly and both the Real Gone Music site as well as Amazon has copies. I personally order a lot of my CD's directly through the Real Gone Music site because my copies from Amazon seem to arrive with cracked jewel cases fairly frequently these days.
This will be the first time since 1993, when I was still in law school, that I haven't participated in at least one community band Christmas concert.
A couple of my favorites: (there's a version of this one mastered by our host for Razor & Tie) Of course there's A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records, and I also like Jimmy Buffet's Christmas Island.