Question on Ray Charles' The Spirit of Christmas 1985

I fell in love with the Spirit of Christmas while watching Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I now find out that my favorite Trumpet Artist, Freddie Hubbard is also on this album. My question is since this was released in '85 is there any reason I should go out of my way to seek it out on vinyl or is it safe to purchase a CD or Download. Reason being that this may have been recorded to digital tape during that era.

 

Not really sure if it was recorded to tape or not. I have this on vinyl (but not on CD) and it sounds a little 'light'; the production is merely OK and there isn't the silky romance of so many classic Christmas albums like Sinatra's Jolly Christmas, Ella's Swingin' Christmas, Dean's Winter Romance, etc. It definitely sounds like a more modern, 1980's recording. But, it was mastered and cut at Doug Sax's The Mastering Lab (TML), so there's that.

That being said, depending on your vinyl setup compared with your digital, I recommend checking this out on vinyl if only for the full-size cover with Ray on the sled. The sound might be a pleasant surprise when you compare to the cd or a digital download.

I just took a look on discogs and EBay, and don't see many available in the US, and the prices are MUCH higher than I would have imagined. Find one for @$20-$25...I would feel good about it at that price.

 

I have the CD rip of this but not the vinyl. I have had no problems with the CD from a sound quality perspective.

 

I loaded this up into iZotope RX 7 and in spectral view you can tell it was recorded on tape as there's some minor tape drop out here and there (nothing major at all). The original CD was released in 1985 and I picked it up on eBay this week. Apparently this album is becoming a sought after album because of the song 'That Spirit of Christmas' which was in National Lampoon's: Christmas Vacation. It's not on Apple Music or some of the other streaming sites that I could find. It's only been re-released on CD one time since it's initial release, it'll probably keep going up in value. I paid $35 for my copy. I also scanned the album artwork as there wasn't anything impressive online, see below.

 

I have no comment on the sound quality, just wanted to note that IMHO "What Child is This" is the stand out track, the only one where you get the full RAY CHARLES. And the cover is funny, given Ray's fondness for fast cars.

 

Wow looks like a real pic!