What New Christmas Albums Are Coming Out This Year?

Yes indeed, June Christy's splendid album is definitely far a field from jD's great rock "n" roll Christmas album, but it really has some extraordinary big band arrangements and some fantastic jazz inflected singing by the great singer. I guess the only thing they really have in common is the fact that both holiday albums feature all original Christmas or winter related material, and I usually find these types of holiday albums totally underwhelming to say the least, but in their two specific cases, I find the musicianship and quality of the original songs to really stand out for the better.

 

The retro feel to the album is an incredibly nice touch. A great new release that should stick around for years to come.

 

Another great new Christmas album released just this year that has that great vintage sound and orchestral production from the Golden Age is Martina McBride's It's The Holiday Season. It features some fantastic big band arrangements from the late Sinatra arranger Patrick Williams and was recorded at the famed Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood with 40 some musicians on the platter. Martina's voice is perfect for this style of singing as she proved on her first holiday album, White Christmas.

 

Can anyone speak to the mastering on Ingrid Michaelson's album? How's the vinyl and/or CD?

 

Nice to see William Shatner's new Christmas album getting a three star review by pop music critic Randy Lewis in the LA Times. I actually have been enjoying this CD even more than I thought I would as Bill gives it his all with his dramatic and sometimes tongue in cheek style.

RELATED: This year's essential Christmas albums ranked, from 'Shatner Claus' to the irresistible JD McPherson »

 

The CD was mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound. I wouldn't call it audiophile material but the CD isn't slammed with overt limiting or heavy compression. The dynamics are average for a modern CD mastering.

It's getting a lot of play from me - Ingrid doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel on the arrangements. Which I like, call me a traditionalist.

 

Sampling the albums listed, I'll take Memphis Ukulele Band's Holidays Ain’t the Same "produced by Sam Phillips’ granddaughter Halley Phillips." Love Kyndle McMahan's singing-- thanks for the link!

 

I like the music enough to have ordered the Record Store Day 7" vinyl single release


CABIN 24 RECORDS 0243021
UPC: 192914766506
Release Date: 11/24/2018
Holiday 7" Picture Disc featuring two original Holiday songs written by Ingrid Michaelson. Track 1 is a demo version of "Happy Happy Christmas" (studio version of this original from Ingrid's upcoming full length Holiday album, Songs For The Season) and track 2 is an unreleased original holiday song titled "December." Both songs would be RSD Exclusives.

I love her takes on the songs on the album, and her version of "Looks like a Cold, Cold Winter" is sensational.

 

I have more than I'll ever need, but I'm always open to something special!

 

I absolutely love JD McPherson's new one-- Socks.



I've had it on repeat. There are animated lyric videos like this one up on YouTube for every song on the album. Great fun, melodic, charming lyrics and that wonderful vintage '50s sound JD always has on his records. Some terrific guitar solos on this record!

 

I just got through playing this CD tonight for the first time and it is a true kick in the pants. I love the retro feel of the rockabilly instrumentation and the true cleverness of the lyrics. I seldom like holiday albums with all original songs as they usually bore me to death. This one is a keeper. Holly, Carol, Candy & Joy is one of my favorites, along with the great title track and really the whole album is a blast. I love old albums from the Golden Age (I started that Christmas thread) and this was a real surprise to say the least.

 

Thanks for that--it's helpful for my purposes. I wish there were an easy way to get just a big, comprehensive list of Christmas releases from every year. Most are missing lots of stuff. That looks fairly comprehensive for the handful of years it covers. But I wish there was something like that for every year going back to the 50s at least.

 

I just learned about this new album:

Matt Maher - The Advent of Christmas https://www.amazon.com/Advent-Christmas-Matt-Maher/dp/B07GRB5B1R

Amy Grant guests on one song.

 

Only a week 'til Christmas, so, what are people's favorite new Christmas albums this year?

The 2 that really stood out to me that I enjoyed the most and have no doubt will continue to enjoy for years to come are:

Ingrid Michaelson Songs for the Season Can't get enough of this one. Modern take on the classic golden age sound. I got the vinyl, not the CD, and I love it. "Looks like a Cold, Cold Winter" is the song that got me hooked, although the rest is also great.

Memphis Ukulele Band Holidays Ain't the Same (Without You) CD only. Produced by Sam Phillips' granddaughter Halley Phillips, who also co-wrote one of the singles, "Merry Christmas Broken Hearts" with Sam Phillip's son Jerry Phillips. Love the new songs and the acoustic sound & performances. Kyndle McMahan's a lovely singer, and Mark Edgar Stuart's vocals (who sang on the album title track) are uniquely cool. Timeless.

 

Definitely my pick for the best Christmas album this year. I picked up a vinyl copy of this the other day and have it on heavy rotation. It's what every good Christmas record should be: familiar songs, a gorgeous voice, tasteful production, and a big dose of nostalgia. Wonderful stuff!

 

I am with both of you on this one. What a great new Christmas album that can be favorably compared to the ones from the Golden Age of Christmas. I too was totally enamored with her stellar version of Looks Like A Cold, Cold Winter. You both have made a fantastic choice for best new Christmas album of 2018!

 

It's almost 2019 and Mike Love should have known better than to release this drivel.

 

I have to chime in with my picks... with JD McPherson at the top of the list, with a big nod for Rodney Crowell, PJ Morton, the Old 97s, Ingrid Michaelson and (about two-thirds of) Clapton's, among others .

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Spotify: 15 New Holiday Albums Reviewed, From John Legend to William Shatner

 

How did this not make it to vinyl? Can anyone who bought the CD tell me the dynamic range of the thing?