The Partridge Family was a TV show that was about a family band that was loosely based on the musical family The Cowsills.  It went on the air in 1971 and ran for four seasons before being cancelled in 1974.  It quickly went into syndication and episodes are still shown on TV every day.

It was not uncommon for the casts of TV’s most popular shows to do a Christmas album; Bonanza, The Brady Bunch, The Waltons and The Partridge Family all released Christmas Albums.  Families that existed only on TV and yet still produced Christmas albums.

The Partridge Family starred Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, Jeremy Gelbwaks, (replaced by Brian Forster) and Suzanne Crough as the Partridge Family.  Prior to The Partridge Family, Shirley Jones was known as a movie star known for the many musicals she starred in.  She was reluctant to switch over to television, but after reading the script, she was all in.  David Cassidy was her real-life stepson through her marriage to Jack Cassidy, and was cast as the eldest child, Keith Partridge.

David Cassidy was picked to play her son, and the producers had set up another studio singer to dub the vocals for him but were pleasantly surprised that he could sing and dance, having already premiered on Broadway in 1969.

The cover of this Christmas CD reissue is similar to the original album cover.  The cover of the CD is a reproduction of the original green and white speckled cover but with the image of the Christmas card that came with the original album, minus the cast signatures, superimposed over the green cover.  It is probably a better cover than the original which featured a plain green and white speckled cover that had a slit in the front cover where a red Christmas envelope was included.  Inside the envelope was a picture of the cast decorating their Christmas tree surrounded by beautifully wrapped Christmas presents.  This is the picture used for the cover of the CD.

The back of the CD is a reasonable facsimile of a close-up image of the red envelope that came with the original album.  A numerical track listing is superimposed over the image.

It is not necessary to take the CD cover out to gain new information.  The cover does not open along any folds and is just a double-sided piece of heavy paper.  The back of the front cover features a numerical track listing.  Below are copyright notices.

There are no writer or musician credits, recording locations or any information except song titles included in the artwork.

The music provided for this Christmas album comes from a near secret studio recording group collectively known as “The Wrecking Crew”.  They recorded the music heard in all The Partridge Family TV shows in addition to The Monkees, The Brady Bunch albums, all the Saturday morning cartoons, and almost all the music to come out of Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s.

The music for the TV show, and for this album as well, was recorded ahead of time.  Then Shirley Jones and David Cassidy would come in and sing.  None of the other cast members were involved with the music heard on the TV show, or this Christmas album.  The wonderful background voices heard on this reissue are provided by The Ron Hicklin Singers.

There were 11 songs on the original The Partridge Family Christmas Card from 1971, and they are all on here in their original order.  All the songs presented here are well known secular Christmas songs from the 20^th century except for Jingle Bells, from 1857 and the opening song, My Christmas Card To You.

The CD begins with the only original song, My Christmas Card To You.  David Cassidy takes the lead vocals on most of the songs on here.  It could almost be called a David Cassidy Christmas album.  If Shirley Jones is on here, it’s hard to tell except on the ones without David Cassidy.

My Christmas Card To You features the classic Partridge Family sound; light pop melodies accompanied by a harpsichord and rhythm section with lots of oos and ahs performed by a background chorus.  David Cassidy’s unique voice helped give the songs their Partridge Family sound.  My Christmas Card To You is one of the standout songs included.

The second song, White Christmas, begins with a rolling acoustic guitar before David’s vocals come in at a moderate tempo.  The music is at a faster tempo than what’s usually heard, but the vocals are traditionally arranged.  It’s different, but not unpleasant.  The Ron Hicklin Singers are here to give the song a wonderful festive groove.

Most of the songs presented here can best be described as 1970’s Pop.  Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Jingle Bells and Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree are given the rocking treatment.

Blue Christmas and Frosty The Snowman are the slower songs on here.  The somber pace David Cassidy sets up with Blue Christmas is fitting, with The Ron Hicklin Singers sharing lead vocals.  But the pace of Frosty The Snowman is more dourer than anything I’ve ever heard.  Most of the time the song punches through the arrangement most of us are familiar with, but this is a very solemn, soulful rendition of a children’s classic.

Winter Wonderland and Sleigh Ride are two of the better songs on here.  Primarily, The Ron Hicklin Singers take the lead vocals on both.  David Cassidy contributes some on Winter Wonderland, but Sleigh Ride is all The Ron Hicklin Singers.  They are typical of 1960s, 1970s vocal groups.  Similar to the Ray Conniff Singers, Singers Unlimited, Mike Sammes Singers, etc.  They provide festive, pleasant harmonies to the music.  I think they could make nursery rhymes sound terrific.

Shirley Jones gets to shine on The Christmas Song, taking the lead vocals with light accompaniment by The Ron Hicklin Singers.  I can’t find any other Christmas releases from Shirley Jones until her Christmas CD, A Touch Of Christmas, came out in 2010.  If she still sings as sweetly as she did in 1971, I am in for a real treat.

Shirley gets to shine once more on the song Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.  It primarily features The Ron Hicklin Singers, but Shirley delivers a sweet solo in the middle section.  David Cassidy does not appear on either of the two Shirley Jones songs.

This CD gets better the more I listen to it primarily due to The Ron Hicklin Singers and the production quality provided by Wes Farrell.  He was responsible for producing all the music featured in the TV show except for the pilot episode.

There are some wonderful Christmas songs on here.  Even the ones that aren’t the best are still pretty good.  What pulls this Christmas CD together is the arranging; the instruments used and the background singers.  It is a festive seasonal treat of early 70’s Pop Christmas music.

If you dig the 70’s and want some Christmas music that reflects that era, you can feel comfortable adding this to your collection.

I give this CD :

****