Bill

I love collecting Christmas music, and I want to share my enormous collection with the world.

Jimmy McGriff – Christmas With Jimmy McGriff

/ Jazz

October 14, 2022

# 21

Jimmy McGriff
Christmas With Jimmy McGriff
1996

(Originally released 1963 on Sue Records Inc.)

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(P) © 1996 All Rights Reserved

Distributed by Collectables Records

Collectables ® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

# 15 – 1964 – Billboard Christmas

Genre : Jazz

You may not be familiar with Jimmy McGriff.  I certainly wasn’t until I purchased this reissue of his 1963 Christmas album some years ago.  Jimmy McGriff was born in a suburb of Philadelphia in 1936.  He learned piano at age 5 and learned many other instruments by the time he was in his late teens.  It was through his friend Jimmy Smith that he was introduced to the unique sound of the Hammond B-3 organ.  (Jimmy Smith was also a Hammond B-3 organ player.  Look for a review of Jimmy Smith’s Christmas record from 1964 later in this blog’s future).

Jimmy McGriff was immediately intrigued by the Hammond B-3 and set out to master it.  He is considered a blues / jazz performer.  After leaving the police force after two years, he devoted all his time to playing the Hammond B-3.  He toured extensively and released many albums throughout the 1960’s.  He retired from music in 1972, but quickly returned to playing in concert when his record label kept releasing new albums.  He continued to record and tour all the way into the 2000’s.  He passed away in 2008, in New Jersey, never moving very far from his original birthplace.

This CD reissue by Collectables Records is an exact copy of the original LP from 1963.  Collectables Records is a reissue label, and they do a good job of re-releasing older albums from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.  The cover of the reissue is the same picture used on the original.  It features an attractive woman in a Santa Claus suit that seems to be slipping off her back.  The artwork on the back of the CD does not resemble the artwork on the back of the album in any way but features a smaller version of the front cover along with a numerical track listing and copywrite and publishing notes.

The CD cover opens to a double fold, 3-page booklet.  The inside features the same endorsement that appears on the back of the original album, albeit in a different font and a different layout.  It is a typical endorsement of why you should have this Christmas album in your collection.  It was written in 1963 by Ira Howard, editor of Cash Box Magazine.  So, all the original information from the back of the album is featured in the CD artwork of the re-release.

The last page of the inside artwork is a mail-in form to receive a catalog from Collectables Records.  The track listing for the CD is the same as the original LP.

This CD features Jimmy McGriff and His Trio; Rudolph Johnson on sax, Larry Frazier on rhythm guitar and Willie “Saint” Jenkins on drums.  The original album featured only 8 songs, two of which Jimmy McGriff wrote.  They are Christmas With McGriff and Hip Santa.  And I’m pretty certain you won’t find them on any other Christmas compilations, except maybe a jazz Christmas CD.

The other 6 songs included are not any of the Christmas carols or hymns that appear on many Christmas issues.  They are all standard secular Christmas songs everyone is familiar with, all written 1941 or later.

All the songs except Winter Wonderland are upbeat, jazzy renditions of familiar Christmas songs.  Even Winter Wonderland has a jazzy arrangement.  And all songs are instrumentals; no vocals to be found here.  Those familiar with this blog should know I would like the two Jimmy McGriff originals the best.  Christmas With McGriff starts off with sleigh bells before progressing into a fast tempo, jazzy arrangement.  Hip Santa is a rather jazzy, fast tempo Christmas (?) song that is… well, kind of “hip”. 

As I said, I like the Jimmy McGriff originals the best, but most listeners will be hard pressed to recognize the others.  The jazzy arrangements that feature the unique sound of the Hammond B-3 organ kind of throw the listener off because they are so nontraditional.  The ones that are more pleasing to me are I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, which features sleigh bells throughout the song.  Also, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and Jingle Bells, (there are those sleigh bells again).  The sleigh bells found on many of the songs help to remind the listener that they are listening to a Christmas record.

This is a Jazz Christmas album, heavy on the Hammond B-3 organ with a little electric guitar.  Afterall, Jimmy McGriff was a master on the B-3.  There are only 4 musicians playing on this record, so you won’t find full orchestras or any other instruments other than organ, sax, guitar and drums.  If you don’t like jazz, avoid this one.  You’ll just be disappointed, and perhaps a little confused.  If you prefer the Pop Christmas songs from the Classic Christmas Era, you will not like this.

But I collect everything Christmas; Jazz, Blues, Pop and Soul, and even Kiddies.  I like having this in my collection for a couple of reasons.  First, Jimmy McGriff was one of the very best on the Hammond organ.  There are many performers that produced Christmas records with an organ.  Most of them played cathedral pipe organs, but only a few used the Hammond B-3.  Second, it is a unique Christmas record that you won’t find in everyone’s collection.  Third, like I said, I collect EVERYTHING Christmas music related.

My rating for this CD reissue will consider, not how much the whole world can appreciate it, but rather the quality, craftmanship and uniqueness of it.  It is a classic in its own way.

I give this CD :

****

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Jazz

VA – Time-Life Music – A Fabulous Fifties Christmas

/ Classic

October 13, 2022

# 20

VA - A Fabulous Fifties Christmas - Fun For The Holidays
VA - A Fabulous Fifties Christmas - Great Holiday Hits
VA - A Fabulous Fifties Christmas - Holiday Memories
2000

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(P) 2000 EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

Product of EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

© 2000 Time Life Inc.

Genre : Classic Christmas

This is a fantastic way to start a small Christmas CD collection that will get you through almost 2 hours of Classic Christmas songs, all from the 1950’s.  The 1950’s was just after the Classic Christmas Music Era started to take off, (1946 – 1976).  By the end of the fifties, Christmas music was a huge seller every year for the major record labels.  Sure, there are great Christmas songs from the late 70’s, 80’s and later.  But a lot of the songs that are still played on the radio every year at Christmas come from the 1950’s.  Singers like Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, they’re all here.  Andy Williams, Eartha Kitt, Brenda Lee and Bobby Helms, they’re all here too.

This is a Time-Life Music product.  A 3-disc set titled A Fabulous Fifties Christmas, with each disc having its own subtitle.  Time-Life does a great job of packaging the biggest hits into their reissue sets.  I have The Hit Parade collection as well.  It’s a 40+ CD set that covers the Billboard hits of Pop singers from 1940 to 1969.

A little side note:  Each of these CDs can be purchased separately, which tempted me to review each CD individually, especially since there are twelve songs on each CD, more than most budget CDs that only contain 10.  But as a service to my readers, I thought it was better to review the collection as a whole.  Just be informed, if you go to purchase this 3 CD set, you will probably have to buy each CD separately.

The CD artwork that comes with this set, and most Time-Life sets, is very good.  I can always count on getting the information I want from their liner notes.  Each CD has its own title and cover photo.  The back of the CDs features a numerical track listing with performing artists under the song titles.  The top of the back of the CD has the series title.  Also included is a little information about Time-Life Music collections.

The good stuff is inside.  Each CD cover opens to a double fold-out, with 4 pages that are printed on both sides, giving you 8 pages of information.  Each starts with a large paragraph of almost every song, including how the singer came to record it.  The middle part of the fold-out has a numerical list of the songs including the performing artist, writers, original single release catalog numbers, year of release and Billboard chart position.  Also publishing information.  That’s the kind of information I seek.

The last page features all the top personnel at Time-Life Music, and release credits and copywrites.  The back of the artwork has a small ad for other Time-Life Music Christmas collections.

Another great feature of this Time-Life Music series is there are no repeats.  With 12 songs on each CD, you get 36 unique, great Classic Christmas songs.  Almost all these songs appear in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings, a list of my 500 favorite Christmas songs; what I feel is the best of the best.

Almost everyone hears most of these songs during the Christmas season every year.  Whether that be on the radio, at a friend’s house or even in your own Christmas collections.  Another great thing about this collection is… what you expect to hear when you buy a set like this, is here.  It would be hard to list the standout songs on here because I would end up listing all 36 songs.

The only negative would be the fact that there are only 12 songs on each CD.  That’s only about 35 minutes each.  I have other collections that are a full 76 minutes long.  That’s almost 30 songs.  But the quality is here, and the liner notes are fantastic.

While trying to put this last paragraph together, I was thinking of whether young people would still be interested in hearing these Christmas classics from 60 years ago.  They are familiar with the songs, but probably by newer artists.  But they’re only familiar with them because of the ones included in this collection.  These are the originals, so to speak.

If you don’t already have a collection like this, then you should consider getting this Time-Life Music – A Fabulous Fifties Christmas collection, or The Time-Life Treasury Of Christmas collection.  (Look for a review of that sometime in this blog’s future).  This collection has a lot of the songs you want when having friends and family over during the holidays.

I give this CD set :

****

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Classic

Andy Griffith – The Christmas Guest – Stories And Songs Of Christmas

/ Sacred

October 12, 2022

# 19

Andy Griffith
The Christmas Guest – Stories And Songs Of Christmas
2003

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(P) & © 2003 Sparrow Records®

Manufactured by Sparrow Label Group.

Distributed in USA by Chordant Distribution Group®. Distributed in Canada by C.M.C. Distribution.  “SPARROW” and “CHORDANT” Reg. U.S. Pat. And TM Off.

# 27 – 2003 – Billboard Christmas

Genre : Sacred

Andy Griffith is well known to most everybody.  Having been born in Mount Airy, North Carolina in 1926, he was able to take his home spun accent and mannerisms to the highest level.  Easily regarded as one of the best sitcoms ever produced, The Andy Griffith Show is still in reruns to this day.  Many great moral lessons have been taught to children throughout all decades since.

Andy Griffith developed an interest in music and drama while in school.  He continued to act in drama productions at college while earning a Bachelor of Music degree.

His first foray into entertainment was as a standup comedian, mostly through story telling.  He would describe events in his life or even Shakespeare, all with a naïve and poor country demeanor.  He was a big hit early on.  The acting role that made him an overnight success was starring on Broadway in No Time For Sergeants in 1955.  The play tells the story of a bumbling, inept Country bumpkin that gets drafted into the Army.  The role was perfect for Andy Griffith, who understood the task and because of his North Carolina upbringing, was able to deliver a most convincing character.  This led to a starring role in the movie version of No Time For Sergeants in 1958.  Andy Griffith’s first starring movie role also earned him great acclaim in A Face In The Crowd, in 1957.

After The Andy Griffith Show, he starred in a few failed TV shows before hitting the big time again with the show Matlock.

All throughout his TV career, Andy Griffith released albums.  In the beginning, they were comedy records, similar to the routines he performed in comedy clubs.  After retiring from TV work, he released CDs of Sacred songs in the 1990’s.  His first Christmas record came in 1976, narrating the Rankin / Bass TV special Frosty’s Winter Wonderland.  (Look for a review of that album in this blog’s future).

This is Andy Griffith’s first release of Christmas songs, although true to Andy Griffith form, 4 of the selections are stories that describe the true meaning of Christmas.  The CD artwork is very good.  The cover presents Andy in a forest setting, looking directly at the camera with a look of pride on his face while holding his 1956 Martin guitar.  The back cover photo has Andy and his wife walking hand in hand in a forest.  Andy appears to be carrying a dobro.  Both front and back photos are in a sepia finish.

The CD cover comes out and is a 10-page booklet.  The first page contains production and recording credits followed by a personal message of thanks from Marty Stuart, the producer of Andy’s Christmas CD.  The third and fourth pages are a message of thanks from Andy himself and a brief history of how he approached Marty Stuart to produce this CD.

Starting with the fifth page, the songs are listed with performing artists, arrangers and orchestra directions under each song title.  On the opposite side of the printed pages are photos of Andy in different settings.  Some by himself, some with his wife and one with his dog.  The back of the booklet gives a brief history of Andy’s 1956 Martin guitar.

So, the artwork and information included is very good.  This CD performed very well on the Billboard Christmas chart, going as high as # 27 in 2003.

As I said earlier, 4 of the selections are ‘story’ songs and this CD opens with one of those.  The first track is The Christmas Guest, a story song written by Grandpa Jones in 1969.  It is one of the most common Christmas story songs and many Country artists have covered it.  All the story songs and 6 others feature instrumentation provided by Kristin Wilkinson & her Orchestra.

All the non-story songs are traditional hymns.  You won’t find Jingle Bells or Frosty The Snow Man on here.  That’s not much of a surprise considering the musical albums Andy released in the 90’s and 2000’s feature Sacred songs.  There was a certain message Andy Griffith wanted to communicate with this, his first independent Christmas release, and that was of the sacredness of Christmas.  That message is felt throughout the CD.

The best of the traditional hymns include O Come, O Come Emmanuel / What Child Is This?, Away In A Manger / Golden Slumber and Joy To The World.

As I said, I like the story songs the best.  And another one of my favorites is the 4th track, Jesus’ Birth In Bethlehem, Luke 2.  I am most familiar with this through Tennessee Ernie Ford.  It is a recital of the Gospel of St. Luke, Chapter 2, usually verses 1 – 9.  It tells the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

This CD will not appeal much to the average listener.  I don’t want to take anything away from Andy Samuel Griffith, but he is not a great singer.  Perhaps it’s his age.  I’ve heard him sing on The Andy Griffith Show and he wasn’t that bad, but that was 40 years before recording this CD.  I enjoy his stories, but his vocals range from a tenor down to a baritone, all during the same song and are a bit lacking in pleasantness.

It’s not Pop, it is Country, but it is more along the lines of Sacred music.  Mainly because of the song selection and instrumentation.  If you’re looking for an upbeat Christmas CD to put on with friends during the holidays, you don’t want to put this one on.  This is more suited for a small group of 2 or 4, in a quiet setting.

As I said earlier, you won’t find Jingle Bells or Frosty The Snow Man on here, so if you’re wanting the classic Christmas experience, familiar Christmas songs to keep the season bright, look elsewhere.

I like Andy Griffith.  He lived and acted according to his convictions.  I like having his Christmas CD in my collection.

I give this CD :

**1/2*

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Sacred

VA – Christmas Carousel

/ Pop Vocals

October 12, 2022

# 18

VA – Christmas Carousel
1998

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©1998 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. / (P) 1972, 1974, 1996 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products. / “Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

Genre : Pop Vocals

The artwork on this CD is very typical of budget Christmas compilations.  The front cover is pleasing with yellow Christmas trees all aglow on a dark blue background.  A list of the songs included wrap around the edge of the CD in a clockwise order.   The back cover artwork features a numerical track listing, performing artists and the songs writers under the titles.  Time signatures follow the writer credits.  And a few songs list the orchestra leaders.

The front cover opens into a two page, single-fold layout.  The back of the layout is the exact same as the back of the CD.  No new information included.  It would have been nice to have recording dates listed in one of these two places.  The cover opens up to, uh, well… nothing.  Blank on both sides.  Bummer.  But here again, not unusual for budget Christmas CD’s.

Let me start off with what’s best about this compilation CD of Christmas music.  It is really good.  It features original Christmas songs by some of the best Pop singers of the 60’s and 70’s.  Andy Williams, Robert Goulet / Carol Lawrence, Jim Nabors and Julie Andrews.  It also features some great groups and singers that you may not find in your own Christmas collection.  The Dustin Tracy Singers, John Davidson, Vikki Carr and Mike Douglas.  (Yes, THAT Mike Douglas.  I have both of his Christmas albums; from 1968 and 1979.  Look for reviews of those in this blog’s future).

This CD features traditional Christmas hymns and secular Christmas songs everyone will be familiar with, albeit maybe not by these singers.

One of my favorite stand out songs on here is the first one, Deck The Halls by the Dustin Tracy Singers.  People familiar with this blog will already know how much I enjoy harmony groups from the 60’s and 70’s singing Christmas songs.  The Dustin Tracy Singers, Ray Conniff Singers, Singers Unlimited and Mike Sammes Singers are just a few.

Another favorite is The First Noel by Mike Douglas with Frank Hunter & his Orchestra from Mike’s 1967 Christmas album, My Kind Of Christmas.  Believe it or not, as great as a talk show host as he was, rivaled only by Johnny Carson, he was an awesome tenor.  An excellent singer!

Another great tenor was John Davidson.  Presented here is John singing O Come All Ye Faithful from his 1969 Christmas album, My Christmas Favorites.

When people ask me, “With so many Christmas songs, what’s your favorite Christmas song?”, I almost always respond with What Child Is This? by Vikki Carr.  It’s on here as well.  It is the most beautiful, soulful and somber rendition of this song that I’ve heard.  It’s not just Vikki’s vocals, but the instrumentation that accompanies it that makes it so special to me.  You sit quietly by the window on Christmas Eve, with the Christmas tree filling the room with its lights and tinsel, and you think of what this night means to you while listening to Vikki Carr singing What Child Is This? and see if tears don’t come to your eyes.  (It’s doing it to me right now while I type this).

Now, the bad stuff about this CD.  There really is only one thing wrong with this CD.  And that is, there are only 10 songs.  It’s not uncommon for the many, many Christmas compilations that are released every year to feature only 10 – 12 songs, but since most songs on here are great to listen to during the Christmas season, and because they did such a great job of song selection, doubling the number of songs would have certainly doubled the pleasure.

This Christmas compilation features Christmas songs from the last decade of the classic Christmas era.  These are not contemporary arrangements you find in today’s collections.  There are no synthesizers or wailing electric guitars or heavy bass lines.  These were done at a time when full orchestras performed the songs and singers came in and gave it their best.

If you’re looking for budget Christmas CDs to get your collection started, skip over this one and get one that features the same kind of artists but has more songs.  There are many that do.  If you are given a copy of this as a gift or see it at a yard sale, cherish it.  Put it in your collection and listen to it during the Holidays.  You won’t be disappointed.

I do have to take points off for only having 10 songs and very minimal information included in the notes, so

I give this CD :

**1/2*

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Pop Vocals

Loretta Lynn – The Best Of Loretta Lynn – 20th Century Masters – The Christmas Collection

/ Classic Country

October 12, 2022

# 17

Loretta Lynn
The Best Of Loretta Lynn - 20th Century Masters - The Christmas Collection
2005

(Originally released 1966 as Country Christmas on Decca)

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(P) © MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.,

Distributed by Universal Music & Video Distribution, Corp.

# 103 – 1967 – Billboard Country

Genre : Classic Country

Loretta Lynn, the Queen of Country Music of the 1960’s.  That should tell you everything you need to know about Loretta Lynn, if you’re not already familiar with her.  Loretta Lynn was born in Butcher Hollow in eastern Kentucky in 1932.  She grew up poor in a region of Kentucky where everyone’s livelihood rested on the coal mining industry.  She married at 15 and had 4 children by the time she was 20.  Loretta didn’t learn to play guitar until she was 21.  She signed her first record contract in 1960, and by the end of the year she was considered the 4th Most Promising Country Female Artist according to Billboard.

Loretta Lynn was the biggest draw in Country music throughout the 1960’s.  Her career was still going very strong in the 70’s as well, appearing on Hee Haw and many other variety shows of the time.  She was reintroduced to a new audience in the 1980’s with the blockbuster movie release ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’, which tells the story of her life.  She was always a huge draw even when new artists such as Dolly Parton (1970’s), Reba McEntire (1980’s) and Faith Hill (1990’s) came along.

The best thing about this CD of Christmas songs by Loretta Lynn, is, although it is titled differently than her original Christmas album from 1966, it is that same album in its entirety, and all songs are presented in the original order.

The cover of the CD reissue uses the same photo from the original LP but does not include the graphics that surround the original photo.  The artwork on the back of the CD features a numerical track listing, different than what appeared on the back of the 1966 release.

The CD cover opens to a two-page fold-out that features the original liner notes from the back of the LP on the left side but in a different font and layout, but all the same wording is there.  The right side features a numerical track listing with the writers listed under each song.  On the far right are original album credits and reissue credits.  On the back of the fold-out is a close-up picture of pinecones on an evergreen wreath with red ribbons.

The CD contains all 12 songs from the original LP and in the same order.  There are 6 songs most listeners will be familiar with, with a mix of 1 traditional carol and more modern secular Christmas songs.  The other 6 songs, I believe, are original to this album, 4 of which Loretta wrote herself.  (Country Christmas, It Won’t Seem Like Christmas (Without You), To Heck With Ole Santa Claus and I Won’t Decorate Your Christmas Tree).  All songs feature The Jordanaires as background singers.

All songs feature a terrific Classic Country flavor.  In 1966, there was no mistaking Country music.  Pedal steel and electric guitars, Loretta’s thick Country accent and The Jordanaires present a Classic Country Christmas from 1966!

I personally like the original songs written by Loretta Lynn the best and think they are the standout songs presented here.  Familiar Christmas songs are great, but I think the unique, original songs you find in some collections are more interesting.

In fact, the CD starts out with a Loretta Lynn original, the title from the original album, Country Christmas.  Just hearing this song as the first song on this CD tells you what you are in store for.  Wonderful steel guitar and Loretta’s twang set you up for what is yet to come.

Loretta does a fine job with the more common Christmas songs most people will be familiar with.  And of those, I think Away In A Manger is the best of this group.  Most earlier Country artists grew up in church singing hymns and so already have a strong familiarity with traditional hymns and the way to sing them.  You can hear her conviction in her delivery of this somber Christmas hymn.

Some of the standout secular Christmas songs on here are Silver Bells, Blue Christmas and Frosty The Snow Man.

Country music in the 1960’s was far different than it is in the 21st century.  If you prefer your Country music from 50 years ago to what is presented as Country today, then you will find this CD reissue a treat.  If you like Christmas songs with a strong Classic Country feel to them, then this CD is a must have for your collection.  And as I stated earlier, this is the same album as released in 1966.  No more, and definitely, no less.  (Loretta Lynn did another Christmas CD in 2006.  Look for a review of that later in this blog’s future).

I give this CD :

****

Loretta Lynn – The Best Of Loretta Lynn – 20th Century Masters – The Christmas Collection Read More »

Classic Country

VA – Basil Rathbone / Lyn Murray Singers – Dickens’ Christmas Carol / Christmas Carols

/ Choral, Radio Theatre

October 11, 2022

# 16

VA – Basil Rathbone / Lyn Murray Singers
Dickens’ Christmas Carol / Christmas Carols
2001

(Originally released 1949 on Columbia Masterworks)

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© 2001 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. / This compilation (P) 2001 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products. / “Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

Genre : Radio Theatre / Choral

This is an unusual Christmas album in many ways.  First, most items presented on this blog are CDs and LPs of Christmas music.  This is only half that.  Secondly, this compilation, as presented on the CD reissue, was originally released just as presented here, as a long-playing LP in 1949.  It combines a 6-track telling of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol narrated by Basil Rathbone, recorded in 1949, combined with 8 Christmas carols from the Lyn Murray Singers originally recorded and released as a 4-disc set of 78s in 1942.  (I also have a copy of that release).  Thirdly, I find it unusual to combine a radio drama on one side of an LP with songs by a completely different artist on the other side.  But I’ll take it and having it in remastered digital quality is a big bonus!  (Both performers were on the Columbia label at the time, so maybe not that unusual, but certainly not common).

The CD artwork is very good.  The cover of the CD is the same as the cover from the album released in 1949.  The back artwork on the CD has simple titles, a list of performers and a numerical track listing.  The CD cover opens to a two-page fold out.  The artwork on the back of the fold-out is similar to the artwork on the back of the CD.  The inside artwork of the fold-out is similar to the back of the original LP.  All the original information regarding Basil Rathbone and Dickens’ Christmas Carol is presented here albeit in a different font and structure.  The original information for the Lyn Murray Singers from the album is here, but what’s not included are the songs and their lyrics as was on the original LP.  I still think the information on the CD is excellent since they pretty much duplicated the front and back of the original LP.

The Dickens’ Christmas Carol part of the CD is listed as 6 parts and each has their own title whereas on the original album, they take up all of side one and is one continuous track.  (Why Sony decided to separate them for the CD reissue is beyond me.  The individual tracks play seamlessly with no noticeable space between the end of one and the beginning of the next one).  The Lyn Murray part of the CD has the original track order as it was on the LP.

Basil Rathbone was a British actor born in South Africa.  He appeared on stage in England and the United States during the 19teens.  In the 1920’s, he started his movie career playing villains and swashbuckling characters in silent movies.  He played Sherlock Holmes in a 1939 movie, and it was such a big hit that he continued the character in many more movies throughout the 40’s.  Those eventually got him typecast, but being British, he seemed the perfect actor to portray Ebenezer Scrooge.

For his part of the CD, Basil Rathbone is joined by a large cast performing Dickens’ Christmas Carol with orchestration provided by Leith Stevens & his Orchestra.  Not too overly dramatic, as future presentations would portray, it tells the complete story in 23 minutes and 27 seconds.  It is a good performance spread out over 6 tracks, each between 3 and 5 minutes. The great thing about the CD reissue is, at least in my iTunes, the tracks play seamlessly, with no noticeable change to the next track.  That’s a plus.

The second side of the original album features 8 traditional Christmas carols sung by the Lyn Murray Singers.  Lyn Murray was also British, whose career was spent composing, arranging, and conducting orchestras for radio, movies and later TV.  He emigrated to the United States to attend Julliard and stayed in the US for most of his career.  All of the Christmas songs I currently have by the Lyn Murray Singers are from these recordings made in 1942.  They did a few other singles in the early 40’s with other artists, but their Christmas output seems to be limited to the 8 songs presented here.  (Oh well, it would have been nice to have other Christmas albums released throughout the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, but I’ll take these).

The Christmas carols presented here are traditional in nature, as are the arrangements.  Not too unusual considering many Christmas songs we are familiar with are non-secular and written after 1942.

It is tempting to catalog the Lyn Murray Singers as an a cappella group, and for the most part, they are, except for very light instrumentation, usually provided by organ and chimes.  They are really terrific and are one of my favorite choral groups, along with the Anita Kerr Singers.  (Look for CD reviews of the Anita Kerr Singers in this blog’s future).

There are a few specific things I go out of my way to collect.  One of those things are the issues of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol.  I have many by many different artists.  Also, I like to collect different issues of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, traditional English Cathedral Choirs and a cappella groups.  I have many different presentations of all those.  (Look for those in this blog’s future).  This CD combines two of those.

This CD reissue of the original album from 1949 is really good.  If you like older presentations of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, Basil Rathbone and the cast deliver one of the very best.

If you like traditional Christmas carols performed in a traditional manner, with a little 1940’s flavor thrown in, there is no one better than the Lyn Murray Singers.

As I said earlier, it is unusual to have a drama and songs on one CD, and this may be 1 of 2 that I can think of that I have.  This CD is worth it just for the Lyn Murray Singers.  The only CD’s or LP’s by them that Amazon offers is this one, and the original 4-disc 78 RPM set from 1942 (used) and a copy of Finian’s Rainbow that they did in 1947.

I give this CD :

****

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Choral, Radio Theatre

Ray Charles – The Spirit Of Christmas

/ Pop Vocals

October 10, 2022

# 15

Ray Charles
The Spirit Of Christmas
1997

(Originally released 1985 on Columbia)

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(P) 1985 Ray Charles Enterprises (except “Baby It’s Cold Outside”).  All original recordings licensed from Ray Charles Enterprises. This Reissue/Compilation (P) & © 1997 Rhino Entertainment Company.

# 42 – 1985 – Billboard Country

Genre : Pop Vocals

Ray Charles was born in 1930 in Albany, Georgia, and became blind during childhood.  Ray developed an interest in music at school.  Ray Charles’ main contribution to popular music is simply, Ray Charles invented Soul music.  His combination of Gospel rhythms and secular lyrics led to the creation of Soul music in the mid-fifties. 

After achieving success in the early days of Rock & Roll, he started to put secular lyrics to Gospel rhythms and Soul music was born.  After years at Atlantic Records, Ray jumped ship to ABC / Paramount.  They offered him more control and had more money than Atlantic Records, so they were able to spend more money promoting him.

In 1962, Ray Charles released the album Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music in which he covered Country standards and exposed Country music to people who never really listened to it before.  Ray would continue to feature Country influences in his music for the rest of his career.

This is Ray Charles’ first Christmas album, originally released in 1985.  The cover on the CD reissue is the same as was used for the original 1985 release.  The artwork on the back of the CD is a blown-up picture from the original album back cover artwork but in shades of dark gray and features a numerical track listing.

The CD artwork folds out to a 2-part fold out that features the original back cover artwork just as it did on the back of the 1985 album.  Inside the fold out lists the original Columbia catalog number, production and recording location.  Included on the left side is a numerical track listing with writers and arranger notes.  That’s always a plus.  On the right side lists the musicians and reissue notes. Another plus.

Also included is a personal note from Torrie Dorrell from Rhino Records Children’s Division thanking all her staff that produce children’s music for Rhino Records Children’s Division.  On the far-right bar of the inside fold out is an information panel promoting the charity The Kids Are Alright?

Overall, the album features Ray on electric piano aided by a strong brass section.  The average listener will be familiar with about half the songs included.  The others are more obscure, including 4 that I think were written for this album specifically.   They are That Spirit Of Christmas, All I Want For Christmas (a different song than the one made famous by Mariah Carey), Christmas In My Heart and Christmas Time. 

Most of the songs, familiar and unfamiliar, have the Ray Charles flavor added, whether that be a faster tempo or more syncopated delivery of the lyrics.  With the brass instruments taking a front seat on most songs, the album has a very jazzy feel to it.

One of the more unusual arrangements on here is the first song, What Child Is This.  It starts off with a traditional arrangement and then suddenly changes the tempo into a very jazzy, horn driven song.

My personal favorite is the title song, That Spirit Of Christmas.  This song was prominently featured in the Chevy Chase blockbuster National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and just hearing the song, anyone familiar with the movie, will immediately envision Chevy Chase stuck in the attic watching old family movies of his past Christmases.

Included as a bonus track on the CD reissue is Baby It’s Cold Outside, a duet Ray did with Betty Carter in 1961.

I like Ray Charles.  He was a phenomenal entertainer who overcame many hardships and obstacles in his life and changed music forever with his soulful jazzy take on familiar songs.  With that being said, if you’re looking for a Christmas CD that will please a house full of friends and family, this may not be it. 

As I said earlier, this CD features a few songs most people will not be familiar with and those that they are familiar with do not stick to the original arrangements and feature a jazzy feel to them with a lot of brass.  This CD mixes in well with an eclectic playlist that features traditional Christmas songs along with more contemporary versions of Christmas standards.

But like I said, I like Ray Charles and this album features one of my favorite Christmas songs, That Spirit Of Christmas.

I give this CD :

*** ½ *

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B. J. Thomas – Christmas Is Coming Home

/ Adult Contemporary

July 27, 2022

# 14

B. J. Thomas
Christmas Is Coming Home
1997

Back

Warner Resound, a division of Warner Bros. Records Inc., a Time Warner Company. © (P) 1997 Warner Bros. Records Inc. for the U.S. and WEA International Inc. for the world outside the U.S..

Genre : Adult Contemporary

B. J. Thomas was born in Oklahoma in 1942. It was around 1960, at 18, that he started to pursue a career in music more seriously. B. J. Thomas started having hits in the mid-sixties and in 1969, he recorded the Burt Bacharach / Hal David song Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head featured in the movie “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid”, which produced his 3rd gold record.

He managed to have a few more hits in the 70’s.  In the latter half of the seventies, he had more success on the Country charts than he did on the Pop charts.  Along with success came some of the hardships of success and B. J. Thomas fell into hard times with drugs.  His wife became a Christian in 1976, and soon after, B. J. did too.  From that point on, most of his albums were Christian and Gospel releases.

He was able to get back on his feet and resumed a successful career.  B. J. Thomas died in 2021 from lung cancer.  He was 78.  Throughout his career he recorded over 60 albums.

Christmas Is Coming Home is B. J. Thomas’  second Christmas record and he has released at least 5 Christmas albums throughout his career.  This is a direct release from 1997.  Cover artwork shows a smiling B. J. Thomas sitting in an armchair in front of a fireplace.  The CD insert artwork is very good.  It is a 4-page fold out.  On one side is a numerical list of songs, time signatures, writer / arranger credits and lyrics.  Below the lyrics of the song is a list of the musicians that play on that song.  On the flip side of the insert is the cover image, and special thank you’s from B. J. Thomas and the producers Robert White Johnson and Chris Rodriguez.  A list of production credits is also included.  In a small section is an endorsement for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) of which B. J. and his wife Gloria were huge advocates.

The back of the CD has a picture of a lit-up gingerbread house with a numerical track listing (with time signatures), listed in sentence format.  Also, production credits and record label release notes.

There are 11 songs included on this Christmas CD.

The first song, When Christmas Comes This Year, is one of 4 original songs written for this release.  It’s a beautiful piano driven ballad with strings and a nice chorus providing background voices.

The second song, Be It Unto Me, is a wonderful song outside of traditional Christmas songs.  It tells of the Virgin Mary being visited in the night and being told of being chosen as the one to carry the Son of God.  Very nice.

Track 3, also an original Christmas song written for this album, features B. J. Thomas and Kathy Troccoli in a duet on the title track, Christmas Is Coming Home.  It is a beautiful song that yearns for the wonderful home Christmases of years past and the joy of reliving those memories in the present.  Excellent.

The 4th track, Tennessee Christmas, is a popular Country Christmas song written by Amy Grant and released as a single from her in 1983.  B. J. Thomas does a great job with his take on this new country Christmas standard.

On This Holy, Holy Night, is a duet with Jonathan Pierce.  Also original to this CD, the song speaks of what the night Jesus was born means to the singer.  A very fine duet.

Wake Up, It’s Christmas Morning, is the sixth song.  It tells the story of a man who is awoken by God from a dream, who then calls him to duty.  B. J. continues the song through verses that describe the angels, shepherds and world leaders that are also called to the duty of the Lord.

The seventh song is Take A Walk Through Bethlehem.  It tells the story of a modern commercial Christmas and encourages the listener to get the true spirit of Christmas by taking a walk through Bethlehem, even if only in their mind.

Song number 8, Let There Be Peace On Earth, is a duet that features Tabitha Fair.  I am familiar with this song as it shows up on other Christmas CDs, mostly by artists that record Sacred music more than artists that don’t.  This is not a true Christmas song; it is more of a traditional Sacred song.  It does not mention the word Christmas, or speak of the birth of Jesus, but nonetheless, it is a wonderful Sacred song that fits in at Christmas.

Precious Promise, the ninth song, tells of Joseph’s unquestioned devotion to Mary, even though he does not understand what the future holds for him.  In the beginning of the song, I felt like the song stumbles over lyrics that seem to be forced, but the song comes together by the second verse and finishes out very nicely.

Song number 10, Grown-Up Christmas List is a song written by David Foster and Linda Thompson Jenner in 1990, featuring Natalie Cole on vocals.  But it was Amy Grant that made the song a new Christmas standard.  This is a fitting Christmas song for B. J. Thomas.  His voice is perfectly matched for the lyrics.

The last song on the CD, and the only traditional Christmas hymn represented, is Silent Night.  The song opens with a lead guitar and synthesizer, but until the vocals begin, you can’t recognize it as the most recorded Christmas song.  Once B. J. starts singing, the arrangement becomes more traditional and it’s a beautiful finish to this CD.

This is a very good Christmas CD.  There are many songs on here I am not familiar with, but I love all Christmas songs.  I love Christmas.

I am familiar with B. J. Thomas, but mainly through the hits he had in the 60’s and 70’s on AM radio.  This is the first time I’ve heard him sing Sacred music.  His voice is just as strong as it was in the 60’s.  B. J. Thomas does a terrific job of conveying his convictions through song.

If you are a Christian with a strong faith, you will want to add this to your Christmas collection.  If you like B. J. Thomas, you will want to add this to your collection.  This will not make the people seeking out Rudolph, Frosty or Santa Claus happy.  But it is a wonderful Christmas CD to behold.

I give this CD :

****

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Adult Contemporary

Reba McEntire – Merry Christmas To You

/ Country

July 26, 2022

# 13

Reba McEntire
Merry Christmas To You
1987

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© 1987 MCA Records, Inc.

Mtd. for BMG Direct Marketing, Inc.

# 30 – 1987 – Billboard Christmas

Genre : Country

Reba was born in Oklahoma in 1955.  She started singing as a teenager.  She was discovered while singing the National Anthem at The Rodeo Nationals in 1974.

Reba started off quietly in the second half of the 70’s, then, finding her audience in 1980, she consistently released at least two top selling albums a year throughout the 1980’s.  By 1990, she was the hottest thing in Country music.  In the 70’s we had Loretta Lynn, in the 80’s we had Dolly Parton, and in the 90’s, it WAS Reba!  Even I went to one of her concerts and I’m not that big of a Country music fan.  But Reba put on a great show.

Merry Christmas To You is Reba’s first Christmas album.  This is a direct release, being issued as both an LP record and a CD in 1987.  The cover features Reba in a focused look while wearing a white winter coat and takes up the whole image area.

The CD insert is a single fold out.  The inside left features a numerical track listing with time signatures and writer / arranger credits.  The right side has all the production notes and a list of musicians.

The back of the CD insert features a personal Christmas message from Reba.

The artwork on the back of the CD features a numerical track listing with time signatures and producer notes.

This CD features only 10 Christmas songs.  There are 4 Christian hymns and 6 traditional Christmas songs, two of which are original to this album.

This is a wonderful CD to review.  I’ve had it for some time but hadn’t listened to it in some time either.  The CD starts with a beautiful rendition of Away In A Manger.  Simple guitar work, a fiddle and a harpsichord.  Reba has such a wonderful Country voice that definitely shines on this song.

The second track, On This Day, is a duet that features Vince Gill on background vocals.  This is a new Christmas song, written just for this album.  A pedal steel guitar directs the song through Reba reminiscing about her memories of a family Christmas paired with the birth of Jesus.  (The liner notes state that this is a duet with Vince Gill singing background vocals, but honestly, I can’t hear him.  It would have been better to have him more upfront).

O Holy Night, the 3rd song, features Reba with a traditional arrangement featuring mostly piano.  Towards the end, the song really showcases how strong Reba’s voice can be.

The fourth song is The Christmas Guest, a song that appears on a lot of Country Christmas albums in the 70’s.  As is the case here, it is usually performed as a spoken word recital.  It’s the story of a meager man who is visited by Jesus in a dream who then promises to visit him on Christmas day.  The song was originally written, performed and introduced as a Christmas song by Grandpa Jones in 1969.  I wanted to understand the song better, so I read the lyrics while I listened to Reba tell the story.  It literally brought tears to my eyes.  Really.  It did.  You have to listen to the song to understand.

The 5th song is Silent Night.  It begins with a 30 second spoken introduction, which fits in nicely after the spoken word recital from the last song.  Then acoustic guitar comes in to finish the introduction, then Reba begins the vocal a cappella for two verses.  The acoustic guitar comes back, with a simple drum pattern following.  These are the only instruments you can hear.  It is one of four songs that Reba arranged on the CD.

I am not very familiar with the 6th song, Happy Birthday Jesus (I’ll Open This One For You).  Wikipedia.org has the writer credits as Traditional.  I have two other songs titled Happy Birthday Jesus, and all 3 are different.  This is a mix of spoken word verses alternating between verses sang.  A group of young children provide wonderful background accompaniment in the beginning and at the end.

White Christmas opens with fiddle and pedal steel guitar followed by piano to give this Christmas classic a strong Country flavor.  Only instruments are heard for the first minute and a half before Reba begins singing.

The 8th song, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, begins with a traditional arrangement, slow and soulful.  After about 34 seconds, a full-blown Country band featuring fiddles, piano and steel guitar pick up the tempo.  Reba does a terrific job with this arrangement.

I’m not familiar with the 9th song either.  A Christmas Letter may have been written for this Christmas release.  I can’t find too much history on it.  A traditional Country arrangement carries this song through an endearing Christmas wish.

The Christmas Song finishes this CD out nicely.  A mostly piano driven song, Reba delivers a passionate plea for a wonderful Merry Christmas.

As I said earlier, I hadn’t listened to this CD in quite some time, so I didn’t know what to expect.  (Well, I thought I did, but I’ll keep that to myself).  I am excited to say that this first Christmas offering from the 90’s Queen of Country Music blew me away!  Extremely well produced.  A wonderful Christmas CD to include in your Country Christmas music collection.  Reba hadn’t reached her peak quite yet, but this CD showcases a beautiful, wonderful voice that is a treat to listen to.  My ONLY complaint with this CD is that there are only 10 songs.  12 would be better, 14 would be great!  But the ones that are here are fantastic.

If you are a Country music fan, you probably already have this, but if you are a Country music fan and you don’t have it, you need to get it this Christmas season.

I give this CD :

****

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Country

Engelbert Humperdink – A Merry Christmas With Engelbert Humperdink

/ Pop Vocals

July 26, 2022

# 12

Engelbert Humperdink
A Merry Christmas With Engelbert Humperdink
(Unknown)

(Originally released 1980 on Epic)

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(P) 1980 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products/ “Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada 

Previously released as Epic Records #JE 36765

Genre : Pop Vocals

Engelbert Humperdink was born Arnold George Dorsey in 1936 in India.  His family moved back to England after WW II.  He has recorded under the names Arnold Dorsey, Gerry Dorsey and in 1965, he changed his name to Engelbert Humperdink, the same name as the German opera composer from the 1800’s.

He did not have much success recording under the name Gerry Dorsey, and taking the advice of his new manager, he changed his name.  Starting in 1967, the hits started flowing.  His first, Release Me, from 1967, is the song most people know him for.

This is Engelbert’s second Christmas album.  The first was Christmas Tyme, released in 1977.  A Merry Christmas With Engelbert Humperdink was originally released in 1980.  It is unknown when this CD version was released.

The cover artwork has not really changed with this re-release, except for the image that appears on the CD takes up the whole album front on the cover from 1980.  The CD insert is a single fold out, but there is no inside information. Bummer.  The back of the fold out lists the artist and album title followed by a numerical track listing with time signatures.  Below are producer credits, production credits and release information typical of all recordings.  The artwork on the back of the CD is the same as the back of the insert.

There are 10 songs included here, the same as the original release from 1980.  There are no bonus tracks; and the track order has been kept the same as the original release.

Even though there are only 10 songs on here, this is a pretty good Christmas CD.  I think Engelbert Humperdink has a terrific voice and his record sales in the 70’s prove that many other people thought so too.  Out of the 10 songs on the CD, 4 are in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.

The orchestrations on all songs are by Jimmie Haskell & his Orchestra.

The CD begins with O Come All Ye Faithful, a wonderful Christian hymn originally composed by John Francis Wade and translated into English by Frederick Oakeley.  This is a soulful, endearing version of this old carol.

Track 2 is Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.  A cheery rendition of this Christmas classic.  All songs on this CD feature a pleasing chorus providing background harmonies.  I can find no information on who the choir is, but they sound terrific.  This is one of the better songs on this release, and probably familiar to many of you.

The newer Christmas classic, Blue Christmas, is performed soulfully, and there is that great chorus again!

There are 5 Christian hymns on this CD, and Away In A Manger, the fourth track, is one of them.  The song opens with a beautiful, light piano solo that features wonderfully throughout.

O Little Town Of Bethlehem begins with the chorus declaring “Bethlehem”, then moves into a quiet interpretation of this Christian hymn.  Another one that is in my Top 500.

The 6th track is the only medley featured here.  The music doesn’t stop between songs, so this was recorded as a 3-song medley.  The first of the three, We Three Kings Of Orient Are, begins with a brass introduction that plays throughout.  Trilogy, as it’s called in the track listings, takes a softer turn with The First Noel.  Silent Night finishes the medley off.

The 7th song, the Christmas classic, Winter Wonderland, has a slightly Country flavor to it.  I say that because of the style of the lead guitar.  A very popular Engelbert Humperdink Christmas song, you will still hear it played on the radio during the holiday season.

Mary’s Boy Child is one of my favorite modern Christmas hymns.  Here Engelbert, backed up by the choir, does a terrific job.

Oh my….the 9th song.  God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.  It has such a wonderful a cappella intro, chorus only, singing the first stanza.  One of the best arrangements of this song I have ever heard.

The CD closes with what must be my most favorite modern hymn, The Lord’s Prayer.  When I think of this song, I think of Andy Williams, who covered it on his 1974 Christmas album, Christmas Present.  Here Engelbert Humperdink does a fantastic job of delivering a heartfelt rendition, backed by the chorus, eventually turning into a loud crescendo of instruments and voices.

I think the orchestra leader, Jimmie Haskell, has done a terrific job of using modern instruments along with a traditional orchestra to give the music a modern flavor.  You can tell it’s not 1954, and all the instruments play together beautifully.

As I stated in the opening remarks, this is a great Christmas CD to have in your collection.  If you think you might like Engelbert Humperdink singing Christmas carols, then I would recommend this Christmas CD.  His first, from 1977, (just 3 years prior to this one), features 4 medleys that contain many carols each, out of 10 songs total.  That means you’re getting many Christmas songs, but just 1-minute versions of each.  Here, you only get 10 songs, but you get 10, 3 minute + Christmas standards.  Go for this one instead.

Engelbert Humperdink does a really good job on all songs.  The orchestrations are traditional arrangements, so you’ll be familiar with all those, and the unknown chorus puts on the finishing touches to produce a short but sweet Christmas CD.

I give this CD :

***1/2*

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