Mixed

December 28, 2022

# 90

VA - 15 Christmas Favorites - Sharing The Spirit
1998

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

Genre : Mixed

This compilation CD of Christmas music is part of a series of eight CDs of the most wonderful, beautiful and reverent Christmas songs you could ever imagine.  This series is released by Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and five were originally released in 1998, one in 1999 and two in 2002.  For the purpose of this blog, I will review each one individually for a couple of reasons.

First, as far as I know, these were never released in one complete box set.  I originally found them at a Kroger’s back when they would put out a display of budget Christmas CDs.  Each was only $5.00, and I went around to as many Kroger’s as I could getting as many as I could.  I think it took me a couple of years to get them all.  Most were released in 1998, that’s probably the year I got them.  The last two were released in 2002, and that’s probably when I got those.

As long as Kroger’s did this, for about 10 years, I went every year with my entire Christmas music library list in hand, and if Kroger’s had Christmas CDs of something I didn’t already have, in the cart it went.  I remember checking out with 30 or more at one time, many times.  And I did this every year.  And then I was hooked.

The second reason I want to review these individually is because each contains 15 beautiful, reverent Christmas songs.  I like to think of these as the “other” side of Christmas music.  Sony Music Special Products turns out some fantastic Christmas CDs and these are the best of anything that has ever been released.  When I say that, I am talking about the entire set as a whole.  Each CD is worth having on its own, even if you didn’t have all eight.  But when you do, it is 120 songs, no repeat, and almost 5 ½ hours of the best Christmas music.

It would not be a lie for me to admit that one of the biggest reasons I wanted to start a blog about my massive, personal Christmas music collection is because I wanted to brag about many of the CDs I have.  The 8 CDs in this series are one of the main reasons I want to brag.  I don’t think a lot of people are aware of these and I want to get the word out.

Take Note : Each review of all eight in the series will have the above paragraphs at the beginning of the review.  If you have read reviews of some of the others, and you want to skip it, you can begin reading after this paragraph.

(You may begin reading now) :

One thing that got me with this collection was the covers.  They’re nothing special, but for some reason, I really like them.  They’re all done in a festive and colorful manner.  Sharing The Spirit features three glass Christmas ornaments in the center of a plum-colored circle right in the middle of the cover.  This image is superimposed over a gold background that has faint Santa Clauses featured in the pattern.  The CD title appears at the top in white lettering.  At the bottom of the CD cover, it reads, and this is the part I love, “Original Artists – Original Recordings”.  This is what you want to look for when collecting Christmas music from the Classic Christmas Music Era (1946 – 1976).  It then lists a few of the artists on the CD.

The back of the CD contains some good information, but overall, it could be better, (we’ll get to that soon).  The back cover has a detailed numerical track listing that features the primary artist and time signatures.  The print is yellow and all is presented against a dark green background.  The only thing missing is recording years.  For a CD this fantastic, the only other thing I could hope for would be years for the recordings.  I have been able to fill in the blanks for most of the songs, and with some stronger diligence, I might be able to fill in the rest, but when I dig, I dig pretty deep, and so I may have done the best I can.  I only use trusted sources. 

The CD cover comes out and opens along a single fold-out, and because this IS a Sony Music Special Products product, the insides are completely blank.  Bummer.  The back of the CD cover is an exact copy of the back of the CD.  It took me about 50 reviews before I started catching on to this.  I love the CDs Sony Music Special Products puts out, so I will have to learn to accept it.  The most important notes to me, other than the obvious, are the years of the recordings.  To me, that’s valuable information.

By the nature of the artists on here, only a few songs are secular Christmas songs, but they are familiar Christmas songs.  Toyland is not really a Christmas song, but it does show up on a lot of Christmas compilations.

One of the great things about this CD is that even though the biggest names in Christmas music are not all here, we have a couple that are known for their Christmas output.  Andy Williams performs I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day from his 1974 Christmas album.  Ken Thorne directs the orchestra.  This is my favorite song from his 1974 Christmas album.

Doris Day performs Toyland from her 1964 Christmas album.  Like I said, Toyland is not really a Christmas song, but Doris Day does an incredible job with the vocals.  I think her vocals are more lush than the wonderful strings directed by Pete King & his Orchestra that play in the background.

There are more Christmas songs from the 1950s than I expected.  The oldest song on here is Away In A Manger performed by Ken Griffin on the organ.  Ken Griffin is accompanied by bells; I think it’s bells and not a celesta.  I could be wrong, but I have many Organ & Chimes Christmas records, so I think it was the thing to do back in 1950 when this song was recorded.  Plus, the tone of the bells are deep, indicating large bells.  I don’t know if the celesta can produce tones that deep.

There are a couple of Christmas songs I am not that familiar with, either by the title or the artist.  The 1960s – 1970s Country artist Jody Miller is someone I’m not familiar with at all, but she has a very sweet voice, with just a little Country dialect.  Her song, Cherry Tree Carol, is also one of the most uncommon Christmas songs on here.  This is one recording I can’t seem to find a year for.

Irish Folk Christmas music is provided by The Clancy Brothers.  I am slightly familiar with The Clancy Brothers.  After all, I have their 1969 Christmas album on CD, but the song they perform here, Lovely Far Off City, is totally unfamiliar to me.  The only version I have is by them, and the only source of the song I can find on the internet is this song.  I’m guessing this may be an old Irish Sacred song.  Recorders and acoustic guitar begin the song and as the melody continues, a celesta joins the arrangement.  What I did not expect was the celesta joining in.  The combination of all the instruments playing together is very calming.

Another singer I’m not that familiar with is a gentleman named Jerry Wayne.  Jerry Wayne did most of his recording in the late 1940s and through the 1950s.  He was a tenor and sang Pop Standards.  Here he does a great version of Jingle Bells.  I don’t know the year for this either, I think it’s 1951.  And it sounds like it.  A wonderful small orchestra taps out the bouncing arrangement with instruments that only find themselves out at Christmas.  Sleigh bells, celesta, flutes and reed instruments all come together for this Christmas classic.

Another Country artist with great Pop sensibilities, Marty Robbins, sings Hark! The Herald Angels Sing from his 1967 Christmas album.  After using the refrain as an introduction, the chorus fades away and Marty Robbins starts his reverent vocals as the celesta joins in.  The arrangement is solemn; the large orchestra is kept just loud enough to allow the chorus and the celesta to be heard.

Two of the biggest names in symphonic Christmas music are here as well.  Andre Kostelanetz directs a three-part medley of The First Noel / It Came Upon A Midnight Clear / O Come All Ye Faithful from 1963.  The medley begins with bells and a celesta accompanied by brass instruments.  It makes for a dramatic start.  As the songs change, so do the arrangements.  In contrast to the first song, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear opens with a single violin.  The rest of the strings join in to produce a solemn arrangement.  Brass instruments herald in O Come All Ye Faithful for a triumphant finish to the medley.

Andre Previn takes a more subtle approach to God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.  As lush strings introduce the song, they quickly fade away and the harpsichord fills in the melody.  Strings join in for the end of the verses but fade back out to make room for the harpsichord to return.  The strings and the harpsichord join in together for the finish.  It’s a unique arrangement of this familiar Christmas hymn from 1966.

Sacred music is represented by The Chuck Wagon Gang performing While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks.  It comes from a Christmas album they recorded in 1954.  The Chuck Wagon Gang are a family Country Gospel group that has been around since the 1930s.  Their arrangements are primarily acoustic guitar, and the vocals are harmonized in layers.

The CD ends appropriately with We Wish You A Merry Christmas, by The Johnny Mann Singers.  The CD lists the artist as The Dustin Tracy Singers, but I have another copy of this song from a reputable source that says this is The Johnny Mann Singers.  Discogs also lists the artist as The Johnny Mann Singers for this very CD.  Further investigation reveals that The Dustin Tracy Singers are known for only one Christmas song, Deck The Hall With Boughs Of Holly.  And that is the only song I have in my enormous Christmas music library from them as well.  The song in question, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, by The Johnny Mann Singers, appears on their 1967 Christmas album, but it is only :56 seconds, and the one on this CD is 2:18.  When I listen to both versions back to back, yes, they sound similar.  The voices definitely sound the same.  Some of the arrangement sounds similar.  The way the vocals are inflected also sounds similar.  My final declaration is that yes, the song presented here is The Johnny Mann Singers and this song is an expanded version, albeit a different recording. Nonetheless, the song is a jubilant Christmas greeting with great layered voices from a mixed chorus.  This was recorded in 1967 and an appropriate way to end the CD.

I have left a few artists out and that is not because they don’t have great Christmas songs on here, I’m just trying to keep it brief.

This CD and the other 7 companion CDs all contain wonderful Christmas songs.  The whole set is my favorite Christmas music collection out of all the ones I have.  And trust me, I HAVE A LOT!  I never leave the house without this whole set with me.  You can play all 8 in a row and have over 5 ½ hours of beautiful Christmas music.  When I first got these, I didn’t think I would like them that much because it didn’t contain the most common Christmas artists.  I was more attracted to the covers than I was the music.  I remember the first one I put on.  I was immediately impressed with the quality of the arrangements, song selection and overall focus on the religious side of Christmas music more than the novelty side.  I became an instant fan of the whole collection.

I still have six more of these to review in this blog, and I can tell you that you will never find a better collection of Christmas music.  All the songs may not be familiar Christmas songs, and all the artists may not be familiar Christmas artists, but the combination of the two makes this a terrific Christmas CD to include in your collection.

Take a couple of other sets that do have all the Classic Christmas artists on them and mix this in with those and you will have a well-rounded, diverse Christmas music collection.

I give this CD :

****

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December 9, 2022

# 77

VA - A Christmas Treasury -
25 Best-Loved Holiday Classics
2000

(Originally released 1994 on EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets)

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This compilation (P) 1994 © 2000 EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
Product of EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets.

Genre : Mixed

This is a great Christmas compilation CD from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets.  This is almost the only Christmas CD you would ever need.  Not really, but if you wanted to limit yourself to a small collection, then this should be in it.  It features very familiar Christmas songs, but not necessarily by the singers you would automatically think of.  It features some of the best Christmas music artists, but perhaps not performing their biggest Christmas hits.  And in some respects, this is missing some very vital Christmas artists to make it the perfect Christmas CD.

There is no Frank Sinatra, Gene Autry, Burl Ives or Johnny Mathis.  Nor is there any Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day or Judy Garland.  I’m beginning to reason that is due to the reissuing record label.  The artists that appear on these many, many Christmas compilation CDs that I have were artists under contract to that label when these songs were recorded.  You won’t find any Columbia Records or RCA Victor artists on an EMI-Capitol release.  I think companies like Time-Life Music make arrangements with all the major labels and are able to feature artists from many different record labels on one CD.

There are 25 beautiful, wonderful Christmas songs on here.  It has a full 78 minutes of music.  They filled the CD to capacity.  Bonus.

The cover is very Christmassy.  I like nice, colorful Christmas albums / CD covers.  I think people who like to collect Christmas music are partly attracted to the covers.  I know I am.

The CD cover shows a close-up picture of a Santa snow globe.  The CD title appears at the top in red script.  Off to the right side is the secondary title and a list of some of the artists that appear on the CD.

The back of the CD features a numerical track listing with performing artist credits.  The CD title appears at the top in the same script as found on the front cover.  All is in gold lettering against a dark red background.  It makes for easy reading.  At the very bottom are typical copywrite notices and a UPC symbol.

There is no need to take the cover out to gain any new information.  The CD cover is just a single piece of slick paper, and nothing is printed on the backside.  Bummer.

As nice as the artwork is on the front cover, overall, the CD lacks a lot of the information I seek.  Writer credits, orchestra leaders and years of recording are all missing.  But alas, it’s still a great Christmas compilation CD.

There is no way I can write about every song and artist on here and keep it brief, so I’ll start with some quick observations about the songs.  17 of the 25 songs are all familiar traditional Christmas hymns.  Of the other 8, all are familiar secular Christmas songs but only 3 are 20th century Christmas songs.  Brahms’ Lullaby is not really a Christmas song, but it is a beautiful song nonetheless, and it compliments Christmas collections very well.

The oldest recorded song on here comes from 1952.  It is the extremely reverent Hallelujah Chorus (from “The Messiah”, G. F. Handel) and is performed by Huddersfield Choral Society, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, conductor.

The most recent song comes from 1993.  It is Tanya Tucker singing What Child Is This?  Tanya Tucker pleads the lyrics reverently with just a slight Country dialect.  I think she is about to completely break down from anguish.  The melody is mainly achieved with an acoustic guitar while very light orchestrations provide additional support.  There is a light chorus that provides soft harmonies.

All the songs are spread across the years pretty well, and except for about 8 of them, most were recorded during the Classic Christmas Music Era of 1946 – 1976.  This CD contains 8 songs that are in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.

Earlier I listed some familiar Christmas artists who aren’t on here.  Now I will tell you some of the ones that are.  Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Wayne Newton and Jose Feliciano all have one song each.  Andrew Parrott And The Taverner Consort Choir & Players and the Roger Wagner Chorale each have two.  The rest are of mixed genre ranging from Pop to Choral to Classic Country to Organ Solo.

Another thing that’s missing from this CD are the more Novelty Christmas songs like Frosty The Snowman or Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer.  Santa Claus does make an appearance as Peggy Lee sings Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town from 1960.  Billy May & his Orchestra provide the music.  It is a swinging arrangement with light jazz overtones.  The sweet female chorus that provides syncopated harmonies adds a unique take on this Christmas classic.

One of my favorite Christmas hymns, Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming, is performed a cappella by the New York Choral Artists, Joseph Flummerfelt, Director and was recorded in 1990.

The song that directly follows is also performed a cappella.  Wassail Song is delivered in contrasting harmonies by male and female voices, respectively.  They are The Roger Wagner Chorale.  The CD states that they are accompanied by The Sinfonia Of London.  Perhaps on the 1962 album this comes from, but not on this song in particular.

Another a cappella Christmas song comes from The King’s Singers.  Deck The Hall is from their 1973 Christmas album of the same name.  The King’s Singers are an a cappella British choral group comprising six male voices.

The highest charting song on here is Feliz Navidad performed by the man who made it famous, Jose Feliciano, in 1970.  Although it was released as a single in 1970, it didn’t chart on the Billboard Singles chart until 1998.  This is probably the most recognizable Christmas song on here.

Another familiar Christmas song is Dean Martin singing White Christmas from his 1959 Christmas album.  The music is provided by Gus Levene & his Orchestra and the wonderful chorus that accompanies Dean Martin really makes this song terrific.  The original album liner notes say they are also under the direction of Gus Levene.

Andrew Parrott And The Taverner Consort Choir & Players have two songs, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.  Both are highly orchestrated carols sung by a large British Choral group that got its start in 1973.  The music is performed by musicians that specialize in Baroque music from the 15th to the 17th century.  The songs were recorded in 1991 and 1988, respectively.

One of the more uncommonly found Christmas artists is The New Christy Minstrels performing Angels We Have Heard On High.  I have the only 2 Christmas albums they recorded that I am aware of, and this song is not on either of them.  I’m not sure when this was recorded.  If you are not familiar with the New Christy Minstrels, you can read a review of their Christmas album found elsewhere in this blog.

Another mid 1960s vocal group is The Lettermen.  They perform O Holy Night from their 1966 Christmas album.  The light orchestrations are provided by Richard Hazard & his Orchestra.  The Lettermen’s three-part harmonies produce very solemn Christmas hymns.

And yet another male vocal group from the 1960s is The Beach Boys.  They perform We Three Kings.  This song was originally released on their chart-topping Christmas album from 1964.  Most of the songs on that Christmas album are upbeat, classic Beach Boys’ stuff; ‘Fun in the Sun’, Southern California Christmas songs.  Here, they deliver this familiar Christmas hymn accompanied only by light organ to start.  While The Beach Boys’ tight harmonies carry the song, they are soft and slow paced.  This is one of the slowest arranged versions of this song I am aware of.

As I’ve tried to say, this is a terrific Christmas CD and if you’re looking to add to your collection, I suggest you seek this out.  This CD covers all the aspects of what great Christmas music should be.  I didn’t cover all the songs; I left a bunch out in order to save space and time.  Trust me, they are also great Christmas songs.  Most would probably be unfamiliar to the casual listener, but many are performed by well-known artists.

This is not the most perfect Christmas CD, but if you have the common ones with Gene Autry, Andy Williams, Doris Day and Perry Como, this is the CD you need to compliment those.  Same time frame of recording, and all are from artist released Christmas albums from the 1950s – 1990s.

I give this CD :

****

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December 4, 2022

# 73

VA - 15 Christmas Classics - Holiday Splendor
1998

BAck

© 1998 Sony Music Entertainment Inc./ (P) 1977, 1983, 1990, 1998 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products / “Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

Genre : Mixed

This compilation CD of Christmas music is part of a series of eight CDs of the most wonderful, beautiful and reverent Christmas songs you could ever imagine.  This series is released by Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and five were originally released in 1998, one in 1999 and two in 2002.  For the purpose of this blog, I will review each one individually for a couple of reasons.

First, as far as I know, these were never released in one complete box set.  I originally found them at a Kroger back when they would put out a display of budget Christmas CDs between Halloween and Christmas.  Each was only $5.00, and I went around to as many Krogers as I could getting as many as I could.  I think it took me a couple of years to get them all.  Most were released in 1998, that’s probably the year I got them.  The last two were released in 2002, and that’s probably when I got those.

As long as Kroger did this, for about 10 years, I went every year with my entire Christmas music library list in hand, and if Kroger had Christmas CDs of something I didn’t already have, in the cart they went.  I remember checking out with 30 or more at one time, many times.  And I did this every year.  And then I was hooked.

The second reason I want to review these individually is because each contains 15 beautiful, reverent Christmas songs.  I like to think of these as the other side of Christmas music.  Sony Music Special Products turns out some fantastic Christmas CDs and these are the best of anything that has ever been released.  When I say that, I am talking about the entire set as a whole.  Each CD is worth having on its own, even if you didn’t have all eight.  But when you do, it is 120 songs, no repeat, and almost 5 ½ hours of the best Christmas music.

It would not be a lie for me to admit that one of the biggest reasons I wanted to start a blog about my massive, personal Christmas music collection is because I wanted to brag about many of the CDs I have.  The 8 CDs in this series are one of the main reasons I wanted to brag.  I don’t think a lot of people are aware of these and I want to get the word out.

Take Note : Each review of all eight in the series will have the above paragraphs at the beginning of the review.  If you have read reviews of some of the others, and you want to skip it, you can begin reading after this paragraph.

(You may begin reading now) :

One thing that got me with this collection was the covers.  They’re nothing special, but for some reason, I really like them.  They’re all done in a festive and colorful manner.  Holiday Splendor features a gingerbread man and some gingerbread cookies on a black cookie tray.  This image is superimposed over a cornflower blue background that has faint Santa Clauses featured in the pattern.  The CD title appears at the top in white lettering.  At the bottom of the CD cover, it reads, and this is the part I love, “Original Artists – Original Recordings”.  This is what you want to look for when collecting Christmas music from the Classic Christmas Music Era (1946 – 1976).  It then lists a few of the artists on the CD.

The back of the CD contains some good information, but overall, it could be better, (we’ll get to that soon).  The back cover has a detailed numerical track listing that features the primary artist and time signatures.  Along with the primary artist, everyone involved with the recording is also listed.  This includes orchestra leaders and choruses.  The only thing missing is recording years.  For a CD this fantastic, the only other thing I could hope for would be years for the recordings.  I have been able to fill in the blanks for most of the series, and with some stronger diligence, I might be able to fill in the rest, but when I dig, I dig pretty deep, and so I may have done the best I can.  I only use trusted sources.

The CD cover comes out and opens along a single fold-out, and because this IS a Sony Music Special Products product, the insides are completely blank.  As well, the back of the CD cover is an exact copy of the back of the CD.  It took me about 50 reviews before I started catching on to this.  I love the CDs Sony Music Special Products puts out, so I will have to learn to accept it.  The most important notes to me, other than the obvious, are the years of the recordings.  To me, that’s valuable information.

As I stated earlier, I look at these CDs as the other side of Christmas music.  There are 15 songs included on all the CDs, and for this one, all are Christmas hymns and carols but only 8 are going to be familiar to the casual listener.  The others are familiar titles to me but probably not to most listeners.  Only one song, March Of The Toys, from the operetta Babes In Toyland, is a secular Christmas song.

There are only about two or three artists that will be familiar to the casual listener.  Upon deeper research into the artists themselves, most of the uncommon artists are opera singers, symphonies, and classical singers.  The research also shows that many of these artists released Christmas albums under their own names and I am on a quest to see if I can locate any that I may not already have.

Because of the type of artists and their respective careers, you don’t find Rudolph, Frosty or Santa himself represented on this CD.  To me, that is not a problem.  You can find them on many other Christmas compilations.  Here we get reverent Christmas songs performed in a classical manner, at least most are, not all.  And most of these songs were recorded during the Classic Christmas Music Era and they are wonderful, ornately arranged Christmas songs.  That’s why I like this series so much.  These mix in with the more traditional Christmas songs in a large playlist because then you get a broad mix of Christmas music and the songs on this CD keep the message alive.

A couple of Pop singers are on here; Robert Goulet sings Panis Angelicus from 1963, Nelson Eddy with Paul Weston & his Orchestra sings Hark! The Herald Angels Sing from 1951 and Maureen McGovern performs O Holy Night from her 1990 Christmas album.  This is the most recent Christmas song.

The best names in Opera are here as well.  Anna Moffo performs Ave Maria (year and orchestra unknown), Marilyn Horne sings The Bethlehem Babe accompanied by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, from 1983 and Eileen Farrell performs a solemn arrangement of Lullay My Liking accompanied by Luther Henderson & his Orchestra from 1959.

Well known Christmas choirs are represented by The Gregg Smith Singers accompanied by The Texas Boys Choir singing The Holly And The Ivy from 1968.  The CD opens with this song.  The two choirs are accompanied by E. Power Biggs at the organ and The New York Brass & Percussion Ensemble.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir appear on two songs on here.  The one with Marilyn Horne and one on their own, There Shall A Star From Jacob.

Other known choruses are The Waverly Consort performing In Dulci Jubilo from 1977 and The St. Kilian Boy Choir along with Andre Kostelanetz & his Orchestra singing Silent Night, recorded in 1966.

Great orchestras such as Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra performing March Of The Toys from 1964, (this one is in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings), Erich Leinsdorf conducting The London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus performing Angels From The Realms Of Glory and George Szell And The Cleveland Orchestra performing Deck The Hall With Boughs Of Holly, from 1967 are all here.

One last song that should be mentioned is the second oldest recording on this CD.  It is Frank Parker & Marion Marlowe accompanied by Archie Bleyer & his Orchestra singing O Little Town Of Bethlehem, from 1953.  It is an endearing duet, accompanied only by an organ.  The liner notes say they are accompanied by Archie Bleyer & his Orchestra & Chorus, but I don’t detect any instrument other than the organ, and I don’t hear a chorus either.  The liner notes for the CD probably came from the original credits on the album, and so would’ve applied to all the songs on that album, and perhaps this one just featured an organist and no chorus.  Nonetheless, it is a beautiful Christmas song.

At the risk of repeating myself too much, I can highly recommend this CD, and all 8 for that matter, right into your Christmas music library.  You will thank me.

This “other side of Christmas music” CD will be a treat to listen to all through the Holiday Season.  I know of just a few other Christmas CD collections that can only come close to these, and they would be primarily from Reader’s Digest collections.

I give this CD :

****

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October 20, 2022

# 32

VA - Cameo Parkway - Holiday Hits
2011

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This compilation (P) & © 2011 ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. abkco and Parkway are trademarks of ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. Manufactured by ABKCO Records a division of ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.

Genre : Mixed

Cameo / Parkway was a record label established in 1956 and active until 1967.  It was a conglomerate of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, both based out of Philadelphia.  It was bought by Allen Klein through his company ABKCO in 1968.  Allen Klein managed some of the Cameo artists in the early 1960’s and would later manage The Rolling Stones and briefly, The Beatles.

Cameo / Parkway Records released music in a wide variety of genres with a large array of performers.  That is not lost on this Christmas compilation CD.  Most of these people you have never heard of and there’s one I think you’ll be surprised with.  The CD contains 18 songs, which is very good for Christmas releases, for a total of 47 minutes of albeit “strange” Christmas music.

The cover is a black and white photograph of an early 1960’s family that are holding this year’s Christmas presents.  They still have their coats and hats on so we can only presume they either just got home from shopping, or they are getting ready to leave to visit relatives.  The gifts that they are supposed to be carrying are digitally altered to show record album covers from Cameo / Parkway artists and they are shown in color.  The CD title appears in the top right corner and on the left side of the cover is a partial list of the artists that are on this CD.

The back cover has a numerical track listing with performing artists listed under the song title.  The song list is overlaid on a colorized black and white photo of a late 1950’s housewife sitting near the Christmas tree.  To the left are production credits and at the bottom are the copywrite notes.

The CD cover opens along a single stapled fold that contains eight pages.  The second page begins with a short description of the virtues of this Christmas CD of songs released between 1957 and 1967.  Included in the small booklet, each song has its own paragraph describing the song and the artist that performs it.  All the songs are discussed so there is a lot of good background information.  I say that because most of these artists are totally unknown outside of Cameo / Parkway and most did not burn up the Billboard charts.

The last two pages feature a numerical track listing with writer credits.  Beneath the song title are recording dates, recording studio and location, followed by producer credits, original single catalog numbers, Billboard chart performance and the record album the song originally appeared on.  Whew!  That’s a lot of information!  I wish all Christmas CDs would come with that kind of information.

Just a little over half the songs are going to be familiar.  The CD begins with a traditional arrangement of Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker.  Both Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker were Cameo Records artists and probably the best they had.  While releasing their own albums, Cameo decided to pair the two up for a few singles during their heyday.

Even though there are artists on here that you are probably not familiar with, I think you’ll find a few of them quite pleasant.  The first you’ll come to is the Rudolph Statler Orchestra.  It is a very pleasant orchestra that is perfect for Christmas music.  They have 3 songs on here, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Winter Wonderland and Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, all from 1966.  All are beautiful arrangements of well-known Christmas songs. (Look for a review of Rudolph Statler’s 1966 Christmas album in this blog’s future).

The International Pop Orchestra is another unknown artist that does a terrific job with Joy To The World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, The First Noel and Deck The Halls.  All their selections are from 1965.

They are both Cameo / Parkway artists but not necessarily big sellers.  They are also the most traditional artists on here and will appeal the most to most listeners.  Unfortunately, their songs are spread out over the whole CD and don’t run consecutively.  So, you have to listen to some strange Christmas songs before you are treated to more pleasant ones.

Doo Wop is represented here by The Cameos.  Discogs.com shows only one single ever released by them, Merry Christmas / New Years Eve from 1957.  Both songs appear here.

Dancehall is a music genre that is primarily instrumental and features banjo, piano and a regular rhythm section.  It is similar to ragtime or Dixieland jazz.  It is represented here by Beethoven Ben performing Auld Lang Syne, recorded in 1963.  Personally, I think the song is barely recognizable.  The arrangement is very fast, and the banjo really throws me off.  During his career, Beethoven Ben released two albums of similar style.

If you like novelty Christmas songs, there is a great one on here.  It is Bobby The Poet performing his version of White Christmas, subtitled 3 O’Clock Weather Report.  Written and released in 1967, this is a song that makes fun of current events of the time.  It begins with an interview of a US Senator who sounds remarkably like Senator Bobby Kennedy who picks to listen to a new folk artist also named Bobby who sounds remarkably like Bob Dylan.  It is all a spoof, and it is quite humorous for a novelty song.  I find myself cracking up every time I hear it.

More Doo Wop is represented with The Jaynells singing I’ll Stay Home (New Year’s Eve) from 1963.  I believe this was written by a Cameo / Parkway house arranger and released as a single in 1963.  It is the only version I have and it doesn’t show up on any other Christmas CDs.  The Jaynells released only 5 singles in their short career.  It’s possible that this is a studio group put together for the purpose of releasing singles to see if they’d sell.

Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker team up once again for a Christmas novelty song titled Jingle Bells Imitations.  In the song, Bobby and Chubby trade verses parodying Elvis, Fats Domino, Bobby Darin and even The Chipmunks.  Truly a novelty song, this must be one of the strangest Christmas songs ever released.  Believe it or not, it charted on Billboard’s Singles chart in 1961, going as high as # 21.

Very popular in 1966 was a fad of Mexican influenced Pop music.  You’re probably familiar with Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, (look for a review of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass’ Christmas album in this blog’s future), and maybe you’ve heard of The Baja Marimba Band, also on Herb Alpert’s A&M Records.  Cameo / Parkway gets in on the act with The Mexicali Marimba Band performing Twelve Days Of Christmas from 1966.

Not quite the same, but similar is Toni Sante singing Donde Esta Santa Claus (Where Is Santa Claus)? from 1965.  Performed in the Girl Group style, it features a teenage girl seeking the whereabouts of Santa Claus in the same manner other Girl Groups seek a new boyfriend.  Not too bizarre, more like early 1960’s Bobby Sox, but definitely not your average Christmas song.

Just when you think Cameo / Parkway has covered everything under the sun, track 16 has a Bluegrass instrumental version of Auld Lang Syne performed by Bob Johnson And The Lonesome Travelers, recorded in 1962.

And possibly saving the best (?) for last, the CD closes out with a raging song by Bob Seger And The Last Heard performing Sock It To Me Santa.  You most likely have heard of Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band, but his first band was called The Last Heard.  They released 4 singles on Cameo before going on to bigger and better things.  Recorded in 1966, this is an original song performed in the Detroit shouting style similar to Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels.  If you like your Christmas songs raucous and rocking, you need to have this one in your collection.  It shows up on other Rock & Roll Christmas compilations, so you can seek it there instead of here and not having to suffer through 17 other songs that you probably wouldn’t like.

So, there you have it.  Cameo / Parkway’s Christmas contribution must be one of the strangest Christmas compilation CDs out there that isn’t meant to be comedy.  Beware, this is unlike anything you’ve ever heard.  Depending on your point of view, that’s not a bad thing.  I’m happy to have it, it has some very pleasant Christmas songs, and it has some Christmas songs that would never appear anywhere else.

Cameo / Parkway was around for 12 years, and Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker carried the load, but over the course of their existence, they featured a lot of different artists performing in a lot of different genres.  That is all represented here.

Most of your friends are going to get up and leave if you keep this on for very long.  This is not the kind of Christmas music they came over to listen to.  Okay, perhaps a song here or there, and the Bob Seeger And The Last Heard would probably get the most play, but overall, this is more novelty than traditional Christmas carols.

Everyone familiar with this blog knows that I go out of my way to collect rare and unusual Christmas songs.  This fulfills the latter.  And I think Cameo / Parkway does a great job of delivering unique Christmas songs in one package.  And there are 18 here, so that’s better than average.

I give this CD :

****

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