Pop Vocals Archives - Page 2 of 4 - The Merry Music of Christmas

November 3, 2022

# 55

VA - Bing Crosby & Nat King Cole
White Christmas
2001

(Fine Tune, LLC)

Genre : Pop Vocals

This Christmas compilation CD comes with two of the most prolific singers of Christmas songs, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. They are the only artists presented here.

The CD cover is pretty generic. It shows a close-up picture of some Christmas tree branches decorated with gold ornaments and gold beads. Bing Crosby & Nat King Cole’s names are near the top in white letters and the CD title White Christmas is at the bottom, also in white letters. There is a dark red border all the way around the cover and some of the song titles wrap around the border, also in gold letters.

The back of the CD features the same dark red as its background and Bing Crosby & Nat King Cole’s names are at the top in white letters. Below is a numerical track listing with the performing artist, all in white letters. The same red border wraps around the back cover, just as with the front. Song titles wrap around the same as well. Some titles are repeated, and some song titles do not appear on the front.

The CD cover comes out but does not open. It is a double-sided piece of heavy paper. The back of the cover is almost an exact copy of the back of the CD, minus the red border and song titles that wrap around with it. No new information there. Bummer. (I kind of didn’t expect much anyway).

The only information we have is artist and song title. We have no writer or orchestra credits. We have no years or source of live material. Those four things would be very helpful. I was only able to track down a few of these. The rest shall remain unknown.

This is a rather inexpensive Christmas CD (that’s saying it in a nice way). Seven of the songs on here are “live” versions. When I catalog a song as live, it means there is audience applause somewhere in the song, usually at the end. That does not mean the song was performed live. Many times, the source will be from a TV special and the performer lip syncs to their newest record. So, what you get is the official record, but with applause at the end. I’d rather have just the record, if it’s going to be the record. Live recordings are okay, if they are truly live. Otherwise, I find it annoying.

There are 13 songs that feature here. Bing Crosby gets seven, and Nat King Cole gets six. Three of the 13 songs are traditional Christmas hymns or carols, and Bing Crosby sings all three. Out of the other ten songs, four are original Christmas songs and they are all sung by Nat King Cole. The other six are secular Christmas songs familiar to most listeners.

The CD begins with Bing Crosby performing White Christmas. Bing Crosby owns this song. He introduced it to the world in the movie Holiday Inn in 1942. He has recorded it many times and performed it live on TV many times. This is one of the older versions, probably around 1949 or 1950. The orchestra is probably John Scott Trotter & his Orchestra. It would be wrong to even guess the chorus, but Bing worked with the Ken Darby Singers when he worked with John Scott Trotter. This is one of the better versions out there. Very much like the 1942 version. It is a ”live” recording, probably sourced from a TV or radio Christmas special.

The 2nd song is The Christmas Song performed by Nat King Cole. And Nat King Cole owns this song. Mel Torme and Robert Wells may have written it, but Nat King Cole made it famous. This is also a live version. It’s hard to tell if this is truly a live performance or lip sync’d to the record. I believe it to be live because it doesn’t start at all like his other versions released throughout the years. I have the year as 1953 (?). But still no orchestra and with Nat King Cole, it would be hard to guess. Still, it is a great performance. If you’ve heard Nat King Cole sing The Christmas Song, which I’m sure you have at some time, this is just as endearing as his other versions.

The 3^rd song is the first of the three Christmas carols. Bing Crosby performs a version of Adeste Fideles, a song he has recorded many times. This is a terrific performance. The orchestra is light, mostly strings, and the chorus is strong and is right there with Bing Crosby from the beginning. This is not a live recording, but I am unable to put a year or orchestra to it. I have four other versions of Bing Crosby singing Adeste Fideles, but this doesn’t match any of those. Bing Crosby sings this with such conviction and strength. The song begins in Latin, then after the middle break, the English lyrics are sung. The chorus oohs and aahs during the Latin section and joins Bing word for word in the second half.

The 4^th song is one that I think was written specifically for Nat King Cole. When I Googled it, the only ones that came up had Nat King Cole’s name on it. Nat King Cole’s vocals on Take Me Back To Toyland, are slow and soft delivering a sentimental request to take him back to a special place shared by all children. This is a live version, but I believe it to be Nat King Cole lip syncing to a record. Nelson Riddle & his Orchestra deliver the lush arrangement, recorded in 1955.

The 5th song, I believe, is truly performed in front of a live audience. Silver Bells features a duet between Bing Crosby and Carol Richards. They released a single version in 1950 that became a Pop hit. I think they performed this version during one of Bing Crosby’s Christmas Specials. Nelson Riddle & his Orchestra And Chorus provide the lush arrangements. This version sounds exactly like the record version. I have five other copies of it, and they all sound the same. Except on this one, Carol Richards’ vocals are just barely different. I can tell by the way she phrases a word just slightly differently here than on the other recordings. Since the music sounds exactly the same, exact arrangement, I believe Nelson Riddle was Bing’s orchestra director for his Christmas special. What I don’t know is the year. Since everything sounds almost exactly the same as on the record, I would guess this was from his Christmas special in 1950.

The 6^th song, A House With Love In It, is sung live by Nat King Cole. I believe it to be truly live, but this is not a Christmas song, and I have no further information for it.

Silent Night, sung by Bing Crosby, is the 9^th song. It is a duet, but without any information for it, I do not know who the female singer is, nor the chorus. I have five other versions, and this doesn’t match any of those. In my opinion, it is one of the better versions of this most popular Christmas hymn that Bing Crosby produced.

A terrific original Christmas song is Mrs. Santa Claus, performed by Nat King Cole. I have three copies of this, and all are the same one. It is a “live” recording, but it is hard to tell whether it is truly live, or lip sync’d. It’s a great song supporting Mrs. Claus as the one who keeps Santa healthy and keeps everything at the North Pole organized. I’m surprised other singers didn’t dig this out and record a cover version. It’s a great original Christmas song. It’s as good as any of the other Santa songs out there.

The 9^th song, Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer is sung live by Bing Crosby and a wonderful small chorus of girl singers. This is a terrific version. I have no information about this, but it sounds like the late 1940s or early 1950s. Bing shares the lead with a young boy that sounds a little like Jimmy Boyd, but I cannot confirm that either. And the arrangement is with a Big Band featuring flutes, bells and a harp.

The 10^th song, A Handful Of Stars, is sung by Nat King Cole. It is a sweet song, but it is not a Christmas song, and I have no information for this.

The 11^th song is Jingle Bells. This is one of the many duets Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby recorded of this song. This has the sound quality of a live performance on TV. I have the year as 1957, and it may be from Frank Sinatra’s Christmas Special from that year.

Song # 12, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, is performed live by Nat King Cole. I have no information for this either, and it’s the only version of this song I have with Nat King Cole. This may be the only time he recorded it. The Big Band is good, the chorus is wonderful, but the song is a little cut off at the beginning. Overall, the quality is poor for this recording.

The last song, the 13^th song, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, is sung by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter & his Orchestra with Max Terr’s Mixed Chorus. This is a very popular Bing Crosby Christmas hymn and shows up on a lot of Christmas compilations. The chorus is very good, providing a very solemn arrangement.

Overall, the quality of most songs is poor. I question the sources. Low budget compilation CDs are made affordable because the producers of the compilation use lower cost license sources such as transcripts from radio or TV shows. You get the same singer and the same song, but it is not the version that was released as a single and therefore does not cost as much to license.

Some songs are the official released version, played during a “live” performance, and the quality is poor. It is better to get the official released version elsewhere and without the applause at the end.

One good thing about this low budget Christmas compilation is that most of Nat King Cole’s contributions are original Christmas songs, but two of them aren’t really Christmas songs. And again, the quality is poor.

I do not recommend you rush out to buy this. Save your money and spend a little more on 1 CD by Bing Crosby singing Christmas songs, and another by Nat King Cole. You will be happy you did.

I give this CD :

*1/2*

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October 31, 2022

# 52

Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon's Christmas Album
1996

(Originally released 1962 on Chancellor)

(P) & ©1996 Taragon Records Company
”Taragon” and “logo” are registered trademarks of Taragon Records Company (Reg U.S. Pat. & Tmrk Off.)

Genre : Pop Vocals

It is simply amazing that this album did not chart at all on Billboard’s Pop or Christmas charts in 1962. Frankie Avalon has one of the best voices ever put on record, but I guess because he was focused more on his acting, his singing wasn’t being taken seriously, at least not in 1962.

Francis Thomas Avallone was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1940. So were a couple of other guys, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Frankie Avalon was a first-generation Italian American. Both of his parents were natives of Italy.

While not yet a teenager, Frankie Avalon made his first television appearance in 1952 on The Jackie Gleason Show. He played himself as well as the trumpet. Frankie Avalon’s singing career started in the mid-1950s.

By 1957, Frankie Avalon got his first part in a Hollywood movie, and in 1959, he charted two songs at number 1 on Billboard’s Singles chart.

Frankie Avalon was from Philadelphia, and so were Fabian and Bobby Rydell. And so was American Bandstand. What a great combination. The competition was tough in the teen market and Frankie Avalon was a star player.

While still a teen idol, he started getting more and better parts in movies. Thinking ahead, he concentrated on acting starting in 1962. And it’s a good thing, because in 1964, it was over for all of them when The Beatles took over.

In 1962, Frankie Avalon took the time out from his busy schedule to squeeze in a Christmas album. And I’m glad he did. Frankie Avalon’s Christmas Album is a terrific Christmas album.

This exact replica of Frankie Avalon’s Christmas Album comes to us from Taragon Records. They went the extra mile with the original artwork. It is all here.

The front cover of the CD is an exact copy of the front of the album. It features a head and shoulder shot of Frankie Avalon in a dark suit with a silver tie. His portrait is on a red background which is surrounded by green rectangles with decorative holly leaves. Frankie’s name and the album title appear across the top.

Most of the space on the back of the original album features a review of the album, (it’s really good, I should just copy that 😊.) Below the review, there is a personal note from Frankie Avalon. To the right of both, there is a numerical track list bordered with festive holly leaves.

The back of the CD is almost an exact copy of the back of the album. The graphics are the same, and the border around the numerical track list is the same. The main difference is on the CD, everything is placed on a green background and on the back of the original album, it is a white background.

The one thing missing is the personal note from Frankie Avalon that exists on the back of the original album.

The front cover comes out, but does not open, it is a double-sided piece of paper. The back of the front cover is where we find the personal note from Frankie Avalon that was missing from the back of the CD. Even the fonts have been duplicated. Below are arranger and production notes that existed on the back of the original album under the song list. To the right of all this, on the back of the CD cover, is an exact copy of the numerical track list, the same as found on the back of the CD.

All the artwork from the original album is here. And for the most part, it is duplicated exactly. What isn’t on the back of the CD, is found inside. The one thing missing from the original album and the CD are song writer credits. It’s not that big of a deal, but there are four original songs on here, but their authors can be found in the text of the review on the back of the CD / album. But including lyrics would have been a super deluxe extra bonus.

There are a total of twelve songs on this reissue, and all are in the same order as on the album. There are only two traditional Christmas carols here but track # 10 is a medley of three carols so I guess we get four altogether. That means that the rest of the CD’s ten tracks are secular Christmas songs from the 20^th century. That is true, but only six will be familiar because four are original to this album.

The CD begins with one of those original Christmas songs, A Merry Christmas (From Our House To Your House). It begins with a female chorus jubilantly “aahing” the melody. They stop, and we hear the lush orchestra accompanied by bells. Frankie Avalon tenderly sings a Christmas wish of merriment and cheer. At the start of his vocals, Frankie Avalon is using the lower register of his voice; it doesn’t really sound like him, but as the song builds, Frankie’s voice climbs higher.

If you are familiar with Frankie Avalon only through his Beach movies with Annette Funicello or his teen Pop hits of the 50s and 60s, you may be surprised with what you hear on his Christmas album. All the orchestrations are provided by Gianfranco Intra & his Orchestra. They are accompanied by an uncredited chorus.

The 2^nd song, Blue Christmas, is sung by a different Frankie Avalon than you’re used to I bet. Again, he uses the lower register of his voice to open the song. The orchestra provides lush strings, and the chorus comes through the roof with their harmonies. Overall, the song is paced slowly, one of the most modest arrangements I’ve heard for this Christmas classic.

The 3^rd song, Christmas Magic (The Meaning Of Christmas) is another original Christmas song. Frankie Avalon’s voice is subtle while he sings of love as being the magic of Christmas. I like the arrangement very much. It is hard to describe. It’s six notes to a bar that repeats over and over and over. It is supplemented with lush strings and soaring choral vocals. This is a really good, well produced original Christmas song.

White Christmas and You’re All I Want For Christmas are given the same treatment as the first two songs. Strong, subtle vocals that deliver the perfect Christmas song surrounded by beautiful orchestral arrangements.

Another original, Christmas Holiday, tells the dour story of a lonely man as he’s missing a girl he once knew. (I get the impression that she was his wife, and she passed away). In the second part of the song, his mood begins to change as he knows he can’t avoid all the seasonal highlights coming up. A beautiful orchestral arrangement is accented with piano and bells. This is the first song on the CD not to feature the chorus.

The 7^th song is the last original Christmas song presented here. Christmas And You is an arrangement of strings, flutes and piano that blend beautifully. Once again, the rhythm is repeated within each bar while the strings cascade up and down. Frankie Avalon’s vocals are soft and endearing. And the chorus is back from break.

All the original songs on here are really good Christmas songs. They don’t seem like they were pushed out just to fill an album. Rather they are well written, and all speak of Christmas in an endearing manner. And if there were any other doubts, Gianfranco Intra does a terrific job with the orchestra.

One of the more uncommon Christmas carols is Dear Gesu Bambino. Sung in Italian, the chorus opens the song and then Frankie comes along to deliver the lyrics. I don’t speak Italian, so I don’t know what he is singing about, but it sure sounds nice. This chorus is terrific. There is a female voice in there that can really hit the high notes and hold them. It sounds like the chorus is mostly female voices.

I went online to look this song up and there are only two versions mentioned and most of them were by Frankie Avalon. I think I recognize one of the writers, so perhaps this is not an old Christmas carol, but a new one written in 1962 for this album. If so, then that would put five original songs on here. That’s very unusual for this kind of Christmas album, but since they’re all great Christmas songs, it adds a lot of uniqueness to this album and to my own personal Christmas music collection as well.

The 9^th song, The Christmas Song, is given the traditional treatment in every way. It is one of the best songs on here. This one shows up in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings also.

The other traditional Christmas carols are found in the only medley featured on the album. The First Noel / O Little Town Of Bethlehem / Silent Night are the carols included. The tempo and orchestrations remain pretty similar as the songs change. Sometimes the songs included in a medley are arranged opposite to one another, but here they blend seamlessly.

The 11^th song, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, opens with soaring strings before Frankie Avalon delivers a passionate declaration of being home for Christmas. The strings really showcase this arrangement. The chorus is impossible to ignore.

The last song, the 12^th, is Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, which is a great way to end the CD. It features traditional arrangements with the chorus and orchestra. Frankie Avalon wraps up a wonderful Christmas CD with the best wishes the season has to offer. This too, is in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.

If you were to expect Teen Rock & Roll with a Frankie Avalon Christmas album, you would be sorely disappointed. This is about as far away from that as you could possibly get. I can’t remember how I came to have this. It was probably from a CD catalog. I’ve had it a long time, long before Amazon was around. I make a point of playing this sometime every year. If I’m coming to your house for dinner, I’ll probably have this with me, along with about 9 others, just in case.

Frankie Avalon has one of the best tenor voices heard in the 1960s. He’s overlooked because most of his recordings were marketed to the teen audience. Looking over the songs featured on his regular albums, it shows him covering a lot of Pop standards, but when he’s pictured at the beach on the cover, it sends the message that he is not up to the standards of Frank, Dean and Bing. But I’m here to tell you he is.

This is some of the best Christmas music you could hope to find. This will fit in perfectly with a mixed crowd. They won’t know what they’re listening to, but they’ll like it. If you are looking to add Classic Christmas Era CDs to your collection, you must add this.

I give this CD :

*****

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October 29, 2022

# 48

Connie Francis
Christmas Cheer
1994

This compilation (P) & © 1994 PolyGram Records, Inc.
Manufactured and Marketed by PolyGram Special Markets, a division of PolyGram Group Distribution, Inc.

Genre : Pop Vocals

Connie Francis was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, New Jersey in 1937 into an Italian American family. Her father encouraged her to perform or enter beauty contests as much as possible. All the while, Connie Franconero excelled in high school, graduating with top honors.

In 1950, at the age of 13, Connie changed her name to Connie Francis before appearing on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Show.

She found work singing on demonstration records and lip syncing for actress Tuesday Weld and a few others in Hollywood movies. She gained a recording contract with MGM Records but failed to chart any singles.

At the urging of her father and during her last recording session, she recorded the song Where The Boys Are from the movie of the same name. Slowly, the song became a hit and Connie Francis’ career was off to a great start. MGM Records renewed her contact, and the hits started coming.

She released many successful singles during 1959 and the early 1960s, most of which were targeted at the teen audience. At the same time, after recording an album of songs sung in Italian, Connie Francis started recording albums in all the western European languages. All her albums sold well around the world.

Connie Francis gained the reputation as the Queen of Rock & Roll as well as an International Pop singer and was voted Billboard’s Best Female Artist four years in a row. Before Taylor Swift or Katy Perry, there was Connie Francis.

But success doesn’t always last, especially in 1964. When the British Invasion hit, the Brill Building Sound was over. Connie Francis continued to perform and record but never achieved the level of success she had before 1964. She suffered some personal setbacks in the 1980s and her career has had a lot of ups and downs since.

This Christmas compilation CD was released by PolyGram Records in 1994. It is almost a reissue of the Connie Francis Christmas album from 1959 titled Christmas In My Heart. There are only 10 songs on here, and the original album had twelve songs, so right there, two are missing. One other one is missing as well, and in its place is a song called Baby’s First Christmas. So, we get only nine out of the original twelve songs. But the bonus song, Baby’s First Christmas, is a nice addition to my Christmas music library.

Since this is not a true reissue of a Connie Francis Christmas album, I did not give the chart history above. But I can tell you that the original album charted at # 16 on Billboard’s Christmas chart in 1963. And the song not from the album, Baby’s First Christmas was released as a single in 1961 and charted at # 7 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. That means that all ten songs are charted hits. It was a popular Christmas album to have in the early 1960s.

The cover of the CD is a picture used on one of the many reissue LPs that have been released over the years, but this copy is purposely over exposed. It shows Connie Francis in a white fur coat with one red ribbon for adornment. Her name appears at the top right in large red letters and ‘Christmas Cheer’ is below.

The back of the CD features the same font used for the name and CD title as it appears on the front and below is a numerical track listing. Also included, below each song title, are writer / arranger credits.

The CD insert comes out and opens along a single fold-out. On the left-hand side is a numerical track listing featuring writer / arranger credits for the first five songs and on the right-hand page, the remaining five songs are listed, all in small print. No new information is provided and there is more empty space than words written. Boo.

The back of the CD insert is a continuation of the photo used for the front cover. It is mainly a plain white background. There is a PolyGram Records, Inc. logo and a copyright notice at the bottom. Boo again.

Overall, I find the artwork and lack of any pertinent information a bit disappointing.

The good news is that this is a terrific Christmas CD, albeit a short one. The CD contains a good mix of traditional Christmas carols and 20^th century Christmas standards. The orchestrations on the nine original songs to the album are provided by Geoff Love & his Orchestra.

The CD begins with I’ll Be Home For Christmas. Right away with the first song, you hear Connie Francis’ beautiful voice and immediately understand why she was so popular. This song showcases her natural vibrato wonderfully. The lush orchestra of strings and celeste gives this a very soulful sound. This version is included in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.

Silent Night, the 2^nd track, deserves mention. Connie sings softly, and soulfully while the strings glide in the background. This is one of the best renditions of this song I have. In the second half of the song, Connie is joined by a soft mixed chorus.

The 3^rd song, Ave Maria, picks up where Silent Night left off. Looking at the track list, after the first song, the next five songs are where we find all the Christmas carols and hymns. Connie Francis applies her best performances on these songs.

This is not the kind of music most people associate with Connie Francis, but it is some of the most reverent recitals of these old carols I’ve ever heard.

Once again, Connie’s soft vocals and endearing recital of The Lord’s Prayer produces one of the most reverent Christmas songs there is. The pace begins slowly and as the song progresses, Connie’s voice, with the choir in unison, reaches a fervent pitch before slowing and quietening down for the finish.

Connie Francis shows off the strength of her voice in Adeste Fideles. With intermittent softer passages mixed in, Connie returns to deliver the vocals in a strong and passionate melody.

The 7^th song is an original Christmas song, Baby’s First Christmas. It is more in line with the kind of songs that Connie Francis is known for. It has a more modern subject matter than the previous five songs. It is an endearing tribute to the wonder and beauty of a bay’s first Christmas. It is very much like Where The Boys Are whereas it seems to be in the same key and has a similar melody. This is the only song on this CD compilation that was not on the original album from 1959. It was recorded and released as a single in 1961. Here Don Costa & his Orchestra provide lush melodies.

The 8^th song, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) returns Connie Francis back to her soft, endearing vocal styling. Geoff Love & his Orchestra are back to provide lush strings and reeds to deliver the perfect Christmas greeting.

The 9^th song is Winter Wonderland and Connie’s voice shows its strength once again. The orchestra bounces along with string and reed instruments accented with bells.

The CD closes with The Twelve Days Of Christmas, the oldest carol on here, written in the middle of the 17^th century. Connie Francis closes out this collection with one of the better selections on here due to the strength of her voice. Throughout the whole CD, you can hear the youth in her 21-year-old voice. Of course, the chorus is here to give more structure to the lyrics. As the song winds down after the addition of the twelfth day, everyone comes together for a resounding finish.

If you are not familiar with Connie Francis or her beautiful voice, I will tell you that she has one of the most beautiful voices ever put on record. She rivals all the best girl singers that came before her, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee and others. And she was just 21 years old at the time of this recording.

This is probably a Christmas CD you are not familiar with, performed by a girl you may not be familiar with either. These songs were recorded and released right in the middle of the Classic Christmas Music Era. The arrangements are top notch, and the voice is unmatched. If you have gone beyond collecting mostly compilation CDs for your Christmas collection and are looking for specific artists to add, you must put Connie Francis on your need to get list.

There are probably a lot of Connie Francis Christmas compilation CDs out there. This is the only one I have, so this is all I have to go on…for now. Because I am missing three songs from the original album, I will need to either seek out a good copy of the original album or look for a larger compilation CD that contains those songs, but that would add a lot of unnecessary duplicates to my collection. As far as I can tell, this CD and the three songs that are missing is all the Christmas output Connie Francis has. Even the single from 1961, Baby’s First Christmas, had a general Pop ballad on the other side.

I give this CD :

****

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October 29, 2022

# 47

VA - 20 Christmas Favorites
1998

© 1998 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. / (P) 1972, 1980, 1984, 1996 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products ”Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

Genre : Pop Vocals

20 Christmas Favorites comes to us from Sony Music Entertainment, and they usually do a terrific job of song and artist selection. This Christmas compilation CD is no different. The CD contains 20 familiar Christmas songs. From traditional carols and hymns to 20^th century Christmas standards, and a best-selling Novelty tune thrown in, this CD presents the best Christmas music has to offer. Many of the song titles on here are performed by the same artist that made them popular.

The cover is pretty common for Christmas compilation CDs. It features the title centered on a background of snowflakes against a dark blue background surrounded by Christmas greenery and lights around the border. The back of the CD features the snowflakes and blue background as found on the front, minus the Christmas greenery border. A numerical track list featuring writer credits and time signatures is superimposed over the background. Beneath the song title and writer credits are the performing artists. This takes up the whole back artwork. Sony Music Special Products copyright information appears at the bottom.

The CD cover comes out and opens along a single fold-out. Inside is…nothing! Bummer. Both sides are blank; all that wasted space. The back of the CD cover features the exact same back of the CD. Bummer again.

Those that know this blog know I like having the years of the recordings and orchestra leaders when available. Through duplicate recordings in my library and information found on Discogs.com, I am able to put years and orchestra conductors to many of them.

All the songs, except for the Novelty number, were recorded between 1949 and the early 1970s.

The CD begins with Andre Kostelanetz & his Orchestra from 1963, performing the proverbial Sleigh Ride. He sticks to Leroy Anderson’s arrangement very well, but the tempo is a little faster.

Mitch Miller And The Gang take over for track # 3. The Gang’s all here with very light instrumentation from a xylophone that almost gives this recording an a cappella arrangement.

Peter Nero, Piano And The Peter Nero Singers give an impressive but brief rendition of Trepak (Russian Dance) from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet. Peter Nero is the only instrumentalist present, and he plays as if there were twin pianos. His singers keep up well with bursts of ba-da-bups, ba-da-bups.

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) is on here and sung by the man who wrote it. Mel Torme is backed up with Patrick Williams and His Orchestra to deliver a solemn rendition of the classic he wrote. Strings, sleigh bells and flutes are used to their finest.

One of the most familiar versions of We Wish You A Merry Christmas is presented here by the operatic soprano Phyllis Curtin. Recorded in 1966, orchestration is provided by Andre Kostelanetz & his Orchestra while the St. Kilian Boychoir provides a wonderful children’s chorus.

As much as I can appreciate the song, Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, by Elmo & Patsy, and it was a big hit from 1979, it seems out of place on this CD of otherwise, beautiful, traditional Christmas songs.

What is on here is the original version of Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, sung by Gene Autry. The song was written in 1949 and offered to Bing Crosby, who passed on it. It was then offered to Gene Autry, and he took it all the way to number 1 in 1949. Gene Autry is joined here with his Western Swing band and The Pinafores.

Also from 1949, the 11^th song, Winter Wonderland, is delivered by Buddy Clark Featuring The Girl Friends. Buddy Clark sings a little like Bing Crosby and has a nice natural vibrato to his voice. Ted Dale & his Orchestra provide a traditional, string laden arrangement. The Girl Friends give this a formative 1940s feel.

One of the most reverent songs on here is performed by Andy Williams. O Holy Night is from Andy’s 1963 Christmas Album. Robert Mersey provides a lush orchestra of harps and strings. An unknown choir provides beautiful harmonies.

The 15^th song, Do You Hear What I Hear? is delivered in grandiose fashion by Johnny Mathis from his 1969 Christmas album. As can be expected from Ernie Freeman, the orchestra is in full volume delivering a tremendous arrangement.

Ray Conniff And The Ray Conniff Singers are represented here with their solemn version of The Little Drummer Boy. This is probably one of the most popular versions of this song, next to The Vienna Boys Choir, the original version. With little instrumentation other than a snare drum, the ladies in the Ray Conniff Singers provide a high register of the verses while the male voices provide the rhythm. This is a classic from 1962.

Rosemary Clooney sings White Christmas from her LP Songs From White Christmas from 1954. Because she was on a different label than the one that handled the soundtrack from the movie White Christmas, she had to re-record her songs from the movie. This comes from that album. Percy Faith provides his definitive lush string sound to Rosemary’s soft, slow vocals.

The last song, the 20^th song on here, is Twelve Days Of Christmas. The Philadelphia Brass Ensemble provides a large sound with this instrumental version of the popular Christmas song. (Look for a review of the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble’s Christmas CD in this blog’s future). A unique arrangement of twisting horns and tubas give this version a resounding festive sound.

I did not write of all the songs on here. Due to space restrictions and readers attention spans, I left seven out. There are still another seven great Christmas songs on here.

This is the kind of Christmas music compilation you should seek. It is put out by Sony Music Special Products, a reliable source for traditional Christmas songs everyone is familiar with. The songs are usually the versions that made them popular. There are 20 songs on here which is almost double the amount usually found on common Christmas compilation CDs.

The singers, the songs and the arrangements are all from the Classic Christmas Music Era. If you are starting a Christmas music collection, or wish to add to your existing collection, seek this out and you will not be disappointed.

I give this CD :

****

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October 29, 2022

# 46

Walter Brennan
'Twas The Night Before Christmas ...Back Home
1996

(Originally released 1962 on Liberty)

COLLECTORS’ CHOICE MUSIC
©1996 Critics’ Choice Video, Inc. COLLECTORS’ CHOICE MUSIC is a mark of Critics’ Choice Video, Inc.
(P) 1996 EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets. Product of EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets.

Genre : Pop Vocals

Walter Brennan was an American actor born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1894. He was noted for his terrific performances in Hollywood movies in the 1930s. He won three Academy Awards in the 1930s and won critical acclaim for his work in the 1940s. His early life was a series of ups and downs while working in the newspaper industry. During the depression, after having lost a fortune in the real estate collapse, Walter Brennan started taking small parts in Hollywood movies.

While serving in World War I, Walter Brennan was exposed to mustard gas, and it affected his voice. Afterwards, his voice became raspy and squeaky, but it became his trademark. Because of this, his movie roles gravitated to cowboy pictures.

Walter Brennan started to make the switch over to TV in the 1950s. And in 1957, he landed the role of the patriarch of the McCoy family in The Real McCoys, a sitcom about a family from West Virginia that relocates to Southern California.

In the 1960s, Walter Brennan started recording albums. Most had a cowboy / Western theme to them. Walter Brennan hit it big with an album titled Old Rivers in 1962 and the single titled Old Rivers made it into Billboard’s Top Five that year.

What I have not told you yet was that Walter Brennan’s vocal style was that of talking. His recitations of everyday living and country stories were presented over a lush orchestra and sweet chorus. But his singing talents were reserved to speaking roles only.

This CD reissue from Collectors’ Choice Music is a combination of his best-selling album, Old Rivers and his Christmas release ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas …Back Home. Both were recorded and released in 1962. For the purpose of this review, I will concentrate only on his Christmas album.

The cover of this reissue uses the covers of the original albums as the artwork, so we do get a copy of the original Christmas album. Both are presented against a gold background with the Christmas album slightly overlaying the Old Rivers cover. The description “Two Classic Albums from Walter Brennan: Old Rivers & ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas…Back Home” is displayed in the top right corner.

The back of the CD is split longitudinally. On the left is a picture of the album Old Rivers and below is a numerical track listing. On the right-hand side is a picture of his Christmas album and below is a numerical track listing of it. At the bottom are Collectors’ Choice Music copyright notices.

The CD cover comes out and opens along a single fold-out. Inside, on the left-hand side is an exact duplication of the back of the first album, Old Rivers. On the right-hand side is an exact duplication of the back of ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas …Back Home.

The back of the CD cover is an exact copy of the back of the CD, minus the album covers. So, no new information there.

Overall, the artwork is not bad. We get a copy of the original album cover, front and back. There was not a lot of information included on the original album either, but there and on the record label itself, is where we learn that the orchestra is arranged and conducted by Ernie Freeman. And we know it’s from 1962. One thing we don’t know is who the wonderful chorus is that appears on every song providing terrific harmonies.

Another thing we don’t know is the composers of the songs. Seven out of the eleven songs appear to be original compositions. Only four of the songs, White Christmas, (There’s No Place Like) Home For The Holidays, Silent Night and O Come All Ye Faithful are familiar.

Beware, these are primarily spoken word Christmas songs. That being said, I find them to be great Christmas songs. With the familiar songs we know, the chorus opens the song and sings the first set of verses. As they continue with sweet oohs and aahs, Walter Brennan comes in and tells a story that recalls or reflects the general theme of the song, and towards the end, the choir comes back to finish the vocals as we know them.

The orchestra is super terrific. Ernie Freeman pulls out all the stops from small combos to full blown strings and percussion. This almost sounds like it was recorded at RCA Nashville and the chorus sounds like it could be the Anita Kerr Singers, but there is no information to support that theory. But the piano sounds like Floyd Cramer and the whole production sounds like the “A” Team, the set of studio musicians that Chet Atkins used on a regular basis. The album was originally released on Liberty Records and it’s possible they rented the RCA Nashville studios.

All the songs are fun. They are different, that’s for sure.

The album / CD begins beautifully with White Christmas. While the chorus sings the verses we are familiar with, and a lush orchestra of strings and celeste plays the melody, Walter Brennan speaks of the benefits that snow brings to him. He finishes the song with an offering that “may all your Christmases be white” while the chorus and full orchestra build until the final note.

The 2^nd song is Just Three Letters For Christmas, and it tells the sad story of a father getting three letters from his children saying that they wouldn’t be coming home for Christmas like they had been hoping. While each one thought the other two would be going home, in the end, unbeknownst to the children, the father and mother would be alone for Christmas. It’s a sad story, told over a full orchestra and chorus.

Song number 3 is A Farmer’s Christmas Prayer. It opens with acoustic guitar while a poor farmer prays thanks to God for all the great things he has in his life. Of course, the chorus is there to provide reverence to this Christmas prayer. The instrumentation is subtle until the very end when it builds up to the finish.

The 5^th song is Old Time Christmas Stories and opens with the chorus and light instrumentation before Walter Brennan speaks of all the great Christmas stories (songs) that come around every year. As the choir builds, Walter Brennan tells of his favorite Christmas story as the story of the birth of Jesus.

The 8^th song, Christmas Together, has a rollicking piano arrangement while the chorus provides their characteristic oohs and aahs. It tells the story of how the whole family looks forward to spending Christmas together. As the years go by and the families get bigger, the memories mount, climaxing with the father telling the story of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve. This has a very vibrant, enjoyable story to be told and does not feature Walter Brennan’s style of delivering dour stories of hardship.

The 10^th song is A Good Year For Santa Claus, another classic spoken song that you will not hear anywhere else. It tells the story of how a father reflects on a time in his childhood when there would be no Christmas that year because “Santa might get lost, it’s been a bad year for Santa Claus”, but in the end on Christmas Day, his father takes him out to the barn to see that Santa Claus had brought a newborn colt into the world.

The album / CD closes with O Come All Ye Faithful. While the chorus sings the verses against a background of bells, Walter Brennan reflects on the true meaning of Christmas while growing up poor in a small town. This is a fantastic way to close out the CD. This is probably the best song on here. The spoken passages are great, and, in the end, Walter Brennan speaks the verse while the chorus sings and the song closes with everything rising in crescendo to finish the song.

As I said, these all contain spoken word recitals. But all speak of the true meaning of Christmas, and all are unique. As far as the orchestra goes, it is one of the best arranged I’ve ever heard, and Ernie Freeman et al, provides terrific unmatched Christmas music. This CD may not be one that you put on and listen to straight through, but I did, and it made for 30 minutes of great Christmas music that speaks more of the true meaning of Christmas and the birth of Christ as opposed to the more commercial aspects of a lot of Christmas music.

This is probably not going to appeal to a younger crowd or be great to play during dinner, but this would mix in great with a larger Christmas playlist. Hearing one or two an hour would be enough for most people. If you like TV stars that have made Christmas albums, or you like things a little different now and then, if you enjoy full orchestras and a terrific chorus, then I highly recommend this.

I give this CD :

****

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October 28, 2022

# 44

VA - Santa's Top 10
2002

(Originally released 1995 on LaserLight Digital)

© 1995 Delta Music Inc.
Cover Illustration: Joe Sid Layout: Lotta Lannerheim
Laserlight is a registered trademark of Delta Music Inc.

Genre : Pop Vocals

Santa’s Top 10 comes to us from Laserlight Digital, a record label dedicated to reissues of older songs from the 1940s to today, in all genres. Laserlight Digital or Delta Music will become a familiar name in this blog. You will see a lot of Christmas compilations from Laserlight.

There are some unique characteristics about this release. First, this Christmas CD contains a few “other” Pop vocalists that don’t automatically appear on every Top 10 release of Christmas songs. Second, there are only two songs out of the ten that were written before the 20^th century. And all the songs except one, Little Drummer Boy by Vienna Boys’ Choir, are secular, traditional Christmas songs. There are no surprises here or original Christmas songs, all songs will be familiar to most listeners.

I like the cover, but I also like depictions of Victorian Santa’s. I’ve seen prettier covers, for sure, but this is not bad. The CD cover features a Victorian Santa checking his list (of song titles). He appears on a white background and on the right side is a list of seven artists and the songs they sing. I just realized that if you take those seven and add the three that are visible on Santa’s list, you have all 10 tracks that appear on this CD.

The back of the CD is all writing; no graphic images are present. The CD title is at the top in red lettering and a numerical track listing is featured. Below the song titles are performing artist credits and below that are writer credits. To the right of the song list are copywrite notices and the Laserlight name all on a red boxed background.

The CD cover comes out and opens along a single fold-out but reveals no information pertinent to this release. Both sides are taken up with a list of Laserlight Christmas compilation CDs. This is a good place to see if there is anything interesting, then you could go to their website, or another online marketplace and purchase it.

I would rather have had more information about the artists’ versions of the songs than a list of CDs. The year of recording and orchestra leaders are always welcome! The back of the CD cover shows a sunburst image that takes up the whole page. Except for a Laserlight trademark notice at the very bottom, the page is blank.

So, the only place to find any information about the songs or artists is on the back cover.

I am familiar with all the songs, and I am familiar with all the artists, but I am not familiar with these songs sung by these artists. A few, but not many. For most of these artists, I have looked at their discographies on Discogs.com, Wikipedia.com and in the Billboard books, and I can’t find any viable, label issued and trusted information for the years or orchestras. I have CDs by many of these artists, but these songs are not on them.

I can’t tell you about who is directing these orchestras, or what year the song came from, things I usually discuss. But I can tell you that the CD begins beautifully with Patti Page singing Frosty The Snowman. For the first 8 bars, I swore it was Doris Day. Patti Page’s vibrato is very much like Doris Day’s, and her voice is in the same key. But after the song gets going, I can tell the difference. The orchestration is fantastic, with muted trumpets, reeds and flutes all in unison. Organ, piano and celeste fill the middle part beautifully.

The 2^nd song is Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer sung by Gene Autry, recorded in 1957. I have quite a few copies of this one, that’s how I know it’s 1957, but none of the CDs they come from has the name of the orchestra. The orchestra showcases muted trumpets, accordion and reed instruments providing a wonderful melody. This is a classic from 1957!

The 3^rd tune, Jingle Bells, has a jazzy, trumpet driven melody. Joe Williams, the jazz singer, provides upbeat vocals. I don’t know the orchestra, but they do a really good job. It sounds like an eight- or ten-piece jazz orchestra.

The 4^th song I can tell you about. It is Andy Williams singing I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus from a live Christmas performance he recorded at his theatre in Branson, Missouri in 1993. I know this one because I have the CD. Actually, I have two different copies. It was one of the last Christmas recordings Andy Williams did. His voice still sounds great. It features a tap dance routine during the song, but not having seen it, I’m not sure if it’s Andy Williams dancing.

The 5th song is Gene Autry singing Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. The orchestration is great, but light. Reed instruments are followed by celeste and then more reeds, flutes and muted trumpet. A wonderful chorus gives this a classic Christmas sound. It’s hard to even guess a decade with this one. Gene Autry’s voice is unchanged from when he had his previous Christmas hits in 1953. The orchestra has a very 1950s sound. I don’t detect any electric pianos or synthesizers but that is not always a telltale sign.

The 6^th song is a new tune for me. Glen Campbell sings and plays the song Sleighride wonderfully. His terrific lead guitar, matched with flutes, piano and harp are a treat to listen to. I have a couple Glen Campbell LP’s and CDs, and this is on none of them.

The 7^th song has Pat Boone and his wife and daughters singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas from their Christmas album in 1975. (That CD reissue was just reviewed the other day). It’s the Pat Boone Family Christmas! Pat and the whole family have fun with this one. I am impressed with how great the daughters sound singing in unison.

A special treat is Debbie Reynolds singing Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!. Debbie Reynolds did not release a Christmas album at the height of her career, but she did release one in 1975, but this song is not on it. Debbie Reynolds was known as one of the best musical actresses in the 1950s and 1960s and she recorded many cast albums and Pop standards. To have any Christmas songs from Debbie Reynolds is a treat. Her voice is soft, but strong. I’ve not heard her sing much, but she is terrific. The band has a jazz combo feel to it. It’s probably a ten-piece orchestra or something like that. It sounds like Count Basie or Jack Parnell, but no strings or percussion like tympani. It sounds a lot like the Lena Horne version from 1966.

The 9^th song is Vic Damone singing Winter Wonderland. Now, here you hear strings. A wonderful, lush string orchestra provides most of the melody, accented by piano in the middle part. Vic Damone has a wonderful tenor voice. One of the best. Has spent a great deal of his career headlining in Las Vegas.

The 10^th and last song is probably the most familiar one to me. Little Drummer Boy performed by Vienna Boys’ Choir. This recording comes from their 1995 Christmas CD. It features an arrangement that is almost a cappella. For the first 45 seconds, The Vienna Boys’ Choir is backed up by a single acoustic guitar that barely plucks the melody. Then the guitar is joined by one cello. Together they barely play 4 notes in a measure. The voices do all the work. By the end of the song, slowly, instrument by instrument, a string quartet is heard with flute and snare drum. But throughout the entire song, many times the instruments just stop, and the voices carry the melody. It is the only traditional carol here and it is a beautiful Christmas song.

The bad news first. There are only two things, and I’ll be brief. First, there are only ten songs on this terrific Christmas compilation CD. Second, there are no orchestra or recording date information. But the “only ten songs” thing really gets me.

Then people might say, “Then why did you buy it”? I can’t remember how I got this. Every year, Kroger would put out a Christmas CD display with lots of titles for only $5.00. I bought a lot of those. In the beginning, I collected more compilations to have variety. Then I started collecting individual artist’s Christmas releases.

Now the good news. This is a great, great Christmas CD, albeit a short one. There is not a bad song on here and there are a few artists not found on a lot of Christmas compilations. Plus, for about seven of these songs, these are the only copies I have and since they don’t show up in artist discographies, that tells me they are on the rare side. They may have been recorded for promotional albums that were given to customers, or record clubs.

I give this CD :

***1/2*

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October 25, 2022

# 42

Sergio Franchi
The Heart Of Christmas (Cuor' Di Natale)
1999

(Originally released 1965 on RCA Victor)

The BMG logo is a trademark of BMG Music. Other Tmk(s) ®Registered. Marca(s) Registrada(s) General Electric Company, USA. ©1999, BMG Entertainment. BMG Entertainment Manufactured by BMG Entertainment. Distributed in the United States by BMG Distribution, a Unit of BMG Entertainment.

# 25 – 1965 – Billboard Christmas

Genre : Pop Vocals

Sergio Franchi was an Italian American Opera and Pop singer who was very successful during the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in Italy in 1926. He started singing at the age of 10 and during his teens, he either had his own group or sang in vocal groups playing in local clubs. Through his father’s friendship with a South African businessman, the Galli family moved to South Africa, when Sergio was 21 and after he had served his military service.

While in Johannesburg, South Africa, an Opera director saw him perform and put him in his first opera. Sergio Franchi continued singing operettas and his voice continued to get better. After getting married and having children, Sergio temporarily moved back to Italy.

He was cast in a small London production, and through TV appearances, his fame was starting to rise. Norman Luboff saw him on TV and had RCA Victor get in touch with him. RCA Victor signed him to a seven-year contract in 1962.

RCA promoted Sergio Franchi heavily and his career in America took off. Soon he was an opening act in Las Vegas and toured the world singing Italian Classics and Pop standards. He applied for and received his American citizenship in 1972.

Sergio Franchi released many albums throughout the 1960s and the 1970s and they sold very well but he never had huge successes on the music charts. He was an Opera singer who also sang Pop tunes, but he never achieved the success of his peers. He had one of the strongest tenor voices around, but I think his reputation in the Light Classics kept him from having hit albums.

The Heart Of Christmas is Sergio Franchi’s only Christmas album, released in 1965. This reissue comes to us from BMG Music who handles reissues of albums from RCA Victor. The original album had 12 songs, and this reissue contains all 12 songs and all in the original order. Bonus.

The cover of the CD is a copy of the cover of the album except the image on the CD is blown up a little bit and doesn’t contain the parts from the original album along the edges. The title and artist name are exactly the same but in a different position, but the same fonts are used. The original album had all the songs listed on the cover, but the CD has some, but not all, tracks listed.

The back of the CD is split in half longitudinally with a picture of Sergio Franchi on the left and a numerical track listing with time signatures on the right. Above the track listing is the name of the CD and Sergio’s name.

The CD cover opens along a single fold-out and here we find most of the artwork from the back of the original album. It is not an exact duplication of the back of the album, but the original artwork is here, and the original endorsement is here as well. On the right side of the opened cover is a numerical track listing with time signatures. Below the song titles are writer credits.

The back of the CD cover has an image of Sergio Franchi’s first album from RCA Victor. An odd choice except for pure nostalgia.

All the songs on this reissue are Christmas carols and hymns except for two that are original Christmas songs and were written for this album. No Frosty The Snowman, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer or Jingle Bells. Sergio Franchi, being a trained Operatic tenor would be out of place singing the more novelty songs of Christmas.

Also, there are a few that are sung in Italian and Latin.

The first song is probably Sergio Franchi’s most popular Christmas song, Buon Natale (Christmastime in Rome). This is a Christmas song that was written for this album. If you are familiar with the song title, it is probably the Nat King Cole song with the same title, but this is a different song altogether.

In this song, Sergio Franchi describes the hustle and bustle of the local citizens of Rome hurrying to get all their holiday chores done. It is accompanied by a wonderful chorus that unfortunately goes uncredited.

The second song is the title track of this CD, The Heart Of Christmas (Cuor’ Di Natale), the other original song to this album. Sergio begins the song in Italian, and starting with the second verse, alternates between English and Italian. In the song, Sergio Franchi describes how his love for a girl is just like the heart of Christmas. He describes all her endearing qualities and how it equates to the glory of Christmas.

The 4^th song is the first of three that are sung in Italian. Panis Angelicus is an old Latin carol and is not unfamiliar to me. I have 6 others in addition to this one. Sergio Franchi’s voice is best while singing in Italian or Latin. The vocal chorus opens the song with reverent harmonies. Sergio begins singing and you can immediately feel the passion in his voice.

Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem and Away In A Manger follow the same formula. The choir begins with reverent harmonies and Sergio Franchi begins after the first four bars. Marty Gold & his Orchestra do a magnificent job on all songs, but the chorus is what I hear most.

The 7^th song is another Christmas selection sung in Italian. It’s a medley of Italian carols; Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle & O Bambino (One Cold And Blessed Winter). Sergio Franchi & the choir both sing the first song in Italian and O Bambino (One Cold And Blessed Winter) is sung in English.

The best song on here is Ave Maria (Bach – Gounod). Sergio Franchi’s voice is in fine form and the song is in Latin, so his voice is perfectly suited for this.

The 11^th song, O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles), features the choir carrying the first half of the song all by themselves and after one minute, 2 seconds, Sergio comes in to sing the second verse in Latin, and the third verse in English. This is a close second to the best song on the CD.

Of course, I could be wrong. The last song on this wonderful Christmas CD is The Lord’s Prayer. I grew up Catholic and have said the prayer many times and was shocked when I first heard the song years ago. I couldn’t believe that someone had turned it into a wonderful song. Not exactly a Christmas song, but it does show up on a lot of Christmas CDs. It is obviously one of my favorite songs, but I have heard it sung better by others. Sergio Franchi starts off terrific and the choir is there providing the right balance, but as the song progresses, so does Sergio’s voice. By the end of the song, he is shouting at the rooftops, and it can be just too much. In contrast, the song finishes nicely.

This is a terrific Christmas CD. I like it. Sergio Franchi does a wonderful job. It’s great at Christmas. I don’t know if I could listen to Sergio Franchi every day, but during the holidays when emotions are running high, Sergio Franchi delivers powerful songs, and the choir is vocally present on every song. There are so many great songs on here, I was having trouble narrowing it down to three or four. Buon Natale (Christmastime In Rome), It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, Away In A Manger, Ave Maria (Bach – Gounod) and O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) are all standout songs.

This CD has a flavor of 1965 Christmases. Italian American singers were all the rage, Sergio Franchi, Jimmy Roselli, Al Martino, Dean Martin, etc. In 1965 it made perfect sense, and a perfect Christmas album, to have popular Italian American singers record Christmas albums. (I have many, look for reviews of those in this blog’s future). Sergio Franchi’s Christmas album is one of the better ones from that era.

I give this CD :

****

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October 24, 2022

# 41

Pat Boone Family
The Pat Boone Family Christmas
1994

(Originally released 1975 as The Boone Family Christmas on Thistle Records)

(P) Delta Music Inc.
Cover: Harriet Breitborde
Laserlight is a registered trademark of Delta Music Inc.

Genre : Pop Vocals

Pat Boone married his wife Shirley in 1953, when both were nineteen years old. They had four daughters, Cherry, Lindy, Debby and Laury. The Boone Family started performing as a family group in the 1960’s. They toured the country throughout the 1970’s performing mostly Gospel songs. They managed to release a few albums as well.

All the Boones were deeply religious and were known for hosting Bible studies at their Beverly Hills home. Debby Boone had a very successful recording career throughout the 1970s and 1980s. (Look for a review of Debby Boone’s Christmas album Home For Christmas in this blog’s future).

This CD is a reissue of a Christmas album The Boone Family recorded in 1975 titled The Boone Family Christmas. The original album featured 12 songs, and the reissue features all 12 songs in their original order.

The covers of both releases have the same theme, a Boone Family portrait. The original album features The Boone Family, circa 1975, huddled together with smiling faces. You’ve never seen a more happier family. The cover of the CD also features a Boone Family portrait, but this one appears to be from sometime in the 1980’s. This CD reissue was released in 1994, but the girls’ dresses and hairstyles look very 80’s to me.

The cover of the CD has The Boone Family pictured inside a gold framed oval. This is set upon a green background with a red border. The CD title appears at the top and a list of the songs included is below the family portrait in gold script.

The artwork on the back of the CD does not resemble the back of the original album in any way. The back of the original album featured a different family portrait; this time they are standing in front of a large tree. The track listing appears above the picture and below is a personal message from Pat Boone describing the Boone household during the Christmas season.

In contrast, the back of the CD has the CD title in white lettering at the top and a numerical track listing with time signatures and writer and publisher credits in gold letters. Below are some production credits. All this is presented over a green background.

I like the back of the album better than the back of the CD. The album features another family picture not included with the CD, and it has the personal message from Pat Boone.

The CD cover opens along a single fold-out and both sides are taken up with a different personal message from Pat Boone. As with the front cover, the personal message has been updated as well. I like the message on the back of the album better too. It is original and it is longer.

The back of the CD cover is primarily blank. It is the same green background used on the front and back of the CD but contains only a Laserlight trademark note at the very bottom. The only numerical track listing or writer credits is found on the back of the CD.

A fitting way to begin this CD is with We Wish You A Merry Christmas. Pat Boone opens with the lead vocals and his wife and daughters join him during the second verse. I read in an interview that Pat Boone cut up quite a bit in the studio while recording this album and the producers left some of it in. That can be heard in this first song while Pat teases his family with corny adlibs.

I noticed that during most of the CD, there will be a secular song, then a traditional carol, then a secular song, and so on. At least until the near end and the last three songs are traditional Christmas carols. I guess that it’s a good way to mix things up a bit.

The second song is the first of the Christmas carols, Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem. On this and two others, the 5^th and 11^th songs, Pat handles the vocals by himself. The family is there but in a light chorus that sings refrains of oohs and aahs.

The whole family joins in for Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, one of the first secular Christmas songs of the 20^th century, written in 1949 by Johnny Marks. The melody is sweet with soft electric guitar passages and flutes.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is the 4^th song and Pat Boone takes the lead for most of the song, and the rest of the family joins in for the second set of verses and stays for the rest of the song. Pat delivers a very powerful vocal, his voice getting louder and stronger as the song progresses.

So far, all the songs sound great. Wonderful orchestrations arranged by John D’Andrea produce a lush, full sound. Traditional arrangements and one of the best singers of all time bring them all together in a festive mood.

The sixth song, Joy To The World, once again has the whole family joining in on the fun. A wonderful brass section in the middle of the song gives it a very festive feeling, before the whole family returns for the finish.

Silent Night gives Pat an opportunity to showcase his soft, smooth voice while the daughters provide a wonderful chorus making this one of the standout songs on here, if not the best one.

Jingle Bells is an up-tempo, fast paced song that showcases Pat Boone’s daughters terrifically. Pat takes the front vocals with a sense of humor but it’s the daughters that give the song a festive shine.

The carols and hymns are the better songs. Pat Boone and his family have Gospel roots, and they sing the carols with a lot of conviction. That is best displayed on the 11^th song, Oh Holy Night.

The CD finishes up with The First Noel, the 12^th song. It’s not the strongest song on the CD but it does provide a nice ending. Pat Boone’s voice is right up front while the rest of the family joins in a soft, lush chorus.

I noticed that there are no songs that feature just the daughters by themselves. Pat Boone sings on all songs, some only by himself but none of the songs feature just the daughters. They do such a great job with the choruses, it would be nice to have a soft Christmas song sung by them only.

Honestly, there is not a bad song on here. The standout songs are definitely the traditional Christmas carols, but everyone does a great job with the secular ones as well. This is not the 1960s, it’s the 70s, but Pat Boone’s voice is timeless. It doesn’t matter what decade he sings in, he always sings, soft, smooth and very pleasantly. This may not wind up in everyone’s collection, but if it accidentally shows up in yours, do not be afraid. This CD is nice to listen to all by itself or mixed in with other Christmas songs from all decades, including the 21^st century.

I give this CD :

****

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October 23, 2022

# 39

VA - Songs Of The Season
2000

© 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Inc./ This compilation (P) 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products / “Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

Genre : Pop Vocals

Songs Of The Season is a wonderful compilation CD of great Christmas songs. It is one of my favorite Christmas compilation CDs and one of the first Christmas CDs I ever purchased. It is produced by Sony Music Entertainment Inc., and they do a terrific job with their Christmas compilations. I have many.

The cover is pleasant and features a slightly out of focus picture of gold Christmas ornaments. The CD title is overlaid in the middle of the front cover. The back of the CD has a similar picture to the front and features a numerical track listing with performing artist credits.

The cover opens along a single fold-out but there is no information inside; both sides are blank. Bummer. This is something I have come to expect from the Sony Music Entertainment Inc. CDs.

The back of the CD insert has the same photograph as found on the back of the CD. There is a similar numerical track list featuring time signatures. Below the song title are writer / arranger credits and below that are performance artist and orchestra leaders if included. And in a few cases copyright years are given. That is always helpful.

The CD features traditional Christmas carols, secular Christmas songs and a few that are familiar to me but may not be to the casual listener. There are 14 selections included, which is about average.

Some of the best songs of the Classic Christmas Music Era are here.

The CD starts off with Johnny Mathis singing Christmas Is… from 1970. It’s a soft endearing endorsement of what Christmas is. It is punctuated with piano and floating strings provided by Ernie Freeman & his Orchestra. The background chorus sounds remarkably like the Percy Faith Chorus but with Ernie Freeman as the arranger, I’m not sure who they are, but it does sound like Percy Faith. The voices seem to be the same as found on Percy Faith’s own version of this song.

Diahann Carroll begins the second song, Silent Night amidst soft instrumentation that features acoustic guitar, a string quartet, xylophone and flute. Her soft vocals carry this, the most recorded Christmas carol, beautifully.

Robert Goulet offers White Christmas from his 1963 Christmas album, This Christmas I Spend With You, with an orchestra directed by Ralph Hunter. You may not recognize the song right away because it is one of the few versions that features the original opening verse. Robert Goulet’s deep baritone voice delivers a powerful rendition of this Christmas classic.

The pace changes instantly with the fourth song, a medley of Here Comes Santa Claus / Frosty The Snowman delivered by Lester Lanin And His Dance Orchestra from 1959. It is a resounding, jumping tune. I’m not a trained dancer and don’t see how anyone could keep up with the pace Lester Lanin sets up here. Lester Lanin’s Dance Orchestra was very popular in the late 1950’s and he produced many albums of everything under the sun turned into lush, melodic tunes easy to dance to.

The pace returns to soft and solemn with the fifth song, Rocking (Little Jesus, Sweetly Sleep), also known as The Rocking Carol, recorded by Julie Andrews in 1975. It is a Czechoslovakian Christmas carol unfamiliar to most people. It is a lullaby to the baby Jesus while rocking him to sleep. Julie Andrews delivers the perfect lyrics surrounded by soft choral voices. Orchestrations are provided by Ian Fraser & his Orchestra.

I must tell you about the sixth song, Little Altar Boy. Andy Williams delivers one of the most moving Christmas songs I am familiar with. It is in a tie with Vikki Carr’s What Child Is This? for my # 1 Favorite Christmas Song. It is a solemn passage about a man down on his luck and goes to an altar boy to ask him to ask God for his forgiveness. I always wanted to be an altar boy, and this song must strike me in a soft spot. It is backed fully by a wonderful string orchestra conducted by Robert Mersey and comes from Andy Williams’ most popular Christmas album, Merry Christmas, released in 1965.

The pace picks up again with the seventh song, the super classic We Need A Little Christmas. Percy Faith And His Chorus delivers what has become a defining song of the holidays. It is Percy Faith at his best with an orchestra full of strings and reed instruments. This was recorded in 1965 and appeared on Percy Faith’s Christmas Is… album.

The eighth song is performed by an uncommon artist to most people. You are familiar with the song, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire), but you are probably not familiar with the version by Carol Burnett. She has a deeper voice than most female Pop singers of the time, but Carol Burnett can sing. Her voice delivers a terrific version of one of the most popular Christmas songs ever written. Considered mainly a comedienne, Carol Burnett released over 10 albums of her singing throughout her career, but alas, she never released a Christmas album.

Bobby Vinton provides one of his better-known Christmas songs with My Christmas Prayer. It comes from his 1964 Christmas album. It uses the melody of Auld Lang Syne, and the words reflect a wish for “peace on earth and goodwill towards men”.

More instrumental Christmas is featured in the tenth song, the Victor Herbert composed medley March Of The Toys / Toyland. Andre Kostelanetz & his Orchestra begin the song as a full marching song and as trumpets bring the song to a close, it changes into a much softer lush string arrangement of Toyland. Both are from the Broadway production Babes In Toyland. They’re not really Christmas songs per se, but they do speak of toys and do show up on a few other Christmas compilations.

The eleventh song features Engelbert Humperdink performing one of his most popular Christmas songs, the traditional Christmas carol O Little Town Of Bethlehem. It comes from his Christmas album released in 1980. It does feature a full orchestra, but more modern instrumentation sets it apart from the other Christmas songs recorded at an earlier time. It is accompanied by a raucous chorus that shouts the refrains. It is a powerful Christmas song.

Aretha Franklin sings a terrific version of Winter Wonderland that comes from a single she released in 1964. This was when Aretha Franklin was on Columbia Records in the early 1960s and at a time when Columbia produced some of the best albums in Pop music. Belford C. Hendricks provides the orchestrations.

Jerry Vale has the perfect voice for Christmas music. He delivers a solemn version of The First Noel highlighted by a wonderful unknown chorus. This comes from his 1964 Christmas album Christmas Greetings.

In the last of the 14 songs, Maureen McGovern delivers a slow, endearing version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas from 1990. It is the most recent song on here and mixes in very well with all the other songs from the 1960s and 70s. That is due to the classic orchestrations and arrangements that are used. It comes from Maureen McGovern’s Christmas CD Christmas With Maureen McGovern.

This is a great CD of Christmas standards and is very similar to other Sony Music Entertainment Inc. releases. I have many. Many of the songs come from artists that were on Columbia Records, and I think Columbia Records produced some of the best Christmas music of all time. There is not a bad song on here. If you seek traditional Christmas songs all your friends will be familiar with and performed with traditional arrangements that feature full orchestras, you can’t go wrong with this CD.

I give this CD :

****

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October 22, 2022

# 35

VA - The Ultimate White Christmas
2005

(P) 2005 The copyright in this compilation is owned by Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.
The copyright in these sound recordings is owned by Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.
© 2005 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.
Castle Pulse is a label of Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.
Email: info@sanctuaryrecords.co.uk Website: www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk

Genre : Pop Vocals

Sanctuary Records Group Ltd. is a British owned record label that specializes in reissues of older albums. Their catalog of available reissues is enormous. Castle Pulse has teamed up with Sanctuary Records to put out a terrific Christmas compilation of music somewhat related to the 1954 movie White Christmas.

The movie White Christmas was released in 1954 to showcase the song White Christmas which first appeared in the Bing Crosby & Fred Astaire movie Holiday Inn. The movie could almost be considered a sequel to Holiday Inn. A simple plot was arranged to have Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye along with Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen meet as new friends who act together to stage a musical at a Vermont inn that their old Sergeant owns but is failing due to a warm Christmas season and a lack of tourists.

The movie contains wonderful songs performed by wonderful performers. Not all the songs in the movie can be considered Christmas songs, and most of the songs from the movie appear on the CD. Not all the songs included are explicitly from the movie. There are a few of the same songs but performed by another artist.

The cover features a digitally enhanced picture of Vera-Ellen, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby dressed in Santa outfits and dresses. They are digitally placed over a wooded mountain scene blanketed in snow. The CD title appears in white letters across the top. Below the picture are the names Bing Crosby – Rosemary Clooney – Danny Kaye, the principal singers in the movie. Trudy Stevens provided the vocals for Vera-Ellen in the movie. Trudy Stevens was a big band torch singer who primarily made her living dubbing vocals for other women in movies.

The back of the CD features a numerical track listing with performing artist credits. The song titles are presented in Christmas green while the artists names are presented in Christmas red. It makes for a very festive back cover.

The cover comes out and opens along a single fold. Both pages are filled with a numerical track listing with performing artist credits. Below the song titles are performing orchestra credits. This is always helpful. I always appreciate that kind of information. What’s missing are recording dates. Through investigative research, it was easy to put the proper dates on these recordings. All songs, except Suzy Snowflake by Rosemary Clooney are from 1953 or 1954.

The back of the CD insert has a great story about the making of the White Christmas movie and the complications for the soundtrack album. Since Rosemary Clooney recorded for Columbia Records and the other three (including Trudy Stevens), were on Decca Records, Peggy Lee replaced Rosemary Clooney on the official soundtrack album, and Rosemary Clooney made her own Christmas record. This CD compilation features both of those albums, except maybe a song or two.

All songs were written by Irving Berlin. Irving Berlin wrote all the songs from the 1942 film Holiday Inn as well.

The best thing about this holiday CD is that all the songs from Rosemary Clooney’s 8 song Christmas album from 1954 are included. As stated earlier, she released an album of songs from the movie, but they were not the versions that appeared in the movie.

Of her 11 songs on here, 6 are not Christmas songs, but they are wonderful songs. I am a big Rosemary Clooney fan and I think she was one of the Top 5 female vocalists of the 1950s.

The CD begins with Rosemary Clooney singing White Christmas, with orchestrations provided by Percy Faith.

Suzy Snowflake is a unique Christmas song sung by Rosemary Clooney and issued as a single in 1951, with orchestrations provided by Tony Mottola.

Rosemary Clooney’s voice is perfectly suited for the Christmas classic Winter Wonderland. Paul Weston & his Orchestra provide charming strings, reeds and bells.

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S is a Christmas song written by Eddy Arnold and Jennie Lou Carson. Eddy Arnold wrote and recorded it for his Christmas release in 1949. I have versions of this song by a variety of artists, but no one does a better job with it than Rosemary Clooney, including Eddy Arnold himself. Perhaps it’s her soft voice accentuated by the Norman Luboff Children’s Choir. It is one of the best Christmas songs she recorded.

Rosemary Clooney’s last contribution on this CD is the winter song Snow. It was written for the movie White Christmas and has an ensemble cast recording featured in the movie. Here, Rosemary performs a solo version with the accompaniment of Percy Faith & his Orchestra.

Three of her 5 Christmas songs presented here are in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.

This CD contains a lot of great songs, but in actuality, there are only two other Christmas songs here featuring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Peggy Lee (substituting for Rosemary Clooney) and Trudy Stevens (substituting for Vera-Ellen).

The first of these is the ensemble performance of the winter song Snow. It speaks not of Christmas, but of the participants’ enjoyment of a lot of snow. The movie takes place in Vermont and during the unusually warm Christmas season, the lack of snow is keeping the tourists away. Of course, in the finale, the snow begins to fall, eventually blanketing the countryside in a wonderful snowfall. Orchestrations are provided by Joseph J. Lilley & his Orchestra.

The other Christmas song is the ensemble singing White Christmas. It is the 22^nd song and closes out the CD. Orchestrations are again provided by Joseph J. Lilley & his Orchestra.

Keep in mind, there are only 2 Christmas songs not by Rosemary Clooney and all songs but seven were re-recorded for the soundtrack release. There are great songs on here, and they are performed with great Pop orchestras of the era but they are not Christmas songs.

Most people might pick this up due to the title, the cover and after a quick glance at the song list, but may become disheartened after closer inspection. This is a great way to get most of Rosemary Clooney’s 1950’s Christmas output. There are other Rosemary Clooney Christmas compilations that feature the same songs. In fact, I think I have another one.

Overall, it’s disappointing that there are only 2 original Christmas songs from the movie, and even they are re-recordings, but sound very much like the movie versions. It’s no one’s fault, that’s what was contained in the movie. There are other original White Christmas compilations out there, but most would be similar to this. It’s not like this CD is hiding anything, it’s just that there aren’t any other songs from the movie that could be included.

This is a great Christmas CD; the production is excellent, and it has some of my favorite singers from the 1950s. If you put this on during the holiday season, you will quickly forget that it is a Christmas CD when every other song is not a Christmas song. Take this for the Rosemary Clooney selections but look elsewhere for Christmas songs by Peggy Lee and Bing Crosby.

I give this CD :

***

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Pop Vocals

November 3, 2022

# 55

VA - Bing Crosby & Nat King ColeWhite Christmas2001

(Fine Tune, LLC)

October 31, 2022

# 52

Frankie AvalonFrankie Avalon's Christmas Album1996

(P) & ©1996 Taragon Records Company”Taragon” and “logo” are registered trademarks of Taragon Records Company (Reg U.S. Pat. & Tmrk Off.)

October 29, 2022

# 48

Connie FrancisChristmas Cheer1994

This compilation (P) & © 1994 PolyGram Records, Inc.Manufactured and Marketed by PolyGram Special Markets, a division of PolyGram Group Distribution, Inc.

October 29, 2022

# 47

VA - 20 Christmas Favorites1998

© 1998 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. / (P) 1972, 1980, 1984, 1996 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products ”Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

October 29, 2022

# 46

Walter Brennan'Twas The Night Before Christmas ...Back Home1996

COLLECTORS’ CHOICE MUSIC©1996 Critics’ Choice Video, Inc. COLLECTORS’ CHOICE MUSIC is a mark of Critics’ Choice Video, Inc.(P) 1996 EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets. Product of EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets.

October 28, 2022

# 44

VA - Santa's Top 102002

© 1995 Delta Music Inc.Cover Illustration: Joe Sid Layout: Lotta LannerheimLaserlight is a registered trademark of Delta Music Inc.

October 25, 2022

# 42

Sergio FranchiThe Heart Of Christmas (Cuor' Di Natale)1999

The BMG logo is a trademark of BMG Music. Other Tmk(s) ®Registered. Marca(s) Registrada(s) General Electric Company, USA. ©1999, BMG Entertainment. BMG Entertainment Manufactured by BMG Entertainment. Distributed in the United States by BMG Distribution, a Unit of BMG Entertainment.

October 24, 2022

# 41

Pat Boone FamilyThe Pat Boone Family Christmas1994

(P) Delta Music Inc.Cover: Harriet BreitbordeLaserlight is a registered trademark of Delta Music Inc.

October 23, 2022

# 39

VA - Songs Of The Season2000

© 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Inc./ This compilation (P) 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products / “Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

October 22, 2022

# 35

VA - The Ultimate White Christmas2005

VA - Bing Crosby & Nat King Cole
White Christmas
2001

Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon's Christmas Album
1996

(P) & ©1996 Taragon Records Company
”Taragon” and “logo” are registered trademarks of Taragon Records Company (Reg U.S. Pat. & Tmrk Off.)

Connie Francis
Christmas Cheer
1994

This compilation (P) & © 1994 PolyGram Records, Inc.
Manufactured and Marketed by PolyGram Special Markets, a division of PolyGram Group Distribution, Inc.

VA - 20 Christmas Favorites
1998

© 1998 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. / (P) 1972, 1980, 1984, 1996 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products ”Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

Walter Brennan
'Twas The Night Before Christmas ...Back Home
1996

COLLECTORS’ CHOICE MUSIC
©1996 Critics’ Choice Video, Inc. COLLECTORS’ CHOICE MUSIC is a mark of Critics’ Choice Video, Inc.
(P) 1996 EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets. Product of EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets.

VA - Santa's Top 10
2002

© 1995 Delta Music Inc.
Cover Illustration: Joe Sid Layout: Lotta Lannerheim
Laserlight is a registered trademark of Delta Music Inc.

Sergio Franchi
The Heart Of Christmas (Cuor' Di Natale)
1999

Pat Boone Family
The Pat Boone Family Christmas
1994

(P) Delta Music Inc.
Cover: Harriet Breitborde
Laserlight is a registered trademark of Delta Music Inc.

VA - Songs Of The Season
2000

© 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Inc./ This compilation (P) 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products / “Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada

VA - The Ultimate White Christmas
2005