Pop Vocals

October 21, 2022

# 33

Ruth Lyons
The Christmas Music Of Ruth Lyons
1995

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(P) © 1995 WVXU-FM/XStar Radio Network

Genre : Pop Vocals

Where do I begin?  I’m not necessarily familiar with Ruth Lyons because I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s more about what I learned after I started collecting music, and the first music I started collecting was Pop Vocals from the 1950’s.  Once I discovered Christmas music, this CD somehow came to my attention, but I was not aware of it until it had been out for almost 3 years.

Ruth Evelyn Reeves was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1905.  Ruth Lyons’ parents were both musicians and Ruth herself was very active in drama from a young age.  All through high school she played music and wrote and composed plays.

Ruth acquired the last name Lyons from her first husband Johnny in 1932.  His business transferred him out of town, but Ruth did not want to leave her radio show and stayed in Cincinnati.

Ruth became interested in radio while in high school.  In a short time, she became head of programming at two different stations in the course of 14 years.

In 1946, she created a radio program that invited 50 housewives to lunch every day, and a live broadcast of a show about subjects including home economics, personal grooming, and current news and events.  She called it the 50 Club.  In 1949, the 50 Club moved to television.  In 1953, the audience was expanded to 100 housewives and renamed the 50/50 Club.

Starting in her radio days, Ruth Lyons refused to read the scripts she was given by the sponsors.  She used the products that were advertised on her show and would tell the audience whether to buy the product or not.  She ran her TV show the same way.  She told it like it was and everyone loved her for it.

Keep in mind, this was 1946, and moved to TV in 1953.  She had a ninety-minute show on Monday through Friday starting at 12 noon.  It was also broadcast live to Dayton and Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana.  Her show was broadcast in color from the very beginning although very few families had a TV, let alone a color TV in 1953.

She had a large supporting cast of announcers, singers and musicians.  She had no trouble securing appearances of Hollywood celebrities when they were passing through Cincinnati.

By 1967, after the death of her daughter, Ruth had had enough.  The 50/50 Club was handed over to her co-host Bob Braun.  That’s where I come in.  I watched the 50/50 Club hosted by Bob Braun from around 1973 to 1977.  It was a great show.  It was on from 12 noon to 1:30. It was local.  The entertainment was good.  And the celebrity appearances were always the best part.  It was a great show!

Ruth Lyons started the Ruth Lyons Christmas Fund in 1939 and it provided Christmas presents to local hospitalized children.  It is Ruth Lyons’ legacy.  It was a huge success in its very first year and is still very active every year to this day.

This CD combines both Ruth Lyons’ Christmas albums; Ten Tunes Of Christmas from 1957, and It’s Christmastime Again from 1963.  Because there were some duplicates from the first album onto the second one, we have all of Ruth Lyons’ Christmas output.  Excellent.

This CD came to me from my mother.  After I started collecting Christmas music, I became aware of this and only heard about it, and really knew nothing of it.  I had barely heard of Ruth Lyons and only knew of the 50/50 Club with Bob Braun as host.  It may have been on my Christmas wish list that year.  At that time, there was, and still is, a radio station in Cincinnati with the call letters WMKV.  They play Big Band and Pop Vocals, and all the DJs are retired personnel that had TV or radio experience in their careers, and they are all volunteers.  Somehow my mother got in touch with one of the guys at WMKV.  He had copies of this for sale.  I think he was the remastering engineer.  Mind you, although this was done locally in Cincinnati, a lot of work went into putting this together.  The remastering engineer had 100’s of copies of the album and took the best versions of each song he could find.  He then digitally remastered them.  It is available on Amazon, but back in 2008, it was not.

If you want to know what a 1957 Christmas looked like, look at the cover of this CD.  Ruth and her co-host Bob Braun are surrounded by all the supporting cast from the 50/50 Club.  In the background is a wonderfully decorated Christmas tree.  Everyone is dressed in their finest.  Women in brightly colored party dresses, men in gray tailored suits.  The chorus is dressed in light blue dinner jackets and black bow tie.  As soon as I saw this cover, I fell in love with it.  It is one of the best covers of a Christmas album I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot!

The back of the CD features a numerical track listing with performing artists and time signatures.  Below are composer and writer credits and original album release dates.  To the left is a picture of Ruth Lyons.

The front cover opens in a double bifold to a 10”x10” piece of heavy paper.  Fully opened, there is a very detailed history of both Christmas albums.  Along with the text are black and white pictures of the performers in the studio.  This is continued on the top half of the back if folded over once.  Below are notes on recording dates and remastering credits.

If you want to know what a 1963 Christmas looked like, take the front cover out, and without opening it, on the back you will see almost the same setting as from 1957, but from 1963.  The same lead cast is here, albeit 6 years older.  (I also noticed that all the women had gone blonde! Gotta love the 1960’s!)

With all the historical information and the wonderful nostalgic color photographs, the back of the CD is the only place we find track listings and performing credits.  Overall, the artwork and detailed information is one of the best ever.

As I wrote earlier, this CD contains all of Ruth Lyons’ Christmas output.  Unless you have this in your collection, you will not be familiar with any of these songs.  All the songs were written and composed by Ruth Lyons.  There are 18 great, original Christmas songs and Ruth wrote them all.  The orchestration and arranging is done by Cliff Lash And The 50/50 Club Orchestra.  They were still the orchestra when I was watching the 50/50 Club.

(A small note…when I did watch the 50/50 Club With Bob Braun, most of the singers and performers were different.  Most of the ones on this CD had retired by 1974).

Another great thing about this release is the songs are arranged in the same track order as they were on their respective albums.  You get all the first album, minus the last track, which appears at the end of the CD, first. Then the rest of the CD is the album from 1963, minus the ones that were originally from the first album, and they are in their original order.  (They are hitting me in all my soft spots with this release).

The thing that impressed me the most the first time I heard this was the elaborate instrumentation.  There are harps, bells, piccolos, xylophones, oboes, etc.  The production is incredible.  This is Christmas music!

As much as I would love to tell you about each song on here, it would take way too long.  (Perhaps in the future, I will expand this review and do that).

What I will do is tell you that out of the eighteen songs on here, eleven are in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.  That means 60% of the songs on this CD I feel are the best Christmas music has to offer.

These include the opening song, Hey Nonny Nonny featuring Ruth Lyons and The Bello-Larks.

The third song, Christmas Is Getting Mighty Close features a nice duet with Bonnie Lou and Peter Grant.

The fifth song, Have A Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas features Ruby Wright And The Dick Noel Singers, which sounds like a chorus of children and adults.  This is probably the best Christmas song ever produced.  This is what Christmas music is supposed to sound like.

The eighth song is It’s Christmas Time Again by Bonnie Lou.  A wonderful flute driven ode to all the wonder the season has to offer.

The tenth song, Christmas Marching Song is perhaps the best song on here, (have I said that before?)  It begins with flowing harps, muted trumpets and has a tag line of We Wish You A Merry Christmas before marching into a counting song that reminds me of a Children’s Christmas song .  It features Ruth Lyons and all the 50/50 Club performers.

The eleventh song, This Is Christmas, is beautifully sung by Ruby Wright.

Always At Christmas Time follows and is sung by Bob Braun.  It is a great Christmas song and Bob does an excellent job of delivering the perfect Christmas sentiment circa 1963.  He is joined by a chorus of 50/50 Club personnel.

Track 14 has Bonnie Lou and Peter Grant sharing another duet on All Because It’s Christmas.  Absolutely wonderful.  I’ve said it a few times already, and I’ll probably say it a few more times, but this is the best Christmas music ever produced.  Thanks, Mom!

Track 17 features once again, Bob Braun singing a song more suited to his mid baritone to tenor voice, It’s That Very, Very Special Time Of Year.

The last song on the CD is also the last song on the original album.  Let’s Light The Christmas Tree is an endearing, soft arrangement of a torch song lullaby.  It is sung by Ruby Wright.

All the performers on here were big stars in their own right in Cincinnati.  Ruth Lyons’ legacy will never be matched.  Before there was Oprah, before there was Regis, before there was Dinah Shore, there was Ruth Lyons.  She started the daytime talk show.  She invented it.  She mastered it.  And she is the Queen of Daytime TV, and always will be.

I absolutely love this Christmas CD.  If you asked me for my top 5 favorite CDs out of my over 1600 CDs and LPs, this one is in my Top 5.  It has some of the best Christmas music I’ve ever heard.  It has one of the best Christmas covers I’ve ever seen.

If you like Classic Christmas music performed with a full orchestra with lush arrangements, you will absolutely love this CD!  And if you don’t, I will personally come over and clean your house!

There is nothing like a carol or hymn presented on here.  They are all original Christmas songs that speak, hark and yearn for the most wonderful, secular Christmas possible.

This is Christmas 1957 and 1963.  And it sounds like it.  That is my favorite period of the Classic Christmas Era (1946 – 1976).  If you prefer more modern contemporary synthesized Christmas music, this is not for you.  If you like vintage Christmas music as I do, this is one of the best Christmas CDs you will ever find, and you will absolutely love it!

I give this CD :

*****

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October 19, 2022

# 30

VA - Reader's Digest - Christmas Through The Years
1988

(Originally released 1984 on Reader’s Digest)

Front (2)
Back

(P) 1988 BMG Direct Marketing Inc. / (P) 1984 RCA Records
© 1984 The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

Genre : Pop Vocals

If you are on a budget and you want to start a small Christmas music collection or if you’re looking to expand an existing collection to have more traditional Christmas songs, then look no further.  This CD box set of 60 traditional Christmas songs from Reader’s Digest is for you.  Reader’s Digest has always done a remarkable job of repackaging Christmas songs released throughout the Classic Christmas Music Era.  If you were allowed to have only one Christmas CD, (or box set), this should be it.  Or any of the other 3 CD box sets of Christmas music that Reader’s Digest has put out throughout the years.  I have 3 different box sets, each with 3 CDs each.  (I would have more but then I would have way too many repeats.  When you have over 1,600 Christmas CDs and LPs, you start to get a lot of repeats).

Time-Life Music does a really good job of repackaging Christmas songs too, but I think Reader’s Digest does a better job.  For one thing, the Time-Life collections usually have 12 to 15 songs on each CD for a total of 36 to 45 songs.  Most Reader’s Digest 3 CD compilations will have 60 songs total.  Plus, the information in the liner notes on the Reader’s Digest collections is far better than the Time-Life CDs.

This is a 3 CD box set of Christmas songs that spans 40 years, 1941 – 1982, with most from the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s.  The set comes in a double hinged box that could hold 4, and that is very typical of box sets of 3 CDs.

The cover depicts a family returning home after cutting down their Christmas tree from the nearby woods.  Its setting is on a mountain side covered in snow, and you can see a couple of other houses in the background.  The title of the CD is placed over and at the top of the painting.  The artwork on the back of the box has the Reader’s Digest logo at the top, followed by the CD title and below is a numerical track listing separated by CD.

The inside artwork is very good, and most Reader’s Digest compilations come with very good liner notes.  Included inside the box is a reference booklet with a whopping 48 pages.  There is a lot of information to be gathered from this.  The first page of the booklet has some production notes about this set.  One thing in particular is that it mentions the letters AAD.  As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, this stands for Analog – Analog – Digital.  It means the songs were originally recorded in analog, and the remastering for the release was done on an analog machine, and the music is presented in a digital format, this CD.  I like AAD.  It means I’m getting the original song, which means it was recorded before 1985, and the music is presented in a digital format, a CD, so the quality will be the best.  Honestly, ADD is better.  That means the original analog tapes were remastered digitally, and presented on CD.

The 3rd page of the booklet offers an endorsement of the quality of the music included.  Starting with page 4 and continuing through page 40, each song is listed by title with writer credits and performing artist.  Then there is a small description of the history of the song and artist who performs it, including the year of release and Billboard chart performance.  This is done for all 60 songs.

At the back of the booklet, starting with page 41, is a numerical track list with performing artists and time signatures for each CD.  After that is an alphabetical list of all the songs and their performers that appear across all 3 CDs.  There is also a page reference for looking the song up in the booklet and which CD it’s on.  Excellent liner notes!

There are 60 Christmas carols, hymns and secular tunes spread out over 3 CDs. Almost three hours of music.  What you would expect is here; Arthur Fiedler And The Boston Pops performing Sleigh Ride, Bobby Helms with Jingle Bell Rock, Brenda Lee with Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree, etc.  Even the Singing Dogs performing Jingle Bells is on here.

There are some Classic Christmas artists that are overlooked on other compilations represented here as well.  Kate Smith with Christmas Eve In My Home Town, The Lettermen with O Holy Night and Merv Griffin singing The Merry Christmas Polka.  There are old Christmas carols, newer Christmas songs from the mid-20th century and even some novelty Christmas songs.

Upon close inspection, there are a few that are missing.  There is no Johnny Mathis, Doris Day or Frank Sinatra.  I think it is due to an artist / label relationship.  The CD does mention RCA, and there are also notations for MCA Records, Capitol Records and Monument Records.  There doesn’t seem to be any Columbia Records’ artists here.

Most people will be familiar with all the songs and artists, but possibly not the artist singing the song you are familiar with.  It’s always nice to get something new.

This CD should appeal to anyone that likes traditional Christmas music.  If you prefer contemporary arrangements performed by today’s artists, then you would find this compilation CD boring.  But turn on the radio during Christmas and many of these songs will be playing.

I give this CD :

*****

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October 18, 2022

# 29

Lawrence Welk
22 Merry Christmas Favorites From Our House To Your House!
1987

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RCD 7029 © (P) 1987 Ranwood Records, Inc.
A Welk Record Group Company

Genre : Pop Vocals

Lawrence Welk should be known to anybody that has listened to music from the 1960’s, 1970’s or even the 1980’s.  PBS still airs reruns of his show on Saturday nights.  That’s not to say that everyone who is familiar with the name is a fan of the music.  Lawrence Welk could easily be classified as “music your grandparents listened to”.  He has carried that reputation throughout his career even though he continued to make music well into the 1980’s.

Lawrence Welk was born in 1903 in Strasburg, North Dakota, into a family that emigrated from what is now Ukraine.  His family was surrounded by other German immigrants and German was the language that everybody in Strasburg spoke.  Lawrence Welk himself did not learn to speak English until he was 21.

At 21 years old, Lawrence Welk left the family farm to pursue a career in music.  He remained close by and had touring bands that played in North and South Dakota.  It was on the radio that he made it big.  He had a local radio show in South Dakota, and he was an instant success.

By 1951, he had moved to Los Angeles and started his TV show that same year.  Lawrence Welk kept his TV show on the air for 31 years and it was a ratings success throughout its lifetime.  Lawrence Welk developed his “Champagne Music” style early on.  He used it to define his music, even while playing the currents hits on the Pop chart along with older standards.

In addition to music, Lawrence Welk was a savvy businessman, investing in Los Angeles real estate early on.  At one point, I read that he was the wealthiest person in Hollywood due primarily to his real estate investments.

Lawrence Welk retired from his TV show in 1982 and retired from music altogether in the late 1980’s.  He passed away in 1992 at the age of 89.

Lawrence Welk His Orchestra And Chorus – 22 Merry Christmas Favorites From Our House To Your House! is a compilation CD of Christmas songs performed by Lawrence Welk And His Champaign Music and features solos by his regular performers, many of which stayed with him many, many years.  The CD comes to us from Ranwood Records, which is a record label Lawrence Welk formed in 1962 with another partner, Randy Wood from Dot Records.

The front cover is pleasant with the title Lawrence Welk His Orchestra And Chorus 22 Merry Christmas Favorites From Our House To Your House! in red and green letters on a yellow background.  Holiday decorations are included in the design.  The back of the CD has the title followed by a numerical track listing with time signatures.

The front cover opens to a single fold-out that has a little more detail that takes up both sides.  At the top is “Lawrence Welk His Orchestra And Chorus play” followed by a testament to the annual Lawrence Welk Christmas Shows.

Below the heading is a numerical track listing featuring writer / arranger credits along with publishing credits.  Time signatures are included, but what is missing for me are recording dates and featured singers.  Those are two things that are always good to have.  The back of the cover has a list of compilation CDs available from Ranwood Records.

If you are not familiar with Lawrence Welk And His Champagne Music, it is best described as good, wholesome music that caters to an older audience.  In the Pop hits arena of the 1960’s, that would be a dividing line for a younger audience, but when it comes to Christmas music, most songs, even today, have an orchestral feel to them.  It is not unusual for Christmas music to have a good, wholesome sound.

The CD begins with the title song, an original from George Cates, Lawrence Welk’s arranger for many years.  It has all the Champagne Singers in full voice wishing you a Merry Christmas.  They sound very much like the Percy Faith Chorus.  Through some investigating and cross references, I was able to put years to about half the songs on here.  This one is from 1957.

Also from 1957, Silver Bells is a duet shared by Norma Zimmer and Jim Roberts.  Norma Zimmer is probably the “Champagne Girl” people are most familiar with.  She spent 22 years on the Lawrence Welk TV show, and by listening to her, you can tell she has a classically trained voice.

Most of the 22 songs on here are Christmas carols and hymns.  No Frosty, Rudolph or Jingle Bells.  Lawrence Welk did indeed cover these songs; they’re just not represented here.  Most of the ones that are not traditional carols are original songs written by George Cates in partnership with other performing members.

Thanks for Christmas is another one of those originals.  I was able to put a year of 1961 on it, but not sure of the male vocalist.  You could spend a lifetime studying Lawrence Welk and all the soloists he featured.  (I do need to spend a little more time with his music to get to know the voices better).  It’s a wonderful Christmas song written in a classic Christmas arrangement that describes all the wonderful feelings Christmas brings.

Another non-traditional Christmas carol has the Lennon Sisters singing I Wanna Do More Than Whistle (Under The Mistletoe).  The Lennon Sisters were a group of four sisters that got started when the oldest was only in her teens.  They started performing on the Lawrence Welk show in 1955 and continued appearing on the show until 1968.  In addition, they had their own career with records and concerts outside of their work with Lawrence Welk.  (Look for a review of their Christmas album in this blog’s future).

I Wanna Do More Than Whistle (Under The Mistletoe) is another George Cates original.  It speaks of a typical teenage girl that wants to kiss under the mistletoe.  It has an upbeat arrangement and is very typical of the teen melodies popular at the time.  Because it is so unique, it is a classic.  I like it very much.  So much, that it appears in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.

This CD is filled with solos and group ensembles.  The music is performed by a full orchestra.  There are no true instrumentals.  The ones that may not feature the true words sung, are vocal harmonies “ooing” and “ahing” the melody.  Many songs have that Lawrence Welk sound, featured by an organ played in higher octaves and all feature big arrangements.

One of my favorite Christmas carols is What Child Is This and here Ralna English gives it a wonderful somber treatment.

Another original, this time written by the Sherman Brothers upon request from Lawrence Welk for his 1980 Christmas Special, is Christmas In Los Angeles.  It features a soft arrangement of light orchestrations with chimes and the Champagne Singers harmonizing about all the virtues of a warm Christmas in Los Angeles.  It is the last commercial recording Lawrence Welk made.

There is not a bad song on here and the quality of the remastering is excellent.  I don’t like comparing orchestras and choruses as similar, but this sounds very much like Percy Faith.  If you are familiar with Percy Faith and his Christmas music, and you like it, you will like this just as much.

The arrangements are classic arrangements of many carols you will be familiar with.  The Champagne Singers appear on every song, whether as featured singers or providing harmonies with a soloist, giving them the “Champagne Sound”.  Lawrence Welk was popular on TV and on records for many years for many people and his Christmas music is no different.  If you seek Christmas music from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, performed by full orchestras with large choruses, then you should include this in your collection.

There are many Lawrence Welk Christmas compilations out there.  I have a total of three and I need to look into getting copies of all the original albums, so I have all the songs.  I can highly recommend this particular one.  It was a popular compilation, and the remastering is very good.  (One of the compilations I have was re-produced poorly and sounds terrible.  Stay away from the LaserLight CD A Wunnerful, Wunnerful Christmas With Lawrence Welk).  There are 22 great sounding Christmas songs here that should be in everyone’s collection.

I give this CD :

****1/2*

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October 16, 2022

# 28

Ray Conniff
Ray Conniff's Christmas Album : Here We Come A-Caroling
2004

(Originally released 1965 on Columbia Limited Edition)

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This package consists of previously released material.
© 1965 Sony Music Entertainment Inc./Originally Released 1965 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. / Manufactured by Columbia Records / “Columbia,” “Legacy” and L Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Marca Registrada.

# 17 – 1965 – Billboard Christmas

Genre : Pop Vocals

What would Christmas be like without Ray Conniff And The Ray Conniff Singers?  Can you even have Christmas without Ray Conniff And The Ray Conniff Singers ?  The answer to the first question is “bleak”.  The answer to the second question is an emphatic “NO!”

Ray Conniff, his Orchestra and The Ray Conniff Singers released 4 Christmas albums from 1959 to 1999.  I am not familiar with the last one, ‘S Christmas from 1999.  Discogs.com has a copy of it and it has a note describing that 11 of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles in 1999 and are re-recorded versions of songs from earlier in his career.  It was released in Brazil.  (I’ll need to investigate that further).  I’d rather have an old album during the artist’s best years than something they recorded later in life and are re-recordings of earlier hits.  I like the original artists performing the original songs.

Ray Conniff’s Christmas Album : Here We Come A-Caroling is the third Christmas album The Singers recorded, originally released in 1965.

Ray Conniff was born in Massachusetts in 1916.  After serving in World War II, he played in Artie Shaw’s big band.  In 1954, Mitch Miller, who had just become the head of Columbia Records, hired Ray to be the house arranger for Columbia.  At the time, Columbia Records was a very big label and had some of the best singers under contract.  Ray Conniff worked with all of them; Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mathis, Johnny Ray and Marty Robbins, amongst others.

Ray Conniff formed The Ray Conniff Singers in 1959 and right away produced top selling albums.  In many ways, The Ray Conniff Singers helped define the 60’s and 70’s.  They released albums that covered the popular Rock hits of the day and made them pleasant to listen to for the older generation.  Throughout their career, Ray Conniff And The Singers released over 90 albums.

The Ray Conniff Singers’ Christmas albums sold especially well and this release from 1965 was the last one they recorded.  Many other Christmas albums and CDs were released in the 1970’s and on up, but all were repackages of previous Christmas songs.

This reissue comes to us from Columbia Legacy Recordings / Sony Music.  There were originally two different album covers issued.  One is a drawing of a Christmas tree with the words Ray Conniff Here We Come A-Caroling in giant red letters surrounded by a green holly berry border around the complete cover. That cover belongs to the version released on Columbia.

The other cover belongs to the Columbia Limited Edition version and that is the cover that this CD reissue comes with.  (I actually have another copy of this very CD released by Sony Legacy in 1996.  It has a completely different cover unlike either of the original albums.  For all practical purposes, we will focus on this reissue by Columbia because the two CDs are identical except for the covers).

Columbia Legacy used the exact same image for this reissue as was used for the Columbia Limited Edition in 1965.  It features an A frame cabin tucked into the woods while everything is covered in deep snow.  There is a small group of people gathered in front of the cabin, and they appear to be caroling.  Upon closer reading on the back of the original album, the picture was taken at Big Bear Lake, California, sometime in 1964 I presume.  The cover of the CD does have a green festive border around the front which the original album does not have.

Unfortunately, the back of the CD does not resemble the back of the LP in any manner whatsoever.  The original was very plain with simple lettering with the title in big bold letters and a simple numerical track listing.  The back of the CD is similar.  It features Ray Conniff’s name at the top, and below is a short testimonial from Ray’s daughter, Tamara Conniff.  Below is a numerical track listing only, no writer or publishing credits.

The CD cover comes out and opens along a single fold-out.  On the left side is a longer testimonial from Tamara Conniff talking about what Christmas was like growing up in the Conniff household, especially for being the daughter of the man who made so many people’s Christmases brighter.  Opposite to this, on the inside cover, are original album and reissue production notes.  Also included is a list of other Ray Conniff compilation CDs from Columbia.

The back of the cover is similar to the back of the CD.  It has Ray Conniff’s name at the top just as on the back, and below it is a numerical track listing.  But here there are more details.  Included next to the song titles are the time signatures. Below each song title are the original recording dates and mix numbers.  At the bottom of the page are some legal notes on the original recording and the reissue.

The original album had 12 songs, and the CD has the same 12 songs, in the original order.

The CD begins with the title song, Here We Come A-Caroling.  It has a wonderful, verbose, BIG sound.  The Ray Conniff Singers typically contained 12 women and 13 men.  Their harmonies are wonderful.  The Ray Conniff Singers had a unique sound all their own.  I speak of many choral groups on this blog.  The Anita Kerr Singers, Harry Simeone Chorale, Singers Unlimited, etc.  Most have a great sound, but there is nothing that is like The Ray Conniff Singers.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is the third song.  It opens with the male part of the chorus, followed by the women.  It is an upbeat, bright rendition of an old Christmas carol that is usually performed in a somber mood.

11 of the 12 songs included are old Christmas carols and hymns.  Only one, The Real Meaning Of Christmas, is not and it is a Ray Conniff original.

Ray Conniff directs the orchestra that plays along with The Singers, but it is The Singers that make the songs.  Away In A Manger is, once again, arranged in an up-tempo, bright style.  Much different than most of the somber, softer arrangements found in other artists’ works.

Joy To The World may not appeal to a lot of people, but I like it.  It is one of the standout songs on here.  It has a grandiose, loud and vibrant interpretation.  It has a rocking, mid-60’s feel to it.  There is not another version of Joy To The World out there that resembles this.  It is the definitive Ray Conniff Singers style.

The pace slows down considerably with Adoramus Te, an unknown carol to most people.  The full voices are here but in a much softer, somber mood accentuated by single bell tolls.  I believe it to be sung in Latin.

The original song on here, The Real Meaning Of Christmas, has a folk driven arrangement accentuated with a flugelhorn and primarily sung by the women.  It speaks of the real meaning of Christmas as the giving of love every day.  Very 1965; peace and love.

One of my favorite Christmas songs, What Child Is This? is presented in a soft somber arrangement that has the women and then the men trading verses.  It is a terrific version of this carol.

It Came Upon The Midnight Clear is arranged in a wonderful waltz tempo.  Once again, the women sing first, then the men, while they sing together on the second half of each verse.  It was the Ray Conniff formula.

I did not talk about every song on here.  This review is already running long, but each song showcases the Ray Conniff Singers sound.  After listening to the whole CD in one sitting, by the end, you have become familiar with the Ray Conniff Singers.

With Christmas albums released in 1959, 1962 and this one from 1965, and all being big sellers, which means they were in a lot of peoples’ homes and played at Christmas yearly, The Ray Conniff Singers came to define many Christmases in the 60’s and the 70’s.  Mine was one of them.  Not a Christmas would go by without hearing The Ray Conniff Singers.

Listeners will be familiar with most of the selections here, except possibly Adoramus Te and the original Christmas song, The Real Meaning Of Christmas.  The arrangements are bright, cheerful and fun.  Most arrangements, if even somber by most other artists, are presented in an upbeat, swinging tempo.

To tell you how much I like Ray Conniff And The Ray Conniff Singers, and how much they define the sounds of Christmas for me, I have 17 of their songs in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings, more than any other artist.

I give this CD :

*****

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October 15, 2022

# 26

Jimmie Rodgers
It's Christmas Once Again
2003

(Originally released 1959 on Roulette)

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© 2003 Collectors’ Choice Music (p) 2003 Rhino Entertainment Company.
Manufactured and controlled by Rhino Entertainment Company.

Genre : Pop Vocals

There were two Jimmie Rodgers.  The first was a pioneer in the early days of Country & Western music.  This Jimmie Rodgers is the other one.  It’s easy to get them confused.  Both were big stars in their days.  It’s just that their days did not coincide because that Jimmie Rodgers died the same year as this Jimmie Rodgers was born.  This Jimmie Rodgers was born in Washington state in 1933 and developed an interest in music at a very young age.

After singing locally in Washington, and while in service during the Korean War, as luck would have it, Jimmie Rodgers got stationed in Nashville at Stewart Air Force Base.  It was around this time that he won $700.00 on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Show.

After the war, he signed to Roulette Records in New York.  One of his earliest singles, Honeycomb, was an instant hit.  It became his signature song.  He followed that with other big hits such as Kisses Sweeter Than Wine and Oh-Oh, I’m Falling In Love Again.  Because of his chart successes he got a lot of exposure on television, and even had his own show in 1959.

The next logical step in his career seemed to be to release a Christmas album.  This is that album.  Recorded and released in 1959, it features Joe Reisman & his Orchestra And Chorus.

This reissue of Jimmie Rodgers only Christmas album, from 1959, is released by Collectors’ Choice Music.  Collectors’ Choice Music has been around for a long time and they do a terrific job of remastering and re-releasing CDs of music from the 1930’s onward.  I have many releases from Collectors’ Choice Music throughout my Christmas collection.

True to form, Collectors’ Choice did a great job of reproducing the original artwork.  The CD cover features a picture of Jimmie Rodgers superimposed over a slightly out of focus Christmas tree.  The lettering consists of the album title, followed by Jimmie’s name and With Joe Reisman And His Orchestra.  Below is a list of songs included.  The cover of the CD is an exact duplicate of the original album cover.  But it’s not.  Discogs.com shows two different covers for the original album.  Both were released on Roulette Records in 1959, and both have the same catalog number.

I rather like the other cover better.  It’s a picture of Jimmie Rodgers and his wife holding their newborn baby surrounded by Christmas presents next to a gold Christmas tree.  It is the perfect 1959 Christmas setting.  Lots of big, brightly wrapped presents; dress and hairstyles that were only seen during the late 50’s; all with a gold aluminum Christmas tree!  This was around the time that brightly colored aluminum Christmas trees became all the rage.

The artwork on the back of the CD features a numerical track listing with time signatures, writer and arranger credits as well as publishing credits.

The CD cover opens to a single fold-out that features a biography of Jimmie Rodgers and the story behind the recording of this album that fills both sides of the inside pages.  Most of the story focuses on the arrangers Maury Laws and Jim Tyler and their experiences working on this recording.

The back of the CD insert is an exact copy of the back of the original album except here it is placed on a sea green background whereas the original has a white background.  But you get the original cover, front and back, with this CD reissue.

Also true to Collectors’ Choice Music, the track listing is the exact same as the original.  And that’s okay for me.  I don’t need bonus tracks on all my CD reissues.  I like having the original album in its original form with original artwork, etc.

When Jimmie Rodgers was approached to do a Christmas album, he wanted to focus on Christmas hymns more than what he called novelty records such as I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.  And he wanted to use a large orchestra to give it that lush, soft sound.  Up until this album, most of his records were up-tempo Rock and Roll songs with a small combo backing him up.

This CD contains the original 12 songs in their original order.  Like I stated earlier, Jimmie wanted to focus on carols and the first 9 songs are traditional Christmas carols and hymns.  This CD begins with one of the finest Christmas songs ever recorded.  O Holy Night is an absolute, incredible rendition of this traditional carol.  A soft introduction with solo guitar builds into a crescendo of symphony and choruses.

Joe Reisman’s Chorus does an exceptional job of backing up Jimmie Rodgers.  They are in full voices at the start of Silent Night while dropping off before Jimmie comes in with one of the softest, slowest arrangements of this song I’ve ever heard.  All the hymns are given a soft orchestral treatment; O Little Town Of Bethlehem, What Child Is This, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.  There is not a bad one in the bunch.

The message in the music changes with the 9th song.  That’s when the carols stop, and more secular songs are featured.  There are only 12 songs on here so that leaves only 4 that are not traditional carols.  Most of the songs included on here are much slower in pace than you will be familiar with.  That is not a bad thing. 

White Christmas is also one of the standout songs on here.  That, along with I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day and The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) are given the same soft gentle arrangements as found during the carols heard earlier.  The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) is the last song on the CD, and it ends with a warm Christmas greeting to the listeners.

But I’ve saved the best for last.  The title track, the 11th song, It’s Christmas Once Again, is a personal favorite.  It is a cover version of a Christmas song Frankie Lymon did in 1957.  Here the song opens with full trumpets, bells and chorus before gliding into one of the prettiest Christmas songs ever put on record.  To me, it has the perfect blend of solo voice, chorus and light instrumentation that defines how I feel about Christmas.  I love Christmas!  I love Christmas music!  This song is one of the reasons why I wanted to start collecting Christmas music.  There are so many beautiful Christmas songs out there and this is one of the best!  It is definitely included in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.  (Look for my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings list elsewhere in this blog).

Jimmie Rodgers had one of the best tenor voices that ever came along.  He is usually not mentioned along with Frank, Bing or Andy and you could have a conversation about the best tenors of the 50’s and 60’s, including Jim Nabors, Perry Como, John Gary, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, etc. and Jimmie Rodgers’ name probably wouldn’t come up.  That’s because all his charted hits are upbeat, fast tempo Pop and Rock & Roll from the late 50’s.  Jimmie’s career did not last as long as some of the others, but when it came to soft Pop arrangements, he was one of the best.

This Christmas album is probably not in a lot of people’s Christmas music collections.  It is not by one of The Top Ten, it did not sell that well when originally released and it did not chart on any of Billboard’s album charts.  I think of it as a gold nugget.  It’s one of the best Christmas albums there ever was, and a lot of people are not familiar with it.  What a shame.

Jimmie Rodgers, along with Joe Reisman, Maury Laws, Jim Tyler and the Joe Reisman Chorus make for a wonderful Christmas album.  There is not a bad song on here.  You will be familiar with all these selections, short for the title song, and I think you will find it to be as pleasing to listen to as I do.

If you are looking to add to your Christmas music collection and you have run out of ideas, you must consider this wonderful Christmas album from 1959.  There is absolutely nothing that can be better about this CD reissue!

I give this CD :

*****

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October 15, 2022

# 24

Frank Sinatra
The Christmas Collection
2004

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“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” “The Christmas Song,” “White Christmas” & “Silent Night” (p) 2004 Bristol Productions Limited Partnership under exclusive license to Reprise Records for the U.S. and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the U.S. All other selections & this compilation (p) 1975, 1994 & 2004 Reprise Records. © 2004 Warner Strategic Marketing, A Warner Music Group Company.

Genre : Pop Vocals

Who hasn’t heard of Frank Sinatra?  Frank Sinatra was probably the biggest star in recorded music short of Elvis Presley in the 1950’s – 1970’s.  Frank’s career started long before the seventies.  Born on December 12, 1915, in Hoboken, New Jersey to Italian immigrant parents, he grew up always wanting to sing like his idol, Bing Crosby.  He started singing professionally as a teenager.

After winning a talent show with a group of four singers, he started to get noticed.  He began his career singing with Harry James & his Orchestra but left less than a year later.  He then sang with Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra, staying through 1942.  It was with Tommy Dorsey that he started to achieve national stardom.  The records sold well while Frank Sinatra sang in a young, naïve and often innocent style.  His star was quickly rising, and he left Tommy Dorsey in the fall of 1942. He was still only 26 years old.

Frank signed with Columbia Records in 1943 and after a few good years, fell out of favor on the music charts.  He turned to acting, taking anything, he could.  He co-starred in From Here To Eternity in 1953 and the critics loved it.  Now Frank was popular again.

Frank Sinatra signed with Capitol Records in 1953 and began working with Nelson Riddle & his Orchestra.  Most of Frank Sinatra’s albums in the 1950’s featured the Nelson Riddle Orchestra.  In 1957, he released an album with Gordon Jenkins & his Orchestra.  Frank continued to record with Nelson Riddle, but now would also use orchestras directed by Billy May, Axel Stordahl and Fred Waring in addition to Gordon Jenkins.  Frank Sinatra’s best Christmas songs come from this era.

In 1960, Frank left Capitol Records and started his own record label, Reprise Records.  He was even more adventurous with his arrangers and released many successful albums throughout the 60’s into the 80’s.  But none of his future Christmas output could match that of the 40’s and 50’s.

This Christmas compilation from Frank Sinatra combines his best Christmas songs from the latter half of his career.  There are 18 songs presented here, three of which were never released until this compilation.  Not to confuse, but these are different versions of songs he had released earlier but by different orchestra leaders.

The CD artwork is very good!  The front cover features a green sepia tone picture of Frank Sinatra smiling.  The back of the CD has a numerical track listing and any duets that are featured.

The CD cover comes out and is a stapled 16-page booklet.  Most of the pages give little anecdotes of the songs included.  Starting with page 11, there is a detailed listing of all the songs, taking 4 pages to complete.  Included is a numerical track listing, writer credits, orchestra leaders, recording dates and original release catalog numbers in addition to chart performance.  And a bonus is the album or source from where the song originated is also included.  A lot of details are listed here.

The back of the booklet shows a sepia tone picture of Frank Sinatra wearing a Santa Claus suit in front of a Christmas tree, swinging a golf club that we can only presume was a Christmas present.

There are many compilations of Frank Sinatra Christmas collections out there.  I have two, in addition to his Christmas record from 1957 and the Sinatra Family Christmas Album from 1968.  (Look for reviews of those CDs in this blog’s future.)  My advice would be to look for either Columbia, Capitol or Reprise releases.  That way you know you are getting the best of Frank’s Christmas recordings.

This Christmas compilation combines songs mostly from the 1960’s with a few from 1957, and a couple from 1975.  Half of the 18 songs are going to be a little unfamiliar to most people except for those that have a lot of Frank Sinatra Christmas music in their collections.  Many of those come from The Sinatra Family Christmas album from 1968.  This was an album that featured Frank performing with his children Nancy, Tina and Frank Jr., in addition to songs that feature them by themselves.  They also feature Nelson Riddle & his Orchestra with the Jimmy Joyce Singers.  Most of that album features songs that do not appear on many collections, so it is a treat to get some of those here.

5 of the 18 songs come from a Christmas album he did with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians in 1964.  Of these, the song We Wish You The Merriest is going to be the most familiar.  It is an upbeat, big band arrangement of what has become a Christmas classic.  The other duets with Bing Crosby are Go Tell It On The Mountain, The Christmas Song (from a TV special featuring The Midnight Strings), and a version of White Christmas, both from 1957.

Also included are two Christmas songs that Frank Sinatra recorded and released as a single in 1975.  The first of these is Christmas Memories.  I think many people will be familiar with this as it does show up on Christmas music compilations.  The other one is A Baby Like You, written by John Denver and featured on his Christmas album from 1975, Rocky Mountain Christmas.  Both show a maturity in Frank’s voice that didn’t exist in his earlier recordings.  These are some of the last Christmas songs Frank recorded.

This was a difficult CD to review because Frank Sinatra released so many Christmas albums throughout his career.  So, there are a lot of Frank Sinatra Christmas songs out there.  As I said earlier, I currently have two compilation CDs of Christmas music by Frank Sinatra.  I have this one, which are mostly Christmas songs from the 1960’s and I have Christmas Songs By Sinatra, released in 1994 which contains many of his Christmas songs from the 1940’s.  There are repeat titles between the collections, but because they were recorded in different decades with different orchestras, they are different songs.

There really isn’t a bad song on here.  Frank Sinatra was known for his Christmas recordings and is considered one of the Classic male singers of Christmas songs, along with Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis and Perry Como.  He appears in many, many compilations of Christmas music.  Having a good selection of Christmas songs by Frank Sinatra is a must if you want to have a balanced collection.  You should have at least one CD of only Frank Sinatra in your collection.  If you only want one CD that covers a large era of his Christmas output and prefer the 1960’s over the 1940’s, then this CD is the one for you.  18 wonderful Christmas songs that are well produced featuring the best of the orchestra leaders he worked with.

I give this CD :

*****

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October 12, 2022

# 18

VA - Christmas Carousel
1998

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

Genre : Pop Vocals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I give this CD :

**1/2*

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October 10, 2022

# 15

Ray Charles
The Spirit Of Christmas
1997

(Originally released 1985 on Columbia)

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

# 42 – 1985 – Billboard Country

Genre : Pop Vocals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I give this CD :

*** ½ *

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July 26, 2022

# 12

Engelbert Humperdink
A Merry Christmas With Engelbert Humperkink
Unknown Release Year

(Originally released 1980 on Epic)

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(P) 1980 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Manufactured By Sony Music Special Products/ “Sony” Reg. U.S. Patent & TM Office Marca Registrada
Previously released as Epic Records #JE 36765

Genre : Pop Vocals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I rate this CD :

***1/2*

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July 25, 2022

# 11

VA - On The First Day Of Christmas

(Originally released 1974 on CSP)

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© 1992 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
(P) 1974, 1980 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Sony Music Special Products / Manufactured by Columbia Records/”Columbia” Reg. US Patent & TM Office/Marca Registrada

Genre : Pop Vocals

First off, let me say that for some reason, I like the cover.  I always have.  I don’t know why.  But when I was looking this up on Discogs.com, they have the edition from 1980 listed, and I REALLY like that cover!  A purple and pink partridge sitting in a yellow to green pear tree.  Very 70’sish.  My experience makes me believe this was a compilation originally released in 1974.  One of the production years on the back of the CD lists 1974.  None of the music is newer than 1973.  I’m not sure if the cover from 1980 was the same as the one used in 1974.  But I like it better!

The CD front artwork opens up to a single fold out.  Unfortunately, there is nothing printed on it.  It’s blank.  Bummer.  The back of the fold out lists the CD title, a list of songs and performers in track order.  Then below is some copywrite and publishing information.  The back of the CD is the same as the back of the CD insert.

One thing that IS included amongst the many things that aren’t, are the letters AAD.  This refers to Analog to Analog to Digital.  That means the original recording was done with analog equipment; before digital.  And the remaster was done on an analog mixer.  And that was transferred to digital media, this CD.

Yes, I do love AAD!  ADD is better, but mostly you see AAD.  That means I’m getting Classic vintage Christmas songs that were originally recorded before 1985 at the earliest, most way before that.  Then they were remastered, also probably before 1985, but they come in a clean digital format, CDs.  This is not a big deal with music from 1974, but when you’re looking for vintage Christmas songs from 1934, then it makes a big difference.

There are only 10 songs included here.  Bummer.

This compilation CD begins with Andy Williams singing O Come All Ye Faithful from his 1974 Christmas album, Christmas Present.  A beautiful rendition of this Classic carol with back up by the Mike Sammes Singers.

The second song almost brings me to tears.  What Child Is This?  It’s my favorite Christmas song, carol or hymn, sung by Julie Andrews from 1967.  My favorite version of this song is by Vikki Carr, and I believe this has got to be my second favorite.  After a haunting flute intro, Julie Andrews delivers a slow paced, heartfelt plea.  Absolutely wonderful!

Well, the pace doesn’t stay that way for long.  Track 3 features Oh Holy Night, performed by Peter Nero on piano and the Peter Nero Singers singing in unison, from 1973.  The arrangement is very arpeggio

The oldest song on this magnificent CD is the fourth song, Silent Night, performed by the Lennon Sisters from 1959, with orchestrations by Milt Rogers.  A family group of teen and pre-teen girls, the Lennon Sisters entertained audiences on the Lawrence Welk Show for years.

The 5th song, Angels We Have Heard On High, shows up on a lot of Christmas compilations, even during the album era.  Carol Lawrence & Robert Goulet deliver a vibrant and energetic performance of this beautiful carol from 1973.

Oh, Bobby Vinton!  Track 6 is the Polish Prince delivering a heartfelt Christmas wish for a Christmas Eve In My Hometown.  Bobby Vinton made this song his own in 1973.  Next to Perry Como, Andy Williams and Bing Crosby, Bobby Vinton is just as much Christmas as they are.

Ah, here’s Vikki Carr.  Track 8 features Vikki singing It Came Upon The Midnight Clear from 1971.  I think Vikki Carr has the perfect voice for Christmas music.  Soft, light and soulful.  She sings with a lot of compassion.

Now I remember why I like the cover so much.  Because I love this CD!  And the 9th song is one of the reasons why.  Carol Burnett, (yes! that Carol Burnett), singing the Mel Torme, Robert Wells classic, The Christmas Song.  Who would have ever thought Carol Burnett would do a Christmas song?  Afterall, she’s known for her comedy.  Unfortunately, it’s the only one I can find for her.  No Christmas album, that I can find, at least.  Is she a great singer, in the likes of Vikki Carr?  No, but she does a fantastic job with this one.  I definitely have it in my list of Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.  (Look for that list sometime in this blogs future).  This song is also from 1973.

The final cut is one of my favorite 60’s group singers, the Johnny Mann Singers with We Wish You A Merry Christmas recorded in 1967.  A jubilant, trumpet driven parade of voices.  Very kitschy.

Okay, I’m going to start with the bad news first.  There are ONLY 10 songs here.  (There are no years either, a big thing for me).

But, for a low budget Christmas compilation, this one is terrific!  I looked it up earlier, and over half of the songs on here are in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.  There is not a bad song on here.  If you like your Christmas classic 60’s & 70’s, then you should definitely have this one.  Actually, you can find Christmas compilation CDs of this quality with many more songs, but I got this early in my collecting days, and I’m glad I did.

I rate this CD :

***1/2*

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