This should be a treat for many of you all!  If you like to collect Christmas music, and you like to collect vintage Christmas music, this is one for you.  Now, in all fairness, it is “old timey, sacred” music.  Originally recorded and released in 1954 as Joy To The World by the Chuck Wagon Gang; a group that was and still is known for performing sacred music.  The Chuck Wagon Gang, which is still active today and tours regularly, is still a family group.  They started in the mid 30’s as a family group led by “Dad” Carter, (no relation to The Carter Family) and 3 of his children. They were very popular and well known in the country music circles.  They signed to Columbia Records early in their career and set a record for being with the label for 39 years.  At one point, they were Columbia Records best-selling artists!

Their music is what I classify as Original Country, accompanied only by acoustic guitar.  Their song selection is Sacred.  Christian hymns, traditional mountain gospel music and similar song stylings.  I like it!  It’s vintage Christmas Country music.

So, on to the CD.  As stated earlier, this was originally released as Joy To The World in 1954 with 8 songs.  It was re-issued in 1965 as Christmas With The Chuck Wagon Gang, with 2 additional songs.  This CD is a re-release of the 1965 LP.

The cover artwork for the CD is considerably different from the cover artwork of the 1965 album.  In 1965, the cover depicted a large family farmhouse with barns and outbuildings at dusk.  The ground is covered in snow and because it’s dusk, the lighting is low.  The cover for the CD shows a drawing of a covered wagon coming through a western town.  The image gives to a feeling that this was a harsh winter; the sky is deeply overcast, and the town’s road is covered in deep snow.

The back of the CD shows the same drawing as the front cover, albeit there is more to it.  It’s a little larger on the sides.  The CD title and a numerical track listing in sentence format appears in a green box a little below center and slightly to the right.  Typical publishing and copywrite notices are presented at the bottom.

The front cover comes out and opens along a single fold, revealing a left and right side.  Unfornately, and especially since this is a Sony Music reissue, there is no information inside the front cover.  Both sides are blank.  I hate it when they do that.  Especially for a group many people have never heard of, and from a group so dedicated to their music.

And the back of the front cover insert doesn’t offer much more help either.  It features the same track listing as on the back of the CD, but the colors are reversed.  On the back of the CD insert, the track listing is presented in a red box against a green background.  The same publishing and copywrite notices appear at the bottom as well.  But there is one piece of information that I really love to see.  At the bottom right corner are the letters “AAD”.  This stands for Analog-Analog-Digital.  The original recording was done on Analog equipment, so at least we know it was before 1985.  The second “Analog” refers to the mastering of the record.  So, these selections have not been remastered digitally, and the original masters were used to produce this reissue.  And the last “Digital” refers to the medium the music is presented in; this CD.  When I buy CDs of older Christmas music, I definitely look for the “AAD”.  At least then I know I’m getting something most likely recorded during the Classic Christmas Music Recording Era.

The CD begins with Joy To The World, with terrific harmonies layered over a slow, temporal acoustic guitar.  If you listen closely, you can clearly hear each of the four voices singing slightly different harmonies.

Silent Night is performed soulfully with acoustic guitar.  This music has a wonderful gospel feel to it.  Even in their Christmas songs, The Chuck Wagon Gang has a gospel sound.

The First Noel is one of my favorites of the whole CD.  A wonderful rendition of a classic Christian hymn.

The 5^th track is a non-traditional Christmas hymn, In The Garden.  It is well known as a traditional sacred song.  It is one of two songs that did not appear on the original LP, but were included in the first re-issue in 1965.  I like that they included it on their Christmas LP.  It may not be a true Christmas hymn, but when you spend time listening to Christmas hymns, a lot of sacred songs fit in really well.

The 7th song, O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles), is one of the stand out selections throughout the whole CD.  I’m not exactly sure as to what makes this so special.  It’s a straight ahead traditional everything; song selection, musical arrangement, vocal arrangement; but it’s very soulful and just the perfect song to play on Christmas morning.

The rest of the CD is filled with similar, acoustic guitar led, traditional Christmas hymns performed with conviction and compassion.

The CD closes out with the other song from the 1965 re-issue, In The Sweet Forever.  Also, a non-traditional Christmas hymn, it is a great way to finish this CD.  It presents itself much more upbeat than the other selections presented here, the harmonies are more call and response structured.  Classic gospel music from the mid 60’s.

As I’ve said throughout this blog, one of my goals is to collect as much of the oldest Christmas music as I can.  This CD is technically from 1954, performed by a group that started in 1935 and whose sound did not change much in 20 years.  So, you get a Christmas CD with a very old-time Country sound.

That being said, this CD will not appeal to most listeners today.  Yes, it is authentic; yes, it comes across as real; performed by a family gospel group that was dedicated to professing their faith.  The instrumentation is bare; solo acoustic guitar.  If you like Original Country, circa 1930’s music, and you like to collect Christmas music, you definitely need to have this in your collection.  Otherwise, keep this one on the shelf during Christmas parties.  Best saved for family times, a quiet morning or afternoon on Christmas day, sitting by the window watching the snow fall.

I give this CD :

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