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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