Soulful Christmas is a compilation CD of Soul based Christmas songs from across all years.  The years of release spread between 1953 and 1990.  There are 12 songs of Christmas cheer here.  There is only one traditional Christmas carol, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, by Mahalia Jackson.  There are four original Christmas songs, Merry Christmas All by Brook Benton, from his 1983 Christmas album.  And Hey Santa Claus by The Moonglows, incorrectly listed as The Platters on this CD.

Also, Louis Armstrong has two of his most popular Christmas tunes on here and they are both original Christmas songs.

The cover is a typical Christmas compilation CD cover that features a photograph of a sleigh on a snowy porch.  Upon close inspection, I’m guessing that this is a model of a sleigh, and the picture is a close-up because it looks like it’s on a finished deck and a real sleigh would not fit or be practical to store on a deck.  Nonetheless, it is a great picture.

The picture is framed in a red border that lists eleven of the songs within the border.  All the songs are listed except for Please Come Home For Christmas.  I find it odd that they left one out.

The back of the CD features a numerical track listing with performing artists, all in gold lettering, surrounded by a gold border all superimposed on a Christmas green background.

The CD cover does not open to reveal anything.  It is a double-sided single piece of slick paper.  The back of the cover has production credits listed for this CD and the series it comes from.  I’m not sure how many Christmas CDs are in this series, but I know I have at least one more.

The songs on here are varied in age, style, song selection and other qualities that make for a true mix of Christmas music.  The common thread throughout this compilation CD is they are all performed by well-known soul artists of the 50s, 60s and 70’s.

The CD begins with The Drifters singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas.  The Drifters feature four songs here.  In addition to this one, there is Winter Wonderland, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and Auld Lang Syne, which closes out the CD.

All The Drifters contributions come from their later career Christmas CD in 1990.  All the songs exhibit production values from the late ‘80s.  Synthesizers and trumpets dominate all the arrangements.  Immediately, you can tell these are not from the Classic Christmas Music Era.  I have one other Christmas song from The Drifters Featuring Clyde McPhatter, White Christmas, from 1953.  It is a lot different sounding than these.

The 2^nd song is Blue Christmas from The Platters’ Christmas album in 1963.  I have two other versions of this same song.  One is from another Christmas compilation CD from Definitive Records and the other is from The Platters official 20^th Century Masters Christmas Collection.  The version here, and on the other CD in this series, have had production qualities added to the mix, but not in a good way.  The one here has ‘ambiance’ added to the vocals to give them a bigger sound, like it’s being sung in a large, empty room.  Ambiance produces a slight echo and is usually used if the source of the song is of a lesser quality than the master tapes, such as an LP.  Ambiance covers up defects in the quality.  I’m not saying that this is a copy from an album, but the sound quality on the 20^th Century Masters Christmas Collection is much better.  It’s the way the song was originally released.

Nonetheless, it is an arrangement of rockabilly guitar with a lush string orchestra provided by Buck Ram & his Orchestra.

There is another Platters song on here too.  Please Come Home For Christmas seems to have the same ambiance effect applied, but it is a string laden arrangement.  The lead singer pleads the lyrics soulfully while a chorus adds to the melody.  I have no information on this song.  It was not included on their Christmas album from 1963 but it does have the same orchestral arrangements and it lacks the synthesizers that define music from 1985 and beyond.

Two songs from Louis Armstrong are featured here.  Christmas In New Orleans, from 1955, is the 4^th song.  It is a popular Christmas song that shows up on a lot of compilations of Christmas Jazz or Swing / Big Band music.  It features a smooth arrangement punctuated by Louis Armstrong’s coronet.  Unfortunately, this too suffers from too much ambiance applied.

The other Louis Armstrong contribution is the 10^th song, ‘Zat You Santa Claus.  This version is the longer one in circulation and it features five seconds of howling winds and sleigh bells that appear on some editions.  It is performed by Louis Armstrong And The Commanders, a Swing band that features a lot of brass but no strings.  It is one of Louis Armstrong’s most popular Christmas songs and the oldest song featured on here, recorded in 1953.

Silver Bells is the 3^rd song and is sung by Johnny Adams.  It is from his Christmas album from 1983.  It is performed by a studio band that lacks strings but features a melody of bells throughout the whole song, most likely provided by the celeste.

The 6^th track is Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by Mahalia Jackson, year of recording and orchestra unknown.  It is presented at a much slower pace than what I am familiar with.  Usually, it is a vibrant and triumphant arrangement, but here Mahalia Jackson uses her voice and the backup choir to deliver a slower, soulful rendition.  Both are backed up by a light orchestra that features bells ringing.  This is one of the standout songs on here.  Knowing her history, and listening to it, it sounds like the Christmas music she recorded in 1968.

Brook Benton delivers an original Christmas song from his Christmas album released in 1983.  Merry Christmas All is a typical Christmas song that speaks of the wonderful aspects of Christmas.  It has some production values of the 1980s, but it’s not overly produced.  It features a studio band with a strong brass section and a saxophone solo in the middle part.  Brook Benton has a great voice and delivers Christmas music beautifully.

Not the last song on the CD, but the last one to discuss is the 11^th song, Hey Santa Claus.  The CD incorrectly attributes this to The Platters, but it is really The Moonglows, also from 1953.  It was featured in the blockbuster Christmas movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  Since then, it has started showing up on other Christmas compilation CDs as well.  It is classic Rock & Roll / R&B from the early days of the genre.  A saxophone delivers the opening while The Moonglows employ their four-part harmonies to an otherwise original Christmas song.  These are some of the gems I look for.  The Moonglows and other R&B groups from the 1950s didn’t record whole albums of Christmas music, but they did release singles of Christmas music.  Trying to find them all in one place is difficult, but I think I got some Christmas compilations last year that may help.

This CD is just okay.  I’m not a big fan of original groups releasing Christmas CDs later in their career.  I’d rather have them from their glory days, but if The Drifters first Christmas CD came out in 1990, then I will take that.  I just don’t like all the synthesizers and digital arrangements found on those types of recordings.

There are only 12 songs on here, but that is common.  You don’t find a ton of Christmas CDs that feature Soul artists, and there are 12 Soul Christmas songs here, so that is a plus.  There are some that are becoming classics, like the Louis Armstrong contributions and there is an original from Brook Benton.

There are other Christmas compilations that feature Soul music, and they will probably be very much like this one.  It is good to have variety in your collection, but with some from the 1950’s, some from the 1990s and some that are overproduced, this may be too much variety in one place.  This is not the first one I grab off the shelf, but it plays well in a large Christmas playlist.

I give this CD :

**1/2*