Christmas albums, part 3 and final

Drum roll, please . . .


#10. "Christmas Portrait" by the Carpenters. This album has a little bit of everything, from up tempo, to Christmas standards, to a few selections from The Nutcracker. But most of all, it has the vocals of Karen Carpenter, who has one of the purest voices I have ever heard.


#9. "Merry Christmas" by Bing Crosby. One of the all-time classics. It was originally released in 1945. This album, of course, contains “White Christmas,” probably the holiday song that Bing is best known for. He also tackles “Adeste Fideles,” (O Come All Ye Faithful, sung in Latin). But “Merry Christmas” also has a few interesting twists, to include what must be an Irish-American favorite, “Christmas in Killarney,” as well as one of my personal favorites, “Mele Kalikimaka” (Hawaiian Merry Christmas).

#8. "I Wanna Be Santa Claus" by Ringo Starr. I was surprised when I found out that Ringo did a Christmas album. It is relatively recent—first released in 1999—and features several really good original songs, such as “Come On, Christmas” (a rockin’ number to lead things off), the title track, and “The Christmas Dance.” He also does a great job with some holiday classics, especially “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” And, of course, how could Ringo not do “Little Drummer Boy”? Also of interest, Ringo performs “Christmas Time is Here Again,” the only Christmas song recorded by the Beatles (recorded for their fan club record in 1967).

#7. "The Beach Boys' Christmas Album" by the Beach Boys. It’s hard to beat the harmonies of the Beach Boys. In 1964, they released a Christmas album that has certainly stood the test of time. It includes originals like “Little Saint Nick,” “The Man with All the Toys,” and “Santa’s Beard.” The boys also do a terrific job with several holiday classics. The compact disc includes a few bonus tracks, one of which is a moving a capella rendition of “The Lord’s Prayer.” This album should be a part of anybody’s Christmas music collection.

#6. "The Ventures' Christmas Album" by the Ventures. Do you remember the Ventures? They were a group back in the early sixties, best known for their rock-n-roll instrumental hit “Walk, Don’t Run.” The Ventures produce a wildly enjoyable Christmas album of rock guitar instrumentals that will really get your blood pumping. I highly recommend this album. The Ventures incorporate many riffs from other hits of the era into their instrumentals, including “Wooly Bully” and “Tequila.” This album is a lot of fun.

#5. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Admit it. We all love to dance around to “Linus and Lucy” in that silly, Peanuts way. It’s just a great song. This album is full of great songs—very complex jazz compositions that somehow capture the essence of crisp winter weather, childhood whimsy, romantic fires, and presents under the tree. Songs like “Christmas Time is Here,” “My Little Drum,” and “Skating” capture the Christmas mood perfectly. This one will always be in my top five.

#4. “A Fab Four Christmas, The Ultimate Beatles Tribute, Vol. 1” by Fab Four. This album is awesome! If you are a Beatles fan, this album is a must. On this album—very cleverly done—Fab Four fuses classic Beatles tunes with Christmas favorites. You can’t help but smile from the very beginning, when you hear the opening riff of “I Saw Her Standing There” blend perfectly into “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” “Help!” becomes “Hark!” . . . you get the picture. It is amazing how closely Fab Four mimics every detail of the Beatles’ style, from vocals to guitar riffs to the minutest musical nuance. They have also issued a “Volume 2” of Christmas hits based on Beatles songs, which is also quite good.

#3. "A Christmas Album" by Amy Grant. Amy Grant has done about thirty-seven Christmas albums, so it is easy to forget that her first one was really, really good. She starts out with “Tennessee Christmas,” a lovely, sentimental song that just about makes you want to spend every Christmas in Tennessee. Amy also performs stellar versions of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” both with slightly modified, but very good, arrangements. Another highlight is “Emmanuel,” a well-known contemporary Christian song. Great voice, great variety, great originality. This is one of the very best Christmas albums out there.

#2. "Elvis' Christmas Album" by Elvis Presley. Is it any surprise that “the King” would have one of the top Christmas albums? Elvis’ Christmas album is a tale of two sides. The first six songs are pure rock-n-roll Elvis, including his easily recognizable version of “Blue Christmas” as well as totally rockin’ songs like “Santa Claus is Back in Town” and “Santa Bring my Baby Back to Me.” Then, Elvis transitions to a gospel sound, crooning several religious numbers in a very heartfelt manner. One of my all-time favorites is “Peace in the Valley,” which he performs with The Jordanaires. “It is No Secret (What God Can Do)” is also right up there on my list.

#1. "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole. Well, what can I say? This has been my favorite Christmas album since I was a boy, really. To me, this album has it all. Originiality. Great vocals and instrumentation. Variety. I mean, Nat sings “O Tannenbaum” in German. He sings, “A Cradle in Bethlehem” and “Caroling, Caroling,” songs seldom heard elsewhere. But the thing that sets this album apart from all the others, in my mind, is one word: reverence. I have no idea if Nat King Cole was a Christian man. I read that he was the son of a preacher. But the reverence with which he sings songs like “O Holy Night,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” and “A Cradle in Bethlehem” always, and I mean always, gives me goose bumps. And not just a little bit. I mean prolonged, repeated goose bumps that last for the entire song. It’s not that others don’t sing with reverence, it’s just that Nat takes the cake. He sings these songs as if he honestly thinks that a Savior has been born in the city of Bethlehem, and that it really means something to him.

So, there you have it. Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” is my #1 Christmas album. But as I mentioned before, choosing the top ten was extremely difficult for me. I shuffled the order around at least a half dozen times over the past few weeks. There are so many excellent albums and songs out there. I hope you enjoyed my little foray into Christmas albums this year, and hope that you even may have seen an album or two that piqued your interest.

Christmas albums, part 1

I guess everyone starts his or her Christmas season at a different time. When I was in Home Depot back in mid-October looking for a nozzle and some fertilizer, I found a full half of their garden section chock-full of Christmas merchandise. Obviously, Christmas had started for them. A local radio station started playing round-the-clock Christmas music on the Monday before Thanksgiving. A little early for my taste, but that’s what they are doing.

In my family, the Christmas season still pretty much starts when we get back from our Thanksgiving weekend. [Which, by the way, was most excellent this year . . . we had a great time with family in Pennsylvania, and my 25-year high school reunion was a blast.] Normally on the ride home, when we are a few hours from arrival, the thoughts start to kick in about how much needs to get done in the coming days and weeks. The feeling is usually reinforced as we enter our neighborhood and observe that apparently everyone else has been home all weekend putting up their lights and decorations. Looks like I’ll be the last one again this year.

Anyway, if you have looked at my profile, you may have noticed that I collect Christmas CDs. I am currently up to over sixty in my collection. Like most folks I really like Christmas music, and a long time ago, I began to amass a few dozen, starting with most of the better known albums out there. But over time, I got more and more intrigued. I began seek out albums by specific artists, novelty acts, and rarities (I admit that I paid forty dollars for one rare Christmas CD a few years back).

My self-imposed rule is that I don’t start listening to my Christmas CDs until the ride home from Thanksgiving weekend. But in recent years that has presented a problem. That is, I am not able to listen to all of the CDs in my collection during the Christmas season. There just isn’t the time. But even though I can’t fit them all in, I still find myself pondering which ones are my favorites—trying to mentally construct my “Top 10” list.

So, I’ve made a decision. This year, I am going to listen through my entire collection. I’ll knock most of them out driving to and from work. And, I am also going to construct and present to you a few lists of my favorites. I think I am going to go with at least: top five novelty albums, top five honorable mention, and top ten best Christmas albums. Based on the thought I’ve given to the subject so far, picking the best albums is going to be an extremely difficult task for me. There are a lot of really good ones.

So anyway, please stand by for parts 2, 3, etc. in this series as I embark on listening to sixty-plus CDs and feeling a whole lot of Christmas cheer!