Favorite Christmas recordings?

[mistahamma]

OK, we've heard about all the nasty covers of Christmas tunes. So how about your favorite Christmas recordings? A couple of mine:

Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians "Sounds of Christmas" (was re-released on CD as a 2 CD set, think they called it "Christmas Magic" or something similar). Lots of good stuff, great choral songs, cool natural sound effects, lots of production value. Way ahead of it's time.

Canadian Brass Christmas CD. Nothing says Christmas like a big 'ol brass ensemble, and these guys can play. Nice recording, too.

Care to share?

Jim

[Haydn]

Some of my favorites in the progressive rock style:

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - they have a few CD's. The first is pretty cool.

Ten Point Ten - 10 25 - This has some really cool arrangements of some traditional Christmas tunes plus some originals.

December People - These are Christmas songs done in the style of various bands such as Queen, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, Kansas, etc.

Neal Morse-Christmas CD - All original songs that were written to family members and friends over quite a few years. There are various styles of music including an Elvis impersonation, big band piece, choral pieces and a couple kids songs. Neal has played in a band call Spock's Beard. He went solo a couple years ago and has worked with Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater.

[DarwinKopp]

OK, we've heard about all the nasty covers of Christmas tunes. So how about your favorite Christmas recordings? A couple of mine:
Jim

My hands-down favourite is Stan Kenton's A Merry Christmas, which is also a mostly brass affair:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000C3IA6/103-1652014-4338232

[SteveMitchell]

All the Columbia recordings of various orchestras released in the 60's with ensembles such as the NY Philharmonic under Bernstein, Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, and Philadelphia under Eugene Ormandy.

"Joy to the World" -NYPhil w/Lenny conducting, the "Fesitval of Carols" w/the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble, and "The Glorious Sound of Christmas" -Philly under Ormandy are the only ones among this bunch that I've found to be released on CD.

I also the like the current crop from Telarc / Kunzel / Morman Tabernacle et all.

Stevemitchell

[midphase]

I really like this one:

http://store.yahoo.com/pullmyfinger-storer/pumyfixmcd9.html


Sorry...couldn't resist!

[Tom Hopkins]

Christmas - Singers Unlimited (Gene Puerling arrangements)

Tom

[jaredq]

Vince Guaraldi Trio.
The One I cannot stand to listen to at all is anything by "Manheim Steamroller"

[John L.]

Father Christmas by Emerson Lake And Palmer

[trentpmcd]

I have 3 CDs I have to hear to open the Christmas season:

Vince Guaraldi Trio “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Not the newer version with others playing, the original. This was one of my first CDs from the mid to late 80s when the cheap CDs were 20 bucks a pop and is still one of my favorites.

“A Renaissance Christmas with the Waverly Consort” comes next. I like early music and this is great.

This might sound weird, but I like the Roches “We Three Kings”. Some of it borders on novelty but other songs are very well arranged and very pretty.

There is a fourth, a CD of Bach Christmas music, but it doesn’t sound like Christmas, it sounds like Bach.

After that I like the crooners doing the traditional stuff.

[SeanHannifin]

I simply love that GPO Christmas album . . . :D And I don't even have it yet!

[Joseph Burrell]

Well, I usually ring in the holiday season with Christmas Island by Jimmy Buffet, then I get all depressed and then I listen to the following:

Murder Ballads by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Darkest Days by Stabbing Westward

Then some...

3 Calamities by Switchblade Symphony

Then I can't resist...

Dummy by Portishead
OK Computer by Radiohead

And by then I'm so down, I listen to...

Everybody Hurts by REM

And then I just curl up into the fetal position until January 4th.

[SeanHannifin]

:eek: Sounds like a nightmare before Christmas . . .

[DPDAN]

I can't believe it Tom, I thought I was the only one here that has heard of the Singers Unlimited. That is my favorite music of all, hands down!
I spoke to Gene a few months ago. I have all of their records and CDs, and even have some autographed ones. This is one girl and three guys. Bonnie Herman, Don Shelton, Gene Puerling and Len Dresslar
Check out It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (http://www.mydocsonline.com/pub/DPDAN/It_Came_Upon_A_Midnight_Clear.MP3)
http://www.mydocsonline.com/pub/DPDAN/singers.jpg

Unreal, my eyes bugged out when I saw your post.
You certainly do know your stuff Tom!
DPDan

[SeanHannifin]

The One I cannot stand to listen to at all is anything by "Manheim Steamroller"
Ah, my mother loves that! No doubt I'll be listening to that this Christmas . . . :D

[FredProgGH]

Vince Guaraldi Trio.


Oh yeah. That's the absolute best, IMO. I can't even think of anyther good one to add.

[Kevin B. Selby]

Mistahamma, thank you for rescuing me from my own rather downer post (I still feel bad for posting it...we're supposed to be positive people on this board and then I go and ruin it with a rant on lousy Christmas songs...).

Anyway...listened to Charlie Brown Christmas today at work. Takes me all the way back to childhood watching the Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon. Mr. Guaraldi has the most unique sound in his arrangements.

HOWEVER, for me, hands down, it would have to be the Firestone release of Julie Andrews Christmas tunes. I'll see if I can find the link because they re-released it (it was originally on a vinyl LP (if anyone remembers those!)).

[Tom Hopkins]

DPDan,

My love of Gene’s work goes way back to the days of the Hi-Los. As a kid I used to watch them on the old Rosemary Clooney show in 1956. Simply killer arrangements of everything they touched – nothing was a “throwaway.” I now have some kinescopes of those old shows and Gene’s arrangements still make me smile. He has the consummate ear for reharmonization, but it goes beyond that to an extremely clever sense of humor that always remains musically valid. I was fortunate enough to hear the Hi-Los in person about 25 years ago. They didn’t have the amazing Clark Burroughs with them at that time but it was thoroughly professional and a couple of the guys got to show off their considerable instrumental Jazz chops too. Glad there are at least two of us here who appreciate the wonderful Gene Puerling.

Tom

P.S. The only down-side to knowing Puerling's work is that once I've heard his unique chord changes to a particular tune I can't hear any other changes for that tune without having the feeling that something is missing!

[SeanHannifin]

it was originally on a vinyl LP (if anyone remembers those!)

:D Half of my library's classical music collection is on vinyl LP's, and since noone ever uses the turn-tables anymore, I listen to them a lot . . . he he he

[tgfoo]

Here's another vote for the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Simply amazing. Also I love piano arrangements of christmas songs in general(or arrangements that feature the piano). There's this really great jazz version of Carol of the Bells, wish I knew who did it though...

[DPDAN]

Tom, you were only 5 or 6 years old I suppose. If you read some of my earlier posts, I describe the fact that although I have had no music training, I did grow up as a kid like you listening to the Hi-Los, Osmond Bros., Four Freshmen, stuff like that. That's where I believe I got my training.
btw, you have mail :)

[jaredq]

Ah, my mother loves that! No doubt I'll be listening to that this Christmas . . . :D

I guess its not all that bad. But all that synth and hectic arrangements is tiring to me.But alot of people love their work.Especially their Christmas stuff.

I notice alot of Christmas Standards were written By Johnny Marks.That guy must have had a unique imagination on writing Chhristmas songs.

Vince Guaraldi was also facinating to me. I have several Christmas Jazz piano CD's, Oscar Peterson,Dave Brubeck. But his playing has alot of Latin influence to it. And "to me" his Improvization really just outshines them both on these Christmas Tunes.
Another fine CD is Ray Charles "Spirit of Christmas".It has some very jazzy horn arranements along with some very moving singing on the slow songs.

[Styxx]

There are so many I've heard throughout my life where does one begin?
Boston Pops "Sleigh Ride" is the first that pops into mind. Then again, I'm surprised anything "pops" on this old relic anymore! :D

[trentpmcd]

A quick observation -

Did you ever notice how so many of the secular Christmas songs seem to have been written in the 1930s and wax nostalgic about the 1890s? They all have images out of Currier and Ives prints about a time that never existed, when life was simpler and beautiful. Strangely enough, today we still hang on to that version of what Christmas is supposed to be, an image that was created in the darkest hour of the Great Depression. I guess part of Christmas is looking forward from the darkest day of the year (plus or minus a few days) to a brighter future while remembering the highlights of the past... or maybe I'm just seeing relationships in things that don't exist...

[mistahamma]

I can't believe it Tom, I thought I was the only one here that has heard of the Singers Unlimited. That is my favorite music of all, hands down! DPDan

Dan, thanks for the link on this one. Love that smooth vocal sound -- my parents had all the old "Hi Lo's" records, so it all sounds so familiar, music I heard in my "formative years." Just placed an order for a copy of this CD, in fact. I think the Carpenters eventually covered the same version of "Deck the Halls" on this record, also a very nice Christmas pick.

Jim

[DPDAN]

I agree hammer dude :) Glad you are getting a copy, now I don't feel so bad posting a piece of it.
DPDan

[Ray Lindsley]

Another vote for Vince Guaraldi. I also love that hawaiian Christmas song, Mele Kalikimaka, by Bing Crosby on the White Christmas album for two reasons- 1) it cracks me up, and 2) it makes me think of warm tropical beaches in the middle of winter.

I also love classical Christmas music, choral (esp. Handel's Messiah), and brass, especially.

[squoze]

Father Christmas by Emerson Lake And Palmer
I was going to say this, too. Lyrically, its kind of anti-christmas, but I like the music and some of the words resonate with some feelings we often get this time of year.

[SteveMitchell]

Father Christmas by Emerson Lake And Palmer
Isn't that the song where ELP took some license with the thematic material from Prokofiev's Lt. Kije Suite, specifically the Troika? I heard it in my youth and was intrigued with it, but haven't heard it since.

Stevemitchell

[FredProgGH]

Isn't that the song where ELP took some license with the thematic material from Prokofiev's Lt. Kije Suite, specifically the Troika? I heard it in my youth and was intrigued with it, but haven't heard it since.

Stevemitchell

That's the one!! It's really a Greg Lake solo song with very little input from the others. And it's very cynical.

[DPDAN]

Since I was name dropping the other day :p
I thought you might get a kick out the fact that I gave Keith Emerson a ride to the airport one day back in the 70's :p
And Chick Corea still owes me $7.00, but he doesn't know it :D

[jmc]

I'm glad to see this thread.

I found myself resorting to desperate measures on amazon:

Music search results: we were unable to find exact matches for your search for christmas music that doesn't suck .
Would you like to search again?

It's nice to hear people's opinions. For Xmas I like a little of everything, although mostly classical. Some Haydn symphonies are really beautiful and provide an elegant atmosphere, Handel and Bach have some incredible work that also is transcendently beautiful. I have some miscellaneous seasonal choir music, some new-age stuff, some jazz. I can stand Bing Crosby in a very limited quantity, since he was such a horrible man, and also because it's overplayed like crazy. Vince Guaraldi is nice, SOME Mannheim Steamroller--the 1st two albums' acoustic stuff only!--I like their recorder playing, and their oboist has a nice sound--that awful synthy and harpsichord nastiness is like...it's on the same level of hell as Kenny G.

My mom has a nice collection of vinyl. Lots of retro stylings...a lot of orchestral pops, classical, and popular. She would stack about ten records on the player and we'd decorate the house and a huge tree, bake cookies, it was very sublime. Nowadays, my own decorations consist of a few candles and a three-foot fake tree...and lots and lots of booze. I'm interested to see how the cats handle the tree this year. Last year it was like the Twelve Days of Broken Ornaments.

I've looked up almost all of your favorites and will be adding a number of them to my mp3 rotation. Thanks for the suggestions!

[FredProgGH]

Handel and Bach have some incredible work that also is transcendently beautiful.

You know for some odd reason throughout this thread my brain has been filtering to only be thinking about contemporary music. Yes, classical music- the Handel and Bach cantatas in particular- are a most welcome alternative to hearing Jingle Bells for the 4 millionth time. :)

[DPDAN]

JMC, your post made me smile,
:)