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Favorite 5 Christmas Albums

Limiting myself to 5, but not so accurate on the album part

A Different Kind of Christmas - Various Artists (Syd Straw, NRBQ, the DBs, Shelleyan Orphan, Fishbone, T-Bone Burnett, Timbuk 3, etc.)
Snow - Cocteau Twins (really just a single of "Frosty the Snowman" & "Winter Wonderland", but still a favorite)
O Come Let Us Adore Him - Riki Michele (trad pop from the former Adam Again member)
noel - Various Artists (The Choir and friends including Michael Pritzl, Kevin Max, Riki Michele and Buddy & Julie Miller)
Songs for Christmas - Sufjan Stevens (box set of 5 EPs)

My favorite single track would be "Tennessee Christmas" as reinterpreted by industrial/dance pop band Aleixa.
 
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Spike Jones - Let's Sing a Song of Christmas. Vocal arrangements by Jud Conlon
Lots of close harmony, Jingle Bells in pig Latin. Just awesome. Not your typical Jones.

Philadelphia Brass Ensemble -A Festival of Carols in Brass
The must-have brass Christmas album. 12 Days will knock your socks off!

Robert Shaw Chamber Singers - Songs of Angels - Christmas Hymns and Carols
Early 1950's arrangements by Shaw and Alice Parker. Beautiful a cappella carol singing.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Robert Shaw, cond. - The Many Moods of Christmas.
Re-recording of Robert Russell Bennett's original RCA LP. The horns aren't quite as bold, but everything else is great.

Stan Kenton - A Merry Christmas
Ralph Carmichael's arrangements for this 1961 recording by Kenton's Mellophonium Orchestra are truly inspired. Another 12 Days taking your breath away.
 
Nothing's changed from last year, but I took out the "Holidays" album.
I especially recommend the Bruce Cockburn's "Christmas", and The Christmas Revel's "Wassail! Wassail!". Once you've heard Jean Ritchie sing "Wondrous Love" on this, life is nearer to being complete.

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A MEDIEVAL CHRISTMAS
Boston Camerata


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A TAPESTRY OF CAROLS
Maddy Prior and The Carnival Band


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CHRISTMAS
Bruce Cockburn


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ANCIENT NOELS
Maggie Sansone and Ensemble Galilei


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WASSAIL! WASSAIL!
John Langstaff, Jean Ritchie, and the Christmas Revels
 
Diana Krall: "Christmas Songs" mentioned earlier in this thread....more
martini music for the holidays.
Steve Tyrell: "This Time of the Year" Love it! Tyrell's gravelly voice with
top-notch jazzy big-bandy arrangements make for a swingin'
holiday!!
John Pizzarelli: "Let's Share Christmas" Warm, swingin'...just a perfect
package.
Fourplay: "Snowbound" We all know these guys are good, right?
What a disc!!
Merry Christmas to all,
Jim
 
I want to thank you all for expanding my Christmas music list. I have already bought 3 from 1/2 dot com.

And there are more to come.
 
My favorite is A Charlie Brown Christmas. But just played Christamas with Dino CD - WOW! Dino could sing and orchestra/production is top notch.

Made in 1959! What a year.
 
Infinitoid said:


[B]Philadelphia Brass Ensemble[/B] -A Festival of Carols in Brass
The must-have brass Christmas album. 12 Days will knock your socks off!
[/QUOTE]

I really wanted to hear this one. Looked through my collection & found the album cover, but no album??:tears:
Click to expand...
 
On the advice here I received today The Ventures Christmas Joy. There are several more coming that were ordered at the same time. But, the Ventures' cover reminds me of Pajama Party that I half way slept through yesterday. But the legs on the CD cover and the movie prevented that.

Just my opinion, possibly aided by a little Woodford Reserve, is that today's women have skinny legs. (Marilyn Monroe would be considered obese! And she wasn't!)
 

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After consulting with my better half, the 5 favorites around our household are the following:

Holiday Classics: An Old Navy Christmas. (Sony A26592) Classic tunes by Lou Rawls, Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, Duke Ellington, etc

Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas. The classic from your childhood.

Hip Holidays III: Pottery Barn (Sony Music PB26) Another fine collection of standards featuring: Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, James Brown, Angela Strehli, etc.

Jimmy Buffett: Christmas Island. Great covers by Jimmy including Run Rudolph, Run by Chuck Berry and a fine reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

John Fahey: Christmas Guitar. Instrumental acoustic guitar versions of Christmas classics, both religous and secular. Fahey is cited as an influence on Leo Kottke. (Varick CD Vr 11503).

Honorable Mention: Mad About Christmas. Classsical renditions of all of the chestnuts. (Deutsche Grammophon 445 766-2 GMA.):thmbsp:
 
I am in an ordering frenzy. The Christmas CD sale period has begun and I'm part of it.

I have the Fahey album on LP but not on CD, I think. I will check and order if not.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.
 
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Getting Personal here,digging out the Decorarations & the Christmas Music!

Its snowing like crazy this evening in London,so was naturally attracted to this thread.
I didn't even know Bruce Cockburn had a Christmas Album!.. I will defiantly have to look/ask/dig around for it at garage sales,etc.My 5 favorite Christmas albums/cd's are:
Emmylou Harris: Light of The Stable...# 1 Favorite.There are Angels on this album and some of them are singing.
Merry Christmas Bing Crosby:This brings back my childhood Christmas memories.
Christmas Songs cd Network Productions.Excellent Christmas Fireside Listening.Glenfidach optional.
Aaron Neville's Soulful Christmas cd.What would Christmas be without a little Soul!
Raffi's Christmas Album cd:this became an early Christmas morning tradition as the wife arranged some breakfast while the kids sleepily woke up and me & the Dog lit the Yule Log before they opened up their stockings.
Honorable Mention:Simon & Garfunkel 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night,this song never fails to bring an emotional response.
Time to go dig out more Christmas decorations for the wife. Triode Altec Concert Kenny
 
Ultra lounge Christmas Cocktails I & 2
Christmas with the Rat Pack
Blue Note / Yule Be Boppin'
Blue Note / Yule Struttin'
Dean Martin - Making Spirits Bright
:banana:
 
Only because the limit is 5:

Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmas
Carpenters A Christmas Portrait
TSO Christmas Attic
Various God Rest Ye Merry, Jazzmen
Bing Crosby Merry Christmas
 
Bump for the 2009 season. I want to hear about your favorite albums. They can be CD, LP or MP3 as long as it is an album of Christmas music.

Thanks to all, repeats are welcome and expected!
 
I picked up John Fahey's "The New Possibility" and "Christmas With John Fahey Vol. II" on vinyl recently. That will probably be the extent of my Xmas listening at home. I usually get my fill of Xmas music just in passing.
 
My 2009 favorites are:

John Denver - Rocky Mountain Christmas
Bela Fleck - Jingle All The Way
Kenny G - Miracles: The Holiday Album
Michael W. Smith - Christmastime
Amy Grant - A Christmas Album
 
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