Search - Various Artists :: Best of Xmas

This Is True Christmas Music

John Wiley | not so far away | 11/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Years ago when my family got our first CD player is was near Christmas time. I remember my dad going to the local pharmacy and getting a couple cheap Christmas CD's so that we'd have something to listen to while we put up decorations. Of the four he bought that day this became a favorite of my entire family. The CD starts out beautifully with Do You Hear What I Hear by Bing Crosby. When the very first note plays I am suddenly sitting by the fire place wrapping presents as a child again. The next song is the instrumental Late in December by Jackie Gleason - another wonderful song. However, it is song three that has made this my family's favorite. It's "I Like the SleighRide (Jingle Bells)" by Peggy Lee. It begins with a group of kids singing "I like the sleigh ride! I like the sleigh ride!" It sounded funny to us (and it is quite funny) and we all started to laugh. From that day on this CD was known as the I Like the Sleighride CD.All of the songs on this CD are Christmas classics. There aren't any Christmas songs by popstars (not that I have anything against them). No matter what the season or the weather outside this CD gets me in the Christmas spirit. It's so well done you can't help but to get in the spirit when you play this CD. I recomend it to everyone. This is probably the best Christmas CD I have ever heard."

Help i have a sad story

carolyn | Dillsburg, PA USA | 12/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have the original lp version from the sixties. My parents played it when I was a little kid. Now I'm desperatly searching for the cd. I lost out on ebay in the last 20 seconds of bidding tonight. I agree with the ohio student( and have tried to find him) this IS Christmas especially for me. I could probably collect the singles somehow but I want this exact order of music. Listening to it takes me back 31 years to the house I grew up in. My father is gone now. Can anyone help me find this. I have even emailed Capitol records. I have searched Amazon and Ebay. This is the greatest collection. I cannot state it any better than Mr. Wiley does above."

A true classic

mister big | Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA | 09/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the great single-label Christmas compilations, Capitol's "The Best of Christmas" (originally issued on vinyl in 1968) does a superb job of spanning the breadth of the label's seasonal offerings, including major and lesser-known artists, vocal and instrumental tracks, sacred and secular tunes, and a variety of genres (jazz, country, R&B, easy listening, etc). While various-artists compilations often have a slapdash, thrown-together quality about them, this one is sequenced so beautifully that everything "flows" together for a nice, cohesive listening experience.



It's a shame this one has fallen back out of print. If you can track down a used copy (either on CD or old vinyl for you codgers out there), I would highly recommend doing so.



Incidentally, here are some corrections to the tracklist shown above: Track 7 ("The Christmas Waltz") is by Nancy Wilson; Track 8 ("I'll Be Home for Christmas") is by the Hollyridge Strings; Track 9 ("Silent Night") is by Wayne Newton; Track 20 ("Joy to the World") is by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

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