Donna Summer - Christmas Collection 20th Century Masters (10 tracks) +Album Reviews

The Best Christmas Album, EVER!

KRA | East End of LI | 09/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"See my review of Christmas Spirit, for this remastered release is the same exact CD. This release have the advantage of being remastered which simply makes the excellent tracks even more profound.

Hopefully this re-release will become a Christmas Season staple, and it makes a great Stocking Stuffer!

..Plus, any time of the year is a great time to enjoy this awesome release!"

One of the best Christmas albums...ever!

Tom | Toronto | 09/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm sure I sound like an overzealous Donna Summer fan praising this Christmas album, but in all honesty, this is simply a great album, whether it's Christmas or not.

Donna Summer once again shows her amazing versatility with this album. Obviously this was a labour of love, because she sounds like she is enjoying herself on this record, and her voice sounds better than ever. The album has a nice mix of holiday favorites ("The Christmas Song", "O Holy Night"), new favorites(the title song), and stunning spirituals ("Lamb of God", "Breath of Heaven"). The orchestrations are well arranged and blend well with Donna's voice. I love this album as much as I did when I heard it in 1994, and I cannot wait to play it for the holidays.

"

Summer for ALL Seasons!

Frankie B | Chicago, IL | 09/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who ever though Donna was just a Disco Queen, I say buy this CD! This is Summer at her best. Every song here is pretty true to the original classic Christmas Holiday songs. She sings every song with such warmth and heart that it truly makes you feel the spririt of Christmas! My favorites are the original tunes Christmas Spirit & Christmas is Here. White Christmas, I'll Be Home for Christmas and Breath of Heaven are all amazing! Now we have this new issue which is remastered!! You'll be playing this CD every year! Thanks Universal! I say where is Christmas Spirit Vol 2??"

Have a Summer Christmas all year round!

Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 09/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1994, Donna Summer released the seasonal CD `Christmas Spirit', a stunning collection of Christmas songs comprising seasonal favourites like `The Christmas song', `O holy night' and `White Christmas', along with 3 Summer originals. It was a collection that received high critical acclaim thanks to Summer's brilliant, versatile vocal delivery, and the lush, timeless production; No dance beats or wailing synthesizers anywhere in sight, just lush strings, angelic choirs, and the powerful voice of Summer.

This collection is simply a re-mastered CD with the same tracklist, but sounding much clearer and better.

'O holy night' (my absolute favourite) has never sounded better. Donna gives it a gospel treatment and makes it all hers. It starts out with gentle with just a piano and her vocals, and builds up to an awesome chorale finale with Donna belting out ferociously. Awesome!

Other standouts include 'White christmas' (with spine tingling strings), 'The Christmas song', 'O come all ye faithful' (with a hymnal reading, like she's singing it in church), the stunning 'Christmas medley' (comprising `What child is this', `Do you hear what I hear' and `Joy to the world'), the jolly sounding 'Christmas is here' replete with bells (written by Summer but already sounds like a classic Christmas song), the forlorn sounding 'I'll be home for Christmas', 'Breath of heaven', the anthemic 'Lamb of God' (penned by Summer and featuring a beautiful acoustic intro) and the title track (penned by Summer).

Her singing is in top form, matchless, crisp and clear, and you do feel the 'Christmas spirit'.

If there is only one Christmas CD you should own, look no further.

"

Christmas In Summer. Why Not?!

Trekkie | Southern Calif. | 12/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Melding together the trademark Summer soul and voice with a Classical/symphonic arrangement turns this collection into a majestic masterpiece. This album is forever a Christmas standard. Here's why:

For starters--quite the standout is Donna's rendition of Amy Grant's anthem "Breath Of Heaven." Combined with the majestic arrangement of Michael Omartian, the deeply soulful Summer vocal touch and an incredible opening narrative all of which gives "Breath Of Heaven" a life all its own that would make Amy proud. Donna's ability to infuse a wealth of feeling is what gives new dimension to an already stunning piece of musical artistry. Taking this even further, "Lamb Of God' is a masterwork. By fusing a closing narrative over "Breath Of Heaven" toward the close brings this album full circle--simply genius!

It's from this plateau vocal and emotional depth as well as the stunning orchestrations which are woven throughout these ten tracks that this becomes an absolutely amazing Christmas collage. With this foundation laid down, even Mel Tormé's classic gets the royal treatment (and rightly so!). Amid such powerful music, this "Spirit" still sparks of fun and spunk with such tracks as "Christmas Is Here" and the title track itself.

Higlights include O Come All Ye Faithful, Christmas Medley and O Holy Night

"

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