THE SCHMIDT FAMILY CHRISTMAS ALBUM A list of the best versions of the greatest Christmas songs of all time
While
listening to several Christmas CDs one year I noticed that there
were only two or three songs on each one that hit the mark as far as
being the best versions of the greatest songs. Many of the others
suffered from the performer trying too hard to put his or her own
flavor on the song or not being in the top list of the best songs.
Even skipping through several albums, an awkward business during a
family gathering, failed to provide the full range of desired tunes.
Searching through several music stores failed to produce a single CD
with all the right versions of the best songs.
My solution was to spend a week checking out thousands of Christmas tracks on Napster to put together the ultimate Christmas CD. I listened to an average of 50 tracks for each song to locate the best version in each case. While tastes vary, I'm confident most people will like them. The following list of 28 songs is what came out of this work and have been arranged in the optimum listening order:
It's
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...........Andy
Williams
Jingle
Bell Rock................................................Bobby
Helms
White
Christmas..............................................Bing
Crosby
Winter
Wonderland...........................................Dean
Martin
Sleigh
Ride......................................................Jack
Jones
Do
You Hear What I Hear?.................................Bing
Crosby
Carol
Of
The Bells.............................................The
Harry Simeone Choir
Have
Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.................Judy
Garland
Santa
Claus Is Coming To Town..........................Bing
Crosby and The Andrews Sisters
Joy
To The World.............................................The
Singers Unlimited
Silent
Night......................................................Bing
Crosby (1942 version)
Caroling
Caroling..............................................The
Singers Unlimited
Deck
The Halls With Boughs Of Holly.....................The
Outback Singers
Let
It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...................Eileen
Sharkey
Silver
Bells.......................................................Bing
Crosby and Carol Richards
The
First Noel..................................................The
Outback Singers
O
Come All Ye Faithful........................................Bing
Crosby (1942 version)
Hark!
The Harold Angels Sing!..............................The
Complete Christmas Singers
We
Wish You A Merry Christmas...........................In
The Style Of The Traditional
Rudoph
The Red Nosed Reindeer..........................The
Outback Singers
The
Christmas Song...........................................Nat
King Cole
The
Little
Drummer Boy.....................................The
Harry Simeone Choir
Jingle
Bells.......................................................St.
Finian's Choir
Here
Comes Santa Claus....................................The
Crescent City Carolers
It's
Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas............Johnny
Mathis
God
Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.............................Bobby
Vinton
Rockin'
Around The Christmas Tree.......................Brenda
Lee
Feliz
Navidad....................................................Jose'
Feliciano
This
collection provides 70 minutes of great Christmas listening and fits
on a single CD. They are available from Napster for only $.99 each. I
found using Napster gave me cleaner versions than copying them
standard Christmas CDs. Two good examples are Brenda Lee's Rockin'
Around the Christmas Tree and Bing Crosby's O Come All Ye
Faithful, which sounded buzzy when copied from inexpensive CDs
but were much clearer when purchased from Napster.
I
hope you found this list useful and wish you a very Merry Christmas!
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