5 comments about The Best of Andy Williams Christmas Shows.

1. The reason I wanted to buy this DVD was because I really miss the old fashioned Christmas Specials. It seemed they used to go to alot of trouble with the sets, had great guests, and they all just seemed so happy and Christmasy!
   
   Yes, the Osmond Brothers are featured, and they were great to watch, as they are such an incredibly talented family, but there were no other guests except for people that I assumed were part of Andy's family, but who weren't introduced, and so I'm not sure. It really would have been nice to know who they were and how they were related. It would also have been nice to see some other guests, as that is always such a big part of Christmas Specials. I guess I was expecting that.
   
   This is The Andy Show. Lots and lots of close ups of Andy, posing and singing goofy-eyed into the camera. The sets are a hoot, as are the funny styles of the day, which was expected and fun to see, but what wasn't expected was how much Andy comes across as quite full of himself (he really does!), and I don't remember thinking that about him before. We didn't finish watching the whole DVD.
   
   Would I watch it again next Christmas? Well, it will have been a year by then, and I will have forgotten most of the negatives, so yes, maybe on a slow TV night if my husband is out. I don't think he'd watch it again.
   
   Knowing what I know now, would I buy this DVD again? Yes I would, if only to see the Osmond Brothers, but I also would have tried harder to get the Bing Crosby DVD, which says it features other guests on it.



2. The Andy Williams Shows clearly showcase great talent and worthwhile entertainment. The Christmas shows in particular are a family tradition in my home. These shows need to be remastered and shown more often. They just don't make em like this anymore



3. What a shame that this DVD is out-of-print. It's an absolute gem containing the finest Andy Williams Show moments.
   
   Outstanding sets, songs, music and guests. Lots of rare footage of the Osmond Brothers appearances, Bob Hope, Andy's kids and brothers.
   
   You don't find a lot of Christmas DVDs that you want to watch more than once. This is an exception. Can't say enough good things about it.



4. I didn't like this DVD as well as the other Andy Williams special I purchased this year. This one is a colelction of excerpts from various shows instead of being a cohesive show in and of itself. That made it a little disjointed and harder for my kids to watch than if an entire show had been chosen. Still the adults did enjoy the stroll down memory lane!



5. Remember when the Holiday Season on TV ment the variety specials with Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Andy Williams? I miss them. All you see now are those sappy holiday romance stories or the animated kiddy features. This DVD is great and includes musical numbers with Andy and the Williams brothers. And the Osmonds are a scream. Donny can't be more than 5 years old in the earliest scenes. If you own White Christmas and watch it every year, this holiday DVD is for you.

No comments about MALO,RAUL - MARSHMALLOW WORLD & OTHER HOLIDAY FAVORITES.

5 comments about A Gift of Song.

1. The album is great. I was excited to finally find Mason Williams' "A Gift of Song", the composition, on this album. A beautiful Warner Bros recording originally: Mason Williams, Chorus, Orchestra, everything but the kitchen sink. One of my all time favorites. But I was disappointed to find that here the song is a newly recorded instrumental version: nice but plain by comparison. On the original LP, the piece was the last on a side and, typical inner grooves, tended to distort... dissappointing for such a spectacular recording. I am still hoping for a CD issue of the original recording by this very versatile artist/composer. I'll keep looking!



2. This CD is great. I have owned it for many years and enjoy playing it even when it is not Christmas. For the most part, it is not your standard everyday Christmas music which I am sure everyone has. Very soothing and relaxing. When I first listened to it, I thought that I had wasted my money because it was different from all my other Christmas music. But after playing it several times, I realized what a gem it was.



3. A Gift of Song, an awesome Christmas Holiday CD. Soothing & Ralaxing, the man of Classical Gas fame can do no wrong. Enjoy!, & Merry Christmas!



4. When I first ordered this item, Amazon sent the incorrect CD. I returned that one and received Mason William's A Gift of Song. Our family enjoyed listening to this music throughout the holiday season. I would listen to it today too. We had this CD years ago, but it disappeared. We're happy to have it back.



5. This is one of Mason's best works! The Christmas Music is unreplacable and the story behind "A Gift of Song" is so touching. When I researched this I found another set of words to the song, very close, but slightly different. It would be interesting to find out which are the oringinal.
   
   I saw Mason Williams with Jennifer Warnes at Oregon State University in the fall of 1969. It was such a moving concert. They both sang together so well. I was surprised they never did more work together. They sang "A Gift of Song" together that night and the song still winds it way through my mind to this day. What a pleasant night.
   
   Thank You Mason and Jennifer
   
   Eternally, The Timekeeper

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4 comments about A Christmas Carol/Mr. Pickwick's Christmas.

1. Lately, Deutsche Grammophon has been releasing on CD some of the old American Decca mono recordings of the 1940's and '50's. While the original 78-RPM Broadway cast albums of "Oklahoma!", "Carousel", "The King and I" and "Annie Get Your Gun" found their way to CD years ago, some of these Decca recordings have inexplicably been ignored by American CD labels, including Decca itself, and now DGG has taken up the slack and is doing a splendid job.
   
   Their latest is not a classical or popular music release. It is a spoken word album - a very overdue American release of two Charles Dickens classics, "A Christmas Carol" and "Mr. Pickwick's Christmas". Both were previously available on an Australian CD which was never released in the U.S. Each Dickens tale was originally released by American Decca as a single item on 78 RPM before the age of LP's. "Carol" was recorded in October 1941, and released in November of that year, a sobering thought considering the fact that Pearl Harbor was soon to be attacked, ushering the United States into World War II. "Pickwick" followed three years later, in November of 1944. Both were later included on a single 33 1/3 RPM LP, one of the most popular Decca albums ever made, selling well into the late 1960's. The LP version of "A Christmas Carol", however, omitted two characters (the charity collectors) heard in the 78 RPM version, and that moment has not been restored on this CD. (Ferdinand Munier, who played one of them, is erroneously credited as appearing on this album. He does not.) The sound is quite good, especially for recordings made before the age of real hi-fi, though, of course, it is not stereo.
   
   Both stories are beautifully done. In "A Christmas Carol", renowned film actor Ronald Colman stars as Ebenezer Scrooge, and while he would have seemed miscast if he had ever done a film version of the story, he is quite excellent on records, his beautiful voice not only acting the role of Scrooge, but, in a very imaginative touch, narrating the story to the listener in character, as if Scrooge were reminiscing about his misspent life. He makes no attempt to sound "old", but is nonetheless completely convincing - better than Laurence Olivier is in *his* recorded version (and I, an Olivier fan, once never imagined I'd say that).
   
   A further testament to the excellence of this production is that, although it is only twenty minutes or so long, each actor convinces completely in his role, and the story never seems rushed, because director George Wells has known exactly how to edit it. The supporting cast includes few familiar names, although all were noted screen character actors of the period; the most familiar names are Hans Conried (Captain Hook in Disney's animated "Peter Pan") as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Gale Gordon ("The Lucy Show"'s Mr. Mooney) as a *speaking* Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
   
   This "Carol" certainly won't replace Alastair Sim's 1951 film, but it will certainly do on records. (I have not heard Patrick Stewart's one-man version).
   
   The second selection on this CD is a tour-de-force for Dickens enthusiasts and fans of virtuoso acting. It is Charles Laughton doing a one-man reading of the Christmas chapter from "The Pickwick Papers". Unlike "A Christmas Carol", this selection is not really adapted, just abridged. It is Dickens' words all the way through, with musical accompaniment, and no one has ever read Dickens better than Charles Laughton, one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century. Dickens is not boring in his hands. Laughton is delightful as he supplies all the voices, male and female, of the many characters.
   
   Those who like their CD's to play 70 minutes or more may be disappointed with this one; it plays for only 39 minutes. But it is undoubtedly a very worthwhile recording, and it ought to have the same success on CD that it had on LP and 78 RPM years ago.



2. Loved these storries, especially Mr Picwicks Christmas, beautiful old english storry. loved it



3. I discovered this CD last Christmas and have added it to my Christmas favorites. The Colman 'A Christmas Carol' full-cast radio play is much better than either Laurence Olivier's or Orson Welles'. Furthermore, though it is a monologue, I think the Laughton 'Mr. Pickwick's Christmas' a greater artistic work than the Colman 'A Christmas Carol'. No one could have read this story better than Laughton, one of the 20th-century's greatest actors.
   
   Last year I gave a copy of this CD to a friend who is an old-movie buff, and she was delighted. I shall do likewise next Christmas as no classic movie lover could resist these performances.



4. Literary scholars love to tell us folk who love Christmas that the holiday, as we know it, was invented by the imagination of Charles Dickens in his novel, "Pickwick Papers," and his first Christmas novella "A Christmas Carol." Personally I have every recording of "A Christmas Carol" publicly produced, and none produces the magic of Redemption except Alastair Sim's 1951 movie. However, no Christmas was complete in mid-20th Century America without listening to Charles Laughton perform "Mr. Pickwick's Christmas." If you have not heard it, give yourself a treat that will last a lifetime. And the recording here presented has been carefully cleaned by Deutsche Grammophon. You may like the Carol very much; you will love Laughton's Pickwick.

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No comments about Dupre: Works for organ Vol.8.

5 comments about Christmas Time with the Judds.

1. The first thing that strikes you about this is the picture, which was taken in Switzerland and is still the best Christmas album picture I've come across. The music is also brilliant. Although it is country, there are no fiddles or pedal steel, so it appeals to some people who don't normally like country, something confirmed by previous reviewers.

   This is a generally laid-back album with the music kept to a minimum, putting the focus firmly on Wynonna and Naomi. Most of the songs are carols, though they also do excellent versions of Winter wonderland and Silver bells. Who is this babe? is an original song, while Beautiful star of Bethlehem is a lovely song which has been covered quite a few times, but nothing like as often as the other seven. Perhaps more imagination could have been made in song selection, but you won't mistake a Judds cover for any other, as their style is unique.

   Despite my reservations about the song selections, this remains one of the best Christmas albums ever recorded - and it's a bargain at the price.




2. I just saw that Wynonna lost her license for drunk driving. Isn't Naomi on the board of Mother's Against Drunk Driving? Hope she spanked Wynonna and restricted her to her room. Wynonna is too funny! She's always been her own person and done her own thing.

   This music is beautiful! The Judds are incredible as always!!




3. This Christmas album is a classic in my family, so I am sure that my love for it is in part nostalgia. Even above and beyond nostalgia, however, this is a fantastic Christmas album.
   
   The songs are mostly classics that everyone can sing along to, which I prefer over most new Christmas tunes - and are also sung in a classic way, not re-mixed or changed in an attempt to make them unique. The album also avoids all the typical country music instruments, so there is no twang involved, just pure Christmas tunes.
   
   The strong, clear voices of the Judds are beautifully suited for Christmas carols. And Naomi and Wynona complement each other well - Naomi's sweet melodies blend wonderfully with Wynona's grittier voice.
   
   This is, and will remain, one of the best Christmas albums in my collection.



4. Christmas Time With the Judds is packed with absolutely beautiful Christmas songs that ANYONE would love. I bought the CD for my mom for her December birthday, and she adores it. She still plays it, even though Christmas has come and gone. The Judds' version of "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" is magnificent. GET THIS CD BEFORE NEXT CHRISTMAS!



5. One of my favourite Christmas CDs, partly because we listened to it a lot when I was a kid, but mostly because the music is great.

5 comments about Harmony: The Christmas Songs.

1. If you want a CD of very ordinary, though pleasant Christmas music done in a basically elevator-music style, you may like this album. If you love the Nylons, as you are accustomed to hearing them on albums such as One Size Fits All, you'll wonder who the heck is singing. Only Carol of the Bells is actually done as the Nylons do what they do; the rest are very generic, stereotypical light-jazz treatments with lots of over-sweetened strings in the backgrounds. The accapella work and sense of rhthym and excitement that make the Nylons so wonderful are missing, except for Carol of the Bells.



2. My absolute favorite holiday CD. A capella sound is clear. Songs sung with feeling and verve. I always listen to the entire CD; never skipping a song as is my usual habit. It's also my favorite holiday CD to gift to friends. I enjoy it's simplicity...being mindful to the lyrics and melody, not trying to create a new song by brutalizing an original score like so many other artists do.



3. I love the Nylons, and when I discovered this CD, I was no less impressed with it. My favorite Christmas song through the years has been "little Drummer Boy", and the Nylons sing it better than any one else I've heard so far. I also love "Carol of the Bells", and "Secret of Christmas". This is the one Christmas CD I can't wait to listen to, and usually start the day after Thanksgiving. As a matter of fact, I recently moved and my CD is in a box somewhere. After several days of searching with no results, I decided I'll just have to buy another one. I couldn't go without listening to the Nylons even for one year!



4. I wish I had taken Bobbbb's review to heart before I bought this album. I agree wholeheartedly that, while this isn't bad, and may be something different to those unacustomed to a capella groups, it is NOT the innovative sounds of the Nylons when they were the original group. I'm a big fan of their early work, but anything from the 90's on just is not the Nylons. I was very disappointed in this album, and I'll be playing my "Rockapella Christmas" album by the group Rockapella over and over again instead of this one. Rockapella has the spark and the fun that the Nylons used to have, in spades.



5. These guys outdid themselves with this very special, all-time Christmas album. Their unique style is especially appropriate for the Christmas season.
   
   Find it and buy it! You'll be glad.

No comments about God Comes Tomorrow.