No comments about Christmas to Remember.

4 comments about A Christmas Carol.

1. My espectations soared high when I bought this CD--imagine the thrill of finally getting to hear the great Laurence Olivier play Scrooge, a role he never portrayed on stage, screen, or television.
   
   Alas,my hopes began to dim as soon as I opened the package.First of all, this is the shortest CD I know of--only 27 minutes, and at the price asked for it---online or off--highway robbery. The program is obviously from an old radio broadcast(probably from the late 40's or early 50's), and the treble must be turned up all the way for satsfactory listening; otherwise there's far too much bass. (There's absolutely no surface noise, however.)
   
   The big disappointment, though, is the production. It isn't really bad, just very ordinary. And while nothing can beat the sound of Sir Laurence's beautiful voice narrating Dickens' classic (although Orson Welles' narration in the 1939 radio version with Lionel Barrymore comes pretty close), his portrayal of Scrooge is good, but surprisingly standard and ordinary, and nowhere near what you'd expect from the actor who was such a great Hamlet,Othello,Henry V and Richard III.
   
   The greatest handicap of this version,though, is that unlike other recorded versions, this one tries to cram EVERY important detail of the story into just under half-an-hour, creating the impression that everybody is just rushing through it without lingering to savor the great moments - almost, but not quite, like speed reading, and a far cry from the famous 1941 Decca version, recently made available on CD in the U.S. by Deutsche Grammophon---a version that starred Ronald Colman as Scrooge, and was issued on 78 RPM records in 1941 and one side of an LP in later years. That well-loved recording not only cut big chunks of the story to slow down the pace,but also boasted memorable performances nearly equal to the Welles-Barrymore version.
   
   The manufacturers of this Olivier version,though, are as stingy as Scrooge---no cast member other than Olivier is listed. And the ghosts on this CD (so good on the old Decca Ronald Colman recording, as well as in the Lionel Barrymore version) are unusually forgettable. They sound rather cheesy and ordinary, actually---not a single truly spooky ghost in the bunch.
   
   Too bad, but the curious might still want to check this out.



2. As a previous critic stated, this is a radio broadcast of Olivier's drastically forshortened version of A Christmas Carol. However, Olivier's twin performances (Narrator and Scrooge) are a blessing to hear despite the cheesy choral background and limitations in the recording. While not named, the other actors acquit themselves well; Mrs. Crachit is fully realized with remarkably few lines. If you want to hear the book verbatim, I suggest you pick up a copy and begin to read aloud since little else can substitute; however, this is a lovely small piece and a fair introduction of Dickins and Olivier to the newest generation.



3. I first heard this marvelous Olivier performance as a child in the late 1970s, on a Coca-Cola Christmas promotional vinyl LP. I will never forget curling up on the couch on a December evening at my parents' home in the mountains of Utah, the room lit only by the lights on the Christmas tree, listening intently to Olivier's masterful rendition. This is not a reading of the full Dickens text. It was likely done for a half-hour BBC radio broadcast. Even as a condensed version of the original text, it still captures -- better than any performance I've seen or heard to date -- the magic, both chilling and joyful, of Dickens' story. I can heartily recommend this to anyone who is a Dickens or Olivier fan. It might be especially nice as an introduction to the story for young children, though the sophistication of the performance and edit will certainly appeal to those of all ages.



4. 
   On this recording, taped for a radio broadcast, and currently unavailable anywhere else, Sir Laurence Olivier, one of the finest actors of the century, lends his prodigious talents to the narration and the evocation of Ebeneezer Scrooge in Dickens's classic tale.

5 comments about Christmas from the Heart.

1. The song "Mary Did You Know" is an absolutely wonderful
   arrangement. I would buy this CD for that song alone.
   Beautiful words, very warmly sung. Touching.
   
   I have plenty of Christmas CD's by different artists
   with all the "usual" songs. This CD has many songs
   I don't have on my other CD's.
   
   I'm not excited over all the songs, but everything is
   decent - with enough great material to make this CD
   one I wanted to have...



2. This collection has a very generous eighteen tracks, some of which are re-recordings of songs that Kenny had recorded for earlier Christmas albums. That said, there are plenty of new songs here - Kenny wrote eleven of the songs especially for this album. So there is no problem with the quantity.
   
   The set opens with a series of covers including Christmas song, My favorite things, White Christmas, Let it snow let it snow and O come let us adore him. The set closes with Till the season comes round again. With many of these songs previously recorded by Kenny (who did not improve on his earlier recordings) and frequently recorded by other singers, it is Kenny's original songs on which this album must be judged.
   
   On many of these songs, Kenny is barely audible, if he is there at all, as the other singers including a choir of sixteen children take over. Children's choirs can be very effective - one of my favorite Christmas songs (I wish it could be Christmas everyday, by Wizzard) features a children's choir on the chorus and it's brilliant, but this is supposed to be a Kenny Rogers album. When Kenny sings, he sounds great, as on the first few lines of If I only had your heart, and on I promise you, which he sings solo (after what's gone before, one expects some children to join in somewhere - they don't).
   
   In its way, this is quite an entertaining album with all the different children's voices contrasting with Kenny's. I'm always looking for Christmas albums that are a little bit different and this one certainly fits that description. So I'll give the album five stars for being distinctive but if I were judging it purely as a Kenny Rogers album it would only rate two stars, simply because once you get past the opening six tracks, you don't hear very much of him until you get near the end, when he sings solo on two of the last three tracks.



3. Most people reviewing here don't realize that this album is from the Kenny Rogers Chistmas Play by the same title and is equal to the sound trac of a movie. Since the Play is still on going year to year, the children in it must be replaced as they grow older. These youngsters are recruited from all over the US and have to compete for their parts in the play. If you haven't seen the play please consider getting one of Kenny's more traditional Christmas albums. While I give this one High marks, it isn't an album per say but a sound track and has lot's that are not of Kenny Rogers, and others that are Kenny as he appears in different roles in the play. It may be hard to understand if you haven't seen the play first hand!!!



4. This CD is good for a few laughs. Buy a used copy for a cheap price, give it to a Kenny Rogers fan as a gift, and watch his or her expression as they listen to some of these songs, especially the ones where the kids rap or where they imitate the voices of various toys. Around Christmastime I enjoy playing a few of these songs for guests simply because they induce stares of confusion and are so dad-gum corny. And aren't we supposed to get a little corny at Christmastime?



5. Hey!!! just like this cd...very charming songs....and a well-done cd!!!..Thanx Kenny!!!...Cheerz from Bina;o)**nov 5th 2007 at 2.11pm in SWE;-)

No comments about Party Tyme Karaoke: Christmas Sing-Along, Vol. 3.

5 comments about Christmas.

1. Great Christmas album. Also highly recommend his instrumental album Freedom. It's one of my all-time favorite recordings.



2. Spectacular. Still.
   I look forward to listening to this CD every Christmas season and it hasn't let me down yet. It stands virtually unparalleled for its scope and sequence.
   In a clear departure from his previous Contemporary Christian sound, which itself had been ratcheted up a notch with _The Big Picture_ and _i2eye_, Smith delivers a thoughtful, introspective, and diverse set of songs--majestic one moment, intimate the next. He steps aside and lets his arranging and songwriting do the work: choral, instrumental, duet--it's all here.
   The choral "Overture" is a grand affair, "Lux Venit"continues that choral feel (with gorgeous lyrics), "Anthem for Christmas" is, well, "anthemic." "First Snowfall" is a beautiful instrumental piano piece that recalls some of his earlier instrumental numbers. "Christ the Messiah" returns to the epic sound from the first couple of tracks, "No Eye Had Seen" is a duet with Amy Grant that previews "All is Well," a stunning boy's choir number with an equally stunning solo by one of the choir's members. It is simply chilling (in a good way). Another instrumental medley of carols shows Smith's composing and arranging skills, "Gloria" confirms those arranging skills, with a take on "Angels We Have Heard on High." The disc concludes with quite possibly the most striking song on the CD: "Silent Night." It is a stunningly simple arrangement, brief, not cluttered up with sappy vocals or the cliched lyrics.. Smith brings out the profound simplicity of the season with this solo piano arrangement, brief though it is. Longer and/or louder would have been too much--it is the perfect closing to a near-perfect effort.
   It just doesn't get any better than this for Christmas CDs, and only two or three others are in the conversation for me.



3. An excellent CD that captures the feeling of adoration that should be present during every Christmas season. Very estimulating arrangements make of this album one of fresh celebration that you will cherish for years to come. If you're looking for the obvious, you won't find it here (rudolph, chestnuts, let it snow - thank God!) but you will certainly be propelled into a reflective, delectably worshipful time... much like Christmas should always be!



4. I like my Michael W. Smith "Christmas" CD. In fact, I also have his "Christmastime" CD, which I forgot to mention by name. Michael W. Smith is one of my favorite Christian artists. I want to thank the seller and amazon.com.



5. The BEST music! I listen to it all the time; just not during Christmas. The message is timeless.

1 comments about Abide with Me and Other Favourite Hymns.

1. This is a compilation of the most wonderful traditional hymns you can find sung by the Castle of Windsor choir in England. It creates a very spiritual ambience in your home when played and it's appropriate for times of prayer. Most of the hymns can be found in a hymnal named "Hymns Ancient and Modern", in the "English Hymnal", "The Hymnal 1940" and "The Hymnal 1982". The ancient hymn "Abide with me" is my favorite. The hymns have full orchestration and not only the organ. You will love it!

No comments about A Gift.

No comments about A Song's Best Friend: The Very Best of John Denver.

No comments about Feliz Navidad: Christmas in Cuba.

No comments about Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.