1 comments about Medieval Carols.

1. This anthology of early Christmas music provides a refreshing alternative to traditional seasonal releases, introducing the newcomer to these works with a representative and well contrasted programme. The performances - by a much reduced Oxford Camerata - are carefully executed and well-balanced, if perhaps not authoritative, and a bargain at this price.
   
   From a musicological viewpoint, there are, however, a few points worthy of mention. Firstly, it must be admitted that there is a certain degree of artistic licence with the title "Medieval Carols" given the inclusion of 2 Renaissance works in the programme - 'Riu, riu, chiu' (from 'Villancicos de diversos autores' [1556] but here craftily attributed to "traditional") and 'Gaudete!' (correctly indicated as of 15th century origin, but in fact here performed as in the extant version from 'Piae Cantiones', 1582). In addition, whilst the 'Agincourt' carol may draw attention to the varying functions served by the Medieval carol, it is textually at odds with the rest of the programme (commemorating Henry V's famous 1415 victory there). Lastly, it seems a shame that here - as on so many other recordings of pre-Baroque Christmas music - texts and pronunciation are modernised, a fact exacerbated by some peculiar word-underlay in some of the editions.
   
   Still, the CD is well worth owning for the music alone (particularly at this price) and goes some way to reminding us that Christmas is more than merely a secular family occasion.

No comments about Christmas Chants.

5 comments about A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season.

1. This is great to have in addition to her classic "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" CD. This has slightly more "traditional" selections but they are flavored more heavily with the Loreena sound that has become so popular the world over. And for good reason. Even though this CD doesn't contain a large selection of songs, the ones that are on here are amazing. It feels like Loreena and the musicians that accompany her on this have spent years gearing up for this one release. ENJOY!!!



2. Albeit short, this album is a perfect companion piece to Loreena McKennitt's "To Drive the Cold Winter Away", a sparse, classic album of older Christmas /Solstice songs while this presents a shorter, very soothing and lush recording. Kind of like a glimpse into what a full length Christmas CD by McKennitt might sound like if she incorporated the sound she and her band have cultivated over the years. Every Christmas season we look forward to hearing these albums. There just seems to be so much commercial sounding holiday-overload tunes, obsessed with Jesus and forgetting that this time of year is based in an older tradition of the seasons changing and forgetting the wonder of a winter sky at sunset... Even Enya's few Christmas tunes last year (with the exception of the haunting "Christmas Secrets") seemed hollow. This however is a well-thought and expertly crafted EP. It is not long but the songs are quality. If you are a serious fan then you no doubt own this already but if you are interested in Loreena McKennitt or non-traditional Christmas/Solstice CDs then you can't beat this.



3. This woman can SING. This CD, rather short of course since it has only 5 songs, is a wonderful Christmas CD.
   
   Song 1, Conventry Carol, is my least favorite, but that may be because it is a depressing story which is being told about King Herod killing all the babies in Bethlehem.
   
   Song 2, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, is a good arrangement of the traditional Christmas song.
   
   Song 3, Good King Wenceslas, tells the story of the good king and how he helped a peasant on a cold day. It too is nicely sung.
   
   Song 4, Snow, is my favorite. I can imagine the snow falling as she sings this song. Archibald Lampman's lyrics are as good at imaging a snowy evening as Robert Frost's are in "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening." "White are the far-off plains, and white the fading forests grow" is the first line of the song and it builds from there.
   
   Song 5, Seeds of Love, is a new one for me. I'm not sure it belongs on a Christmas CD as it talks about spring and summer, but of course, the reason for Christmas is love, so I'll let it be.



4. We bought our original copy of this album at a crafts fair, years ago. It quickly became a new favorite. My folks and I look forward to listening to this album all year long. It contains well loved favorites like "Good King Wenceslas," and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Yet Loreena McKennitt also sings two other hardly known favorites like "The Coventry Carol," and "Snow." Her rendition of "Seeds of Love," brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. I highly recommend that you add this to your holiday collection. You won't regret it one bit.



5. Being a relatively new McKennitt fan, I had high expectations of this mini-album, especially for God rest ye merry gentlemen (one of my alltime Christmas favorites). The album didn't disappoint, but didn't manage to really blow me away either. Perhaps it has to grow on me, or maybe I'm just spoiled rotten with "A celtic heartbeat Christmas" on the Celtic Heartbeat label.

3 comments about 20th Century Masters - Christmas Collection.

1. Ladies and gentlemen, this is an event! I wasn't aware of what album I had purchased, because it looks like a compilation, of which there are so many. Bu no, this is the rerelease of Engelbert's "Christmas Tyme" from 1977, for the first time available on CD!
   
   The atmosphere is incredible, arrangements are classy, this is evereything you would expect from Engelbert at the prime of his career. I have already started my celebration for the holidays, and I promise you, listening to this album, you will, too.



2. This is one of my all time favorite Christmas Albums... I have the original 33 and it has been just realesed on CD and so I have that too. The CD sounds great, the music is great, Engelbert is great! Must own for anyone who likes Christmas music!



3. I have the original album of this, signed by Engie himself. Needless to say I couldn't listen to it, but the CD is great. Some of my favorite Christmas music sung by my favorite singer. How can you go wrong.

3 comments about Does Christmas Fiasco Style Ep.

1. Warning: This album will put you in the Christmas spirit...it might even inspire you to bake gingerbread cookies for your neighbor or something. Most of this album is pretty cheesy and it made me laugh, but maybe that's just because I am not a fan of country-influenced tunes, exactly what this album IS--Most songs are quite "twangy." My Morning Jacket reminds me of Neil Young but they have some harmonies like the Beach Boys. Track one, "Xmas Curtain," was my favorite, and it was definitely the most "Beach Boys-ish." Track four is a cover of Nick Cave's "New Morning," and Track five is a cover of Elvis Presley's "Santa Claus is Back in Town." The Elvis cover is really funny, it made me laugh, and it's heavily blues-influenced. I do have to say that judging from the cd cover, these boys look like a riot to hang out with!



2. i'm not sure what the reviewer before me was expecting, but i do love this album. my morning jacket, it's true, they are "alt-country" (if that's what you want to call it). i'm no *real* reviewer, but i do know how to spot a band with staying power, and they have it.
   
   this is a wonderful holiday ep, gorgeous music that makes you want to cuddle up with a blanket and stare at the blinking lights on the christmas tree with not another light on in the house.
   
   beautiful. and highly recommended.



3. One of the better Christmas albums I've heard. A certain Christmas feel permeates the album but it's not the cheesy traditional Christmas songs that you've heard way too many times. My Morning Jacket contributes their own tunes to this one and we are rewarded for it. They craft multi-layered, structured songs with lots of vocal harmonies. There are two gems on this one (not surprising for this band). They are "Xmas Time Is Here Again," and "I Just Wanted To Say." There is some nice harmonizing and Beach Boys-like vocals on the former. And the bonus track is something that if you've heard their first two albums, won't surprise you very much. It's a novel instrumental with three separate guitar melodies playing simultaneously, which pleases and challenges the listener at the same time. The Nick Cave cover is very well done. The Elvis cover "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" is decent but somewhat disappointing. They should've kept the same magical, mysterious, lonesome, country-ish, mood as on the shining standout "I Just Wanted To Say." It's a bit sad and lonesome sounding, but nevertheless magical and full of wonder just as Christmas time often is. Buy this if you're tired of the same old tired Christmas songs that everyone has heard a million times. Buy this if you like something different.

5 comments about Asalto Navideño.

1. If you found this because you knew what you were looking for.....well you probably know what I am gonna say. If you accidentally stumbled upon this read on. This is a 2 record set of the best Christmas music in any language you will ever hear. To put it mildly and generically, the music rocks. Guaranteed, you will listen to this CD well into July!!! The salsa has an edge reminiscent of the way salsa should be played but seldom is. From those of us who grew up with this playing every December and Hector, Willie, Yomo & Co., welcome to music that will truly put the celebration in your party. Purchase both CD's and enjoy.



2. This Cd is the crowning achievment of Willie Colon's career. This is the best Christams Album of all time... and I'm not exagerating. All of these tracks a umbelievably great. Canto a borinquen is hands down a classic. I really don't know what more i can say. Please respect this album for the greatness that it is. I love this album....



3. Es muy raro que usted vaya a una fiesta de navidad en Borinquen y no oiga este disco. Desde el 1972 ha sido consistentemente unos de los mayores disco de ventas tanto en el catalogo de Willie Colon como en el de Hector Lavoe. La combinacion de Hector Lavoe, Willie Colon y Yomo Toro es espectacular. Ademas, la secuela (Asalto Navideno Vol.II) es del mismo calibre.



4. I had heard very good comments of this production since long ago and, in many opportunities, I was close to get one of those old vynil-made records but I didn't. For more than 30 years, I have listened to hundreds of times songs like "Canto a Borinquen", Traigo la Salsa", "La Murga Panameña" and the song which I like the most: "Aires de Navidad" (far the most famous of all of these group of salsas in my country, Perú). However, it is not the same to hear these songs evenly one here and other there than hearing all of them together, in the sequence presented in this CD. The context of them is really impressive and this makes the difference. This CD is really an outstanding production. The sound recorded is original all along and the presentation of the CD is quite illustrative, accompanied by a small brochure that gives us a good view of the history of these salsas and their meaning as a part of the culture of Puerto Rico. Dear friends, if you are fans of Salsa, buy it new or used but don't lose the pleasure of listen to all this precious music and let you be "assaulted" by Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe and their friens of Fania,no matter if Christmas time has gone..



5. Excellent CD for Puerto Ricans and latinos alike. Awesome Pefecto para las navidades. Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe the perfect combination with YOMO Toro on this CD all at once. Trust me it's a great buy at any cost.

5 comments about In the Nutcracker Mood.

1. This is the final cd in the Glenn Miller Christmas collection and the one that takes the biggest risks. Hearing the Nutcracker in a big band style is quite jarring (especially for a dancer like myslef), but after I got over the initial shock, I was able appreciate the work. My only problem is that music from the Nutcracker only takes up about half the cd! After the (shotened) Nutcracker Suite, we're treated to swing renditions of classic Christmas carols and even Auld Lang Syne. All the music is good, but the cd is called "In The Nutcracker Mood" not In The Nutcracker and Christmas mood. Still, I enjoy this cd and the Nutcracker segments are always a topic of conversation at parties. Just wish ther was more Nutcracker on this Nutcracker cd.



2. I have to agree with the previous reviewer, while Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite on Side A sounds really good, it would have been great if it were alot longer. It does help that it has the arrangements by the original band members-many of whom have gotten together from all across the country to gather in NYC to record these holiday albums. Side B makes up for everything, though-from the opening cut Jolly Old Saint Nicholas-hearing it makes you think you really are hearing the band plus the Modernaires from back in the 1940s-to the final cut What Are You Doing New Year's Eve. All in all, a bargain at the price listed here.



3. I first became enamored with the Glenn Miller Orchestra's IN THE CHRISTMAS MOOD albums with the second of the three. I've since collected them all, this being the most recent.

   I love the purely instrumental big band tracks on all three of the albums. These guys-original members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra who've gotten together to create these holiday recordings-are OBVIOUSLY the real thing. They interpret traditional holiday songs with an impeccable and immensely fun big band swing.

   My bone to pick-and a major one, unfortunately-is with the "Moonlight Seranaders," who sing on (thankfully only) four of the sixteen tracks on this album. Although my experience of authentic big band recordings from the 1940s is slim, I do have a couple of albums, including a two-disc set of original Glenn Miller recordings. On NONE of these albums do the singers sound as disgustingly saccharin as these vocalists.

   The sound of the "Moonlight Seranaders" is definitely that of the sappy Lawrence Welk singers of the 1960s and '70s. It's truly terrifying and, sadly, interferes greatly with the otherwise fantastic tracks on this album and the others in the series. Personally, I'd much rather have had a single, talented, emotive vocalist on several of the tracks rather than the sickly-sweet chorus, which completely ruins songs like "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" on this album and "I'll Be Home For Christmas" on one of the other two.

   Nevertheless, for the usually ridiculoulsly low price of these albums, you really can't go wrong. The twelve great tracks on IN THE NUTCRACKER MOOD is well worth its cost-with or without the "Moonlight Seranaders." Buy it and re-live those fantastic days of big band music right in your own home this holiday season.




4. Another fantastic Christmas album from the Glen Miller Orchestra. As others have pointed out, it might not be quite up to the same standard that the other In the Christmas Mood CDs have, but then again, they're a bloody high standard! The Nutcracker suite is remarkably (surprisingly?) cool as a big band arrangement (although, again as others have said, longer would have been cooler - it takes up less than half the CD). The rest of the music is great jazz arrangements of Christmas favourites, and in the wonderful style of the previous albums.
   
   All in all, a fantastic album! An excellent buy, particularly as part of the 3 box set (under "In the Christmas Mood")!



5. If you really want a jazz version of the Nutcracker Suite, get the Duke Ellington version which is available on the "Three Suites" CD. Nothing against the GMO rendition but the Ellington version just swings so much harder. It is a little short but in my opinion it is vastly superior.

5 comments about Soul Christmas.

1. The original "Soul Christmas" lp said it all, this reissue not only adds filler that dilutes the original, its missinf Booker T's Jingle Bells, which is an utter disgrace.
   
   Otherwise, pick up this cd, if you don't have the lp. Many classics. Otis Redding's "White Christmas"? He just took that song from Bing Crosby. Badda Bing, badda boom.



2. I play this album over and over in the car, I look forward to the Christmas season so I can bring out this CD and enjoy these songs - esp. New Year's Resolution



3. Found this at 50% off post xmas and what a find!.....Donny Hathaway's classic "This Christmas" is hard to find on any CD and virtually not played anymore (At least in my region) by the Clear Channel corporate media conglomerate, yet this original version is better than just about all of the covers done by others of the same tune.
   
   "This Christmas" is worth the price of admission (as a forgotten rarity), but this Atlantic collection has other un(der)played gems that won't get pass the focus group review panels that now dominate AM/FM radio content.....listen for yourself to find out what is missing on the air waves?!.....
   
   I can listen to the Atlantic label's stable of artists and relisten to them again and again.
   
   A highly recommended "soulful" collection "Buy It Now"



4. Number 3-Carla Thomas "Gee Whiz It's Christmas" made the album complete. The whole album made the holiday complete.



5. Soul Christmas is definitely one of the best Christmas Compilations of all time. My Mom bought this CD a little over 10 years ago and it's been a Christmas tradition in our home ever since. I decided to buy it myself this year and after a LONG hunt, I finally found it (and at a wonderful price too!) on Amazon.com. Listening to Soul Christmas will definitely continue to be a holiday tradition for many more years to come.

5 comments about My Kind of Christmas.

1. To anyone out there who bashed her singing talents on this cd all I have to is, Are you kidding me????. As far as I'm concerned, she has the best singing voice of ANY female recording artist out there,period. She'll still be putting out great music while Britney Spears keeps on getting the bad press.This cd is excellent!!!.



2. The cd is obviously not real. I used to own the exact same cd and it was completely different. The cover was printed on a cheap printer. DON'T GET SUCKERED LIKE I DID!



3. Christina Aguilera is probably one of the best singers ever.When I heard that she made a Christmas album,I was skeptical about buying it after I saw all of the bad reviews.Now,I think it is one of the best Christmas albums.Out of the whole album,there are 4 songs that are annoying,but the most is Xtina's Xmas.Here are the songs I would recommend:
   Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
   Angels We Have Heard On High
   Merry Christmas,Baby
   Oh Holy Night
   This Christmas
   The Christmas Song
   The Christmas Song (Holiday Remix)



4. Christina's light comes shining through right from the first few bars. If you're thinking about getting this, you KNOW you LOVE her and you know she LOVES you and you also know she's an angel from heaven in a little human body so who better to liven up your Christmastime? She's not gonna bore you with flat old arrangements off the shelf. No! The songs and charts are well-chosen and, as always, the ultimate style-perfectionist with the dynamic pipes that is Christina hits the center of the target on every cut. What else would you expect from our girl? It will last you a lifetime of very cool Decembers! Get it.



5. I am a big Christina Aguilera fan. As much as I love her though, I must say that this Christmas CD is way overdone. This is not what Christmas music is supposed to be, with all the shouting and melisma. Christmas music should be calming and soothing. This is not.

3 comments about When He Came.

1. This CD is amazing. Martha Munizzi is a great artist. And she rocks it one more time. This is a MUST have for the holiday season. And a great stocking stuffer.



2. Hands down my favorite Christmas cd. Love the songs, love the soulful voice! LOVE "When He Came"



3. As a new follower of Martha Munzzi and her spiritual music it is clear that she is filled with the holy spirit. Treat yourself and friends to a evening of worship.