With Thanksgiving this Thursday and Black Friday the day after, the Christmas season is officially upon us (if it hasn't already arrived a couple of weeks ago!). There have been several Christmas reissues we've talked about so far this season, including the four new entries in Legacy's Classic Christmas Album series. And now we've got information on a fifth entry for this year: the simply-titled Classic Christmas Album. And we're also happy to say that this Amazon exclusive, 3-CD, 42-song set has been co-produced by our very own Mike Duquette!
This new compilation is designed to be a sampler for the whole Classic Christmas Album series, which has been running since 2011 and boasts over twenty different CDs as of this year. Therefore, many of the tracks are drawn from these older volumes. You'll find songs from Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Tammy Wynette, and Luther Vandross among others. All of these performers have had Classic Christmas Album volumes devoted to them. The set also features some songs which were featured on the various-artists entries in the series, such as songs from Hall and Oates, Wham!, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.
But the new compilation is not entirely made up from songs from previous volumes, as some tracks new to the series have been included. Here you will find Christmas songs from artists like Dean Martin, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Darlene Love, Aretha Franklin and Etta James. The material on the set ranges in vintage from the 1930s (Billie Holiday) to the 2000s (Il Divo, Sarah McLachlan) and includes many genres from pop to country to rock to soul to novelties (Don Charles and the Singing Dogs) and even Broadway (Angela Lansbury's "We Need a Little Christmas" from Mame). Many of the songs on the set are Christmas classics and should provide a good soundtrack to your holiday festivities.
We've got the full tracklisting below along with ordering links from Amazon, where the set is exclusively available!
Various Artists, The Classic Christmas Album (Legacy Recordings, 2015) (Amazon U.S.)
CD 1
- It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - Andy Williams
- Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Johnny Mathis
- I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day - Johnny Cash
- Pretty Paper - Willie Nelson
- Jingle Bells - Don Charles and the Singing Dogs
- There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays - Perry Como
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Frank Sinatra
- Joy To The World - George Jones
- Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
- A Marshmallow World - Dean Martin
- The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting Over An Open Fire) - Mel Torme
- Mary's Boy Child - Harry Belafonte
- Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano
CD 2
- This Christmas - Gladys Knight
- Toyland - Doris Day
- It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Tammy Wynette
- Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
- Snow - Rosemary Clooney
- I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas (Hippo The Hero) - Gayla Peevey
- Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
- Blue Holiday - Aretha Franklin
- I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Billie Holiday
- Merry Christmas Baby - Etta James
- And The Angels Sing - Della Reese
- We Need A Little Christmas - Angela Lansbury
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Ronettes
- Hard Candy Christmas - Dolly Parton
CD 3
- Jingle Bell Rock - Daryl Hall & John Oates
- Hallelujah (Radio Edit) - Jeff Buckley
- Cool Yule - Bette Midler
- O Little Town Of Bethlehem - Alabama
- O Holy Night (A Capella)- Nsync
- Every Year, Every Christmas - Luther Vandross
- Do You Hear What I Hear - Martina McBride
- Last Christmas (Pudding Mix) - Wham!
- Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - Sarah McLachlan
- The Bells Of Christmas - Kenny Loggins
- Panis Angelicus - Il Divo
- Silent Night/Holy Night Jam - Joe Satriani
- Christmas Time Is Here -Steve Vai
- Auld Lang Syne - Kenny G
Ken says
Is this the first time H&O's 'Jingle Bell Rock' has been in CD?
Rich says
Nope - its been on a number of Christmas compilation CD's before.