Customer Reviews

Now Is the Caroling Season

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The original 1957 album was a fixture of our family's Christmas celebrations for years. I was overjoyed to learn that it had been reissued, and it certainly lives up to all of my childhood memories.

Fred Waring (1900-1984) was a fixture of the American choral music scene for most of the past century. The Pennsylvanians were always primarily a choral group, but Waring added instrumental accompanyment as needed. His career spanned the technological developments of the period; he auditioned for Thomas Edison in the early 1920s, and made one of the first recordings on Edison's new device. The thirties saw warings debut on radio, and in the fifties he moved to TV. One of his more enduring accomplishments was the discovery of the young Robert Shaw, whom he hired to direct his glee club in New York.

The singing on this recording is exquisite. This collection is almost entirely ensemble singing, with very few solo voices. The vocal group is compsed of a small number of excellent voices. The ensemble is flawless. The carols themselves are all classics, a collection of the basic carols we all remember. This release identifies the author and arranger for each song. That is fitting, since the arrangements are magnificent. The insert contains a facsimile of the original album cover, with new album notes by Tom Pickles.

Many of my Christmas albums are innovative arrangements which add a new twist to familar carols. This recording is the original article. I look forward to passing this heritage on to another generation.

In Christmas music I really like an old-fashioned sound, and this album has it: beautiful harmony and sensitive arrangements (although some border on the tacky) that nicely capture the feel of Christmas. The Pennsylvanians' version of "White Christmas" has always been my favorite (sorry, Bing!). The only reason this album doesn't rate 5 stars is its sound quality. Although the album sounds better that the distorted individual tracks that have shown up on different compilation albums, it still needs restoration and remixing to get rid of rumble and noise. The CD was released on a small, private label that obviously didn't have the budget for a proper remastering. However, don't let that disuade you from buying this album. I have well over a hundred Christmas albums, and this is among the best.

I can't believe this exists! My Mom had two copies of the old album which she played back to back on the old style drop record player so she could hear the entire album without flipping it over. I made copies on cassette because you could no longer find the album. Sleigh Ride is best done here, with the signature trombone "riff" in the middle and March of the Kings is just fantastic. Every song is a keeper with arrangements that are amongst the best ever made for each song. I realize not as popular as anything with Morman Tabernacle or Harry Simeone Chorale attached, but a much better buy for the holidays than anything from the aforementioned two groups. Also may wish to look into the Norman Luboff Christmas album which has been released as a combo with their Calypso Christmas album on CD. I have never heard the Calypso part, but the standard Christmas title is right up there with Waring. Now if I could just find a CD of Pete King's Chorale Christmas Time (I think?) and my childhood memories would be complete. I can smell the cookies baking right now.....

If I had only five Christmas CDs to pick for my holiday desert island, this would definitely be one of them. The singing and music are absolutely first rate. It has an orchestral quality that you rarely hear on today's Christmas releases. However, I believe they could of done a much better job on the remastering process. If you've ever heard some of the restoring jobs done by RCA, Columbia, EMI and some of the others in Hi Fi's "Golden Age", (circa 1955-59) you would know exactly what I'm talking about. Listen to Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on RCA doing "Pictures At An Exibition" (recorded 1957) for example. Now that's a remaster job! Maybe I'm asking for too much. If you turn up the volume on "Now Is The Caroling Season", you will hear plenty of rumble, hum and hiss mixed in with the music, along with some occasionally shrill vocals. It's not any better than a 45 year old LP (w/o the scratches). I know that just to have this special recording back in print is a small miracle, but with today's technology, EMI-Capitol can do much better, especially at full price! Also, on the front cover it clearly states "FULL DIMENSIONAL STEREO". If you listen to the disc with headphones, you will soon find out that it is "FULL DIMENSIONAL MONO". But the music is so good, you just might forget any technical difficulties.

This is a good CD to play when decorating and for Christmas parties. Fred Waring and The Pennsylvanians certainly knew how to set a mood, and this recording does so with style.

"Now Is the Caroling Season" is the perfect tree-trimming CD. It provides a festive and cheery mood with just the right mix of Christmas songs, hymns and traditional carols. It certainly makes me want to sing along, and I am reminded of all of those times past when I would go out caroling with friends, singing carols to shoppers on a busy street or a crowded shopping mall.

Some reviewers have lamented that the CD is not remastered, and it certainly isn't, having been transferred from the original session tapes. In this case, however, the CD is fine as it is, as the background rumbles (the few that I have heard) merely add to the ambiance of the recordings, something that remastering would take away. The original stereo effect is preserved without any Dolby® processing (which didn't exist when the original recordings were made).

A brief history of Fred Waring and The Pennsylvanians, along with the original LP liner notes, are included with the CD.

"Now Is the Caroling Season" is a festive and cheerful CD that should be a part of everyone's favorite Christmas music collection. Five stars!

I've been looking for this classic for years. Like everyone else - MANY wonderful childhood memories attached to this album. I love all the arrangements but this version of Sleigh Ride is by far the best ever recorded - quite a punch from the trombone section to bring it on home.

I couldn't believe it when we found this classic reissued. It carries so many childhood memories! Along with the definitive version of "Twelve Days of Christmas," there are some lesser-known hymns and carols which endure. You can't beat this for a nostalgic gift or to introduce a classic to the next generation.

I have had the original LP since it was issued in the late fifties...this treasure-trove holds up very well under the digital gun...It is tough to come by, but you CAN get it from
Amazon. com Don't wait for the next holiday...get it now...

I am delighted that this album has been released in a CD! When I first heard it as a child, it introduced me to many Christmas carols rarely heard elsewhere. The songs and beautiful arrangements from this recording stay fixed in my mind even now, years after I last heard it on an LP. It is a wonderful addition to anyone's collection.

I was thrilled to see this finally available on CD. I grew up with this on vinyl, and it has some of the most beautiful arrangements of Christmas songs not usually included in popular collections. It should be included with every family's collections of "classic" Christmas songs. In fact, 32+ years ago, my High School chorale director was able to obtain some of these arrangements to use in our chorale ensemble, and we were booked constantly through the holidays, often with listeners praising the choices of the arrangements. You will not be disappointed.