Customer Reviews

Christmas Album

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Here it is in a nutshell: This is a beautifully performed and arranged, but very slow and relaxed Christmas album. It is great background music, and perfect when you want to sit and relax and be swept away after battling the holiday rush. I wouldn't recommend it for getting your Christmas party hopping. Although I like this album, I was a little disappointed with it, because I know what the Manhattan Transfer is capable of, and I feel that on this album they did not push the musical envelope like they usually do. I supect the record company that released the album is mostly at fault for that, trying for a safe, marketable record. The Manhattan Transfer seems relieved on subsequent albums to be back with Atlantic Records. As another reviewer recommended, listen to the samples before buying to make sure this is what you want. As always with Manhattan Transfer records, check the liner notes for some surprise guest appearances.

Once again, The Manhattan Transfer triumphs. Their "Christmas Album" is a wonderland of smooooooth harmonies, disciplined singing, and lush orchestral backing. The album opens with the almost eerily beautiful "Snowfall," which beautifully evokes the mesmerizing sight of snowflakes falling down from the sky. They tame the usually buoyant "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" into a lush come-hither invitation for a Christmas snuggle, and it's beautiful.

Things start popping and bopping on the third tune, with a combination of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Santa Man." It's amazing how The Manhattan Transfer can turn expectations on their heads--a child's tune that's clearly geared now towards adults instead--but still do it successfully and with such musical confidence and rigor. I'm amazed, but ten years after first having bought this album, I still occasionally hear new nuances that I never noticed before. On Mel Torme's perennial "The Christmas Song," the quartet teams with Tony Bennett and the result is sumptuous. Bennett conveys the longing and sweetness of the song, while beautifully bolstered by The Manhattan Transfer singing back-up.

Two classics you don't hear much of anymore--"Caroling, Caroling" and "Happy Holiday" are both given loving attention here. "Caroling, Caroling" is a cornucopia of rich harmonies, and "Happy Holiday" is the sort of blazing, gloriously boppy arms-wide-open tune the Transfer does to perfection.

The album closes with two songs which feature Cheryl Bentyne's butterscotchy smooth voice: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and the Beatles' lullaby "Good Night"--odd when you first think about it, but such a sweet, hope-filled song that it ends up seeming just right for a Christmas album. I highly recommend the entire album--it'll surely become a holiday favorite in your household as it has in ours.

It always surprises me that this very special Christmas album from The Manhattan Transfer doesn't show up on everyone's list of must have holiday music. Like snowflakes drifting by a frosty windowpane, there is something very wistful and melancholy about this labor of love from Alan Paul, Janis Siegal, Tim Hauser, and Cheryl Bentyne. And there is some fun mixed in as well, the trademark 1930's and 1940's elegance of this fabulous group on glorious display.

Tony Bennett joins the group on probably the most heralded track from this project, The Christmas Song. As covers go, it rivals Gloria Estefan's stunningly classy take on this Christmas chestnut. The opening song, Snowfall, is just as good, however, and deserves to kick off this marvelous collection of Christmas favorites. The Manhattan Transfer always manage a surprise or two on every album, and this is no exception.

A Christmas Love Song is one of the prettiest and certainly one of the most romantic of Christmas love songs in the vocal genius of these four talents. Johnny Mandel handled the vocal arrangements and put music to Alan and Marilyn Bergman's beautiful lyrics, placing it right up there with The Carpenters' Merry Christmas, Darling. And the fun medley, Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season, adds a smile to the melancholy.

By the time the Transfer sing Judy Garland's version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Chrismas, then close with Goodnight, you'll be a fan of both this wonderful group and this Christmas album. Having been a fan of The Manhattan Transfer since they began, "Mystery" being one of my favorite songs ever recorded, I don't know how any Christmas collection could be complete without this one.

This collection by the Manhattan Transfer is one of the greatest collections of swinging Christmas music ever produced. The group never sounded better and the music is listenable all year long. Pop it in the CD during one of summer's "dog days" and you're instantly transported to a better place and time. When they first came out I gave them as gifts to family and friends and the reaction was unanimous: in a word, Outstanding!!

If you love Christmas music, and if you love the jazzy style of Manhattan Transfer, then you are sure to love The Christmas Album. I just bought the CD a few days ago, and have already listened to it a dozen times. Each song is creatively arranged, and each evokes warm and cozy feelings and sentiments associated with Christmastime. The dreamy song "Snowfall" makes me wish it were actually snowing outside so I could sit by the fire and watch the flakes float lazily down! The clear articulation of each vocalist and the marvelous arrangements make this CD a real treasure. I highly recommend it.

The Manhattan Transfer is always trying something new - sometimes they get it, sometimes they don't. With this Christmas album, they nail it right on the head. They use their intoxicating harmonies and lush arrangements for a mostly perfect selection of classic Christmas fare, both religious and secular, as well as some off-beat but no less effective selections. Snowfall is the first thing I play every year when it is time to decorate the tree -- it actually sounds like a slow, silent snowfall in the dead of winter -- the kind we wish for on Christmas Eve. Their arrangement of It Came Upon A Midnight Clear is the best version of this classic hymn I have ever heard; it blends together angelic voices, their own fabulous tight quarter harmony and swirling strings and horns to create a hair-raising recording of epic proportions. Happy Holiday is an all-out smash; you will want to get up and jitterbug -- it features an instrumental "dance break" that raises the roof. And the Beatles' Goodnight (the children who appear at the end are forgiven) provides a gorgeous close to the album.

I heard "Snowfall" on the radio, knew it was Manhattan Transfer, and that's all it took for me! Put on the song, and your mind will drift to winter, no matter what time of year it is. A good collection of music. Their harmonies are as clear and crisp as ever. Good job. Five stars!!

I've given this beautiful Christmas music CD to family and friends. It's always amazing and thrilling to listen to "Manhattan Transfer" harmonize as only they can.

I bring out the Christmas music earlier each year, and this one is always the first to hit the player. This album is filled with the tight harmonies and precision inflections that just send shivers down your spine. The warmth just fills the room. Tony Bennet's feature is a smooth and heartfelt rendition of The Christmas Song, and the Santa Claus medley boasts a piano and vocal solo with the laid back virtuosity that is the quintessence of the Transfer - it cooks. If you can't hear the staggering depth and soul that went into this recording, you've left your chestnuts roasting on that open fire for too long. This album is hot! Instant Christmas. Amazing.

I bought this CD when it was first released back in 1992. I thought it was one of the best Christmas albums then, and I think it still is today. Actually, this is a collection of Christmas songs, with two exceptions--more about those in a minute. The Christmas songs go from solemn to swinging--with the Transfer's voices, either singly or blended (as they do so well) performing flawlessly, buoyed by Johnny Mandel's meticulous arrangements. As great as the Christmas songs are, though, the best two tunes on the album are the "non-Christmas" songs. "Snowfall," the simple, yet delightful Claude Thornhill compostiion, is one of my favorite tunes of the swing era. By its name, it has tended to become associated with the Christmas season, but it's not really a Christmas song and is a great tune anytime. The ManTran do a superb cover of it here, and Mandel's arrangement is stellar. The other tune is "Goodnight," an almost forgotten lullaby composed by Paul McCartney and recorded on the Beatles' "White Cover" album. Quite frankly, it WAS pretty forgettable as the Beatles recorded it, but the ManTran turn it into a work of vocal art here. The childs' voices (children of the Manhattan Transfer members) are a little distracting at the end of the tune, but, hey, they are the performers' kids and it IS Christmastime.

Over the years, there have been some abysmal recordings released of Christmas songs. This is definitely NOT one of those. Back in '92, the Manhattan Transfer got it right, and it's still one of the best albums of Christmas music that you can find. Even my "non-jazz-loving" friends love this album.