Customer Reviews

Christmas Album

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

And, yes, I've heard quite a few. I don't mind the fact that it's a Jewish man singing Christmas music. And really, why shouldn't a Jewish man sing about the birth of another Jew?

What I like best about this album is that on most of the songs, Neil doesn't jazz it up or anything like that. Now, it's true that he does give that treatment to a few of the songs, but most of them are left intact the way they ought to be. The only ones that experience any major change are "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "White Christmas". His opener, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel/We Three Kings of Orient Are" is one of the best opening tracks I've ever heard for a Christmas album. It's a beautiful medley complimented with a boys choir.

I highly recommend this CD to any Christmas music enthusiast.

Dating probably back to when Irving Berlin wrote "White Christmas," there's been a tradition of popular Jewish artists recording Christmas songs. Having seen his contemporary New Yorkers Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel, Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow record Christmas songs at various stages in their careers, in 1992 Neil Diamond interrupted his decade-long descent into irrelevant schmaltz by producing this somewhat uneven but overall entertaining collection of holiday music. He wisely begins with "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," with an arrangement a bit reminiscent of "Kol Nidre" from "The Jazz Singer, but that's about the only concession to his Jewish tradition Neil makes on this album. He employs choirs on several of the most spiritual Christmas songs ("We Three Kings," "Silent Night," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "O Holy Night"), and for the most part he offers an enthusiastic if not exactly soulful interpretation. He does a really nice number on "Little Drummer Boy," making it sound unlike any other interpretation.

He hits a rough patch with several songs that already have definitive versions and would've been better left alone. Neil comes nowhere remotely close to the raw power of Springsteen's "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," and it would've been a much better idea to just have done the traditional Sinatraesque rendition instead. Neil's "Christmas Song" isn't likely to make anybody forget Nat King Cole's classic interpretation. For reasons which boggle the imagination, he then launches into "Morning Has Broken," which isn't even a Christmas song and which was definitively done by Cat Stevens years ago, and then even more amazingly, he tackles John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)."

Neil redeems himself handsomely, though, with a "doo-wop" version of "White Christmas," followed by a barbershop quartet take on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." His "Jingle Bell Rock" is okay, too. He launches into a "Crying In Your Pretzels" country twang on "Silver Bells," which if nothing else offers up that classic Neil Diamond cheese we all love, where he stops in the middle of a song to reminisce about those Brooklyn roads he grew up on. The only song on the album, though, that ever gets any airplay these days is the one he'd previously recorded on the "Primitive" album in 1984, "You Make It Feel Like Christmas."

All in all, a decent enough effort, and popular enough that it led to a second volume in 1994, which is not only a much better showcase for Neil's talent, but in fact is one of the best Christmas CDs of the past 20 years.

I am a Christian and I'm proud to have a jewish man sing songs about another Jewish man. I've seen Neil Diamond in concert and I must say he puts on a show like no other. I have loved him and his music for many years. I thank him for giving me so much pleasure.

Personally I love this collection of Christmas music. It was the first compilation of Christmas music I bought as a teenager back in 1992. Actually, my mother bought it and we all got hooked on the music. Neil Diamond just has a way of making Christmas music fun and different. Santa Claus is Coming to Town is an upbeat light rocking song, and then there is O Holy Night. That song is awesome. Almost anyone who sings it earns my affection, but Neil does it really well. To sum up: If you're thinking about buying this CD just BUY IT and stop thinking.

Whatever you think of Neil Diamond, you can't deny his popularity. Critics sometimes used to say that he was predictable, before he teamed up with Rick Rubin a few years ago. Then again, most singers are predictable, not least because the music business doesn't like versatility, which makes life difficult for their marketing departments. So it is that you either like a singer's style, or you don't. Neil offers no real surprises here, the style being exactly what you'd expect pre-Rick Rubin, from the opening medley (O come o come Emmanuel / We three kings) to the closing O holy night. Most of the songs in between are well-loved classics that appear on many Christmas albums. Regardless of whether Neil is predictable or not, there are plenty of people out there who love his music for what it is and I'm one of them.

Neil wrote one song (You make it feel like Christmas) and he also included John Lennon's classic (Happy Xmas war is over) as well as a traditional non-Christmas hymn (Morning has broken), all of them sounding brilliant. Elsewhere, Neil and his arrangers have added a distinctive touch here and there, but never stray far from the standard arrangement. I'm pleased to report that Neil includes the rarely recorded first verse of White Christmas setting the scene in Beverley Hills.

If you enjoy Neil's music, you'll love this album and the sequel (Christmas album volume 2), which follows the same formula, with plenty of famous classics and the occasional less obvious selection.

Yes Neil is Jewish, and that matters how?
He has a terrific voice and he sings these songs GREAT!
If you dont like Neil Diamond or you dont like the fact a "jewish" person is singing them THEN DONT BUY IT!
Everyone else, this is a GREAT CD... gets me in the xmas spirit every year. Even my kids like it!

Amazing Christmas CD. Great Songs, Great voice - what else do you say? It will certainly make our Christmas's brighter for many years to come.
We really liked Neil's choices of songs and especially the "You make it feel like Christmas all year long". Wowed us.

I'm sorry even though Neil is one of the Giants of Rock and Pop; his christmas renditions on this
album are awful. He murders White Christmas and Santa Claus is coming to town. Some people are meant to do a christmas album but Mr. Diamond is not one of them. His Ego got the best of him by recording this album.

The medley 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel/ We Three Kings Of Orient Are' is my favorite album track. Neil Diamond's unique timbre makes this Christmas album a must-buy. Yes! ... it is worth purchasing yet another cover of 'Little Drummer Boy' and 'Silver Bells'!

I also recommend the 'companion CD' Christmas Album 2 as well as Neil Diamond's latest Christmas CD A Cherry Cherry Christmas - now at a bargain price!

I give all three Neil Diamond Christmas albums a perfect 5 STAR rating!

Delivery by the seller was spectacular timing wise. Quick and speedy. Highly recommend. The CD is an excellent group of Christmas songs. Neil Diamond's voice adds some special quality to a number of the standards and his twist on a few others is still very nice. I'm not one for singers changing tunes and words of Christmas songs. Those, like the National Anthem, should be sung as they were written and meant to be sung. This CD is not a disappointment.