Christmas Anthology

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 21, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Cleopatra
• ASIN: B0009R1TC2
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #156,960 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. White Christmas

2. December

3. O Little Town of Bethlehem

4. Christmas Island

5. I'll Be Home for Christmas

6. Toyland

7. Jingle Bells

8. The First Noel

9. I'm Sending a Letter to Santa Claus

10. O Come, All Ye Faithful

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Santa Claus Came in the Spring

2. Jingle Bells

3. March of the Toys

4. What Will Santa Claus Say? (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')

5. Good Morning Blues (I Wanna See Santa Claus)

6. I Want You for Christmas

7. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

8. Send Me Your Love for Christmas

9. Savoy Christmas Medley

10. Winter Wonderland

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Review

35 tracks of classic, vintage recordings of the most popular Christmas themed songs performed by legendary crooners and unforgetable big bands!

Features Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Judy Garland, the Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman orchestras and many, many more!

Includes the holiday favorites I ll Be Home For Christmas, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Silent Night, March Of The Toys and others!

These classic performances from the 40s and 50s will bring the warm glow of the Christmas spirit to your home, work or anywhere! --Cleopatra Records

Product Description

DISC 1: The Vocalists - Songbirds And Crooners
1. Bing Crosby - White Christmas
2. Kay Starr - December
3. Dick Haymes - O Little Town Of Bethlehem
4. The Andrews Sisters - Christmas Island
5. Perry Como - I'll Be Home For Christmas
6. Anita Ellis - Toyland
7. The King Cole Trio - Jingle Bells
8. Dinah Shore - The First Noël
9. Phyllis Robins - I'm Sending A Letter To Santa Claus
10. Frances Langford - O Come, All Ye Faithful
11. Gracie Fields - Christmas Eve In Fairyland
12. Vera Lynn - The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot
13. Vaughan Monroe - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
14. Peggy Lee - The Christmas Song
15. Lena Horne - Silent Night
16. Bing Crosby - God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
17. The Three Sisters - The Fairy On The Christmas
Tree
18. Judy Garland - Have Yourself A Merry Little
Christmas

DISC 2: Swing, Sweet And Dance Bands
1, Glenn Miller And His Orchestra - Jingle Bells
2. Benny Goodman And His Orchestra - Santa Claus Came In The Spring
3. Tommy Dorsey And His Orchestra - March Of The Toys
4. Louis Prima And His New Orleans Gang - What Will Santa Claus Say? ( When He Finds Everybody Swingin')
5. Count Basie And His Orchestra - Good Morning Blues (I Wanna See Santa Claus)
6. Dick Robertson And His Orchestra - I Want You For Christmas
7. Woody Herman And His Orchestra - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
8. The Raymond Scott Orchestra - Send Me Your Love For Christmas
9. The New Mayfair Orchestra - Savoy Christmas Medley
10. Lew Stone And His Band - Winter Wonderland
11. The Les Brown Orchestra - Let It Snow, Let It
Snow, Let It Snow
12. Bob Crosby And His Orchestra - The Skater s Waltz (In Swingtime)
13. Jan Garber Orchestra - Frosty The Snowman
14. Oscar Rabin And His Romany Band - I'm Spending Christmas With The Old Folks
15. Charlie Spivak And His Orchestra - White Christmas
16. Kay Kyser And His Orchestra - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
17. Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians - Auld Lang Syne

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something I'd Been Waiting For., November 4, 2010

By 

Jiggs "Bounder & Ne'er-do-well" (In my mind's eye, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christmas Anthology (Audio CD)

I'm a great collector of Christmas music, preferring the traditional and nostalgic. For many years one could only get the same few songs from before 1950. This two disc collection is pretty generous and includes rarities like the Nat King Cole Trio's 'Jingle Bells' and lots of big band novelties. I'd also recommend the ASV/Living Era largely British Christmas discs, if you can still find them. The original Capitol Records Christmas on the Range has old country stuff that's great, and I love Blue Christmas (also out of print?)with Johnny Otis, Sugar Chile Robinson, and several jump blues greats. one can have a lot of fun without burning out on Bing Crosby or the tasteless Mariah Carey, though I commend her...volume.

Anyway, this is a great start if you likie swing music, crooners, and Santa Claus.

Happy Christmas!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Christmas collection with some less-known recordings, December 2, 2010

By 

MusicFilm Fan (Wash., DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christmas Anthology (Audio CD)

I'm also a big collector of Christmas music (mostly pre-1970: jazz, big band, blues, rock, R&B, classical, pre-rock vocalists, country), and I found this to be a very well done collection that has some rare recordings that I, at least, have never heard before. We have over 200 Christmas CDs in our collection at home, including many that are from the big band era like this two-disc set, so I was surprised that they came up with material that was new to me.

Yes, there are some familiar commercial recordings that have been reissued numerous times (for example, Louis Prima's "What Will Santa Say? (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')"; Vaughn Monroe's "Let It Snow"). There are also some radio broadcast recordings that also aren't all that hard to find on CD (for example, Glenn Miller's "Jingle Bells"). These are all very enjoyable, but I've heard them before.

But the compilers here have also dug up some sides that were completely new to me: the Nat King Cole Trio's very lively "Jingle Bells" from a radio transcription disc is one. There are also different versions of familiar holiday hits: the "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland on this set, for example, aren't the commercial versions that are on every other anthology, but less well known radio broadcast recordings. Both performances are very good. The version of Dick Haymes' "O Little Town of Bethlehem" here is from a V-Disc, and "Good Morning Blues (I Wanna See Santa Claus)" by the great Count Basie is a broadcast recording instead of the more familiar commercial record. And the compilers have also included some British performers who may be new to some American listeners (e.g., Lew Stone and His Band on "Winter Wonderland," which I'd heard before; and one that I hadn't, the Three Sisters singing "The Fairy on the Christmas Tree" with harmonies that seem to come from the film version of The Wizard of Oz).

The sound quality is generally quite good for music of this age (1930-1950), although there are one or two cuts that are not as good as the rest. (Unfortunately, Perry Como's "I'll Be Home For Christmas," while a good perfomance from a radio program, is in much lower fidelity than the remainder of the material.) Overall, the remastering here was very well done. I also appreciate it that the compilers have carefully edited out the audience applause from the broadcast recordings, so that they fit more seamlessly with the commercial recordings. (I do like the live feel of broadcast recordings with applause, but it's kind of nice here that it doesn't disrupt the flow.)

So, while this CD set does have some very familiar recordings, it also has some nice surprises, with very good sound quality on most. The compilers did a very creative job of choosing a fine selection of holiday tunes that most fans of big band music will probably enjoy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgic Christmas at its best, August 4, 2011

By 

dmah72 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Christmas Anthology (Audio CD)

The older the Christmas song the better, I've always said. This collection has a nice mix of some old and really old favorites. The anthology is simple and the recordings sound good for their age. It should satisfy one's craving for that nostalgic Christmas feeling.