Customer Reviews

Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar

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4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

A Army buddy in Germany had this and I always loved it, but never could find it there, before I got shipped out. When I got back from Vietnam I drove clear to Denver to buy the LP. I thought it was the best Christmas record I had ever heard. I think there are two cd's out now, so get them both, you won't be sorry! I gave them to my sons also.

Finally Charlie Byrd's solo guitar carols are on CD! I had the LP and it inspired me to learn to play carols on my guitar. There are many solo guitar Christmas recordings, but this is the best--in fact, one of the best Christmas music recording, period! It sounds like someone's sitting in the corner, quietly playing. Though Byrd is known for jazz & bossa nova, he plays it straight, without fancy ornamentation. I heard Byrd in Annapolis years ago, and he was an outstanding musician. This is simply a wonderful recording.

Charlie Byrd's mello guitar sounds bring the best feelings of Christmas to me. I carry it with me from the car to the house so when I am feeling the holiday is all too commercial, I listen to this CD and remember what Christmas really is. Of course, the fact that I love Charlie Bryd's music may have something to do with this. Best Christmas albumn ever.

"Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar" is one of the best of seasonal albums. We purchased the original in 1966. It is a sleeper but the religious message helps retain the spiritual nature of the holiday. Thanks for bringing it out on disc after all these years!

I understand Charlie Byrd is a great jazz guitarist, but you'd certainly never know it from his Christmas albums. The song selections are OK run of the mill holiday fare, but there is nothing to set these tracks apart. The chord melody style is so banal as to be droning, the chord choices are too simplistic, and the technique is quite heavy-handed and overly loud. To put it bluntly, they all sound like a 6th grader playing at a recital. I accidentally put this disc on my iPod and during a shuttle play, one of the tracks came on, and the effect was quite jarring.

If you want some good-sounding Christmas guitar, try David Cullen, Tuck Andress, Joe Pass or Alex di Grassi.