Customer Reviews

Christmas Songs

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mel's recent passing has moved me to review the album, even though it's the beginning of summer. If it can be said that any artist was born to sing Christmas tunes, Mel was he. It's impossible to not get into "the Spirit" when listening to this record (I'm almost getting the feeling just thinking about this great collection). This record offers something for everyone, from traditional Christmas hymns and carols to jazzier numbers like "Glow Worm" and "Christmas in Sun Valley." Mel's unique voice and style are, not surprisingly, perfectly suited to all the songs, easily taking the listener through the entire range of holiday emotions. Even better, though, Mel conveys a sense of personal fun and enjoyment from performing these songs - what else would you expect from Mr. Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire, though! If you're looking to add one more record to your Christmas collection, this one should be strongly considered.

"The Christmas Song" is one of my favorite holiday songs of all time. Since Mel Torme co-wrote it (with Robert Wells), I wanted the CD with Mel singing it. In case you don't know this song, it goes:

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Johnny Mercer wrote two verses of holiday lyrics to "Glow Worm". Mel added three more verses, and sings them on this CD. You might notice an extra verse on "The Christmas Waltz". This song was written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. Sammy Cahn wrote the additional verse as a gift to Mel. I particularly liked "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", an instrumental played by the brass of the Cincinnatti Sinfonietta. The CD is generally very upbeat, starting out with a lively medley that gets my toe tapping. "Good King Wenceslas" is truly fabulous, done with a jazz beat and style that sounds supremely natural, almost as if the song writer intended it this way!

This CD has some light jazzy selections, but some others, such as "What Child Is This?", are done in a more traditional way. This very first Christmas CD by Mel was recorded in 1992. I found the audio quality to be very acceptable. The CD length is 60 minutes. I put this on my short list of "must have" Christmas music CD's.

If you're looking for a jazzy Christmas CD, THIS is the one you want. Mel's awesome vocals glide over traditional Christmas carols and newer jazzy arrangements. This CD will get your feet tapping and put you in the Christmas mood! I've listened to this outside hte Christmas season and it's still a good listen! Hey, it's Mel!

First, I need to say that this is an excellent, if very slightly uneven, Christmas CD. The few issues that I have with it probably won't bother most listeners. Being the nostalgic sort that I am, I would have preferred a recording from early in Mel's career instead of one recorded when he was almost 70. This can't be helped, of course, because he simply didn't make any holiday records until this one. And, with a voice still as silky smooth as this, it hardly matters.

I've never been much of a fan of medleys, and the one that occupies the first track on this CD is no exception. It starts promisingly enough with "Jingle Bells", but it begins to derail after that. It's just too over the top for my taste. I suppose if every song on the CD had the same "feel", some would complain about a certain "sameness" throughout the disc. But when I go to choose from my nearly 200 Christmas CDs, I like to pick one that fits a particular mood. Most of this CD is perfect for a relaxing evening with the lights turned down low, but the first medley left me wanting to shout "Dude, take a valium! Just sing the song, please."

Thankfully, Mel settles in rather nicely after that. Even his scat singing on "Sleigh Ride" is tempered and relaxed. His version of "Good King Wenceslas" is a little bit cheesy for my taste, but I suppose that's just Mel. The rest of the CD is quite lovely and makes you feel as though Mel and his backing band are crooning just for you in your dimly-lit, holiday-decorated living room.

The last medley (the second-to-last track) features about 30 seconds each of "Happy Holidays" and "Let's Start the New Year Right", reserving the rest for a more-or-less complete rendition of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" The latter is my favorite of the three (and one of my favorites, period), so I'm glad it didn't receive short shrift like the others. But again, why bother with medleys in the first place? Why not save the other songs for complete renditions on future recordings?

But, enough with the nitpicking. Overall, this is an outstanding CD, and if I program out the 1st and 8th tracks, I still get 52 minutes of wonderful holiday music, and that's more than you get from most. Sadly, Mel is no longer with us, but this listener is thankful that he finally got around to recording that elusive Christmas album. It's a treasure.

I came across this CD while cleaning and....

All I can say is that it's so great to hear Mr. Torme's voice perform these Christmas tunes. I will be honest in saying I had never heard of "Glow-worm" or "That Christmas Feeling" before, but they have become part of the staples in my Christmas song library.

I am lucky enough to celebrate both Christmas and Little Christmas, so I keep Christmas tunes playing through the first week of January. I hate putting this album away, but it's the first one in my CD player every November (about a week before Thanksgiving).

NOTE for the kids (and adults) - His version of "Christmastime is Here" from Charlie Brown's Christmas is excellent!!!

This is an excellant Christmas album and I would strongly reccomend it. It's a mixture of traditional and jazzed up holiday music.

David & Jane of Indiana

There's enough stress at Christmas that everything you do at that time of year should be directed towards being in as relaxed a mood as possible. This cd by the late great Mel Torm fits that bill to a "T".

Mel had a consistent, relaxed, jazzy sound that put you in a comfortable frame of mind. These Christmas songs allow you to enjoy the spirit of Christmas the way we all want to. The cd can be background, car music or to realize the beauty of the whole work, listen to it with headphones at least once. You'll hear the trademark nuances so that when you hear it in another setting, you'll anticipate and enjoy the many highlights.

Three of the songs are his own, best known is the "Chestnuts roasting by . . ." song. The others get the Torme jazzzy treatment while still showing the respect we expect our traditional Christmas songs to receive. The Mercer version of "Glow Worm" is surprising in how well it fits in with the rest. The last song "White Christmas" is his own, it doesn't compete with Bing Crosby, it stands alone.

I look forward to Christmas for many reasons, one of which is the relaxation and enjoyment I get from this classic.

Hard to believe it took Mel until the 1990s to release his first Christmas album, but it was well worth the wait. He is in great voice on this CD, scatting away like only he could. Only Mel could make Good King Wenceslas swing!! The album kicks off with a great Christmas medley and Mel does an excellent version of Christmas Time is Here from the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The album is a great mix of religious and secular. You will cherish this one every Christmas season.

If you want to get into the Christmas spirit (i.e. happy, warm and sentimental) this is simply the best. While the season can start prior to this album being played, it is definitely underway when this album is playing.

I'm not the biggest Mel Torme fan, but this is chock full of absolutely fabulous singing and arranging. It's imaginative without being "over the top." Few people truly sing a song, and Torme does on every one of these. "Good King Wenceslas" will never be as superior as this, and "Glow Worm" will never be the same! Among my all-time Top 3, this is a "must own."