Customer Reviews

Christmas Through the Years

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

 

 

I received this CD in December of 2003. Five songs listed in the song samples were NOT on this CD: 1. Cool Yule, 2. White Christmas, 5. Winter Wonderland, 6. Christmas Night in Harlem, 9. Joseph 'N His Brudders. Very disappointing. Three songs that were on the CD, but not listed in the song samples were: Hello Dolly, Blue Moon, A Kiss to Build a Dream On. None of which are Christmas songs!? This CD contains 10 Songs, not 12!!!

This did not come with the songs listed. Hello Dolly and other songs were added and some songs removed. Is the same as the disc that comes with Christmas in New Orleans.

While there are several Christmas CD's featuring Satchmo that may have more variety and better sound there is one reason that this is a classic and I am unaware if it is available on anything else.............Satchmo reads, "twas the night before Christmas." His voice and enthusiasm allows the recitation to be considered a classic along the lines of Rudolph and Scrooge, he was not only born to be perhaps the most well loved jazz artist of all time but to contribute his voice to enhance this Christmas classic. Gather your family around the tree on Christmas Eve, bundle up and enjoy!!!!!!!!

Great songs but if you've got high end audio equipment, you won't be pleased with the quality of this recording.

Laser Light's usual crappy quality. Bad selection of songs, horrible sound quality and no liner notes. Stay away from this and anything with the Laser Light label.

This is really a great CD, and probably one of very few actually palatable jazz Christmas albums. The key to Louis Armstrong's success where many others have failed dismally (besides the fact that he is a genius and probably the key musical influence of the 20th century) is he didn't try to adapt traditional Christmas standards to jazz, instead performing original jazz Christmas compositions. "Cool Yule" is definitely the standout track on this album. Not to be missed is a recording of Louis Armstrong reading "The Night Before Christmas" to kids during what sounds like a live radio broadcast. His New Orleans growl is wonderfully unlike any reading of the poem that I've heard! A final highlight is live recording of "What a Wonderful World", capturing a vitality I've often found lacking on the original recording.

Louis Armstrong was definitely a one-and-only. This CD shows off his skills as both a musician and an entertainer, provided you get the right CD. If the first track on your CD is not "Cool Yule", then you got ripped off! Return it and go get the right one because you'll also be missing "White Christmas", "Winter Wonderland", and "Christmas Night In Harlem". For some reason, even the "right one" throws in some non-Christmas songs to fill up the CD... I guess that is what you get for a budget price.
"Gone Fishin'" isn't even a Winter time song, but it features Bing Crosby who just sounds Christmas-y.
"Joseph 'N' his Brudders" is based on the Bible, so close enough.
"What A Wonderful World", well, everybody loves that song, don't they?

Along with "Cool Yule", some of the other stand-out Christmas tracks include "'Zat You Santa Claus?" and Satchmo's unique reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". It's hard to describe his duet (with Velma Middleton) on "Baby It's Cold Outside". He either couldn't remember his part of the lyrics, or just felt like making up some new ones. Either way, it's pretty funny.
While it's not perfect, it's arguable the best Christmas CD you'll get for this price. Just make sure you get the right one!

Not knowing Louis A.'s music, I purchased this cd for my son whose world stops when he hears "A Kiss to Build a Dream On". From a computer game, mind you which my husband has played way too much. My son screams, growls, and crawls as fast as he can toward the cd player, pulls himself up and proceeds to sway or bounce with a smile on his face a mile wide! He's 15months old! P.S. I am also a new found fan! : )

This product was exactly as hoped for! I intend to make Louis Armstong's reading of "The Night Before Christmas" a holiday tradition in our family!!

I see some pans in the reviews, but I think this is kind of a 'treasure'.
A little misrepresented, as my version had only 4 Christmas-themed songs on it (including Louis' reading of "The Night Before Christmas", which is classic). Not digital quality as many cuts seem to be from live performances. They're not 'tin lizzy' either. Some cuts sound like performances were many many years ago. Brilliant live version of "Helly Dolly". Also includes different version of "A Kiss To Build a Dream On" and "What a Wonderful World". Song list on my CD is "Christmas in New Orleans", Zat You, Santa Claus?", "Hello Dolly", "Blue Moon", "Baby,It's Cold Outside". "Gone Fishin'","Santa Claus Blues", "A Kiss To Build a Dream On", "The Night Before Christmas" and "What A Wonderful World".

For $6 (prices I see), you can't go wrong, especially if you like the older stuff.