Customer Reviews

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think the only way to dislike Burl is if you believe he was like his "Big Daddy" character in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." But if you appreciate his unique voice and folk approach to singing, you will adore him. This is a fine and unusual Christmas album, since Burl's versions of these songs are not the standard ones. But they are delightful nonetheless. Everyone knows "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," one of the stellar songs from his 1964 Christmas special, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This is not the identical version to the illustrious TV show, but it still works.

Burl Ives is an American icon and it's a pity that his style of music has gone out of fashion. This album is a feel good effort and it's impossible not to listen to it without smiling, laughing and wishing Burl was still around to sing his special brand of music. Hopefully this album will induce you to sample some of Burl Ives' other non-Christmas efforts. He was uniquely talented and a pleasure to listen to.

I love this Burl Ives Christmas CD! It has a great blend of old favorites with the special burl ives touch. I love to sing along with these songs as i decorate my tree. To me, it wouldn't be Christmas without Burl Ives!

Burl Ives was primarily known as one of America's greatest folksingers; and that quality is the strongest part of this album. In addition to Rudolph (from the TV special) and Holly Jolly Christmas, Burl really shines best on songs that tell wonderful stories, most notably "Christmas is a Birthday, Christmas Child, and Christmas Can't be Far Away". You've probably never heard most of these but I guarantee these will enhance the experience of anyone who enjoys the yuletide season. He is less spectacular on the standards such as "White Christmas", and "Silver Bells", (probably due to our familiarity with the Bing Crosby versions) but they are nevertheless sturdy, well-produced versions. My kids love the whole album, but I enjoy the whole thing, I am sure, for different reasons. The production is 1st rate, and Burl can spin a story in song as well or better than anyone. Try it and you'll find at least a few gems in here.

As a child I drove my parents crazy by listening to this cd not only in the holiday season but in the summer as well. This album is sure to make anyone's holiday a whole lot brighter!

Quite simply the "Best Christmas Album Ever!" For me no other Christmas album has ever been able to match this. Christmas is the unique sound of Burl Ives (there are some of us who think Burl Ives is Santa himself ), singing a perfect blend of traditional songs and Childrens classics. If you love Christmas and your looking for an album the whole family will love for years to come - Buy It! you won't be sorry.

The only complaint about "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" is that Burl Ives sings only a dozen songs on it and you can find CD collections that will offer more tracks culled from his various Christmas albums. His first, "Christmas Day in the Morning," came out in 1952, followed by "Christmas Eve" in 1956. "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" came out in 1965, with the soundtrack to the classic holiday television special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" the following year. The title song of this album was written by for the special by Johnny Marks, who also wrote the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which Ives sings on this album, and the final track, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." That is a pretty good trio of Christmas songs, which would make Marks one of the best writers of Christmas songs ever.

How this album is different from the previous Burl Ives Christmas albums is that he has shifted to this point to more of a pop-oriented approach to singing Christmas songs that the traditional folk style that defined his earlier albums. There are still some folk songs on this album, with "Christmas is a Birthday," "Christmas Child (Loo, Loo, Loo)," "Christmas Can't Be Far Away," and "Snow for Johnny." But most of the songs are definitely more popular than secular, with "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "White Christmas," "Winter Wonderland," and "Silver Bells." I tend to think of "The Little Drummer Boy" as being more religious than it really us, but that is more because the music is more hymn-like.

The net result is that you have Burl Ives singing eight recognizable Christmas songs and introducing you to four songs that you have probably not heard before that are perfectly suited to his strengths as a singer. Ives started out in the 1920s as an itinerate folk singers, moved to Broadway in the 1930s, appeared on the radio in the 1940s, and became a popular folk singer in the 1950s. But most people today probably remember him as the Snowman who narrates the story of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" that still airs each holiday season forty years later. Because of that connection it is entirely possible that a Burl Ives Christmas album will be warmly received in your home by those who do not know about the rest of his resume. He certainly produces the requisite warm seasonal feelings.

Burl Ives' 1965 "Have A Holly Jolly Christmas" is a perfect "album" - a truly cohesive audio snapshot which captures the aura of joy and hope which is what Christmas ought to be all about - even for atheists like myself.

My parents bought the LP in the sixties - and by the late seventies the LP was worn out. By the nineties the cassette recording of the LP had also bitten the dust, but the memories remained of my alltime favourite Christmas album.

This "AAD" (analogue source, analogue master) CD is an original stereo recording which has clearly been made with due care from the original master tape. It is a thrill to listen to - especially if you're already a fan of Burl's. I've been blessed with finding great condition LP versions of his earlier albums that I love - including "Wild Side Of Life", "Old Time Varieties" and "Captain Burl Ives Ark" - which I've transferred to CD. But vinyl is not the best quality long term storage medium - there's no substitute for a good condition master tape.

The production is excellent - even though there are a few places where you can hear the limitations of early sixties mixing equipment. A robust and warm tone is evident in each track and I love the instrumental and vocal arrangements.

I also greatly appreciate that this CD includes the LP's original cover notes (and that no "extra tracks" were added).

This Burl Ives Christmas CD is very good. I originally had the cassette tape but then I upgraded to the CD version and I'm glad that I did! All of the songs are great but my favorite is Have A Holly Holly Christmas which he sang in the Rankin and Bass Christmas special Ruduolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer though it is slightly different from the version he sang in that Christmas Special but I love this CD and I highly recommend it!

Burl Ives really isn't remembered as much as he should be these days; and that's a shame. On this album Burl sings wonderfully; and his friendly, grandfatherly vibes go into every song he sings! This CD is a must-have for fans of Burl; and anyone who wants some very special holiday songs would do well to add this to their music collection. The quality of the sound is very good and the artwork is very nicely done.

The title track opens the album; this catchy, infectiously happy and upbeat tune could never go out of style; and Burl practically owns this song the way he delivers it. He puts a lot of positive energy into his version of this song; and it shows quite clearly when I hear him perform it. Great! "Christmas Is a Birthday" is very easy on the ear; what a charming ballad--and it's religious, too. "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" switches gears back to a more secular song; Burl puts his own stamp on this tune by playing a bit with the tempo and a few key changes--and it all holds its own very well.

"White Christmas" glows brighter than silver and gold combined when Mr. Ives sings it; that background chorus rounds out the number nicely although wisely the arrangement makes it so that they can't attempt to share the spotlight with Burl. "The Little Drummer Boy" has another terrific arrangement; the percussion and guitar are used very well and the music fits perfectly with Burl Ives' singing. In addition, "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" leaves nothing to be desired--this music is all THAT good!

"Winter Wonderland" shines bright in Burl's capable hands; I really like this number. "Silver Bells" couldn't have been done any better and the CD ends with Burl Ives performing "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." I haven't heard this number as often as I've heard the other tunes on this CD but it's really quite beautiful and it even leaves me wanting more.

Burl Ives turned out a wonderful record album back in 1965; and it's amazingly wonderful to have this on CD in our times so that we can enjoy it over and over again. I highly recommend this album; it's full of splendid holiday music.

I bought this CD because I wanted to add the song Holly Jolly Christmas to my holiday music collection. I know a lot of people have rated this CD very highly, but honestly, I can't see why. Holly Jolly Christmas is lively and fun. So is his version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The other songs are either just average renditions or worse. I hate the way he adds "ah" to phrases in Santa Claus is Coming to Town. (Santa Claus is AH coming to town. He knows when you are AH sleepin') I really like folk music, but Burl Ives is not my cup of tea, apparently.

Still, I really love Holly Jolly Christmas. If I had it to do over I would buy Billboard's Family Christmas Classics, which includes Holly Jolly Christmas along with a lot of other Christmas kiddie classics, such as tunes from Charlie Brown's Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Frosty the Snowman. What I would really love to buy would be the soundtrack to the TV program, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I have it on vinyl, but as far as I can determine, it's not available on CD.

So, if you're a fan of Burl Ives, buy this CD; otherwise look for Holly Jolly Christmas on a compilation album, such as the Billboard album I mentioned.