Customer Reviews

My Gift to You

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After three or four years out of print, My Gift To You is finally available again - and with the original cover art restored - thanks to the folks at reissue label The Right Stuff. And it's about time, too.

Some fourteen years after its original release, My Gift To You still ranks as the best Christmas album I've ever heard. It's a fine mix of contemporary and traditional songs and arrangements, all tied together by the best vocalist that Jam & Lewis have ever worked with, Alexander O'Neal.

The Jam & Lewis-composed originals are concentrated mostly during the album's first half, with modern-day classic "My gift to you" as the opening track. The funky "Sleigh ride" (not the classic tune, but a new song) comes next, followed by the romantic "Our first Christmas" and Christmas tale "Remember why (it's Christmas)".

The album's second half consists mostly of Christmas standards. The first of these is "The little drummer boy", in a funky arrangement produced by Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy, who are probably best known for their subsequent work with En Vogue. Mel Torme's "The Christmas song" is next - this one in a more traditional arrangement (think Nat King Cole). O'Neal's version of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" is still my favorite; every other singer's take on it seems either thin or overwrought in comparison. "Winter wonderland" (probably my favorite track on the album) is performed with full orchestra - and it swings! Another Jam & Lewis original, "Thank you for a good year", and a reprise of "Remember why" close out the album.

One of the really nice things about this reissue is the restoration of the original cover art. When Tabu switched distribution in the early '90s, the album was inexplicably given a cheesy new cover, which it was stuck with until going out of print a few years later. The Right Stuff have corrected this by bringing back the original cover, adding only a border around the edges. In fact, the newly restored cover looks slightly better than the original, which looks sort of dull in comparision.

A minor complaint: The song lyrics are no longer included in the booklet. However, the new liner notes, while a bit thin, are entertaining.

This edition's remastered sound was a happy surprise. Mastering engineer Bob Fisher deserves more than a few compliments for his work here. Rather than follow the pack and use loads of compression and limiting to make everything sound loud for the sake of loudness, he used the 24-bit processing to ensure the best possible reproduction of the original master. So, rather than sounding louder, the remaster simply sounds better - slightly warmer, with improved definition.

In short, this is still the best Christmas album ever.

OMG!!! I have been waiting for YEARS for this sucker to be re-issued on CD! This is, without question, hands-down, one of the best "contemporary" Christmas albums ever recorded. If the greasy funk of "Sleigh Ride" and "Little Drummer Boy" don't make you move, it's too late... you're already dead. Paired with the beautiful soul of "My Gift to You","Our First Christmas" and the other gems on this album, this is definately an "all killer, no filler" Christmas CD. (Please forgive my use of "non-Christmas-traditional" terminology in describing this CD, but this is just great MUSIC... it just "happens to be" holiday-themed music.)

One of my all-time favorite Christmas albums that I own on both vinyl and cd format. My Gift To You by Alex O'Neal has been a timeless Christmas album treasure in my household since it first appeared in 1987...Not only does the contemporary sound capture the essence of the holidays but it also has to be the album to really bring O'Neal's gifted and talented voice into many households. From the Jam & Lewis sounding productions to the big band jazz numbers to the funkiness of Sleigh Ride and the Little Drummer Boy this has to be the Christmas album that has something for everyone...O'Neal's voice is or was at it's peak and strongest form (not that he's ever lost it )...but this was the pinnacle of the powerfully and musically charged collaboration and production with the Flyte Tyme team !

As a child of the 80's, I definitely love this cd. When this cd dropped in 1988, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis could do no wrong. After having written and produced Herb Alpert's " Keep Your Eye on Me" in 87 as well as mega hits for Janet Jackson, it was only appropriate that this album would do just as well! I have two words for you people....LISA KEITH!!!.....She sings background on " My Gift to You"....by Alexander O'neal, and On " Making Love in the Rain" by Herb Alpert. She has the voice of an angel!!!!.....Her voice resembles Janet Jackson's ....but in my opinion...SHE SOUNDS BETTER!!!!!.....Can anyone tell me if she ever released a solo album?...because if she has....Acquire it I must!!( As Yoda would say).

THIS IS A GREAT CD. I LOVE IT. ALEXANDER IS A GREAT ARTIST ANYWAY. BUT I LIKE THIS CD I HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT. ALEX IS DEFINITELY JAMMING ON THIS CD. ALEX REALLY DID A GREAT JOB WITH THIS CD. IF YOU ALEXANDER O'NEAL THEN YOU WOULD DEFINITELY ENJOY THIS CD.

I have been trying to find this for YEARS!!!! It is soooo good. I love "Sleigh Ride" and "The Little Drummer Boy". This is one Christmas CD that makes you want to boogie. I ordered it right away before I couldn't find it again. Thank you sooo much, this made my day!

For years, I searched high and low for the availability of this CD. I am so glad that my persistence did not diminish. This is my favorite holiday CD. There isn't a song on here I dislike. I'll probably buy two!!!

Alexander O'Neil's Christmas tape is the BEST tape I have ever listened to. I play it all year long. I get very upset when I go to a record store and CAN NOT find NOTHING there by Alexander O'Neil. If anyone out there know where I could find his music PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE inform me.

Alexander O'Neal is one of my favorite singers from the '80s. This album is truely a classic - in the some class as Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and Bing Crosby's Christmas albums, respectfully. Whoever holds the lock n' key to it's release, along with his Pop stuff, please RELEASE IT! Many fans , myself included will appreciate it. :D

Hi to all from an Alex fan in South Africa.

In all of my 30 Summers I must say that Alex truly is the best! From the first time I heard an extended mix of criticize I wanted his music...so I bought all! however they are on LP format...and not on CD! And with Xmas coming up...could My Gift to You plse be released again!

or could somebody help me plse! I also notice that 'his greatest hits collection' available in the States does not have 'Hearsay' on it. How come. When it was released in South Africa.....it had Hearsay on it....I bought it on cassette..which was given to a cousin and was never returned!

Whats happened to the big guy? is he still in the UK? or back in the States. Is he still recording?

If My Gift to You is re-released! plse inform me!