The Reindeer Room Volume II: A Christmas Chillout

Reindeer Room (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 7, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Kriztal Records
• ASIN: B0000AYLHT
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,099 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

At times, The Reindeer Room Volume II is the hippest Christmas CD of the year, even if you're not into techno dance arrangements with programmed drum tracks and odd, schizoid effects. There are inspired arrangements and production throughout much of the 15-track collection, dominated by Billy Paul Williams featuring Nicole Henry, whose voice through a vocoder can tantalize and twist even such normally solid fare as "The Holly and the Ivy," or "Good King Wenceslas." Half the fun is listening for the acute production values on cuts like Charles Afton's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," which throws a fuzzy, retro-psychedelic scrim over this Nutcracker staple. But it's DJ Trax's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (with vocalist Anna Hurst) and LED vs. Panophonic's unforgettable "My Favorite Things" that are worth the price of the disc. The percussive bass and grooving guitar lines in the former and the pristine mix of organ, vibraphone, and a clattering drum track in the latter make for Christmas music listening on a whole other level. Besides, when was the last time you bought a smart holiday mix that also featured a bonus DVD/Yule log video in 5.1 Surround Sound? --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas, but cooler, December 6, 2004

By 

Sean Cier (Northern Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Reindeer Room Volume II: A Christmas Chillout (Audio CD)

It's easy to cheese covers of classics into the stratophere of painful kitsch, especially when you're talking electronic grooves or Christmas standards. Combine the two and you have the potential for disaster -- a disaster which has been fully realized time and time again. But this collection avoids the kitsch and overdone synth lines to come up with reinterpretations that are simultaneously cool, playful, rich, and festive.

The Billy Paul Williams feat. Nicole Henry tracks and Charles Afton's Sugar Plum Ferry are the best of the bunch, and are already in danger of getting worn down after a week in my car. Some of the tracks are forgettable, but none will leave you embarrased if you put them on during the holiday party or while opening presents with the family.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reindeer Room 2 also has a bonus DVD!, November 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reindeer Room Volume II: A Christmas Chillout (Audio CD)

I didn't notice this when I first bought it, but Reindeer Room 2 has a bonus DVD with most of the songs from the album playing over a fireplace with a blazing Yule log! Reminds me of when I was a kid in New York and we would tune the television to channel 11 (WPIX) on Christmas eve when the station would broadcast the Yule log for 24 hours.

Anyway, the music on Reindeer Room 2 is as good as volume one with several surprises like "Sou Gan" and "Hard Candy Christmas". And the Yule log DVD makes it a great package.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical Christmas music, November 15, 2007

By 

E. Anderson - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reindeer Room Volume II: A Christmas Chillout (Audio CD)

I love Christmas music. I love downtempo music. Who would have thought of combining traditional Christmas music with modern, chic downtempo music? I recently discovered THE REINDEER ROOM Vol. II this week. It is a fusion of chillout music and traditional Christmas music. The results gives a unique twist on holiday music. I have to admit it was a bit of a shock to hear my favorite Xmas songs re-interpretated into slick, modern downtempo music perfect to play while sipping on my favorite martini. The songs sounded different but I totally dug what I heard. I never heard of any of the artists on this compilation. Despite the lack of name recognition, the artists did a wonderful job at tweaking at traditional Christmas classics like "Good King Wencelas" and "She Won't Be Home". There are quite a few instrumentals as well as songs with vocals. I particularly enjoyed the songs that included Nicole Henry and Harmony on vocals. No matter what time of year it is, THE REINDEER ROOM VOL. II is great to relax tol