Customer Reviews

The Voice of Christmas: The Complete Decca Christmas Songbook

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There is no finer collection of Bing Crosby's Christmas music than this one. Collected over the course of two discs (one red, one green) are ALL of Bing's holiday recordings, both secular and religious, which were commercially released by the Decca label. The tracks span the years 1935 to 1956, from Bing's glowing vocal peak on tunes such as Silent Night and Adeste Fideles (1935) to the mellow, burnished voice of Silver Bells (1950) and Snow (1954 - w/ Peggy Lee, Danny Kaye, and Truely Stevens).

Bing's well known affiliation with Christmas music began in 1935 when Decca Records chief Jack Kapp suggested that Bing record Silent Night and Adeste Fideles for commercial release. Bing insisted that he did not want to profit financially from religious music, but the issue was resolved when it was arranged for profits to go to charity. Featured here are these gorgeous versions of Silent Night and Adeste Fideles, plus later versions, all excellent and with interesting differences. White Christmas, Irving Berlin's famous composition, first recorded by Bing in 1942 (for the Crosby/Astaire film Holiday Inn), is the biggest selling single of ALL TIME, and is also here in several different incarnations.

Aside from the classics I've already mentioned, this set provides many other fantastic treasures including Bing's moving 1956 reading of I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day, his spirited 1949 medley of Deck The Halls/Away In A Manger/I Saw Three Ships, and refreshingly lesser-known treats such as 1955's The First Snowfall. Also worth mentioning are the several Christmas tunes that Bing recorded with The Andrews Sisters, all of which are present here, including their hip, swingin' take on Jingle Bells. Another winning combination of vocals takes place when Miss Peggy Lee joins Bing for a jazzy duet on 1952's Little Jack Frost Get Lost. Add in Bing's fine renditions of evergreens such as I'll Be Home For Christmas and The First Noel, as well as his sprightly readings of children's favorites like Here Comes Santa Claus and It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, and you've got yourself an absolute treasure trove of Yuletide cheer.

No one accustomed to recordings of this vintage will be disappointed with the sound quality here, which is really quite good. With beautiful packaging, including a fold out insert with extensive liner notes, pictures of original record sleeves, and session information for all 44 tracks, The Voice Of Christmas is, without a doubt, the ultimate holiday collection of the most celebrated Christmas crooner of all time.

P.S. - For those who would like a fine companion disc dealing with Bing's later Christmas recordings, including his 1977 duet with David Bowie, the best bet is Bing Crosby's Christmas Classics.

I just wanted an album with a lot of Bing Crosby Christmas songs on it,and I really didn't pay all that much attention to the track listings. "Silent Night" and "White Christmas" are each presented 4 times, "Adeste Fideles" twice, and so forth. This really is more for the collector than for a person like myself that just wanted some traditional holiday music. I put the CD player on "shuffle" to try and mix the music up a little bit better,but ended up with "Silent Night" twice in a row. I think Bing Crosby is truly the musical voice of Christmas,but the average person would be better served by buying one of his other Christmas albums. Merry Christmas.

This complete 2 cd set of Bing's Christmas songs are dated from the 30's to the mid 50's. The sound quality on most is good but there is just no way to make those old recordings sound perfect, although this is probably the best it's going to get. This album is meant for the collector of Christmas music rather than the listener, some listeners might get turned-off with Silent Night and White Christmas appearing so often. All are different slightly and it gives the listener a sample of Crosby's work. I loved this album because I liked the sample of old recordings and the newer 1950's collaborations. The 1950's version of White Christmas with Danny Kaye is of excellent quality, as is most of this cd that has been remastered. If you love Christmas music this set is a must, if you just want a Christmas cd with Bing singing, would might want to pass on this one.

It sure wouldn't be Christmas without hearing Bing's holiday hits. These songs bring back such golden Christmas memories; and I hope & pray this music continues to be played every year at Christmastime. It must be preserved, as must all of Bing Crosby's music and video treasures. They definitely don't make 'em like this anymore!

Bing's complete Decca Christmas collection! What more could you ask for? Well if you want to be particular I would have loved to see all of the songs that have appeared on the legendary Merry Christmas/White Christmas album(s) (there have been several varations over the years) but I guess songs like Danny Boy and Faith of Our Fathers don't technically qualify as Christmas songs. That said it's as close to perfect as you can get.

It's worth noting that if your looking for Bing's later Christmas recordings you'll have to look to the Capital collection "Bing Crosby's Christmas Classics." The latest version has been updated and now includes the famous Bowie duet.

The "Voice of Christmas" includes previously unreleased Crosby music, which any listener would appreciate, and some classics. The collection has very good sound and very good to excellent quality. This is the perfect holiday addition for the whole family.

"O Holy Night" was recorded for Capitol Records. That's why it isn't in this collection. Oh well. Buy this great collection and if you've got change left over, buy BING CROSBY SINGS CHRISTMAS CLASSICS on Capitol. It's all great.

I have all of these songs on an album from years ago. I purchased the CD for my 81 year old father who is a Bing Crosby fan of many years. His albums are scratched and these songs bring back many memories. With the exception of White Christmas you don't hear these all time greats on the radio. Some people that I have talked to never even heard of most of them like A Marshmallow World. This is a wonderful CD and you will enjoy all of them. Great singing voice.

Clearly, this CD is designed for BOTH present and FUTURE Bing Crosby fans. Every adult English speaking person alive has heard
Bing's 1947 and subsequent Christmas efforts (he had to rerecord White Christmas in 1947 because the original 1942 wax master became worn out due to the unprecedented millions of records initially pressed and sold!), which are the mainstays of the never ending stream of ordinary Crhistmas albums rolled out each year. However, only a few ardent Crosby fans are familiar with Bing's earlier Christmas efforts, recorded at a time when his magnificent VOICE was at its peak. Anyone INTERESTED IN discovering why Bing WAS THE TOP recording artist in the world BEFORE his 1947 second version of White Christmas was released, will find out why when they listen to the 1930s and early 1940s recordings on this CD. Forget the arrangements -- listen to the voice and enjoy!

Bing Crosby songs on this double CD were digitally re-mastered and overall it is excellent. His earliest songs are on here - rare finds from the 1930s and 1940s are real treats. Apparently taken from sources so old that digital remastering was difficult to restore them to their original sound. The fact they are included is nice. Songs from the early 1960s are excellent in their reproduction. Song selection is outstanding - multiple versions of his standards are included. Liner notes, especially how and why recordings were made, re-recorded and released - are excellent. This double disc is a must for anyone who treasures Bing Crosby Christmas songs.