Customer Reviews

WCBS-FM 101.1 - The Ultimate Christmas Album

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This is the first of six volumes. All offer some great holiday recordings but none are perfect. Depending on your musical tastes, you can select quite a few tracks from each volume to put together a first-rate mix tape or CD.

This first volume offers the most "classsics" with Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," Bobby Helms' ""Jingle Bell Rock," Gene Autry's "Rudolph," and the Harry Simeone Chorale's "Little Drummer Boy" among the offerings. Each volume also gives you a few holiday favorites from the cream of '60s Motown (in this volume it's Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means to Me" and "Silver Bells" by the Supremes) and '70s soul (here it is Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" and The O'Jays "Christmas Ain't Christmas Without The One You Love").

What is unique to this series is the new holiday songs by your favorite Doo Wop artists that you won't find anywhere else. On volume one, both "You're My Christmas Present" by the Skyliners and "Christmas Serenade" by Johnny Maestro hold their own with the standards.

If you don't have any of these collections and are on a limited budget, I suggest buying them in numerical order (One first, Six last) until you get them all. Nearly every holiday recording of note - plus many unknown gems - are found on these discs.

I can not say enough about this "GREAT" album. I own vol 1 and vol 2

I'm one of these people who LOVES christmas music. It really
gets me in the spirit. Over the years I probably have close to
30 Christmas CDs and this particular collection ranks right
at the top, as far as collections go. As you would suspect, Volume one has many of the heavy hitter Christmas songs from the
rock n roll era including rockin around the tree, jingle bell rock, what christmas means to me, the original little drummer boy
as well as two more recent classics: you're my christmas present
and christmas serenade. The "gimmick" to all these albums is that
they have 25 songs for the 25th which gives you about an hour or
so of music. Definitely worth your time, I like them all.

This is the first of many EXCELLENT holiday collections by WCBS-FM New York-thanks to Program Director Joe McCoy for putting together such wonderful Christmas music. Each volume has something for everyone to enjoy, in every age group. Many are songs I've grown up with, and still more are songs I'd heard for the first time & will continue to enjoy for years to come. If you're starting to put together your own collection of Christmas music, this series is a great way to start & you'll want to play them at your next Christmas party. Highly recommended.

A nice mix of doo-wop and soul on this one. The Drifters version of "White Christmas" is worth the price itself if you don't have a copy. From the Supremes to Chuck Berry, this set definitely gives you a playlist from your favorite oldies station that would kick in around the holiday season. I could have done without Jimmy Boyd's "I Saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus" which may be the slowest version of this particularly bad song I have ever heard, but overall this is a good collection for lovers of Christmas tunes.

The songs on this CD are great. It takes me back to my childhood. These songs are sung the way Christmas carols should be sung. I have WCBS-FM 2 & 3. These just put you in the Holiday mood. I recommend these, they are all great.

I've been listening to WCBS-FM for decades now; and the Christmas music they play every year at holiday time is nothing but the best! This is the first in a nice set of six CDs; and every song on this album is a winner! The quality of the sound is excellent and I like the artwork.

Brenda Lee starts things off with her fantastic "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree;" this still sounds great after all these years and Brenda's voice is as clear as a bell! The backup vocalists enhance the number but they never steal the spotlight from Brenda! The music fits in perfectly with her vocals, too. Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" is a tune I always love; and there's yet another gem in "What Christmas Means to Me" by Stevie Wonder. I love it! In addition, there's "White Christmas" by The Drifters; they do this with panache; their arrangement for "White Christmas" is sublime and "White Christmas" by The Drifters is a memorable number.

Another highlight of this album would have to be "Merry Merry Christmas Baby" by Margo Sylvia; and Jimmy Boyd's treatment of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a classic I could never forget--this music is all THAT good! The chorus harmonizes sweetly, too. Diana Ross & The Supremes do a fine job on "Silver Bells;" they perform this to perfection--and beyond! "It's Christmas Once Again" by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers is very poignant; and Gene Autry's "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" leaves nothing to be desired. Another number that more than makes the grade is the rocking, positively electric "Run Rudolph Run" by the great Chuck Berry. "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" always brings a smile to my face; and The O'Jays make "Christmas Ain't Christmas (Without the One You Love)" a really special song.

The Harry Simeone Chorale performs "Little Drummer Boy" most passionately; and The Four Seasons do a terrific job on "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." "This Christmas" is yet another big highlight of the CD thanks to the genius of Donny Hathaway; and listen for "Christmas Serenade" by Bobby Maestro. Bobby really does this one up right! The Temptations deliver "Silent Night" with a lot of style; and it all holds its own very well. How's about that music for The Temptations' "Silent Night?" The CD ends with "Another Lonely New Year's Eve" by Jimmy Beaumont; Jimmy sings this very well and it leaves me wanting more!

This excellent album of music featured on WCBS-FM every year at holiday time really showcases the talent of quite a few gifted artists; and hearing these songs brings back great memories for me. I recommend this album for listeners of WCBS-FM; and anyone who enjoys high quality control holiday music from a not so distant past would do well to get this album.

This is the first in many discs of the Ultimate Christmas Album series. I like the fact that still call them albums. 25 songs, mostly well known with a few rarities are on here. My favorite tracks are:

Rockin' Around the Xmas Tree - Brenda Lee
Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
You're My Xmas Present - Jimmy Beaumont & The Skyliners
White Christmas - The Drifters
Merry Merry Xmas Baby - Margo Sylvia & The Tune Weavers
Baby's First Christmas - Connie Francis
It's Christmas Once Again - Frankie Lymon
This Time of the Year - Brook Benton
I'll Be Home For Christmas - Fats Domino
Rudolph the Reindeer - The Cadillacs
Christmas Serenade - Johnny Maestro
Xmas Auld Lang Syne - Bobby Darin

In addition to the Cadillacs' version of Rudolph, Gene Autry's is on here too. Jimmy Beaumont also does Another Lonely New Year's Eve in addition to You're My Christmas Present. Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Jimmy Boyd, Chuck Berry, Dion, the Chipmunks, the O'Jays, the Harry Simeone Chorale, the Four Seasons, Donny Hathaway and The Temptations are all heard on this CD. After hearing it in 1994 when it came out, I said "I hope they do more of these." Boy did they ever. Volume 7 was released in 2008. How far we've come. Joe McCoy, former program director of WCBS FM in NYC, wherever you are, THANK YOU for starting this collection of Ultimate Christmas discs.

This series of Ultimate Chrismas albums is perhaps the best way to revisit Christmas past for baby boomers. I have six or seven of these "ultimate collections," so, of course they are title misnomers. {How can 'the Ultimate collection' not be just one volume?] I simply love Christmas and have hundreds of other Christmas titles, but for gifts - these probably make the best- unless your friend loves a special voice, or band. They beat out the Time Life 2 CD and 4 CD series of Christmas 'memories' or 'treasury' and other collections I have, giving more [song titles per CD, and thus] for your buck!

This 25 song cassette is not bad at all. I has some great Christmas music as well as a Christmas songs I have never heard or heard them sung by that performer. Songs like White Christmas perform by The Drifters and I'll Be Home for Christmas perform by Fats Domino give a Motown twist. Other songs like Christmas Serenade done by Johnny Maesto & The Brooklyn Bridge and Christmas Auld Lang Syne perform by Bobby Darin are songs that I don't hear on the radio during the Christmas season. This is a great cassette to have on hand for the Christmas holiday.