Where Will You Be Christmas Day

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dust to Digital
• ASIN: B00064AFFU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,012 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Kelefa Sanneh, New York Times, November 16, 2004

…the best and strangest Christmas album you'll hear all year.

…wonderful for tree-trimming..., its true triumph is its longevity: It will last longer than your evergreen.

…excellent sound, attractive packaging and full discographical info adds up to one of the best collections of songs about Christmas…

Product Description

Dust-to-Digital is proud to announce our new Holiday Series, curated by musicologist Dick Spottswood. Based on his popular radio show in Washington, D.C., our series is initiated with a Christmas Gift, a compact disc full of rare yuletide gems.

Just as Goodbye, Babylon showed the many sides of gospel music, Where Will You Be Christmas Day? shows many sides of Christmas – from Jesus born in the manger to Leroy Carr spending the holiday in jail. Some of the artists featured include Alabama Sacred Harp Singers, Butterbeans and Susie, Fiddlin' John Carson, Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers, Lightnin' Hopkins, Los Jibaros, Kansas City Kitty, Lead Belly, Lord Executor, Maddox Brothers and Rose, and Bessie Smith. Together they provide a compelling contrast to the commercialized Christmas we know today...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an amazing CD that i listen to all year long!, November 30, 2005

By 

M. Allen (iowa city, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Will You Be Christmas Day (Audio CD)

this is quite possibly the best CD i have ever heard in my life. i absolutely treasure the music and am so thankful that the guys at dust-to-digital thought to put this compilation together. it is not "christian" necessarily, even though it is a christmas album (when you hear "christmas in jail" and "papa ain't no santa claus" you'll see what i mean) so don't think that it is only for those whose taste runs to the religious. the music represents the soul, the backbone, and the seed of just about all american music (except perhaps techno...). a must own for any lover of folk, country, rock, blues, soul, gospel, and even funk music. this is the best of the best--you will not be disappointed!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great great music, December 19, 2006

By 

Eliminator Man (Plymouth, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where Will You Be Christmas Day (Audio CD)

I love this cd. The songs are uniquely christmasy. I don't necessarily play it Christmas morning when I'm sticking with the traditional stuff, but I play it more than any other Christmas cd I have. In contrast to the guy that doesn't think these are recorded well, I think these have excellent sound quality for this type of old music. The variety is awesome from the bagpipe guy to a Leadbelly quicky, Buell Kazee doing his usual thing to blues, solo vocals and more. I get these songs, like "The Wrong Way to Celebrate Christmas" in my head and I can't get them out. I wish I could find another Christmas cd like this one. Now that would be the right way to "Celebrate Christmas".

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unique- cannot be categorized!, December 25, 2005

By 

Bryan Barrow (Santa Cruz, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Where Will You Be Christmas Day (Audio CD)

This CD has a wide range of musical styles, collected from rare recordings from the 20's to the 50's; most of the recording seem to come from a gospel/blues tradition, but each is unique in it's own way...
Some of these songs are quite enjoyable, but others take some getting used to; this is not a CD I would play on Christmas with the family gathered round, but I have been listening to it in my car during the holiday season...I collect Xmas CD's, and this unusual compilation is a welcome addition to my collection.