Pop & Miscellaneous Now Christmas Now That's What I Call Christmas! 1 (2001)
Now That's What I Call Christmas! 1 (2001)
Now That's What I Call Christmas! 1 (2001)
CD1 1. "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" Nat King Cole 3:09 2. "White Christmas" Bing Crosby 2:57 3. "Blue Christmas" Elvis Presley 2:07 4. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Frank Sinatra 3:27 5. "Winter Wonderland" Tony Bennett 2:13 6. "Sleigh Ride" Ella Fitzgerald 2:56 7. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" Dean Martin 1:56 8. "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" Perry Como 2:51 9. "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" Johnny Mathis 2:45 10. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" Burl Ives 2:13 11. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Gene Autry 3:12 12. "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" Elmo & Patsy 3:27 13. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" Brenda Lee 2:05 14. "Jingle Bell Rock" Bobby Helms 2:09 15. "Little Saint Nick" The Beach Boys 2:08 16. "Merry Christmas Darling" The Carpenters 3:05 17. "Christmas Collage" Kathy Mattea 3:33 18. "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" Bing Crosby & David Bowie 2:36 CD2 1. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" John & Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir 3:32 2. "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" Bruce Springsteen 4:25 3. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Band Aid 3:40 4. "Wonderful Christmastime" Paul McCartney 3:45 5. "Our Love Is Like a Holiday" Michael Bolton 3:16 6. "(It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Claus" Harry Connick Jr. 4:37 7. "Jingle Bells" Diana Krall 2:11 8. "Away in a Manger" Mannheim Steamroller 3:18 9. "Deck the Halls" Ottmar Liebert 3:06 10. "Love on Layaway" Gloria Estefan 4:26 11. "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" Celine Dion 4:35 12. "This Christmas" Joe 3:05 13. "Special Gift" The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley 3:57 14. "All We Need Is Love (Christmas in the Yard)" The Big Yard Family featuring Shaggy 3:58 15. "My Only Wish (This Year)" Britney Spears 4:15 16. "You Don't Have to Be Alone (On Christmas)" 'N SYNC 4:32 17. "O Come All Ye Faithful" Luther Vandross 4:17 18. "Silent Night" Boyz II Men 2:31
This CD is one of the best Christmas compilations I have found, as it collects an assortment of older and contemporary Christmas tunes, separated into two discs. The song selection and disc split is pretty good. If you're entertaining the grandparents, put on the first disc; if you're trying to be hip and cool, put on the second disc. The first disc is primarily older classic Christmas songs, many of which are found on other compilations. The second disc contains contemporary Christmas songs, including instant classics.
Nearly all of the 36 songs have been previously released and are available elsewhere, but some of the songs are rather hard to find on CD. For instance, the Band Aid "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is on Midge Ure's Greatest Hits and an Import Christmas CD. It is otherwise difficult to obtain, as is Springsteen's classic version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town."
The main style of music missing from these CDs, however, is the classic Motown sound - Christmas songs by Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, the Temptations, etc. (There are also some 80's Christmas classics not inlcuded, such as Bryan Adams' "Christmastime" and Hall & Oates version of "Jingle Bell Rock" - it would be difficult to have everything included, and those songs can be found elsewhere.)
The liner notes provide a brief explanation of each song, which is somewhat interesting but not always accurate. (For instance, the notes indicate that the Beach Boys have never recorded a Christmas album in their 40 year career - a search at Amazon reveals the 1964 Christmas Album, which has been repackaged and rereleased with extra tracks.) Notwithstanding missing the classic Motown tracks, for the price of this CD (dollar amount), it can't be beat - there's a little something for everyone, young and old alike. If you're going to buy only one Christmas compilation, this is highly recommended. ---Daniel R. Martin, amazon.com
download (mp3 @128 kbs):