Holiday Music -- Recently Added  

A warm, real and hokum free Christmas album from Carla Bley -- played with a depth of affection for the material on both the well known numbers and the excellent couple of originals! Karla alternates between spiritual resonance, and playful warmth, having a lot of fun with 20th Century holiday song ...

One of the coolest Christmas compilations you could ever hope to own -- but you probably guessed that already, from the cover image that pays tribute to a classic set from James Brown! The JB image is certainly well placed -- as most of the tracks here are deeply funky Holiday tunes -- the kind of ...

A very sweet and well chosen compilation of Christmas gems from Frank Sinatra & friends put together by Sinatra's peeps and Concord Records -- featuring some of our personal favorite cheerful swingers by Frank, and more from Tony Bennett & Bill Evans, Ray Charles & Betty Carter, ...

A saxophone soul Christmas with Jimmy Sommers -- a set that's actually much more straight jazz than most of his other records, and a nicely understated album with a really classic feel! Jimmy blows straight, and just a bit smooth -- and gets acoustic backings that swing along gently, as he ...

A great holiday album from Ray Charles -- recorded in the 80s, but with a sound that's pretty classic all the way through! Ray's vocals are excellent -- with that raspy intimate quality that persists all through his later years -- and the sweetly jazzy arrangements work perfectly with the voice to ...

Hard to argue with the title on this one -- because at 2CDs, and 51 tracks, the set's probably the biggest Motown Christmas collection ever! The package is filled with goodness from the legendary label -- the kind of Holiday tunes they first started cutting in the 60s, with great gems from the 70s ...

Holiday magic from The Jackson 5 -- a group whose youthful warmth made them one of the best acts to ever handle Christmas music for Motown! The set features rare tracks, plus the group's great Christmas Album for Motown from 1970 -- one of the best Motown Christmas albums ever -- a really playful ...

First, we'll confess, we've been in love with the Aqua Teens since first stumbling upon it, bleary-eyed, on latenight cable tee vee a bunch of years ago. OK, with that said, take with however many grains of salt our word that this is the absolute funniest comedy Christmas album we've heard in ...

We wouldn't wish misery on anyone during the Holidays, but if you've got to be blue during Christmas -- this is a good place to start! The set's a nice collection of older bluesy numbers, mostly from the 50s and 60s, offering a nice laidback take on Christmas -- one that gets past the pasted-on ...

Why thank you -- we will! Kenny does too, as he grooves nicely and gently over arrangements by Richard Evans, perfectly crafted in that soul jazz mode of his 60s work for Chess -- not Kenny's most challenging format, to be sure, but proof that he often works better in a more structured environment ...

It's records like this that will keep us loving the Isley Brothers year after year -- and with such great Holiday tunes on the set, you can bet we'll be pulling this one out for many Christmases to come! Despite the slightly postured look on the front cover, the duo's sounding nicely laidback here ...

A vintage Holiday recording from The Staple Singers -- a set recorded back in the group's earliest, rootsiest days! The sound here is quite spare -- no surprise, given that the session was done by Riverside Records, at a time when the label was pushing the gospel-influenced quartet onto folk ...

One of the goofiest Christmas albums you'll ever hear! Spike cut this one with his City Slickers in the mid 50s -- and it's kind of got the feel of a TV show gone crazy. Many of the songs start out in a sweet mode -- often with vocals by a female singer or kids -- but then a lot of them go very ...

A classic -- and probably one of the best-selling Christmas jazz albums of all time! Ramsey and his classic trio with Redd Holt and Eldee Young serve up a tight set of grooves based around Holiday favorites like "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Winter Wonderland", "Here ...

As cookin a Christmas album as you'll ever find! Jimmy works with Billy Byers to craft some sublime instrumentals that have his Hammond interpreting Christmas classics like "We Three Kings", "White Christmas", "Silent Night", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", ...

One of the few great Christmas jazz albums recorded in recent years -- one with a classic sound that takes us back to 60s holiday jazz from Blue Note and Prestige! Harry Allen's working here in a no-nonsense mode with organ, guitar, and drums backing him up -- a lean and clean sound that really ...

A sweet swinging Christmas from the legendary Tony Bennett -- a set that features some wonderful backing from the Count Basie Big Band, which includes a core quartet with Monty Alexander on piano! There's a really old school Holiday feel here -- the kind of Christmas record that could have been ...

A sweet swinging Christmas from the legendary Tony Bennett -- a set that features some wonderful backing from the Count Basie Big Band, which includes a core quartet with Monty Alexander on piano! There's a really old school Holiday feel here -- the kind of Christmas record that could have been ...

A pretty sweet little collection of Christmas tunes from Petula Clark -- numbers from the 60s, 70s and 90s she had record -- plus a few brand new originals! Despite having recorded some wonderful seasonal material over the years, there has never been a full Petula Clark holiday release before this ...

A cool jazzy Christmas album from Etta Jones -- one that features laidback soul jazz backings, and a sound that's quite different than the usual Holiday set! Etta's vocals have all the blue tones you'd expect, and the backings are kind of an update of 60s soul jazz styles -- played by two ...

A salsa Christmas from Impacto Crea -- a set recorded right around the same time as Willie Colon's classic Holiday records of this nature! Ismael Miranda and Adalberto Santiago each sing lead on one track -- and the group features Antonio Rodriguez on piano and tres, Alfredo Rios on saxes, ...

A wonderful addition to our Holiday music collection -- served up by the always-tasteful folks at Cafe Apres Midi! The collection follows in the style of the non-Christmas Cafe Apres sets -- bringing together a variety of tunes old and new, of many styles -- all in pursuit of the grooviest sounds ...

A pretty cool little Christmas record -- one that really reminds us of some of the more tripped-out Holiday outings from the late 60s! Eban Schletter mixes up voices and electronics in a really heavenly blend -- definitely the Cosmic Christmas promised by the title, with an eerie outer space sort ...

A classic batch of Christmas tunes from the vaults of Stax Records! The label's legendary Memphis soul and blues artists deliver a wonderful batch of tunes that includes some original compositions that have since gone onto become Holiday soul classics, plus new renditions of older tracks, all ...

A wonderfully groovy set of Christmas tracks -- one done in a style very similar to the Get Easy Snow compilations -- as you might guess from the title! The selection here is great -- with a few perennial favorites, a few rare gems, and a great middle stretch of wonderful bits from some of the ...

A collection of Christmas work from some of Motown's biggest artists of the late 60s and early 70s -- an all-star lineup that includes "Christmas Everyday" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, "Silver Bells" and "White ...

A collection of Christmas classics from Motown -- all served up at a mighty nice price! The package features 10 tracks in all -- all of them by the label's biggest acts -- and titles include "My Favorite Things" by Diana Ross & The Supremes, "Frosty The Snowman" and "Gi ...

An expanded version of Stevie's Someday At Christmas album -- a very groovy little Christmas album, recorded by youngish Stevie, but with all the soul that he was bringing to his excellent late 60s recordings. The track list features a nice mix of chestnuts and some odder material -- and titles ...

A distillation of the best of Christmas Motown -- a set that features some of the best cuts from the individual artists' Holiday albums cut for the label, plus some harder to find tracks from singles! The package features 12 tracks in all -- including "Silent Night" and "Rudolph The ...

A classic batch of Christmas tunes from the vaults of Stax Records! The label's legendary Memphis soul and blues artists deliver a wonderful batch of tunes that includes some original compositions that have since gone onto become Holiday soul classics, plus new renditions of older tracks, all ...

The mid 90s ode to Christmas from Death Row Records -- with a little bit of gangsta and g funk holiday hip hop from Tha Dogg Pound, plus street soul from Danny Boy and Nate Dogg. The cover art is later Death Row personified, and leads you to think this is going the be an ominous West Coast gangsta ...

A real standout Christmas soul session from the 80s -- a decade when the soul Christmas album seemed to almost fall by the wayside! Alexander's working here with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis -- and although the sound's a bit contemporary, the spirit of the holiday more than shines through, thanks to ...

A surprisingly cool collection of tracks that hides under the "Merry Christmas Baby" title of Charles Brown's big postwar Holiday hit -- but which instead includes a fair bit of later soul, blues, and gospel numbers recorded for Jewel and Paula Records! The package mixes things up nicely ...

An 80s crossover classic -- a set that's probably a bit more dated than some Holiday albums you might own, but which still got plenty of spins in plenty of houses back in the day! The Jets sing with just the style you'd expect from their curls -- sweet, soulful, and a little bit poppy too. There's ...

An 80s collection that features older Holiday recordings by Johnny Mathis -- mostly music cut during his early famous run on Columbia Records -- when Johnny's heavenly vocals made things pretty darn spiritual sounding all year long! The arrangements are relatively full -- a fair bit of strings on ...

Christmas sounds, and a bit more too -- an interesting collection of material recorded by Aretha Franklin in the early 60s for Columbia, and in the late 80s for Arista! There's definitely a fair bit of Holiday tunes on the set, but they're also mixed in with a few standards too -- but these are ...

A rare little Holiday tune from the Poets Of Rhythm -- recorded as a brief one-off back in the 90s, but done with a thumping funky groove that reminds us of classic 60s Christmas work by James Brown! "Santa's Got" has a really really heavy bottom -- with some of those nice dubby touches ...

Waaaaaaay more than a collection of Holiday Music -- simply one of the grooviest sets we've heard in a long long time! The compilation is the 5th in the stellar Get Easy series, and it more than lives up to previous volumes with a wealth of hard to find Christmas tunes, served up in a late 60s ...

Warm 60s television sounds from The King Family -- that copious collection of singers that features the core King Sisters at the start, then expands to include their kids and most of their other relatives as well! These are the kind of tracks that really take us back to the kind of TV specials ...

Groovy Christmas instrumentals from the great Stu Phillips -- one of the most sublime sessions recorded by his studio group at Capitol Records in the 60s -- and that's saying a lot, given that they also took on music by The Beatles and Beach Boys! Stu brings a subtle sort of groove to his strings ...

It's never too late for a groovy Christmas tune -- and this one is plenty darn groovy! "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" is done here as a weird sitar-heavy instrumental -- one that has these chunky, plunky percussion bits on the bottom -- all sounding very spare and stripped-down -- ...

One of the grooviest Christmas albums we've ever stocked -- a package that's full of unusual Holiday gems, yet which never trades obscurity for the festive spirit of the season! Like the first 2 volumes in the series, this one really digs deep -- moving past familiar favorites into a range of long- ...

Have yourself a groovy little Christmas with this fab fab set -- a dreamy collection of Holiday rarities that goes way beyond the obvious! Following on the heels of the sublime first Snow set, the folks at Get Easy have bundled together a wonderful assortment of overlooked Christmas goodies -- ...

The Temps' 1970 Christmas album -- decidedly mellower than most of their non-holiday work at the time, with production by Barrett Strong and Clay McMurray, and an overall approach that's in keeping with the sanctimonious spirit of the holiday. In other words, the heavy rumbling Norman Whitfield ...

A cool double-length Christmas set from the mighty Wayne Newton -- recorded here right at the cusp of his later young years at Capitol Records! The core Newton groove from the Bobby Darin-supervised years is still nicely in place -- that undeniable charm that Wayne had right from the start -- ...

Frank Sinatra's first run of Christmas work -- material recorded for Columbia Records in the late 40s, but quite similar to his better-known Holiday sides for Capitol in the 50s! As with that work, the style here is quite respectful of the spirit of the season -- more reverent than playful, ...

Ben, Hoss, Little Joe and all of the Ponderosa wish you a Merry Christmas -- and if we weren't already pure suckers for the musical stylings of Lorne Greene -- this one with the cast of Bonanza would have done the trick! What should come off as cornpone hokum is a whole lot of good natured fun, ...

We can't think of anyone we'd rather have sitting round the Christmas tree than ol' Perry Como! The guy's more relaxed, laidback, trusting, and honest than any of our old relatives combined -- and all of his old barber charm comes through perfectly on this set of Christmas tunes from Como's ...

The warm voice of Jim Reeves makes these holiday tunes sound mighty nice -- especially considering that the arrangements here are by Bill Justis and Chet Atkins! Jim may not be our favorite country artist on other material, but he does a great job of sending these tunes home for the holidays with ...

An expanded version of the Beach Boys' legendary Christmas album -- a harmony heaven way to enjoy the Holiday! The group's version of Christmas has to be one of the best-ever recorded in rock and roll -- and given the undercurrent of sadness that was coming forth in their non-Holiday hits of the ...

June Christy's rarest album -- and one of the saddest Christmas records you'll ever buy! The set features all original tunes written for the album by the team of Connie Pearce and Arnold Miller -- and they're perfectly suited for June's late boozy style, much more lanquid than on earlier bouncier ...

A socking soul Christmas -- from 2 different decades! This overstuffed set brings together Jackie Wilson's Merry Christmas album from 1963 -- originally recorded for Brunswick -- and Al Green's The Christmas Album, recorded 20 years later for Hi Records. Both records feature a fairly standard set ...

One of the coolest Christmas albums ever -- a tripped-out classic from Chicago's legendary Rotary Connection! The album's every bit as wonderful as any of the group's non-Holiday sets for Cadet Records -- and maybe even has more to offer, given that the euphoria of the season is thrown into the ...

Ho, Ho, Huh? -- an unexpected seasonal delight from Peanut Butter Wolf -- who curates a collection of funky funky Christmas gems from Stones Throw Records! Badd Santa features a handful of tracks from some of the more adventurous names on the Stones Throw roster -- Georgia Anne Muldrow, Baron Zen ...

A classic batch of Christmas tunes from the vaults of Stax Records -- material from the It's Christmas Time Again album, plus bonus tracks too! The label's legendary Memphis soul and blues artists deliver a wonderful batch of tunes that includes some original compositions that have since gone onto ...

Phil Spector's classic Christmas album -- a swirling delight of 60s pop and soul numbers, still one of the greatest full Christmas LPs ever recorded! Tracks include "Frosty The Snowman" by The Ronettes, "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans, "Marshmall ...

A wonderful Holiday album that's stayed fresh for years! Ella's got a perfect style to interpret these numbers -- working with Frank DeVol and Russ Garcia in a set of lightly jazzy versions of Christmas favorites like "Sleigh Ride", "Jingle Bells", "Winter Wonderland" ...

A very different album than Ella's more jazz-based Holiday set for Verve -- recorded in a mode that's much more focused on the serious side of the season! The format here has Ella singing with larger backings in a style that has some slight gospel overtones, and which focuses on the broadest range ...

Stop, mommy -- it hurts! This incredibly painful album features the whole cast of the Brady Bunch -- well, the kids only, really -- singing Christmas tunes like "The First Noel", "Jingle Bells", "Frosty The Snowman", "Silent Night", and "Little Drummer ...

A sparkling 60s Holiday album from Lena Horn -- one that has her singing over some nicely jazzy arrangements from Jack Parnell, in a mode that brings out the most delightful qualities in both her vocals and the tunes! The set's quite groovy -- much more so than you might expect -- and it's a great ...

One of the greatest instrumental Christmas albums of all time -- a non-stop swinging affair from the legendary Alvino Rey -- recorded under his Ira Ironstrings tag while under contract to Capitol under his real name! The style here is a weird mix of the swinging bachelor pad styles you'd know from ...

A relatively ambitious Christmas album from Gladys Knight & The Pips -- done in a rich style that's clearly meant to be more seriously reverent of the Holiday than their usual soul hits of the time! The best numbers here are the ones that are the most laidback -- letting the group drift ...

A bumpin' soul Christmas from the crew at LaFace Records -- some key early 90s R&B and hip hop acts -- joined together in celebration of the season! Tracks include "Joy All Day" and "Players Ball" by Outkast, "This Christmas" by Usher, "All I Want For ...

An instant Holiday classic from Ledisi -- the kind of all-soul Christmas record we haven't heard since the 70s! Ledisi's great at any time of the year, but she really sounds wonderful here in this seasonal set -- working with producer Rex Rideout in a batch of tunes that still have all the deeper ...

The roots of the Verve Remixed Christmas album -- but a set that stands strongly on its own as a sweet batch of classic Holiday tunes! Most of the numbers here are jazz and vocal chestnuts pulled from the Verve catalog of the 40s through the 60s -- and although most are familiar, they're put ...

One of the grooviest groups in the world does Christmas! The Swingles turn their jazzy harmonies to a mix of tunes that includes older classics and newer tunes, all done in medley form, in a way that flows together to give the tunes a groovy 60s punch! Titles include "The Holly & The ...

A sweet set of classic Christmas music from the Temptations -- featuring one previously unissued track! The set's got some great mellow group soul versions of Christmas standards, plus a few unique tracks -- with a total of 12 titles that include "Give Love On Christmas Day", "Christ ...

Excellent funky Christmas! Not everyone knows it, but James Brown cut a fair number of Christmas albums during the 60s -- 3 albums, and a bunch of singles to be exact! They're all super-rare, but this great comp brings together some of the best material from those years -- and nearly all the ...

A repackaged version of one of THE classic Motown Christmas albums -- with 4 bonus tracks! The set features the Supremes at their height, with production by Harvey Fuqua and arrangements from Gene Page, HB Barnum and Ernie Freeman. The whole thing's incredibly soulful -- and the only thing ...

Tunes pulled from a number of different eras -- including some gems from the classic Verve, Chess, Impulse, and Mercury catalogs of the 60s -- and one of the finer collections of Christmas jazz to be issued in a long time! There's none of the schmaltzy newer work that can ruin a good Christmas ...

A Motown Christmas double-header -- 5 tracks each by two of the label's best groups of the 60s! Diana Ross & The Supremes sing "Silver Bells", "White Christmas", "My Favorite Things", "My Christmas Tree", and "Joy To The World" -- and The ...

One of the few secular, or partly-secular, recordings made by Al Green in the 80s -- a set of Christmas tunes that shows he still hasn't lost any of his warmth or special spirit! The set was done for Hi Records, but the backings are a bit more contemporary than Al's 70s work for the label -- never ...

The Temps give love at Christmas -- and manage to do it with a heck of a lotta soul! The set's got some surprisingly nice late Motown arrangements from Harold Johnson, Gil Askey, and Teddy Randazzo -- supporting the group's mellow seasonal harmonies nicely! There's a few nice Motown numbers on ...

It's been 3 decades since Brian Wilson first recorded a Christmas album, but from the sound of this set, it feels like it's only been 3 weeks! This surprisingly great album follows strongly in the spirit of the original Beach Boys Christmas Album of the 60s -- overflowing with warm pop harmonies ...

A tasty set of tracks from the Motown Holiday catalog -- featuring a number of previously unissued tunes and alternate takes! The set's got work by a few of the bigger acts, mixed with some lesser-known gems -- and makes for enough to please both fans of the label's older work and newcomers who ...

A groovy batch of Christmas carols from the Singers Unlimited, harmonizing in their trademark mellow, jazzy style over some nice arrangements by group member Gene Puerling! The feel is very sweet -- fantastically harmonic, and set to impeccable MPS production -- and most of the tunes here are ...

A Holiday take on the Verve Remixed series -- one that features classic jazz and vocal Christmas tunes, served up here in fresh new mixes! The vintage of the originals seems to be even older than the usual work in this series -- more traditional tracks that probably provide a bit more challenge to ...

It's Miss Patti's Christmas, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are along for the ride to make sure things come out right! But unlike in the old days, the newly-reinvented Jam/Lewis team has a great ear for subtlety here -- and they help keep the album in just the right spot -- unique enough to really ...

A great little modern Christmas tune from Brian Wilson -- served up with the harmonic brilliance of his 60s holiday classics with The Beach Boys! "What I Really Want For Christmas" has a nice sort of sad-tinged quality -- a bit of darkness and a real sense of longing that's further ...

One of the first ladies of Christmas pop is back in fine form here -- singing soulful versions of a host of "neoclassics" -- contemporary Holiday tunes from the past decade or two! Darlene Love's been remembered strongly year after year for her annual Holiday performance on David ...

The Partridge Family take on Christmas hits both old and new -- working here with Wes Farrell arrangements in their sunny, sing-song style of the 70s! David's handling lead vocals on most of the tunes, but the rest of the group are always ready to back him up -- and the best moments here are ...

A surprising step for Rahsaan Patterson, but a great one too -- an album of Holiday music that shows a whole new side of his talents! The album's every bit as soulful as earlier work by Rahsaan, but it also shows some different modes as well -- tunes that are catchy, captivating, and destined to ...

Boozy magic from Dino -- and a really great batch of tunes that will take you from Christmas all the way through January! Dean eschews the standard sound of the holiday, and goes for more of a "winter romance" approach -- singing about snowtime love and wintry opportunity, and bringing a ...

Christmas Soul from the great Patti Labelle -- a CD that brings together her first full Christmas album, plus a number of bonus singles -- making for a nicely stuffed 16 track collection! These early 60s sides have a sweet, warm, innocent sound that's completely wonderful -- a soulful girl group ...

Ok, sounds a bit sill -- a "sensual" Christmas -- and you have to blame the cloying marketing of Rhino for that horrid title. But believe it or not, this is actually a great set of Christmas tunes, and it includes some excellent soul classics! Most of the cuts will be familiar to you, ...

Boozy magic from Dino -- and a really great batch of tunes that will take you from Christmas all the way through January! Most of the work is from the classic album Winter Romance -- a set that has Dean eschewing the standard sound of the holiday, and going for more of a "winter romance" ...

The smoother side of Christmas -- but one that's still pretty festive as well, thanks to a host of contemporary jazz and soul recordings from the past decade or two! The material's a bit more recent than other work in the Jazzclub series, but it still shares the same great ear for selecting a tune ...

Textbook Red Simpson readings of Christmas tunes -- 18 wheels of shuffling Bakersfield rhythms and endearingly twangy holiday cheer! Red's best remembered in the mainstream for novelty truck driving honky tonk tunes, but thankfully more than a few folks know that he's truly a master of the ...

A later Motown Christmas session -- recorded by The Four Tops in the mid 90s with a decidedly modern soul take on the sounds of The Holiday! Most of the numbers are traditional tunes -- both secular and spiritual -- and the group's producing their own work throughout the set. Aretha Franklin ...

A harmony heaven way to enjoy the Holiday! The group's version of Christmas has to be one of the best-ever recorded in rock and roll -- and given the undercurrent of sadness that was coming forth in their non-Holiday hits of the period, the style here is perfect to fit the melancholy mood of the ...

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A 2 sided monster! Side one features James Brown's incredible Christmas tune -- one of our favorite ever, and a wonderful mix of swinging soul and catchy chorus -- a solid winner that still gets us every December! The flip's a rare instrumental -- bubbling and burning with some nice funky ...

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An unusual later Motown Christmas album -- one that features tracks that aren't as well known as some of the label's classics! Titles include "Christmas Presence" by Gerald Alston & Shanice, "Give Love On Christmas Day" by Johnny Gill, "Silent Night" by The ...

A wonderful Holiday album that's stayed fresh for years! Ella's got a perfect style to interpret these numbers -- working with Frank DeVol and Russ Garcia in a set of lightly jazzy versions of Christmas favorites like "Sleigh Ride", "Jingle Bells", "Winter Wonderland" ...

Alvin, Dave, and crew continue their merry Christmas mayhem -- playfully delivering new versions of older Christmas favorites, all topped off by the mad studio wizardry of David Seville! If you can take squeaky-voiced rodents as much as we do, you'll love the album's versions of "Deck The ...

A classic Christmas set from Elvis -- recorded with a mix of tunes that show the popular and spiritual nature of the holiday. Elvis sings with the Imperials Quartet on many numbers, in a white gospel sort of way -- and titles include "I'll Be Home On Christmas Day", "Silver ...

A great little album of Christmas tunes -- handled by this heavenly group of Chicago soul studio musicians! The great Richard Evans heads up the group -- and as usual, he brings a sound to the recording that pushes the material way past its roots, using the string-heavy instrumentation of the ...

Rudy brings new meaning to the phrase "the stockings were hung with care"! Even the sacred date of December 25th is no match for Rudy -- who works his usual raunchy magic on the Christmas season. ...

The follow-up to Ramsey's famous Sounds of Christmas album -- and even better than the first! The record features Ramsey's trio with Eldee Young, plus guest work by Cleveland Eaton on bass and a young Steve McCall on drums! Plus, a number of tracks feature larger backing by a jazz group arranged ...

Like the title says, this is Pete Rodriguez's Christmas album. You might expect a lot of soppy Christmas carols, but still, the groove's pretty groovy, and there are a few nice boogaloos -- so forget the holiday component of this one, and check it out for the Latin grooves. Titles include "Bo ...

A great 12" of Philly disco numbers for your holiday party! Vince Montana heads this little Christmas and New Year's disco project -- pushing the Salsoul Orchestra with that great full sound he had at the time -- a blend of strings and soul that could be kitschy, but comes off great on these ...

One of the goofiest Christmas albums you'll ever hear! Spike cut this one with his City Slickers in the mid 50s -- and it's kind of got the feel of a TV show gone crazy. Many of the songs start out in a sweet mode -- often with vocals by a female singer or kids -- but then a lot of them go very ...

Not the great older Christmas songs Brown recorded for King, but still a nice R&B holiday record, made years later. 9 great Christmas numbers in all: "Coming Home To Mama For Christmas", "Peace At Christmas", "What A Christmas For Me", "No friend This ...

Great stuff -- one of the best Christmas jazz albums you'll ever hope to find! The set features 70s tunes that are much more expansive than the work on Columbia's previous best-selling jazz Holiday CD -- Jingle Bell Jazz -- played by an assortment of the label's strongest players at the end of the ...

Two numbers pulled from the second Salsoul Orchestra Christmas album -- produced and arranged by the mighty Patrick Adams! Both tracks are nice and long, and we're especially partial to the "Christmas Suite", which is a syncopated romp through Holiday themes that runs for almost 8 ...

The twin piano magic of Ferrante & Teicher really makes the Holidays come alive -- working here with full orchestrations that are heavy on strings, but leave plenty of room for the boys' pianos to ring out strongly! Side one is a bit more lush, side two a bit more playful -- and titles include ...

Philly classics for the Holidays! The legendary Christmas Jolllies set by the Salsoul Orchestra was one of the label's biggest-selling albums -- originally recorded in 1976, and pressed again and again over the years -- and eventually remixed even stronger in the early 90s. Vince Montana is at ...

Vanessa serves up a contemporary gospel batch of Christmas tunes -- but also works here with some arrangements that are more traditional than some of her regular albums of the time. Titles include "Christ The Lord", "Drummer Boy", "Go Tell It On The Mountain", "Ch ...

A classic collection of Holiday tunes pulled from the 50s LA R&B scene -- some of the first great secular soul tracks recorded for the season, and proof of the growing power of west coast R&B at the time! Titles include Charles Brown's classic "Merry Christmas Baby", plus "Lo ...

An 80s groove Christmas from the Total Experience label -- one of the more obscure entries into the contemporary Holiday genre, but a great one too! The set's got a wonderful version of "This Christmas" done by The Gap Band -- who also do "I Miss You Most Of All At Christmas" ...

A sparkling 60s Holiday album from Lena Horn -- one that has her singing over some nicely jazzy arrangements from Jack Parnell, in a mode that brings out the most delightful qualities in both her vocals and the tunes! The set's quite groovy -- much more so than you might expect -- and it's a great ...

Not really a Christmas album -- and more just a promo from Arista, issued at the Holidays as a way to get a bit more push for their bigger soul hits of the time! Titles include "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me" by Aretha Franklin & George Michael, "I Got A Thing For You" by ...

The second Christmas Jolllies set by the Salsoul Orchestra, but unlike the first volume, which was under the guidance of Vince Montana, this second volume has Patrick Adams at the helm! The sound is kind of a disco Christmas if you can imagine that, with nicely grooving versions of "Joyful ...

Have yourself a very old school Christmas with Kurtis Blow reminding you what Christmas is really all about! Actually, this is just "Rappin' Blow" with a small holiday intro edited onto the front end. ...

Jack Ashford handled this obscure little record of Christmas disco tracks -- and the sound is similar to some of his own work on the Magic Disc label, although with the requisite Christmas touches! ...

An expanded version of this classic set of Motown Christmas tunes -- one that features some of the best cuts from the individual artists' Holiday albums cut for the label, plus some harder to find tracks from singles! The set's got 24 tracks in all, with titles that include "Santa Claus Is ...

Classic holiday tunes from Henry Mancini! Hank's working in a mellow Holiday mode here -- using fuller arrangements than usual for the session -- to match the auspicious nature of the event! The first half is in a more popular mode that's in keeping with some of Mancini's themes for soundtracks ...

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Excellent funky Christmas! Not everyone knows it, but James Brown cut a fair number of Christmas albums during the 60s -- 3 albums, and a bunch of singles to be exact! They're all super-rare, but this great comp brings together some of the best material from those years -- and nearly all the ...

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A real standout Christmas soul session from the 80s -- a decade when the soul Christmas album seemed to almost fall by the wayside! Alexander's working here with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis -- and although the sound's a bit contemporary, the spirit of the holiday more than shines through, thanks to ...

A very different album than Ella's more jazz-based Holiday set for Verve -- recorded in a mode that's much more focused on the serious side of the season! The format here has Ella singing with larger backings in a style that has some slight gospel overtones, and which focuses on the broadest range ...

A real standout Christmas soul session from the 80s -- a decade when the soul Christmas album seemed to almost fall by the wayside! Alexander's working here with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis -- and although the sound's a bit contemporary, the spirit of the holiday more than shines through, thanks to ...

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Backed by the New York Choral Society, American Boychoir, Orchestra Of St Luke's, Orchestra Of The English National Opera, and more. ...

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One of the greatest Christmas albums of the 20th century -- a rich tapestry of sadness and longing from Ol' Blue Eyes himself! Sure, most folks think that Christmas albums are supposed to be cheery and celebratory -- but Frank, coming off of his best Wee Small Hours years at Capitol, rightly chose ...

One of the best Motown Christmas albums ever -- a really playful romp through a set of classic Holiday tunes, all sung by the youthful Jackson 5 at their best! There's a charm here that's undeniable -- and the energy of the group at this point in their career makes the music way more than just a ...

An amazing record -- one with a depth that goes way beyond its simple roots, and which has gone on to become one of the true Christmas classics of the 20th Century! Although a Christmas soundtrack, the album's more of a tapestry of sadness, longing, and loss -- the best qualities that always ...

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Although recorded a bit later than some of Gladys Knight's better-known Holiday work, this album's actually our favorite of the bunch -- because it's got a looser, more soul-based feel that gets beyond some of the overdone modes of earlier Christmas work! Gladys is clearly trying to get more ...

An 80s crossover classic -- a set that's probably a bit more dated than some Holiday albums you might own, but which still got plenty of spins in plenty of houses back in the day! The Jets sing with just the style you'd expect from their curls -- sweet, soulful, and a little bit poppy too. There's ...

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An excellent album of soulful Christmas tunes -- one of the best 70s Holiday albums we can think of! The big highlight is the work by Luther -- the perennial classic "May Christmas Bring You Happiness", a 70s Christmas tune on a par with "This Christmas", and his mellower " ...

The Temps give love at Christmas -- and manage to do it with a heck of a lotta soul! The set's got some surprisingly nice late Motown arrangements from Harold Johnson, Gil Askey, and Teddy Randazzo -- supporting the group's mellow seasonal harmonies nicely! There's a few nice Motown numbers on ...