Music from Dinah Shore With Henri Rene And His Orchestra, Mario Lanza With Ray Sinatra And His Orchestra And The Jeff Alexander Choir, Pee Wee King And His Golden West Cowboys, Eartha Kitt With Henri Rene And His Orchestra, Perez Prado And His Orchestra, Eddy Arnold With Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra And Chorus, Eddie Fisher With Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra And Chorus, Kay Starr With Hugo Winterhalter And His Orchestra And Chorus, Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte With Tony Scott And His Orchestra And Chorus, and more. (Rock, Vocalists) CD

A really great genre-hopping Christmas collection – one that features jazzy tunes, vocal numbers, and a few rock and country tracks as well – all of which really live up to the vintage spirit of the image on the cover! The set follows nicely in the style of the similarly-titled predecessor – and features an array of 29 postwar tracks that come from that moment when the marketing of Holiday spirit was a very big part of the music business! There's plenty of familiar tunes here, done in unusual versions – and some more obscure Christmas cuts that definitely make the set worthwhile – on titles that include "Mrs Santa Claus" by Nat King Cole, "Peace On Earth" by Peggy Lee, "Hello Mr New Year" by The Coolbreezers, "Merry Christmas To You All" by Elton Britt, "Christmas Candy" by Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely, "It's A Marshmallow World" by Vic Damone, "Snowbound For Christmas" by The DeCastro Sisters, "Be A Santa" by McGuire Sisters, "When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter" by Gene Autry, "Sleigh Ride" by Johnny Desmond, "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Sammy Kaye with Don Cornell, "Christmas Is A Feeling In Your Heart" by Andy Williams, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" by 101 Strings, "Jingle Bell Rock" by Eddy Arnold, and "Snowy White Snow & Jingle Bells" by Vaughn Monroe. (Holiday Music, Vocalists) CD

A great early set from singer Ernestine Anderson – material recorded in Sweden with a sound that's even more sweetly swinging than some of her American albums of the time! The backings on most tracks are by Harry Arnold – one of the hippest Swedish leaders of the time, and an arranger who's clearly got an ear for the more soulful side of Anderson's vocals – hardly the sort of icy Scandinavian sort of groove you might expect! And in a way, Ernestine seems to sound even better in this setting than back home – almost a bit more balanced, with a slight sort of poise that comes through nicely on the ballads. Titles include "Experiment", "Day Dream", "Did I Remember", "Ill Wind", and "My Man". Japanese pressing, with 16 tracks – more than US version! LP, Vinyl record album