your top 10 favorite Christmas recordings

[hekawi]

its the time of the year for a list of your holiday faves...(no negatives please, there's plenty of room for a thread of your most hated Christmas records)

i titled this thread with the term "recordings" because some of mine are albums, some are single tracks.

1 George Winston: "December" solo piano...simple, creative and beautiful. a wonderful album.

2 Brenda Lee: "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" overflowing with cool guitar licks

3 Bobby Helms: "Jingle Bell Rock" more cool guitar

4 Elvis Presley: "Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me" to me, this one is much better than the better "Blue Christmas", Elvis loved Christmas almost as much as his Momma.

5 Vince Guaraldi Trio: "A Charlie Brown Christmas" how can you not love this soundtrack album?

6 Joni Mitchell: "River" love the jingle bells intro...sweet and sad at the same time

7 Chuck Berry: "Run Run Rudolph" Chuck has a lot of fun with his standard sound and Christmasy lyrics.

8 The Roches: "We Three Kings" the trio of sisters makes an excellent album of carols and originals. beautiful harmonies.

9 Band Aid: "Do They Know It's Christmas" extra points for getting the group together and for the cause it supported.

10a Enya: "Oiche Chiun" Silent Night sung in Gaelic....surprisingly understated and haunting

10b Mannheim Steamroller: "Silent Night" most of their stuff is a little too cute and overproduced, but this version gets me every time. that toy piano at the end is a great touch

 

[dk]

don't listen to much but,

my top 3 would be:
1) I'll Be Home For Christmas - Chet Atkins
2) Melekalikimaka - Bing Crosby
3) Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen

 

[byrdbrain]

1) Christmas Must Be Tonight – The Band
2) Jesus Christ – Big Star
3) There Ain't No Santa Claus on the Evening Stage – Beefheart

Edit: The rest are Swedish hymns, so most of you wouldn't know them.

 

[KC]

classics:

the Ventures Christmas Album (self-explanatory)
The Original Soul Christmas (it just ain't the holidays till I hear "Back Door Santa")
John Fahey's "The New Possibility," for a more contemplative mood.

New this year:

Sufjan Stevens "Songs for Christmas Singalong" -- 5 CDs, a booklet, some stickers and a lot of the music is terrific

Aimee Mann, "One More Drifter in the Snow" -- about as chipper as Aimee usually is, but a nice addition to the Xmas collection.

 

[cvansickle]

No particular order:

Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
(I Believe In) Father Christmas - ELP
Happy Xmas (War is Over) - John Lennon (although there are several good covers too)
Little Drummer Boy - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Jingle Bell Rock - Alvin and the Chipmunks
12 Days of Christmas - Bob & Doug McKenzie
Oh Holly Night - The Judds
Santa Baby - Mindy McCready
Deck the Halls - Shedaisy
Dogs Barking Jingle Bells

 

[Willie D]

Bruce Cockburn - "Mary Had a Baby," and in fact the whole album "Christmas"
Elvis' Christmas recordings
Ringo - "I Wanna Be Santa Claus" CD
Setzer
Rev. Horton Heat - "We Three Kings" CD
Paisley
BNL - "Barenaked for the Holidays"
Chris Isaak - "Christmas"
"Please Come Home for Christmas" - Johnny Winter, from "Hey, Where's Your Brother"
"Christmas, Baby Please Come Home" U2, Darlene Love

 

[Daddy Elmis]

Okay, I'll put it out there:

(1) The Christmas Song -- Nat King Cole. There will never be another voice like that, and this recording is the high water mark everyone else wants to achieve with a Christmas record. We'll be playing this recording at Christmas in the year 3206.


Other favs include:

Christmas Time is Here -- Vince Guaraldi, from the Charlie Brown Christmas album. This one a-l-w-a-y-s gets me.

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town -- Springsteen.

Sleigh Ride -- The Nashville Mandolin Ensemble; this is an amazing version.

 

[maestrovert]

The Martins: O Holy Night
Vince Guaraldi Trio: Charlie Brown Christmas Special Soundtrack
Various Artists: Merry Axemas (Vols 1 & 2)
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Christmas Extravaganza (dvd)
The Beach Boys: Little Saint Nick

 

[genelovesjez]

Dianne Reeves

Lots of great old ones. Here's a relatively new one by Dianne Reeves that's well worth checking out

 

[Pete Galati]

There're some great Chrismas songs at (link removed)

They don't want me linking to their mp3s though. Little Drummer Boy by Marlene Dietrich is pretty amusing.

 

[jazzguitar14]

"Pickin on Christmas"

 

[Five Fingers]

Greg Lake - I Believe In Father Christmas.

 

[tbp0701]

There was a columbia Jazz Christmas release I had back in college. It had two amazing tracks. One was Paquito D'Rivera on sax, with a bass player, doing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." It's astounding. The other favorite track was a pretty cool interpretation of "We Thee Kings" by the Marsallis quartet.

Then there's the Guaraldi "Charlie Brown Christmas"

And Berry's "Run, Run Rudolph."

Louis Armstrong's "'Zat You Santa Claus?" (Setzer has a cool version, too).

Setzer's first Christmas CD.

Those are the standouts right now, but I want to check out the Paisley CD.

 

[genelovesjez]

Does anyone know of a good jazzy/loungy Christmas CD with lots of vibes?

 

[J-Twang]

The soundtrack to "Emmit Otter's Jug Band Christmas"...
Holiday Road from National Lampoon's...
Any Elvis Christmas Tune...
Jewel has a great Christmas Album...
Garth Brooks "Call Me Claus" - Well, the Whole "Spirit of Christmas" CD...
Bing Crosby & Danny Kaye - White Christmas Soundtrack...
Bob Rivers "Twisted Christmas" CD
Sawyer Brown -"It wasn't his child"
Alabama - Tennessee Christmas
Dolly - Hard Candy Christmas

 

[Will Ferrule]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned Boney M yet. "Mary's Boy Child" is a classic...

 

[DougieLove]

1. Dean Martin "Season's Greetings" - my all-time favorite Christmas album
2. Chris Isaak Christmas
3. U2 - "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home"
4. Band Aid - "Do They Know It's Christmas"
5. Sarah McLachlan & the Barenaked Ladies - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings"
6. Lorenna McKennit has a Chirstmas EP with about 4-5 songs on it...very cool.
7. Elvis Presley's Christmas album
8. Bruce Springsteen - "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"
9. Bethlehem Star - I don't remember who did this, but when my wife and I were choir directors at Holloman, we received a promotional copy of this disc. Solo guitar work with some overdubs throughout. Very nice.
10. Luciano Pavoratti - Ave Maria (Schubert). This is probably my favorite song of all time and Pavoratti nails it.

 

[Skully]

3. U2 - "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home"

I love this track. Great vocal by Bono. I also really like the album on which Darlene Love's original version appeared, "A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector," which I believe is Brian Wilson's favorite album of all time. My favorite Xmas album is one by Gene Autry with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," etc.

 

[txspreacher]

Okay, I'll put it out there:

(1) The Christmas Song -- Nat King Cole. There will never be another voice like that, and this recording is the high water mark everyone else wants to achieve with a Christmas record. We'll be playing this recording at Christmas in the year 3206.

Biiiiiiiiig ol' +1!!!!! I settle down after the first time, but the initial time I hear this each year will bring a flood of tears. Sensory overload to childhood memories and then thinking of my kids, too. I love this song! L-O-V-E IT!!!

Dwight Yoakum's version of "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" is also a favorite.

From a spiritual standpoint, I love John Berry's version of "O, Holy Night" and Kathy Mattea's (sp?) "Mary, Did You Know?" - another one that brings me to tears, without fail. I also insist on complete silence when Jessica, my 5-year-old sings "Away In A Manger". Merry Christmas, my friends!!!

 

[Joe-Bob]

Charlie Brown Christmas