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Greatest Christmas Music.


Rimbo

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So, my son stated, quite accurately, that no one took Christmas more seriously than my mother except for Santa Claus himself. Which I think makes me something of an expert on the topic.So, here's the favorites and renditions of old favorites that I consider to be the creme de la creme of all Christmas music.

 

From the Riverwalk in San Antonio: the motherfucking Nutcracker Rag. If you listen to nothing else, listen to this. Literally everything else I post here is, at best, second banana to this song.

 

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More.

 

Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops doing "Sleigh Ride." The Anderson one, not the Mozart one, but that one's good, too. You can find versions of "Sleigh Ride" where choirs actually sing the words, but I think it's better this way.

There are some great takes on The Twelve Days of Christmas. Can't go wrong with Twisted Sister's "Metal" Christmas or the SCTV McKenzie Brothers' version. But for a straight-up rendition of it, this has always been my favorite.

Edited by Rimbo
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Speaking of A Twisted Christmas, Twisted Sister's Dee Snider used to be a church choir kid, and realized that their big hit and a certain Christmas carol had the exact same riff/tune. So they did it:

 

And speaking of metal Christmas, there's only one guy in metal that you figure can hit the high note in "O Holy Night." Yep. Rob Halford of Judas Priest doing a sacred carol:

 

 

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Two more. 

I find that the more a Christmas carol sounds like something from a horror movie, the more I like it.

So here's Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians doing "Masters In This Hall":

 

And, of course, the Ukrainian Christmas Carol, aka "Carol of the Bells." Let's let the Mormon Tabernacle Choir kick your ass with this rendition.

 

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If there aren’t a few Jewish artists singing Christmas classics, then it’s not a real Christmas song list. 
 

Top 10 Christmas Songs by Jewish Songwriters 

  1. Winter Wonderland 
  2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 
  3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
  4. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
  5. It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year 
  6. Do You Know It’s Christmas?
  7. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer 
  8. Sleigh Ride 
  9. White Christmas 
  10. ?????

https://hillelontario.org/blog/10-christmas-songs-written-jews/

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My dad was an older dad (born in 1910).  I was born in 73.  So I inherited some of his old school holiday music preferences.

 

For me, at Christmas, this is like slipping into an old shoe.

 

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Followed by this (different old shoe).

 

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But, as I'm a product of the early 1970s, this is good too.

 

 

Lastly, as an Austinite in the early 1990s, I will promote this as a tremendous Christmas album.

 

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Edited by dcbc
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On 12/8/2022 at 3:59 PM, dcbc said:

My dad was an older dad (born in 1910).  I was born in 73.  So I inherited some of his old school holiday music preferences.

 

For me, at Christmas, this is like slipping into an old shoe.

 

41NThNVnvYL.jpg

 

Followed by this (different old shoe).

 

71CFbjVzreL._SL1500_.jpg

 

But, as I'm a product of the early 1970s, this is good too.

 

 

Lastly, as an Austinite in the early 1990s, I will promote this as a tremendous Christmas album.

 

ab67616d0000b273aadd4d5d0610eb512df89efb

+1 on the Ray Conniff.  Grew up listening to that every year.

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There's Bing's White Christmas, Nat King Cole's A Christmas Song, and Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy and Christmas Time is Here. Then there's everything else.

Damn shame that Vince Guaraldi didn't live long enough to see his music become probably the most iconic Christmas music of my lifetime. That album is just a perfectly beautiful jazz/holiday record.

 

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Recently learned about this one

Quote

The Xmas-Men is actually Robert Earl Keen's backing band, and "Santa Is Real" is a (mostly) instrumental Christmas album. It's a four-piece act, and the album was executive produced by Keen. Guitarist Rich Brotherton is the only one that takes vocal lead when necessary (which only happens briefly, as on "Merry Xmas from the Family)."

Although much of this album takes on an upbeat, western swing feel, the quartet quiets it down significantly for an acoustic, bluegrass-leaning "The Xmas Song." "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" also has a bluegrass vibe, due to its banjo part. One of the most fun songs is mash-up of "The Little Drummer Boy" along with "Linus & Lucy," which swings gently and melodically. Another treat is "Merry Xmas from the Family" featuring Floyd Domino on honky tonk piano. The Xmas-Men return to the Peanuts gang for the jazzy and lovely "Xmas Time Is Here." It's also worth noting that the album cover and title is a direct reference to the old The Louvin Brothers album, "Satan Is Real."

"Santa Is Real" is not the kind of album that's going to reach out and grab you by the collar. Rather, it's a fairly laidback, well played softly swinging take on some old familiar holiday tunes. Think of it as Christmas chill music.

 

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