Here are three more albums that were mis-shelved and languished for over a decade. The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection (2007) came out before Swift was a superstar. Jo Dee Messina is an underrated Country Western singer. Messina’s A Joyful Noise (2002) is a more traditional Christmas CD with plenty of standard Christmas songs. It’s easy to tell that Messina loves these songs! Willie Nelson’s Pretty Paper came out in 1979. If you like Willie Nelson, you’ll enjoy his enthusiastic renditions of these familiar Christmas songs.
I’m glad I rediscovered these Christmas CDs. Listening to them takes me back across the decades to a kinder, gentler time. Do you have a favorite Christmas song? GRADE: B (for all three)
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Last Christmas Written-By – George Michael | 3:29 | |
| 2 | Christmases When You Were Mine Written-By – Liz Rose, Nathan Chapman, Taylor Swift | 3:10 | |
| 3 | Santa Baby Written-By – Joan Ellen Javits*, Philip Springer, Tony Springer | 2:41 | |
| 4 | Silent Night Arranged By – Taylor Swift | 3:31 | |
| 5 | Christmas Must Be Something More Written-By – Taylor Swift | 3:52 | |
| 6 | White Christmas Written-By – Irving Berlin | 2:33 |
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Winter Wonderland | ||
| 2 | I’ll Be Home For Christmas | ||
| 3 | Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! | ||
| 4 | The Christmas Song | ||
| 5 | Silver Bells | ||
| 6 | Sleigh Ride | ||
| 7 | Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | ||
| 8 | What Child Is This? | ||
| 9 | O Holy Night | ||
| 10 | Silent Night | ||
| 11 | A Joyful Noise | ||
| Bonus Track | |||
| 12 | Keep The Faith |
TRACK LIST:
| Pretty Paper | 2:26 | ||
| White Christmas | 2:48 | ||
| Winter Wonderland | 2:25 | ||
| Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer | 2:12 | ||
| Jingle Bells | 2:11 | ||
| Here Comes Santa Claus | 1:54 | ||
| Blue Christmas | 2:38 | ||
| Santa Claus Is Coming To Town | 2:14 | ||
| Frosty The Snowman | 2:26 | ||
| Silent Night, Holy Night | 3:46 | ||
| O Little Town Of Bethlehem | 1:31 | ||
| Christmas Blues | 3:12 |
Word Press strikes again with “A Very Ali McBeal Christmas” showing up before today’s post. Of the three albums under discussion today, I’d probably like Jo Dee Messina’s the best, although I’d listen to all three of them. My favorite Christmas song is actually an advent carol, “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel”. I could (and have!) listen to it on repeat for hours! My favorite secular Christmas music changes depending on my mood, but “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is always high on the list. For more modern songs, I like the Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas, Darling”, Paul McCartney’s “Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time”, and Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas”.
Deb, clearly WORDPRESS is on Santa’s Naughty List! But, at least it posted a Christmas album. I’m a fan of “The Holly and the Ivy.”
Mt favorite Christmas song is “I Wonder as I Wander”; Kitty (like Deb) marked “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” as her favorite. The older I get the more I dislike many of the secular holiday songs, with “Santa Baby” hitting me like fingernails on a blackboard. Although I enjoy many of the secular songs, traditional carols still hold a top spot for me.
I may also be the only person in the world who does not know any of Taylor Swift’s oevre; I’m sure I’ve heard some of the songs, but only as meaningless background music. The fact that she includes “Santa Baby” would make her album off-putting for me. I’m not familiar with Jo Dee Messina, and Willie can do no wrong to my ears.
Jerry, I’ll have to send you a Jo Dee Messina CD next year. You’ll like her. Taylor Swift is this generation’s Beatles.
Hmm. “Deck the Halls with Boston Charlie” (as I am of the last gen who saw at least some POGO cartoons in the papers by Walt Kelly)…”Children, Go Where I Send Thee” (learned it from the Weavers), “Merry Christmas, Baby” (Otis Redding or Charlie Brown and Bonnie Raitt), Bach Sr.’s JESU.
Jerry. “Santa Baby” is inane, but I’ll take three plays of it in the stead of “I Ain’t Getting Nothin’ For Christmas” or “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”. (I was in a supermarket that was running “Nothin'” recently. Almost enough to make me abandon my cart.)
But Todd, you’ve neem nothin’ but good!
Todd, I remember Steve Oerkfitz railing against Christmas music because he was forced to listen to it over and over again when he worked in a store that played canned Christmas songs.