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Ghost Canyon

Title - The Wonderful World of Christmas: Legacy Records!
Artist - Various

Well, if you are looking for some lovely Christmas vinyl LPs to place under your tree this season, or if you are looking for the very same to place on your record players to enhance the Christmas mood wihtin the home, Legacy Recordings has just what you need! Releasing five (5) new Christmas vinyl releases from the label's top tier artists, such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Luther Vandross, and more, The Wonderful World of Christmas is here via Legacy Recordings.

First up is a delightful vinyl reissue of the Luther Vandross classic This is Christmas. The 1995 platinum seller features Vandross' inimitably velvet vocals on original songs such as "With a Christmas Heart," "Every Year, Every Christmas" and "I Listen to the Bells" (featuring Darlene Love), as well as the familiar chestnuts "My Favorite Things," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "O Come All Ye Faithful."

The stand outs for me are "Every Year, Every Christmas", "This is Christmas" (his angelic choir is heard here in all their splendor), and "Please Come Home for Christmas". The classics are pleasant, as Luther puts his own spin on them; a special nod to "My Favorite Things". This is not just an artist covering Christmas classics. This is the Luther that we have come to know and love, bringing his same spark to the holiday table. It's also a project full of deep emotion; no Frosty or Rudolph here. I think what makes Luther so special, in all his music, is that he brought a heartfelt understanding to everything he sang.

Side A
1. "With a Christmas Heart"
2. "This Is Christmas"
3. "The Mistletoe Jam (Everybody Kiss Somebody)"
4. "Every Year, Every Christmas"
5. "My Favorite Things"

Side B
1. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
2. "I Listen to the Bells" (Duet with Darlene Love)
3. "Please Come Home for Christmas"
4. "A Kiss for Christmas"
5. "O' Come All Ye Faithful"

Luther Vandross - 'This Is Christmas' [Vinyl] Purchase Link

Next up is Merry Christmas Baby from the one, the only Elvis Presley. This new 120-gram vinyl compilation features seventeen of the King's bona fide Christmas Classics, all newly remastered from original sources. Naturally, "Blue Christmas" is here, as well as "Santa Claus Is Back in Town," "Silent Night, "O Come, All Ye Faithful," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Santa Bring My Baby (Back to Me)," "The Wonderful World of Christmas" and more. Oh, and for an added Christmas surprise, Merry Christmas Baby is being pressed on randomly-inserted red or green vinyl!

Culling five (5) tracks from his 1971 album Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas, to have these other festive Presley favorites here, all together for the first time ever, well, that's what Christmas is really all about!

Side A
1. "Santa Claus is Back in Town"
2. "Blue Christmas"
3. "Winter Wonderland"
4. "White Christmas"
5. "I'll Be Home for Christmas"

6. "Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees"
7. "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)"
8. "It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You)"
9. "O Come, All Ye Faithful"
10. "Silent Night"

Side B
1. "Merry Christmas Baby"
2. "If Every Day Was Like Christmas"
3. "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)"
4. "O Little Town of Bethlehem"
5. "The Wonderful World of Christmas"
6. "On a Snowy Christmas Night"
7. "I'll Be Home on Christmas Day"

Elvis Presley - 'Merry Christmas Baby' [Vinyl] Purchase Link

Then comes another newly-curated collection, here known as Johnny Cash's Christmas: There'll Be Peace in the Valley from the great man (in black) himself, Johnny Cash. Featuring Johnny, June Carter Cash, The Carter and Cash families, and The Statler Brothers, it boasts fourteen selections drawn from The Man in Black's Christmas and gospel recordings, all remastered from original sources.

In truth, each one of these fourteen tracks are a gem to behold. Just listening to Cash’s golden baritone lending spirit and grace to holiday favorites like “The Little Drummer Boy,” “Silent Night,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Blue Christmas” (among others) is enough to have you wishing the man was still around, still making music.

And it’s only fitting that both the Johnny Cash Family and The Carter Family make uplifting guest appearances here as well. He may not be the jolly man in red, but Johnny Cash still manages to bring the honest and true spirit of Christmas into your home as he makes a joyful noise on this collection of archive recordings.

Side A
1. "Opening Dialogue"
2. "Christmas Time's a-Comin'"
3. "The Little Drummer Boy"
4. "Ringing the Bells for Jim"
5. "Merry Christmas Mary"
6. "Matthew 24 (Is Knocking at the Door)"
7. "Silent Night"

Side B
1. "Jingle Bells" - The Johnny Cash Family
2. "Blue Christmas"
3. "The Christmas Spirit"
4. "Here Was a Man"
5. "King of Love"
6. "The Ballad of the Harp Weaver"
7. "(There'll Be) Peace In the Valley (For Me)" - Johnny Cash with The Carter Family

Johnny Cash - 'Christmas: There’ll Be Peace In The Valley' [Vinyl] Purchase Link

Next up is a really fun, upbeat, and vibrant way to listen to Christmas songs this holiday season! Legacy turns the clock back with the various-artist set The Classic Big Band Christmas Album. Chock full of all of the legends of the big band era, including Benny Goodman ("(I Love The) Winter Weather," with Miss Peggy Lee), Sammy Kaye ("Winter Wonderland," "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"), Kay Kyser ("Hello, Mr. Kringle"), Harry James ("White Christmas," with Marion Morgan), Les Brown ("The Christmas Song"), Glenn Miller ("Jingle Bells"), and so many more!

Spike Jones even adds a dash of irreverence with "All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)." The Classic Big Band Christmas Album, with 18 tracks culled together from a history of huge Big Band's and their respective leaders, is just the ticket for a little swing and jive this Christmas!

Side A
1. "Winter Weather" - Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee
2. "(Don't Wait Till) The Night Before Christmas" - Eddy Duchin and His Orchestra
3. "It's Winter Again" - Isham Jones and His Orchestra featuring Frank Sylvano
4. "A Wonderful Winter" - Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra
5. "Winter Wonderland" - Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra
6. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" - Woody Herman and His Orchestra
7. "Snowfall" - Claude Thornhill and His Orchestra
8. "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" - Red Norvo and His Orchestra
9. "Jingle Bells' - Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

Side B
1. "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" - Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra
2. "Hello, Mr. Kringle" - Kay Kyser and His Orchestra
3. "White Christmas" - Harry James and His Orchestra feat. Marion Morgan
4. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" - Les Brown and His Orchestra
5. "I Want You for Christmas" - Russ Morgan and His Orchestra
6. "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" - Spike Jones and His City Slickers
7. "Little Jack Frost Get Lost" - Frankie Carle with Marjorie Hughes
8. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" - Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra
9. "Auld Lang Syne" - Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra

'The Classic Big Band Christmas Album' [Vinyl] Purchase Link

Lastly, and yet not last on my personal still-stuck-in-the-80's list of music to play at Christmas, is another various-artist set of classic 80's artists singing class Christmas tunes! Legacy is bringing last year's CD release of The Classic Christmas '80s Album to vinyl!

Featuring fifteen cuts from superstars like Whitney Houston ("Do You Hear What I Hear"), Wham! ("Last Christmas" - what else?), The Bangles ("Hazy Shade of Winter"), Daryl Hall and John Oates ("Jingle Bell Rock"), RUN-DMC ("Christmas in Hollis"), and so many more gems, yes, it also contains the Christmas must-have-radio-hit "Christmas Wrapping" from The Waitresses!

For my money, this brilliant The Classic Christmas '80s Album is, quite honestly, the BEST Christmas compilation on vinyl today. All the best Christmas songs of the 80's are here, all by the original 80's artists, so if you're a fan of that decade, this album will meet all your expectations, trust me!

Side A
1. "Christmas Wrapping" - The Waitresses
2. "Last Christmas" - Wham!
3. "Hazy Shade of Winter" - The Bangles
4. "Christmas in Hollis" - RUN-DMC
5. "Jingle Bell Rock" - Daryl Hall & John Oates
6. "Do You Hear What I Hear?" - Whitney Houston
7. "Christmas Is the Time to Say "I Love You"" - Billy Squier
8. "Run Rudolph Run" - Dave Edmunds

Side B
1. "Zat You Santa Claus" - Buster Poindexter and His Banshees Of Blue
2. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" - The Pointer Sisters
3. "Christmas Time Is Here" - Ray Parker Jr.
4. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" - Bob & Doug McKenzie
5. "This One's for the Children" - New Kids On The Block
6. "Slick Nick, You Devil You" - Fishbone
7. "Silent Night" - The Hooters

'The Classic Christmas '80s Album' [Vinyl] Purchase Link

www.legacyrecordings.com





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