Christmas Music Music

JINGLE BELLS (ROOAR), JINGLE BELLS (ROOAR)... I LISTEN TO THE METAL CHANNEL INCLUDED IN MY CABLE TELEVISION SUBSCRIPTION AND I HEARD THIS CORNY, GOOFY SONG. "JOKE METAL" (LIKE GREEN JELLY) IS NOT MY FAVORITE, AND THIS IS JUST THAT. SINCE IT IS A CHRISTMAS SONG, I HATE IT EVEN MORE. YOU CAN'T TAKE THE LYRICS TO "JINGLE BELLS" AND MAKE IT METAL. THEY ALSO HAVE THESE STUPID ARNOLD SWARCENEGGER SAMPLES. I COULD NEVER SPELL HIS LAST NAME.

ON THAT NOTE, I ALSO HATED TWISTED SISTERS' "TWISTED CHRISTMAS" ALBUM! I STILL LISTEN TO "STAY HUNGRY" HERE AND THERE.

MIXING HOLIDAY MUSIC AND METAL NEVER WORKS!

Based upon how much I loved Total Brutal, I had to check out this single. Bottom line, purchase this now. Same type of set up, Ah-nuld sets up the songs and just rocks your socks off. Being a metalhead to the extreme, hearing this version of Jingle Bells immediately puts me in the Christmas mood and as a bonus you get a top notch version of Hell Bent For Leather as well. ADMs' Total Brutal, as goofy as some people thought it was, was one of my favorite, most listened to albums of this year, and if you loved that, you would be crazy not to get this ASAP.

Carnie Wilson provided a nice collection of Holiday tunes, truly suited to her vocal styling! Carnie's rendition of "Merry Chrsitmas, Darling" is a delight reminiscent of the Karen Carpenter's classic recording with the lush background vocals.Other worthy selections include: "Sleigh Ride", "Jingle Bills" and the new tune of "Warm Lovin' Christmas." Definitely a keepsake for the Holidays!

Carnie Wilson at her absolute best! It was like listening to the Christmas Angel sing! Incredibly beautiful and moving. This is a must for any Carnie fan and a must for anyone who really loves Christmas music.

I bought this cd and am very glad I did. Have no doubts that it's worth every penny. My favorite songs are "Sleigh Ride" and "Merry Christmas Darling". I hope this means we are one step closer to a pop record from my favorite member of Wilson Phillips!

Surprising gem that popped up this year, with pleasant melodies and fine production. This is good background music for trimming the tree or shopping at Crate&Barrel...

My major complaint is the cover artwork: Did she see the finished product before it hit the shelves? if so, who would approve of this? It is just terrible. I feel badly that such a potentially great record is represented by such a poor cover. The sales will undoubtedly be affected by this really poor choice.

I bought this CD for the holiday season and I absolutely love it! It's one of the best Christmas CDs out there right now. All of my roommates love it too! I'd highly recommend anyone buying this CD for the Christmas-lover in their life!

This music is sublime. I've had it for years; it was given to me and I have given copies to friends of mine.

This is one of the best albums in my music collection. It was recorded in a church and you can feel the air that is not easily attainable in normal studio recordings. The performance is also one of the best IMHO. If you're a true music lover, I'm pretty sure that you will appreciate this beautiful classic for years to come!

I used to have this LP years ago, and it sounded amazing on my old Thorens turntable. Well, now it sounds amazing on my Denon player through my Vandersteen speakers! It's an all-time favorite audiophile recording, and no decent hi-fi store is without a copy. Musically, it's a very satisfying album as well. Beautiful Christmas music, great vocals and organ playing, superb acoustics. Even if you're not into Christmas (I'm not) or into choral music, get it for the sheer realism, inspired performances, angelic voices and mighty organ playing.

Eugene Spoconi

I don't remember how I ended up owning this CD, but I can tell you I nearly put it in the trash.

My first thoughts when hearing it the first time:
- "Sting makes brilliant music on his own... why mess with it?"
- "Sting and strings? Muzak? I wanna hurl!"

Okay, okay... I realize that this so far is hardly a ringing 4-star endorsement, and I hope you have both patience and a sense of humor in reading this ;)

Here's the clincher: As mysteriously as this CD ended up in my possession, I decided to also give it another chance or three.

I now find it, if not brilliant, at least a delightful, immerseful pleasure... a fine adjunct rather than replacement for Sting's excellent original music. The orchestrations deftly accentuate not only Sting's oft-unique melodic lines, but more importantly, they maintain much of the same neat chord progressions I've enjoyed with his original tunes.

Is some of it fluff? Sure, just as some of Sting's work is occasionally fluffy, too.

But the London Symphony does, unsurprisingly, a smashing job (I especially love the horns!) and so while I can't necessarily urge everyone to go out and buy this album... if you have Napster and can listen to it or have other legal methods of access, cue it up and give it a few chances to take hold in your brain :)

These orchestrations of Sting's work show the true beauty and genius of his music. It really makes me appreciate what an artist he is and how powerful his music has been in my life. Sometimes it feels like riding in a time machine, while other times it is like visiting with an old friend.

The London Symphony Orchestra is excellent. Quiet and energetic when they need to be!

Most excellent. I listen to this over and over again. Certainly not like some of the ripoff Police orchestrations I have heard.

Many think of Sting as a pop star from the 80's: the lead singer of the Police. To these people Every Breath You Take is the only Sting song they know. There are others, lovers of Classical music, who quickly dismiss Sting as fluff. If anything this album proves that, if he wanted to, Sting could make money as a strictly classical composer. However, that isn't what he wants. He doesn't want to be labeled. He's created his own genre. This album is just a piece of his great multitude of interests and the direction in which one can take his music. Listen to any of his personal albums and you will hear that he can arrange music as well. Classical music lovers: Give it a shot. You will be pleasantly suprised. Perhaps in the future you may not be so quick to judge music based on the composer's name but on his composition.

Kathy first took my interest in the late 80's with a song called Burning Up Old Memories with a brand new flame. A great and witty Country song. This CD is her second Christmas CD and the fist I bought of hers. I bought it because the title refers to the last track, There's Still My Joy. A beautiful song written by Melissa Manchester and sung on her Joy CD from 1997. It was also written with Matt Rollings and Beth Nielson Chapman. From the reviews I read on this CD, Mattea's father passed away during the recording of this disc. As a tribute, she added her father singing a Christmas song acappella 22 seconds after Joy. I also believe that this song was a tribute to Melissa's father originally.

The concept for this CD starts with a Christmas Collage and follows with Unto Us A Child Is Born. She does a great version of angels We Have Heard On High. With songs like Baby King and When The Baby Grew Up, it's clear that she is rejoicing the birth of Christ and children of all kinds. This is a nice addition to your Christmas Collection. Hopefully it will come back to print soon!

Even though I did not know a lot of the songs KAthy chose, I loved everyone. As always, her vocals were strong and soothing. Her arrangements on the classics wewre lively but not too avante garde.

this christmas cd is every bit as good as her "good news" release of a few years back.

In no way does this compare to kathy's 1st christmas album, but is still kathy and good in ot's own right. (only my opinion)

I love Christmas...and the sounds of the season really set the tones. I love the traditional songs and carols, but am thrilled when I can find new tunes that relay the Christmas Spirit in a fresh new way. Joy for Christmas Day does both wonderfully.

The musical styles vary dramatically from track to track, which is a testament to Ms. Mattea's vocal abilities. Traditional, soulful, spunky, soothing....this CD has it all.

I first purchased this after my dad passed away, and could barely listen to the title track without tears welling up in my eyes. We wondered about the hidden song that plays after that track...now to find out that it is her own father who also has passed makes it even more special.

This is truly a wonderful Christmas album. You won't be disappointed in it!

I am appreciative of any CD, such as this one, that brings the sounds of traditional hymns to modern ears. This CD includes familiar gospel with not so familiar hymns that whisper of a rich heritage nearly lost in the maze o modern choruses. Many of these modern songs lack the genuine passion found in the traditional songs found on this CD. I recommend this CD to those who are interested in cultural history as well as in beautiful hymn texts.

Once upon a time, hymn writers and singers were more interested in expressing a genuine faith and spreading the gospel than they were in making a fast buck off of Jesus. They wrote for God instead of for their target demographic. This outstanding album, which I've owned and listened to for about 15 years, reflects the sacred nature of that music as opposed to the profane meanderings of today's "Christian artists." The songs are simple, relying upon the beauty of the human voice singing in harmony and, occaisionally, a few well-chosen and artfully arranged musical instruments. Above all, they are beautiful melodies well sung.

As others have noted, this album relies upon our mostly unknown heritage of Northern hymns from the nineteenth century. There is none of what I think of as shaped note, or "Sacred Harp," singing, and I say that as an enthusiastic participant in that tradition. These hymns are folk hymns, to be sure, but they were written by the musically literate to be played and sung, or at least conducted, by the musically literate. The hymns are well chosen and logically sequenced--from the nativity through Christian education, through struggles and doubts, through death, and, finally, through our eventual reunion with Christ in the Heavenly City. The hymns are gorgeous. All are outstanding; a few, such as "O Come, Come Away," "Gently, Lord, Gently Lead Us," and "Burst Ye Emerald Gates," are simply hair raising. Incomprehensibly, however, one or two of the songs are secular in nature and just do not fit in with the album's theme. Even they are well sung.

This album may very well deepen your faith. At the very least, it will leave you awe-struck at the musical inspiration of 19th Century Northern hymn writers as well as at the technical and inspired proficiency of the always-great Boston Camerata.

A beautiful collection of "low-church" hymns in a folk style, but from the North. Some similarities to Sacred Harp-style shape-note singing, mostly found in the South, but from New England and largely taken from mid-19th Century period sources. Extremely well-performed and haunting, these songs will be running through your head for weeks after your mega-church's latest electric guitar extravaganza fades away.

This collection is simply fantastic. Aretha Franklin has such skill at conveying sincere and powerful emotions through her singing, as this collection makes beautifully clear. This lady was gifted by God with an understanding of the language of music. Just put on the song "God Bless the Child" or any other track from this collection of classic jazz songs, and you'll hear some of the finest vocal performances in music history. Comforting, stirring, and commanding, this is as good as it gets.

An early aretha's recordings. She shows a great vocal skills to sing jazz but she looses the strong way to feel and express the message's songs.

No doubt Aretha cut some great jazz, blues and pop sides for Columbia Records in the early sixties, before she went to Atlantic and became the Queen of Soul. BUT GIVE FANS LIKE ME A BREAK!!!! We want the entire Columbia Records albums re-released on cd, in their entirity, not the same rehashing of the same dozen or so tunes like the ones here. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely ADORE these songs, they are some of Aretha's best. But PLEASE stop releasing the same old same old with a different cover, or a different running order. SONY/COLUMBIA YOU ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF YOUR CONSUMERS AND OF ARETHA'S FANS !!! Lets have "YEAH ! ARETHA LIVE WITH HER QUARTET" or "RUNNIN OUT OF FOOLS" re-released on cd, and other titles long deleted by Comlumbia Records.

An engrossing opera about a group of characters pictured in an art exhibition. Tenor Blake Friedman, pictured on the cover, is a standout among the very talented young cast. Fascinating story lines, beautiful music, characters brought to life - a very enjoyable musical experience indeed.

The rich voices of the Canterbury choir celebrate the ageless tradition of our Christian faith on this splendid CD. I bought it at Canterbury during a trip in 2002 and it's a favorite that I play year-round, not just at Christmas because it's so beautiful. If you've never been to Canterbury, go, because you can feel the sanctity, especially in the crypt. Highly recommend this CD for its splending renderings of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", "Good King Wenceslas" "Silent Night" and all the rest.

An adequate CD, but one may as well buy any ordinary christmas album, nothing here is special to beauty and the besat. Beauty and the Beast without Angela Lansbury is a disturbing thought, a real disappointment that she isn't on there. If she was, the rating would no doubt have risen to 5 stars.
Fancy putting talent a Broadway star in a musical and not writing her a number or two! Crazy!

The songs on this soundtrack are a great follow-up to Beauty and the Beast. They definitely give a fun holiday feel and are cute in an endearing way. There are songs from the movie and traditional Christmas songs sung by Belle. Also, the three instrumental songs are a good end to the CD. I own the movie and love all of the music in it!

in 1994 with the return of jafar, disney discovered something that other studios already knew; the sequel is a great way to make a quick buck. in 1997, they proved that nothing was sacred when beauty and the beast and the enchanted christmas was released. i still feel that the movie's not really that bad, granted i haven't seen it since its original release when i was 7. believe me at the time i wasn't the most cinematically astute, but still the movie's actually one of disney's better dtv (direct to video) releases. but how does this soundtrack stand up?

PART I

well i was skeptical in the beginning to say the least. i mean i feel that alan menken and howard ashman may just be one of the greatest song writting teams of all time. so how could anyone else live up? thats certainly what i thought at first. when i discovered that academy award winner rachel portman wrote the score i was mildly relieved and when i learned that don black (who did aspects of love) wrote the lyrics i was a bit relieved. so here's how it all adds up, and believe me it's not that bad.

as an audience, our exposure to the score is pretty limited. we're only treated to three songs on the end and two are quite short. the score isn't all that bad and relys heavily on stories and as long as there's christmas, but still pretty good. this really doesn't venture out from those pieces and doesnt really contain much for originality. it certainly doesn't live up to alan menkens, but it's a fun, light-hearted score; which is what it's ultimately going for.

SCORE 3 out of 5

as far as most dtv sequals are concerned, we the audience are treated to a couple of overly sappy and cliched songs, but this soundtrack punches out a fairly impressive 6 sub-par tunes, which is right up there with other theatrical releases, quantity wise. actually the songs are pretty fun and original for the most part and work much better when they go for light hearted rather than inspiring or emotional.

DECK THE HALLS - this opens the piece and a lot of time is spent with the original song. it would've been much more fun if more time had been spent with the original objects since here is where we discover that the entire original cast has returned.
3 out of5

STORIES - this is really the breakout song from this album, and rightly so. compared to the rest of the songs, it's certainly the best and surprising good on its own. it's a nice ballad that does get a little cliched at times and some of the lyrics are less than steller, but is overall fun and enjoyable. paige o'hara's great vocals really lift this song out of the soundtrack in a way that only she can.
4 out of 5

AS LONG AS THERE'S CHRISTMAS - this is the best attempt at a broadway-esque song. it does alright in that respect but again the cd should've stuck more with fun and heartwarming, but this delivers the "true message of christmas" beautifully and the entire cast being back really doesn't hurt things any.
4 out of 5

DON'T FALL IN LOVE - this song tries for the witty brilliance of howard ashman more than any of the others. it's kind of hit or miss (mostly somewhere in between) the songs saving grace comes from tim curry's hammy vocals that really make this work. the songs ultimate downfall is in the corny, over-the-top organ music. (we get it he's an organ ... chill)but this still works well.
3 out of 5

A CUT ABOVE THE REST - this is another good little song that illustrates why the songs should've stuck more with fun and light-hearted. jerry orbach and david odgen stiers are great here and really work well off of one another. but they're really all this song has going for it. there isn't really anything original lyrically and the music is just fun and fast paced, but still fun.
3 out of 5

all in all, this portion had a pretty tough road ahead of it since we all remember the original score and music. but if you can enter this open-minded, it definatley feels pretty enjoyable and is a great holiday piece for conveying christmas' true meaning and that original cast is really the strongest part here. the music and lyrics arent all that bad, and hold up pretty well on their own NOT compared to that original soundtrack

SONGS OVERALL - 3 out of 5

PART II

this is where we are treated to 8 christmas carols performed by paige o'hara (belle). honostly, this is why i bought the cd since i think o'hara has an amazingly brilliant voice. this was a great opprotunity. disney got to flesh out their soundtrack with lots of extra music, and paige o'hara got more exposure for her most famous role and was able to release a christmas album, without actually releasing one since these are not exactly the most esteemed types of cd to release. this faces a lot of prejudices right away since we'v all heard these songs a million and a half times, but o'hara's vocals make them all feel pretty light and fresh again.

PART II - 4 out of 5


OVERALL - 3 out of 5

This soundtrack is one of my favourite Disney Soundtracks! The songs in it are beautiful, especially "Stories" and "As long as there's Christmas"! I have a Christmas-feeling when I listen to this CD, it's so enchanted! I love Belle's voice very much, it just like a bell! And it can make me feel warm and strong inside! Chip's voice is lovely too! "We will build a snowman reaches the sky!" Oh, so cute! I think this is a perfect soundtrack, it is collectable to your Disney Christmas Collections!!!

I love this movie! I love the music as well to it! It has great songs to the movie plus great Christmas songs as well! I feel you should own it if you have the movie! Get the complete collection. :)