Three Days Late and Several Dollars Out

The 2009 Christmas downloading season is under way. I'm saddened to learn that my friend Ernie (Not Bert) had a computer hard drive crash and burn (I feel your pain - same thing happened to me five years ago.) Don't fret - his collection is so huge that anything he posts is worth a first or second look. In my case, it's the 203rd look.

Two days in and there are new releases all over the place. If you haven't bookmarked it yet, Santas Working Overtime does just that - finding all these new releases and highlighting them faster than any RSS feed can ever hope to do.

During these same two days, I discovered that two albums I was preparing to share... were already shared out! The first is this amazing chestnut:


Recorded in 1954, this 10" was the first full-length Christmas album for Messrs. Ferrante and Teicher. All of the eight songs on this album were later re-released on their "Adventures In Carols" album from 1956 (available to download @ FaLaLaLaLa.com).

Turns out Buster, who runs the great blog entitled Big Ten Inch Record, posted this album last Christmas and I just discovered it this Christmas. Disappointed? Yeah, a little. But his cover of this album looks way better than mine. And I'm sure his copy sounds better too.

But... I got him trumped. He didn't include a BACK cover. And I have one, yes I do! I sure do... well, I have SORTA a back cover... okay, I'll fess up. I have a damaged back cover... honest. You sure you want me to continue with this?

I found my copy at the bottom of an immense stack of vinyl at a flea market in northwest Indiana. It must have been down there for an eternity because anytime the stack shifted, was moved from a dusty shelf to a moldy carpet, the back cover bore the brunt of the friction.

You have been warned:


Well worth the $2.00 I paid for it, no?

As for the second album, I found this at Beverly Records in Chicago and thought I had won the lottery. Of all the nine or ten albums I'm planning on sharing out this Christmas, this was THE one that would wow the general public. That is until yesterday. A certain someone who's been mentioned here posted it to his blog.

Buster, you did it again! And Dorothy Collins asks that eternal question, "Won't you spend Christmas with me?":


This is a great album - easy on the ears as well as the eyes. For a great listen, go check out Buster's blog entry and get yourself a copy. You won't be disappointed. Hope this didn't cost you as much as it did for me (we're talking Andrew Jackson territory, folks!).

So this leaves me with about nine new Christmas releases that I'm hoping to start sharing just as soon as my schedule permits, including my 2009 edition of the Yuleblog Sampler.

There's plenty of Christmas music to be had... get out there and find it!


Capt