I'm a sucker for old school country music - add Christmas to the mix and I'm off the charts.
So when I saw this at my local Salvation Army, I gave it a looksee and discovered about 1/2 of the songs on this compilation are easily accessible elsewhere.
However... the other five songs aren't available anywhere. And there's some great long lost stuff here from lesser known artists such as Hank Lochlin, John D. Loudermilk, The Browns, and Porter Wagoner!
I was considering holding this one back for possible use on the 2008 Yuleblog Sampler. However, if you want to add the missing songs to complete the LP, you'll have a cut about the rest old school Christmas country comp!
Selections from "Nashville Christmas Party" (RCA Victor)
Happy editing...
Capt
I'm a sucker for old school country music - add Christmas to the mix and I'm off the charts.
So when I saw this at my local Salvation Army, I gave it a looksee and discovered about 1/2 of the songs on this compilation are easily accessible elsewhere.
However... the other five songs aren't available anywhere. And there's some great long lost stuff here from lesser known artists such as Hank Lochlin, John D. Loudermilk, The Browns, and Porter Wagoner!
I was considering holding this one back for possible use on the 2008 Yuleblog Sampler. However, if you want to add the missing songs to complete the LP, you'll have a cut about the rest old school Christmas country comp!
Selections from "Nashville Christmas Party" (RCA Victor)
Happy editing...
Capt
When I first began collecting Christmas MP3s online via Napster back in the pre-legal days, I habitually typed the term "Christmas Greeting" into the search engine to see what celebs I could catch (Schwarzenegger, Yoko Ono, Leslie Nielsen).
From there I searched Google and was constantly on the lookout on eBay for any records or albums that contained Christmas Greetings (Weird Al, Bee Gees, Madonna).
To date, I have over 150 Christmas greetings from famous actors, actresses, and popular singers.
I picked this 45 single up many years ago from eBay and never shared it out until now. I offer this to any Christmas music enthusiast who creates an annual homemade Christmas comp - use it in good health.
RCA Victor Holiday Promo 45
Happy listening...
Capt
When I first began collecting Christmas MP3s online via Napster back in the pre-legal days, I habitually typed the term "Christmas Greeting" into the search engine to see what celebs I could catch (Schwarzenegger, Yoko Ono, Leslie Nielsen).
From there I searched Google and was constantly on the lookout on eBay for any records or albums that contained Christmas Greetings (Weird Al, Bee Gees, Madonna).
To date, I have over 150 Christmas greetings from famous actors, actresses, and popular singers.
I picked this 45 single up many years ago from eBay and never shared it out until now. I offer this to any Christmas music enthusiast who creates an annual homemade Christmas comp - use it in good health.
RCA Victor Holiday Promo 45
Happy listening...
Capt
On first glance, this album has potential (any album with the RCA "Living Stereo" banner is a plus).
As you look down, you'll notice the song titles, the cute Christmas graphics, but not one artist listed on the cover - a sure sign of trouble. If you're too lazy to check the back cover, you probably wouldn't have purchased the album.
Thankfully, Ernie (from Ernie Not Bert) studied this album carefully and with his keen collector's eye saw the gold within and posted it on November 23, 2006.
As Ernie explained in his original post:
"The only problem is that parts of this record have been released on CD. Several years ago, they took the Esquivel solo tracks, as well as the tracks on which he backs the Skip-Jacks, mixed in some LP tracks that had a holiday theme, added a rather merry non-holiday B-side, a couple of tracks by a famous swing-revival DJ featuring a voice-over from the bed-ridden Esquivel, and called it an Esquivel Christmas album.
"It's short, but great. So that means I can't share 6 of the 12 tracks with you. Trust me, the remaining six tracks are well worth your time. The remaining tracks all feature Ray Martin And His Orchestra, and most of those feature lead vocals by Mimi Hines. She does a great job using several different voices to make each song sound a little different."
Ernie knows what he's talking about, folks. These six tracks are just plain phenomenal. Mimi Hines and Ray Martin aren't as space-age trippy as Esquivel but they're just as much fun.
You'd swear that was a six-year old girl singing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" or "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" but it's Hines singing it to perfection! Then marvel at her brassy adult voice on "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Baby". Granted, "Santa Baby" isn't as sultry as some the other versions out there but it's nice to hear her jazz spin on the number.
Ray Martin's two contributions are lush, stylish, and easy fare. On both songs ("Winter Wonderland", "I'll Be Home For Christmas"), Martin mixes it up between the choral group and strings taking turns on the melody as if he's inviting you to sing in the instrumental breaks - 1950s karaoke?
Overall, a great abbreviated album. I just have to get the Esquivel album out, add the missing tracks, and voila!
UP NEXT: What I downloaded on November 23, 2006 at 6:41 PM
Capt
On first glance, this album has potential (any album with the RCA "Living Stereo" banner is a plus).
As you look down, you'll notice the song titles, the cute Christmas graphics, but not one artist listed on the cover - a sure sign of trouble. If you're too lazy to check the back cover, you probably wouldn't have purchased the album.
Thankfully, Ernie (from Ernie Not Bert) studied this album carefully and with his keen collector's eye saw the gold within and posted it on November 23, 2006.
As Ernie explained in his original post:
"The only problem is that parts of this record have been released on CD. Several years ago, they took the Esquivel solo tracks, as well as the tracks on which he backs the Skip-Jacks, mixed in some LP tracks that had a holiday theme, added a rather merry non-holiday B-side, a couple of tracks by a famous swing-revival DJ featuring a voice-over from the bed-ridden Esquivel, and called it an Esquivel Christmas album.
"It's short, but great. So that means I can't share 6 of the 12 tracks with you. Trust me, the remaining six tracks are well worth your time. The remaining tracks all feature Ray Martin And His Orchestra, and most of those feature lead vocals by Mimi Hines. She does a great job using several different voices to make each song sound a little different."
Ernie knows what he's talking about, folks. These six tracks are just plain phenomenal. Mimi Hines and Ray Martin aren't as space-age trippy as Esquivel but they're just as much fun.
You'd swear that was a six-year old girl singing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" or "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" but it's Hines singing it to perfection! Then marvel at her brassy adult voice on "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Baby". Granted, "Santa Baby" isn't as sultry as some the other versions out there but it's nice to hear her jazz spin on the number.
Ray Martin's two contributions are lush, stylish, and easy fare. On both songs ("Winter Wonderland", "I'll Be Home For Christmas"), Martin mixes it up between the choral group and strings taking turns on the melody as if he's inviting you to sing in the instrumental breaks - 1950s karaoke?
Overall, a great abbreviated album. I just have to get the Esquivel album out, add the missing tracks, and voila!
UP NEXT: What I downloaded on November 23, 2006 at 6:41 PM
Capt
