The Instrumental Christmas Favorites

I bet you thought there wasn't anything interesting you could learn by listening to old christmas records. I bet you didn't know Jackie Gleason was a serious composer, arranger, and conductor. I bet you didn't know his music career was just as prolific as his tv/movie career. I bet you didn't know that to this very day, he has the longest running top 10 billboard album at 153 weeks. No. You had no idea.

I...uh... i don't have that album, i just have this christmas thing for which he arranged some music. But still. Knowledge, and stuff.

But here he is, with other heavyweights Guy Lombardo...Eddie Dunstedter...the hollyridge strings....

Ok, ok, it's not as impressive as i was trying to make it sound, but it has the definite advantage of very limited singing. And, as far as completely orchestral christmas music goes, it's actually pretty good. Capitol bills it as "easy listening," but there's some really good stuff going on for the orchestrationally literate among us, despite it's overall JC Pennies/Sears & Roebuck naugahyde funiture department aura. It's campy and dated, no doubt about it, but there's some real charm to that as well. It's the kind of album you'd set playing low at your next dinner party so that i would chuckle and wink at you while everyone else just says "what the hell are we listening to?," every once in a while.

It's a double album, but it flies by pretty quick if you just have it on in the background.

As for Ralph Kramden's contributions, they are indeed interesting. He's got the last three tracks, and they have a definite night-club aesthetic not heard on the previous 3 sides. Sophisticated, but with a couple of well-ginned tonics already down the hatch if you catch my drift. If you had to pick a christmas album, you could easily do worse.

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