"THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS WITH THE LIVING STRINGS" (The Best Christmas Music Ever) (1 Viewer)

[David Von Pein]

"THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS with The Living Strings":




Many people may very well have fond memories, as I certainly do, of listening to a Christmas album that was arranged and conducted in England by Johnny Douglas back in 1963 -- it's called "THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS", and it features 43 minutes of rich and lush instrumental Christmas music from "The Living Strings" orchestra.

"The Spirit Of Christmas" is, in my view, the best and most "Christmassy" album ever produced. And I'll bet a lot of first-time listeners to this album will tend to agree with me about that as well.

More information about this exquisite Christmas album can be found

 

[David Von Pein]

The video box below contains another complete (and very good) instrumental album of holiday music by "The Living Strings" -- "THE SOUND OF CHRISTMAS" -- which was recorded and released in 1970, seven years after the Holy Grail of all Christmas albums came out ("The Spirit Of Christmas"):

 

[Mike Frezon]

Gotta hand it to you, Dave. When you decide to do something, you don't hold back.

As an aficionado of Christmas music myself, I revel in your enthusiasm for this particular selection of tracks...but I don't think I'd agree that this album is "the one." Sounds like a suitable underpinning for a broadcast yule log, that's for sure.

Best Christmas album of all time? That's an argument for the ages--subjectivity being what it is and all.

My own standing rule is that I can start playing Christmas music after the first snowfall of the season--or Thanksgiving--whichever comes first. Thankfully, we had flurries in mid-October this year.

Very nice job on the audio transfer. I'll bet you make a lot of people happy by putting this chestnut out there.

 

[David Von Pein]

Them's fightin' words, Mr. Frezon! Choose your weapon! Nobody's gonna utter suppository remarks [sic; Archie Bunker-ism] about the best collection of Yuletide ditties ever to come down ye pike (or chimney) and get away with it!!

You're just itching for a frozen leg 'o lamb upside the head, ain't ya Michael? (a la Miss Bel Geddes.)

 

[David Von Pein]

....

 

[Eric_L]

Mike - This is friendly sarcasm. David enjoyed your comments and is having fun sharing with you.

IMHO you are both wrong. The single BEST Christmas album ever is the wholly cool awesomeness of...



(yes, this is friendly sarcasm too)

 

[David Von Pein]

 

[Mike Frezon]

And I didn't even mention the cool red & green borders around your YouTube embeds!

=================

My friends and family ask me all the time to pick my favorite Christmas song/album/CD/whatever because of my predilection for Christmas music. I have hundreds & hundreds of LPs and CDs. I can't do it. There are way too many individual classics to pick from...along with collections of songs grouped together on albums/CDs.

Every year I build a compilation disc (used to be cassette) of my current favorites. I've certainly got a nice collection of favorites from which to draw. It makes for a built-in rotation for whenever the holidays draw around and I'm looking for some great music to play out of the collection.

This year actually marks the 25th year of me making those compilations and I think I'm going to put something special together--not only a 2008 collection but one which features a "Best of the Best" collection culling one cut from each year.

It's not that I don't like orchestral or instrumental holiday music, Dave. I've just never been a fan of those big string (Mantovani, 101 String) type of recordings. But that's me. I would certainly never even dream of denying you your favorite. In fact, I love the fact that you feel so strongly about a particular recording. THAT is cool.

 

[David Von Pein]

Thanks, Mike.

Obviously, everybody has their own personal favorites of things -- from cars, to baseball teams, to snack food, to Dick Van Dyke episodes, to toilet paper brands, to Christmas albums.

I just don't think it's possible to top the "Spirit" album embedded above. And I'm certainly not alone in that opinion. Here's what another person has to say about it (and this fellow really seems to know his Yuletide recordings).

And another reviewer said this:

"First of all I want to thank DAVID R. VON PEIN for his excellent review of this album. I thought I heard most of the most popular or some of the best Christmas recordings currently in print. That is until...the other day. I was able get a copy of this stunningly beautiful recording The Spirit of Christmas . I could not believe my ears. I think this album personifies the Sixties Christmas sound. It is one of the best "traditional" Christmas albums I've heard. Every year there are many Christmas releases but this one will if it hasn't already become a classic. I was unfamiliar with The living strings and thought this was available on CD. Unfortunately I was wrong. It has not been released to cd [actually it has; it had a limited run on CD several years ago; but it's out of print currently] and I have emailed Rhino records to suggest a CD release. I suggest if you like the Living Strings you do the same. I was also surprised at the quality of this recording as well, you simply MUST hear it for yourself."


(I wonder what Larry Biittner's favorite Christmas album is? Larry was born in Iowa, you know. Now, what that has to do with the price of Eskimo sweaters in Mayfield, I haven't the foggiest idea.)

 

[Greg_S_H]

Mike, you never cease to amaze me. I've got 613 Christmas songs on my computer (legally ripped--how bad would it be to pirate Christmas music?), ready to go onto my iPod, and I thought I was the only one with that much Christmas music.

One I can suggest that you probably don't have is the Sons of the San Joaquin's Christmas CD. You'd have to order it from their site pretty much on faith, though. They may have samples, but it's not something you can pick up in a store. Much of it sounds like a good, old-fashioned country Christmas. When the fiddles start up at the beginning of Deck the Halls, I tend to picture Pa Ingalls entertaining the family in that little house outside of Walnut Grove.

My mother loves the Riders in the Sky's Christmas album. They have two, but I think the first one is long since out of print.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I use to have a lame Microsoft Works database that had all of my Christmas music (up to that time) recorded in it. But that's long gone. A pure guess would be that I've got 400+ Christmas music CDs.

That includes one Riders in the Sky Christmas CD (how could I not?!? Take another gander at my sig pic! ) It does not, however, include Sons of the San Joaquin. I may have to give that a close look. I love your description of Pa Ingalls playing for the family!

I've got some oddities and hard-to-find stuff like Jimi Hendrix' Little Drummer Boy and Keith Richards' Run, Rudolph Run and Christmas on the Ponderosa (an LP of songs by Lorne Greene, Michael Landon--speaking of Pa Ingalls!--Dan Blocker, etc.). But it's the classic stuff I always come back to: Bing, Nat, The Carpenters, etc. I gave up on trying to amass every Christmas recording ever made early on. It could never be done. There's WAY too much stuff released every year. And way too much stuff released since the dawn of time. I like to get new Christmas music each year by contemporary artists (who I like and will listen to!).

Short story. My kids had a piano teacher when they were young who was originally from Germany. When she found out about my interest in Christmas music she asked if I had THE recording of Silent Night. I asked which is THE recording of Silent Night and she said the one by Ernestine Schumann-Heink. I actually was able to find a copy (on CD!) and treasure it as part of my collection.

I just checked and I do NOT have any Living Strings in my Christmas music vinyl collection, Dave! I've got about 300 Christmas LPs. How do you make your dubs from vinyl to digital? Do you use an old-style turntable through an amp into your PC? Or, do you use one of those newfangled turntables that plugs into a USB port? I've got the former but it's safely put away but for some reason I dread the thought of hooking it up and making dubs. The USB turntables seem like a cool idea. I don't know anything about them however (Are the stylii any good? Quality? etc.). I'd be curious to hear what you do.

 

[David Von Pein]

I yell for my brother to do it for me. (That's what I normally do anyway.)

BTW, as Christmas gets nearer, I'm going to be posting yet another complete "Living Strings" album (from 1977). That one includes the "Living Voices" too, along with the "Strings".

 

[Mike Frezon]

 

[Greg_S_H]

Mike, you have me beat by a country mile. Mine are 649 *tracks* from about 59 CDs. Wow. 400+ CDs, 300+ LPs. Yeah, you've got me beat.

I don't have sigs turned on, but I'll check your profile page. Have you ever seen the Riders live? They put on a pretty good show.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Nope. My sig pic is from the scene in Toy Story 2 in which the Riders sing Woody's Theme.

It's funny. I don't have profile pictures enabled when I'm surfing the HTF, but I keep sig pics enabled because that's how it was when I first got here. Profile pix are relatively new and they disoriented me...so I keep them off.

if you're ever lookin' for any particular Christmas music, Greg...let me know. You too, Dave.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Back in the 50's and 60's my dad has a grocery store. We had some LPs for sale. Not being a record shop, we didn't get the top pics. Our selection consisted of more obscure selections or albums that had not sold well previously. Not necessarily bad, but less well-known.

I don't remember what the prices were. BTW, I do remember $.25 and $.35 paperbacks.

I remember one outstanding album that showed up there, "Great Band with Great Voices" which was the Si Zentner Orchestra and the Johnny Mann Singers. It was fabulous and I only recently found it on CD.

These Living String albums were there, even after all these years, those album covers seem familiar. I never did get one though.

 

[Scott Strang]

I've always liked several recordings by LIving STrings/Voices/Marimbas/etc.

However a copy of Living Strings White Christmas on CD is hard to obtain and can cost hundreds of dollars as it is out of print.

I'd be thrilled to have even a clean vinyl copy.

 

[David Von Pein]

You can download that whole album for free RIGHT HERE if you want to. (I uploaded it to Google Video recently.)

That Google Video version is only in mono however. Not stereo. :frowning:

I haven't found a way to upgrade any Google Video to stereo. If anybody knows of a way to do this (similar to YouTube's extra add-on codes), please let me know. Thanks.)

 

[David Von Pein]

 

[Bob Graham]

Regarding the Riders in the Sky, they did do two Christmas albums. One was on Columbia and was the most un-riderish album they ever did: straigtforward versions of Christmas standards with no original songs or comedy. It's actually kind of boring (I've got a copy somewhere, but it's packed up "somewhere" from our big move to St Louis 2 years ago. Maybe I'll find it in time for next Christmas.) Their other Christmas album, "Christmas the Cowboy Way" on Rounder is wonderful and everything you would expect from a Riders album. They also did a single "Christmas at the Triple X Ranch" (not on either album) that is avaialble on a Rounder Christmas compilation.