The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings Set - Classic Holiday Music Collection for Festive Gatherings & Cozy Winter Nights

Seriously.... the two LP's that comprise this collection - 1963's "This Christmas I Spend With You" and '68's "Wonderful World of Christmas" would regularly sell on ebay for upwards of $100 and $40 - $50 respectively, in their original CD versions from over 20 years ago. And while the sound quality on those was fine, they were otherwise very bare bones editions. This new release on the Real Gone label (while also still bearing the Columbia logo), is a whole different kettle of fish.If you had happened to pick up the *half & half* compilation CD from awhile back ("A Personal Christmas Collection"), you may or may not have noticed that the tracks on that which were from TCISWY had a bit of reverb added to them that was unlike the original LP/CD. (Akin to what Capitol did to the U.S. Beatles albums back in the day). Fortunately this collection does away with that idea and has Robert's crystal clear voice sounding it's best. Included here are both sides of a promotional single released in '65 for the benefit of Christmas Seals. Some of the dialogue following this mono mix of White Christmas is fairly amusing - "If Christmas Seals could be put to music they'd probably sing a song of holiday, of care, and concern for people. Now, I don't have such a song but, well, you get the idea...."Miscellaneous highlights: the chuckle when the contrabass sax hits that note one line into Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!.....those long-held notes, especially the last line in Silver Bells.....the rolling of the 'R' in Winter Wonderland's "frolic and play"..... the as-written *rushed* lines in Hurry Home for Christmas. And, for better or worse, it's hard to listen to Little Jesus, Sweetly Sleep without bringing to mind a certain sports-arena anthem from the 70's. The informative liner notes make up 1/3 of the 12-page booklet, even without mentioning that the producer of the first LP (Jim Foglesong) went on to become quite a respected mover and shaker in the world of country music before his death just last year.Then there are the three duets Robert does with his wife-at-the-time Carol Lawrence. If I had to nit-pick on something about this release, I'd say that the vocals on these tracks aren't quite as *up-front* as on the albums themselves. But considering what they were originally recorded for and released on, it's good enough that they're seeing the light of day at all. And if you happen to think that the booklet's cover photo is a little too *summery*, the cover art from both of the original LPs is inside and available for the ol' switcheroo.To reiterate..... if you're at all on the fence about this particular release, I suggest that you err on the side of Christmas cheer. Once the label's initial run is done, you're likely to have to pay many times more than the current price of admission. If you're still reading this I think you'd agree that a digital download just isn't gonna cut it. These are the last lines of the original liner notes of "This Christmas I Spend With You" (via Eliot Tiegel): "This album of Christmas music will know no seasonal boundaries. You'll probably be playing it all year round". Hear here....