Exactly What You Would Expect from Elvis
Nicole Martinez | San Antonio | 01/24/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I did a little research and "If Every Day Was Like Christmas" (IEDWLC from here on out) wasthe best Elvis Christmas CD for me. My mom is an Elvis fanatic and his Christmas songs were always playing in the house during the month of December. Although I rebelled against his music, I found it more and more appealing as I became a young adult and desired one of his Christmas CDs.
Unfortunately, he has many which meant I had to look through quite a few track listings to find which one had all the songs I wanted. This was it. It has secular classics such as "Blue Christmas" "Dreaming of a White Christmas" and "Silver Bells" along with tunes of a more religious tone like "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "The First Noel." Almost every classic Christmas song can be found on this CD as well as some that became classics because of Elvis -"Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" and "Santa Claus Is Back In Town."
Elvis sings many of these songs in a similar vein as his normal music and this is especially true of "Blue Christmas." If you do not like his style of singing normally, I doubt you would like it on this Christmas album. Another reviewer called it "schlock" but one must remember that much of Elvis' work -was- as much; it was a little hokey and a little cheesy and a little overdone but that's why we love it and this is why we love his Christmas songs.
However, not all the songs are over the top. While it could never be Elvis with his thick performance, many of the tracks, especially the religious ones, are more toned down and less "schlocky."
Elvis stays pretty true to the tradition of most of the songs (except perhaps "Blue Christmas") which is what I love. I love when classic songs are done with new voices but retain the classic sound.
If you're an Elvis fan, you're bound to like this CD. It contains all the classics you might want and even a few Elvis originals. If you're not a fan, I would suggest giving this a go but keep in mind that these are very Elvis-y. This is a timeless album.
"
Comprehensive Elvis Christmas Collection
J. Anderson | Largo, FL | 12/28/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's Elvis. He's singing Christmas music. It's all of the Christmas songs released during his career and a couple of alternate takes. What else do you need to know? It's Elvis singing Christmas songs, Heaven on Earth."