BLACK FRIDAY MP3 ALBUM PACK #1
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And Winter Came (Amazon MP3 exclusive)
Enya
Genre(s): Folk, Traditional British & Celtic Folk, Traditional Folk, International, Celtic, Europe, Miscellaneous, Holiday, British & Celtic Folk, Contemporary Folk, New Age, Celtic New Age, Pop, World Music, British Isles
Rating: 4.2 – {278 Reviews}
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Original Release Date: November 11, 2008
Label: Reprise
Copyright: Warner Music UK Ltd. A Warner Music Group Company
Total Length: 48:51
If you want something different from the same old “trot it out for Christmas” music that you play every year, here is a gem and a true value.
Enya is an amazingly talented artist.
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Hot Jazz For A Cool Night
A Jazz Christmas
Genre(s): Miscellaneous, Holiday, Jazz, Cool Jazz
Rating: 4.5 – {6 Reviews}
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Original Release Date: January 1, 1992
Label: MusicMasters
Copyright: (c) 1992 Amerco, LLC.
Total Length: 57:36
Good collection, lots of artists and different songs. Soooo relaxing and will keep your evenings spirited as you host friends in anticipation of the Christmas season.
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Christmas Cello
Steven Sharp Nelson
Genre(s): Miscellaneous, Holiday, Pop, Easy Listening
Rating: 5.0 – {8 Reviews}
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Original Release Date: March 5, 2012
Label: Gbg Records
Copyright: 2012 Steven Sharp Nelson Bmi
Total Length: 48:26
This is already my favorite instrumental Christmas album after only a couple of listens. It is everything I was hoping for when I bought Yoyo Ma’s album a couple years back and found it to be lacking in what I consider a beautiful cello sound. This has it in spades. Every song is masterfully arranged so that you recognize your Christmas favorites, but not over done or smaltzy. I was going to give you some of my favorites, but frankly, I can’t narrow it down, the whole album is great! I highly recommend it for your holiday season. Merry Christmas!
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A Twisted Christmas
Twisted Sister
Genre(s): Miscellaneous, Holiday
Rating: 4.4 – {96 Reviews}
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Original Release Date: October 17, 2006
Label: Razor & Tie
Copyright: (P) 2006 Razor & Tie
Total Length: 41:10
The second, and supposedly final, recording by Twisted Sister after they reunited in the early 2000′s. This is quite an odd beast, it is an album of traditional Christmas songs recorded by Twisted Sister. On the surface it seems like quite a bizarre concept; something that wouldn’t work. But wow – does it work. I’ve been a TS fan since the early 80′s right before they broke big with “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. I’ve followed them since then pretty well, I’d like to say I like something from all their eras, but when I heard about this, I thought “Ugh”. But I gave it a shot, and it hooked me.
What makes this work for me I think is that I’ve always been someone who has disliked Christmas music. It’s not because of the meaning behind the songs, it’s generally been the music itself. Not so much the songs, but the way they’re played. To me, most Christmas music is unlistenable. But this completely works. So much so I’ve been hooked since the day it came out. In the week and a half since it’s been released (I’m writing this on the 27th, 10 days after release) I’ve probably listened to it 20 or 30 times. It has crystallized my feelings on Christmas music that it’s the presentation of the songs. Since I’m a metal guy, I loved this presentation.
Two things to point out here. The actual songs themselves are unchanged (other than the instruments they’re played on obviously) except for two songs. The first is “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”. The lyrics are the same, but the music is the music from “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. It’s quite interesting to see how well those lyrics fit that song. The other modified one is the 12 Days of Christmas. Instead of the traditional 12 gifts, TS has things like “Tattoo of Ozzy”, “Spandex Pants”, “Cans of Hairspray”, etc. That’s quite funny.
The problem with this album is that most metal heads will dismiss it out of hand because it doesn’t fit their generally narrow view of what a hard rock/heavy metal album should be. Shame, as this album works very well for this old school Twisted Sister fan.
