Elvis' Christmas Album

It's a strange thing to think that his original 1957 album, considered the best selling Christmas album of all time, had at one time gone out of print. The geniuses at RCA must have figured if they ditched the hymns and added two new songs, "If Every Day Was Like Christmas" and "Mama Liked The Roses" they'd be able to replicate the success of the original release. So they put it out on their budget label Camden and released it in mono (I'm guessing the original recordings were in mono, so no harm no foul). Considering I'd never seen it before, I'm guessing the classic red album is still the preferred version.

Nostalgia is a strange thing. While I never had the original on vinyl, I did get the CD thirty years ago and that's the version I'm most familiar with - hymns and all. Still, for a buck finding this was pretty cool. I have to admit there were several copies in the bin some in truly horrific shape. I kinda split the middle and swapped out a cover and hoped for the best.

To my surprise this was a pretty clean album, and aside from a pop or two played really well. The album starts out with "Blue Christmas" and plays through like a best of album. To say these songs are classics is an understatement. Heck, even the maligned version of "White Christmas" - a version Irving Berlin hated so much he tried to have it banned from the radio. Funny how this profane version is just cheese.

One of the great things about the early Elvis was how tight his band was. Scotty Moore was a beast on guitar, Bill Black on bass and D. J. Fontana on drums were a precision rhythm section. Combined with the lush, almost gospel quality to the backing vocals by The Jordanaires you have magic in the grooves.

The one song I'd not really heard, "Mama Liked the Roses" actually fits really well and ends the album on a more sober note, but with ten songs, the album is hardly thirty minutes - I guess I knew the songs were short, but never really paid attention to how short. Heck three of the songs are under 2 minutes, and the two newer songs for this release were still under three minutes. He really did just get right to business and didn't drags things out. Leave people wanting more. I found myself playing it over and over as I decorated the tree in the basement.

What a treat.

The King is dead. Long live the King.

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