Johnny Mathis / The Ray Conniff Singers – Christmas With Johnny Mathis and The Ray Conniff Singers

I actually really like these odd little double A-side collections. Take two somewhat related artists and cull a dozen songs from across their discography and try and make a buck at Christmas. There is no information printed on the spine, and no liner notes. To be fair, my used copy could have had some once upon a time ... but I doubt it. The double act Columbia Records decided to put together was Johnny Mathis and The Ray Conniff Singers.

Whoever picked the songs for the Johnny Mathis side decided to stay with the sacred. From what I can figure, five of the six songs here come from his 1958 Christmas album, with "Ave Maria" likely coming from Good Night, Dear Lord, also released in '58. The sequencing follows a loose chronological telling of the Christmas story. The album kicks off with "O Holy Night", and when it comes to the French Kiss note, he does it with a full voice, no falsetto or warbly half measures. It's pretty impressive, and his voice seems to be a bridge between the old crooners and the up-and-coming rock and roll / R&B singers.

I'm not sure if the typo on the cover with "Greensleeves" rather than "What Child Is This?" is deliberate. "Greensleeves" is the tune, not the song. The six songs go by too fast, as is the case with most Christmas albums.

The arrangements are wonderful, and if the songs were taken from Merry Christmas, then the credit goes to arranger and conductor Percy Faith and his orchestra. Wisely, there is nothing overly adventurous about the arrangements, and the songs are treated like hymns. Johnny Mathis does them justice.

It's kind of cool to hear these, as Johnny Mathis is a name I know, but I don't have any real point of reference for his material. He's woven into popular culture now in a way where the name lives on, even if you don't know why.

Flipping it over, we get The Ray Conniff Singers, and it is pure cheese. It's like having a variety show on the platter. There's a definite '60s vibe here, but there are no liner notes, and trying to unravel the threads from all of the Christmas collections out there is a pain. I just don't have the time or inclination to find out where these songs came from.

"Joy to the World" is groovy, man, with a swinging beat and the staccato, almost surf-infused rhythm guitar. If there was a go-go dancer Christmas soundtrack, this is it, baby. Other songs are almost folk, sort of like Mitch Miller or The Brothers Four ... or not, it's just a couple of names that popped into my head.

The album closes with a raucous version of "Deck the Halls" that was probably a hoot to record. I suspect it'll wear thin pretty quickly with repeated listens, but the first couple of times it was a blast and was a great way to wind up the half dozen songs from Mister Conniff and his singers. This was really enjoyable and put a grin on my face. It called to mind the many Christmas specials I grew up watching as a kid.

It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when both Johnny Mathis and The Ray Conniff Singers were sales juggernauts. This collection was compiled in '72, and Johnny Mathis and Ray Conniff probably still had enough cachet and name recognition to move a few copies. How many is a mystery, as these compilations are sketchy at best. I actually really liked having the sacred and the not nearly as sacred sides represented on one compilation.

As a taster for Johnny Mathis and Ray Conniff, this was a great introduction, and knowing they have a lot of Christmas music out there just means I have more to look forward to in the future.

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