A Rock N' Roll Christmas (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  Holiday  »  Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: October 4, 1994
• Label: Psm/polygram Special Mar
• UPC: 731452024428
• WAPI (Tower ID): 105797519
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #9967 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #149071 in Holiday (See Top 100 Holiday Bestsellers)
• #109 in Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (See Top 100 Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree Bestsellers)

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Compilation producers: Howard Smiley, Bill Crowley.

Rock & Roll Christmas is a wildly uneven collection of holiday songs by rockers from the '60s, '70s and '80s (with a short jump back to the '50s on Chuck Berry's "Merry Christmas, Baby"). The songs are thrown together with no sense of pace or context. For example, Bon Jovi's super smooth ballad "I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas" is followed by Bob Seger's wall-shaking "Sock It to Me, Santa," which in turn is followed by the Moody Blues' ponderous and overwrought "What Child Is This." On the positive side, the disc does contain a few Christmas classics that may be hard to find elsewhere, namely Billy Squier's "Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You," Elton John's Beach Boys/Phil Spector-inspired "Step Into Christmas," the Kinks' "Father Christmas," Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "I Believe in Father Christmas" (which a clever compiler would have put side by side with the Kinks' track), and the Waitresses' typically snarky "Christmas Wrapping." The makings of a very good compilation are here; the follow-through is faulty with too many duds like Elvin Bishop's "Silent Night" and the Bon Jovi ballad on-board. If you find it at a nice price, it may be worth it anyway. ~ Tim Sendra

PolyGram Special Markets' 1994 budget compilation A Rock 'N' Roll Christmas is a nice little find. Elton John's relentlessly joyful rocker "Step Into Christmas" is the standout because this album is the easiest to find and most inexpensive source. Old-fashioned rock & roll is represented by Bob Seger's (technically Bob Seger and the Last Heard) "Sock it to Me Santa," which borrows more than a little from James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Part I"; George Thorogood and the Destroyers' "Rock and Roll Christmas"; and Chuck Berry's bluesy "Merry Christmas Baby." The Moody Blues are often slagged for their elaborate, orchestral brand of pop and progressive rock, but this approach is perfect for "What Child is This?" Fellow prog rockers Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "I Believe in Father Christmas" is apparently a newly recorded version, because it's not the stunning take on Works, Vol. 2, nor the equally familiar single that's heavier on the orchestration and choir. Elvin Bishop's funky arrangement of "Silent Night" is a surprisingly gutsy rendition of this beloved traditional standard. The meaning of Christmas is given thoughtful, yet lighthearted treatment on the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" and the Kinks' "Father Christmas." Billy Squier's cheerful sing-along "Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You" is another hard-to-find treat. The Thorogood, Squier, and Berry tunes are CD-only bonus tracks. ~ Bret Adams

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