A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Joululevy. Ei kai näitä kukaan oo hyviä tehny? Ihan ok tuotettu siis näitä klassikkobiisejä -- jos siis sattuis tykkää niistä.

A very pleasant Christmas gift. A lot of the classics. Still a convicted murderer.

10/10 Christmas

It's like a "best of" for all those 60's girl groups. The "Wall of Sound" over production got to be a little annoying by the end.

It's a Christmas Album. And it's good christmas music, and good example of Spector's production. But I can't give a huge rating to an album I'll only listen to once a year at best.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like an album from a convicted murderer! Well, he was good at what he did! It's a great sounding album.

Great collection of Christmas classics!

This is a classic and has a lot of sentimental value for me and my family. A good listen every year at the holidays

Unoriginal

Wtf

It's Christmas. It's a Christmas album. It's one of the best Christmas albums. The wall of sound is in full effect here and it works so well. An excellent album and the perfect day for it. Almost like that was planned...

Great Christmas album, nothing to dislike here except for Phil Specter himself

Iconic holiday classic. Even moreso realizing this is the original Christmas (baby please come home).

Ett av de bättre julalbum, kommer micras på inför jul!

Alltså det är ju julmusik men det var rätt kul?

det är så synd att han e mördare för det är bra musik

Of course, there's nothing more ridiculous than Phil Spector giving anyone a Christmas present as much fun as this one. However, this is a great example of the rock-and-roll Christmas sound that becomes buried in our holiday consciousness for the next 50 years.

Absolutely fucking brutal listening to this the week after Christmas

I really liked this album and the timing was perfect. Great to hear these takes I had not heard before on the classics. Got me in the holiday mood when I needed it.

3.2 - it’s a Christmas album, a genre I’m not too big on. But it’s a solid one that I’ll be returning to on a likely annual basis.

Bah humbug. Doesn't even have the best Xmas song, Santa Baby

I love this. Adding orchestra makes most music better, this is just super classy and happy. I got this album on Christmas Eve; did that happen to other people or is this a divine coincidence? Also, fuck anybody who says this album should be canceled because of phil spector. This album was the work of all these great singers and instrumentalists, not just mr. spector; their wonderful work shouldn't be thrown away for the sins of one guy.

Decent Christmas songs. Good mixing. Too bad he murdered someone.

Would be good to have on in the background of a holiday party with coworkers and acquaintances. Very cheery, but I like my Christmas music with a little more, how you say, soul.

Do I punish this album because of the serial abuser and murderer PS??? It’s a fine Christmas album full of fun boppy old time classics, and each of these artists deserve air time. I’ll be blocking Silent Night from any future plays.

Good rambunctious xmas music. Shame about Phil.

Iiiiiiiiit's Christmaaaaaaaaaas! Chapeau for the 24th December suggestion. Having had Heart Xmas pumped into my ears solidly by more festively minded members of my household for the psst month, I must say this was a nice collection - not as whiny or as showy as newer Christmas numbers and striking a nice balance between secular and religious references. Go on then, I'll admit it. 4 stars!

gross

Classic Phil Spector sound. Certainly iconic, but I have a hard time separating the music from the man. In general I am not much of a pop christmas music fan. 3/5.

The definitive Christmas album for me. I don't even like Christmas music but if I was going to listen to one this would be it. Just a huge wall of sound throughout.

A near perfect album with a creepy personal message from a murderer.

I mean you can't knock the Wall of Sound, but my reaction to a Christmas gift from Phil Spector is more "what's in the box?! WHAT'S IN THE BOX" than "ooh how lovely but I didn't get you anything"

This is s perennial favourite of mine, the Cd comes out every Christmas and gets played a good few times. I'm always disappointed when I hear Phil Spector speak on the Silent Night cos I know the album is almost over. Wish it had been a double album! There's no duffers on here, every song is a cracker (pun intended, sorry) that you will hear on the radio during the festive season.

Quality Christmas songs with that amazing wall of sound. Could be the best crimbo album

Ho ho ho

Beautiful Christmas cheer. Good will upon one and all.

This came up for Christmas Eve 2021, a random selection? Hmmm. 🤔 Merry Christmas! 🎅

pretty good christmas album as far as they go, it's not Shatner Claus though

It's OK - an interesting artefact

Good but too familiar

I wonder if there will be more Christmas albums on Christmas day in the next few years, and I wonder what they would be. Pretty innovative, even though Phil Spector is terrible.

I'm starting to have doubts that the generator is as random as it says it is... I ain't gonna be no Scrooge McDuck about this album, it's good old-fashioned festive fun for all the family. A few of these recordings still seem to be the definitive versions that get played nowadays.

I regret not giving this one a spin when it was actually Christmas. There's no way I'm sitting through a Christmas album in January. Also, Roni died recently and the Ronettes have been played on repeat on the radio as a result. Bit Ronette'd out tbh.

This is where being a week or so behind on this list really bites you in the ass. Because I don't really want to listen to Christmas music on January 6th. Though, it's a good way to boost the mood on a day when we get to remember the Capitol Insurrection. Fuck those MAGA assholes. I'm rating this record (which I've never heard) in comparison to other Christmas records. As a result, I'm giving it a 5 and I'm going to try remembering it exists for the next 50 weeks, so I can listen to it at an appropriate time of year. One more thing: Phil Spector is a creep and a murderer.

I'm skipping this because I'm a week behind, it's now January 3rd, and I can't take anymore Christmas music. Still - I can honestly say that I heard every song on this album at least once over Christmas break. I listened to them individually and mostly on purpose. They are Christmas classics, one and all. White Christmas by Irving Berlin and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love are my favorite on the list. Blue Christmas by Elvis, Please Come Home for Christmas by the Eagles, This Christmas by Donny Hathaway, and Back Door Santa by Clarence Carter are the notable snubs (granted, these wouldn't fit the "classic" genre as well). But - as a "Top 1001" album? No. No compilations. I could make a compilation of the greatest songs ever - it would still have no place on this list.

These are just classics. I had no idea this album existed, and I love Christmas songs. Next year, this will most definitely be in high rotation for the holiday season. I have heard many of these here and there, but what a collection! Phil Spector was a crazy dude, but his sound is unmistakable and iconic.

A nice holiday surprise. Before, you know, he was in jail. The problem is, about half of the songs are difficult to tell who is singing. If you locked me in a room and played the Ronettes and then the Crystals, I would be hard-pressed to tell you who is who. The production doesn’t help, that wall of sound makes them sound identical. Of course, hearing Spector speak at the end is unintentionally creepy. It was a nice little album. Weird trivia: released on the day JFK was killed. I mean, it’s not like it was PLANNED. First printings are pretty rare, too. I like holiday music, but it always seems so… limited. There feels like there’s maybe about 100 songs, and they have to sound a specific way. So yeah, this was nice to hear, but I doubt I will come back to it.

I was surprised a Christmas album was on here (though not surprised at the timing of its appearance). I guess it's got good energy, vocals, and musical arrangements. I've just never been much for Christmas music, even if tis the season. Bah humbug.

My overall reaction is that I'm not sure I needed to hear this before I die, but it's a good album. I decided to dig deeper and learn more about Phil Spector, both his career and his personal life. Here's yet another example where we have to ask the question, can you separate the art from the artist? The guy was a complete piece of shit and died in jail, convicted of killing a woman the same night he met her (he claimed it was an accident, but he had a history of brandishing guns at people). Does that change the music? The production quality and the innovative "Wall of Sound"? No, but it gives you pause. One other note - Clever move by the site organizer to make sure everyone gets this pick on Christmas. Send the guy some beer money for the holidays.

Not bad for a Christmas album

Nice compilation, mostly enjoyable christmas music.

En dan hebben we ineens een verzamelalbum? Een kerstalbum?! Overigens wel een van de betere verzamelaar met kerstliedes 🙂. *****

Top 5 Christmas Album

While I'd prefer a gift NOT involving Spector, this is good.

Spector really killed it with the production here (har har). I'm not really a Christmas music person but as far as that goes these are good renditions in my opinion.

Bit annoyed that I was trying to escape Christmas music and this came up but hey ho, would've been weird to get it in July I suppose. Almost offensively sweet and twee but pretty on trend.

I cannot handle this

Phil Spector was not a nice guy. If we can't separate the music from his person we are denying a lot of the involved artists on this album from their fabulous contributions. This is just a smasher of an album and one everybody should listen to during the holidays instead of Wham and Mariah Carey.

Classic

twee dagen te laat!

Heel gezellig kerstalbum dat vooral sterker wordt naar het einde toe

Fuck this shit.

I came to the 1001 Generator on this Christmas Eve seeking an escape from Christmas music. And what do I find? Christmas music!? This is not a randomly generated album! Sure, there are some classics here. And sure, there is the undoubtedly influential “Wall of Sound,” though I couldn’t tell you what it actually sounds like. But the spirit of the random generator has been violated! Bah humbug!

Listening to jaunty Christmas music in March (because I forgot to rate the album when it came up on Christmas) is weird. It is marginally less weird than the out of tune Christmas music that emanates from the run-down ice cream truck that rolls through my neighborhood on sunny days. Some of these (Christmas (Baby Please Come Home and Winter Wonderland) are the tracks that you hear ubiquitously as soon as Halloween is over and some I had never heard (and really never need to hear again). I will stick to listening to Christmas music during the month of December (except for the ice cream truck).

This is a really good Christmas album. There are fresh takes on some classics. But I really don’t want a Christmas gift from Phil Spector. Even before the murder of Lana Clarkson, he was a POS according to his ex-wives, ex-girlfriends, and children. Forgetting Phil Spector the person, I would not listen to this 11 months out of the year because, well, we need a break from Christmas. I’m happy to listen again in 11 months if somebody digs this up.

I mean, it's essentially a compilation of Christmas classics. "White Christmas," "Frosty the Snowman," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Here Comes Santa Claus," and "Silent Night" are all legendary Christmas songs lol. Admittedly, some are not classics, like "A Marshmallow World," but it is a very solid set of the "classic" Christmas songs. -Only notable/unexpected item music-wise were the pretty sick drum fills on "The Bells of St. Mary"

i mean it’s a christmas album so how good can it be…? but it was fun and good to listen to and not snooze worthy.

Well hell if I'm gonna be the Grinch who criticizes this album... Obviously I'm not wanting to hear these songs for maybe 49-50 weeks of the year but if we're gonna have Christmas songs this isn't a bad way to go at all. Short, not too filled with saccharine; so shed the cynicism and enjoy a half-hour of simple early 60s holiday pop rock. (Um...you can skip Killer Spector's silly thank you "song" at the end tho) 7/10 4 stars

Spector was a madman. I don't much like his 'wall of sound' and the music is all pure pop - fine for supermarkets and children, but gives the serious listener nothing worth keeping - except the occasional earworm. I've got Frostie the Snowman stuck in my head which is very annoying..

Phil Crowe’s Christmas staple. Played to death

Seasonal entertainment.

A trifle, sure, but a tasy one. Maybe a little too much cream.

Solid album. Very enjoyable

Phil Spector is a monster, but this album is fantastic!

Sick of hearing these songs but it is a classic

Good Christmas album ruined by Phil Spector being a part of it.

Classic songs ruined slightly by being so familiar

Killer production 👍🏾

What are the odds? (The website probably did this on purpose) Phil Spector, notable producer and murderer, had designed the "wall of sound", where Spector pushed the limitations of audio recording technology by having a large an ensemble as possible. This would result in a much fuller sound unique to the 50's and 60's. This "wall of sound" was subsequently used by Spector when he gathered a few artists on his label to do a selection of (mostly) secular Christmas songs. I do not like the wall of sound. I think it obscures the arrangement and is a poor use of dynamics. Which is a shame because I like some of the songs on where with their arrangement choices! If they were just a bit more stripped back and sonically legible, I could enjoy it more. Perhaps for the time, the wall of sound was even helpful, but here I find it more annoying than anything. Everything else about this is great though!

Didn't sound any different from the 'standard' Christmas stuff.

Album: 5/5 Spector: 1/5

One of very few listenable Christmas albums. Perfect gift!

Catchy old pop tunes with great production. What's not to like here?

all you need all under one roof!

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is with a wall of sound for all to hear. A collection of popular Christmas songs, all performed and recorded in a consistent fun, joyful, upbeat, style. A lot of these have become the go-to versions, and the one original composition on the album, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)) by Darlene Love, is an underrated Christmas classic. Thanks for generating this on Christmas Eve (surely not a coincidence at odds of approx. 1 in 260?). This will become essential Christmas listening and couldn't fail to put even the bah-humbuggiest of Scrooges in the festive mood. 4/5

Its great. I've heard most of these individually and now this album will definitely be put in the Christmas rotation.

Te gek kerstalbum met sommige bekende nummers maar ook wat jazzy onbekende

Huh, this was the project's pick for Christmas Eve! Pure chance, or did the algorithm get fudged? Either way, I reckon the relevance of the date is worth an extra star from me. If I'd had to listen to this in July I can imagine it losing a star... Fave track - "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by The Ronettes maybe, idk

A Christmas delight

Bit too American and secular for my Christmas tastes and all these songs have been overused in films. But it's good

Christmas init

Makes you feel chipper, slots into the list well. Feels like the less-painful versions of many known songs.

It's Christmas innit. Not even the best Christmas songs

Love Christmas music

Awesome holiday music🎄🎄🎁🎅🏼🧑🏼‍🎄👼🏻The Ronettes were my fav! Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night🥂On to the next album and New Year

Is this list random? Honestly I hope it is because that makes this even better. Great Christmas album with some of those classic radio hits I added right to my Christmas playlist. Also loved his thank you at the end.

What a lovely Christmas treat! I'm pretty sure the admin programmed this in to be the album people get on Christmas, but that doesn't make it less special to me. Really consistent sound, timeless and classic songs done in that very specific "wall of sound" that made Spector who he was. I love that style, and I think it works perfectly with yuletide tunes. The thank you message at the end was nice, even if it reminded me that he was (later) a murderer. Also he died this year, totally forgot about that. Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone! I hate to think what Phil would've done if he saw his mommy kissing Santa! Favorite tracks: Frosty the Snowman, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Album art: It's a Christmas album, so not much creativity is necessary, but I like that all these great artists are packed in little presents. Phil really cares, doesn't he? Giving us this music? I hear he had a present for Lana Clarkson too. 4.5/5

Classic Christmas!

As a Christmas FIEND and someone who enjoys this era of music a lot, I really loved listening to this and I actually listened to it this week before it even came up on this list! However, I only ever listened to this in the capacity of a Christmas album and was unaware of the fact of Phil being a convicted murderer... Also it's not my top fave ever Christmas album (Ella and Louis Christmas) so 4 stars it is.

An absolute Christmas classic. Loved it!! Every song. I think Phil S is a bit dodgy but the other acts weren't so nevermind. Great album

Was this just a coincidence that we got this one around Christmas? You can't really say no to it, it's got all the big hitters, but I was a bit annoyed cause I was listening to it in January.

nice 4/5

"A Christmas Gift For You" presented to you by a convicted murderer! Also, I find the lack of "Mele Kalikimaka" disturbing...

just not at the right time...

Merry Christmas. God Bless us Everyone.

Classic Christmas. Better than some of the really lame xmas oldies songs, but not so stylized to be distracting, or bothersome to folks who like it tradition.

Phil was as mad as a box of frogs. But I am sure most people will agree he was a very talented producer.

It's a fun Christmas album, but still a Christmas album. I'm not someone who listens to certain music in certain seasons, other than at Christmas of course. I knew the majority these songs, and they are Christmas classics. A really good Christmas album is still just a Christmas album. I would never have much use for it outside of the season. Due to this I can't really rate it highly, even though it does what it should really well.

Some classic Christmas songs! Love that time period of soul mixed with the holidays.

Good albums with great songs. Poor timing, though.

actually just fuck off

There are two types of people - those that love Christmas music, and those who loathe to hear it. I fall into the latter camp. Love the holidays, hate the music. No thanks.

I hate Christmas music so much. No words can describe the hate I have for every single sound associated with Christmas - jingle bells, sleigh bells, glockenspiels, the choirs. I hate it all. Just like Phil Spector hates being a decent human being.

This is a great Christmas Album; especially the tracks by Darlene Love are excellent. The others are nice as well, only the Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans ones are lacking a little bit, and I could have done without the final track with the Phil Spector speech. Still, well worth a listen. 4/5.

The production is innovative and influential. It is not really a Christmas album but more of a 60's pop album. The famous wall of sound sounds today a bit too monochromatic .

awful

The greatest albums require the least eulogising: Absolute pop masterpiece. Essential listening. Nuff said.

Proper classic Christmas tunes. Brought us back from not feeling very Christmassy!

Do I want to listen to a Christmas album...hmmm...Probably not...I never really liked 'the wall of sound' thing...it feels like coercive control...it feels like control...YOU WILLL LISTEN TO THIS...I suppose...and then he went to jail for murder...charming

Phil Spector being a terrible, awful, horrible person knocks the star off the Christmas tree for me, and the oversaturation of Christmas music takes another half. So this album getting 3 stars is impressive, because it's a very good album. Spector was a revolutionary producer and his wall of sound works immaculately on the record's best cuts. Darlene Love is the MVP, as her melancholy, soulful rendition of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) has become a staple and the other songs she worked on were great, especially Marshmallow Land. Everyone else does a great job throughout and the joy that Spector's production conveys creates a classic Christmas album from the Grinch of the record label. Also Brian Wilson worked on it and cited the record as an inspiration for Pet Sounds. It's a festive joy that was released on the same day JFK died, and its classics (Sleigh Ride, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), White Christmas, Marshmallow Land, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, The Bells of St. Mary) will entertain and live in the hearts of eager children for years to come.

Brilliant christmas classics !

Gute Soul-Weihnachstplatte.

Perfectly pleasant, but, well, Christmas music. The talking part by Phil Spector 1) surprised me that he sounds like such a dweeb and 2) is painfully awkward.

Really not into Christmas music, but in general this was OK because of the motown vibe and talent behind the music.

High quality Christmas music

Not really in a christmas mode, couldnt get into it

Good for christmas

I reallt don't like christmas music, but that doesn't make it a bad album.

A Christmas album on Christmas. Some solid standards here, in spite of whose name in on it.

Better than most - where are the women who can sing like that today? Too many autotuned megastars, too few Darlene Love's or Aretha's

4/5. Christmas jams, Spector was talented, but literally the worst

Living in the "eastern" half of the world, I received "A Christmas Gift for You" a day late. But I don't mind. After all, I live in a country where Christmas starts long before the winds get colder and ends several days after the New Year fireworks lighted up the sky. Also, I don't have time to listen to it on Christmas Day anyway. All I can say is, it's a decent gift that has everything one could expect from a set of Christmas songs. The notable things in this album is that it's so '60s. The sound of '60s pop songs rule this album. That, and Phil Spector's so-called "Wall of Sound" approach is well-compiled in this album. And perhaps that's the reason why this is included in the list. Overall, pretty good. Out of the four gifts, my favorite is Darlene Love and her powerful voice -- just look at her in the cover, at the top, waving her name like a banner. Not listening to it again next year though, nor blast it on speakers. I mean, Mariah Carey is overplayed as hell, but I liked the more recent versions of some classic Christmas tunes more than the outdated '60s pop version of them. Thinking about it, Christmas song is probably a great lens to look at the evolution of pop sounds throughout the years.

Well - it was painful but this IS the definitely Christmas album in my book. and the wall of sounds cuts through and it does have some personality - so while did not wholly enjoy it due to my disdain for Christmas songs - it does have substance in its own way

Its an Xmas album.

Nice one

Fine Christmas music compilation

4 stars since it’s Christmas

Great fun

Got this on Boxing Day, so the theme fit. Other than that, why is this on the list?

A Christmas album right on Christmas Day (missed it tho)! Would like this version of White Christmas if hadn't listened to Frank's/Bing's version. Neverless, no one can reject such an album of joy.

Probably the most famous Christmas album but still a Christmas album...

I mean… for Christmas music, you could do worse.

Thanks Santa

A great selection of festive themed music, a little bit cheesy. Ideal for background music not something I would choose otherwise.

Definitely above average Christmas tunes. I look the old school sound of the album which makes the holiday feel even nicer and cosier than usual. A nice listen for the holidays! 7/10

Classics performed well, I tolerate Christmas music, but I hated listening to album of them one after the other

It's Christmas music. Literally not even on Christmas day do I WANT to hear Christmas music. It's not even *interesting* Christmas music. Just covers of the exact songs you hate hearing blaring over retail and fast food overhead speakers. I'd give this a 0 if I could. I'd give it a -30 of possible, and even that seems charitable. Call it the spirit of the holidays that even one song on this album got listened to.

I quite enjoyed it. The updated hd version was poor though.

I'm not a big xmas music guy, but this was really good. All of these songs are performed very well, especially the ones done by The Ronettes. It was nice to be able to include my family in this project for one day.

A Christmas classic. Skip the last song.

This is actually very good music in terms of the melodies, the variety of instruments used, and the vocals. And the idea of having cheerful songs about Christmas and winter to play around the holidays is great. The problem is that there aren't that many popular Christmas songs, so existing ones end up being overplayed.

I don't want this anyday

A collection of great christmas hits.

Well goddamn, it's a Christmas album for Christ's sake.

I mean... considering some of the, uh, "presents" Phil Spector gave to folks, I'm happy with this. Seriously though this is a great record, in heavy rotation in our house during the holidays.

Oh good grief no, I'd give this a zero but the thing won't let me.

No

6/10

don't love the Wall of Sound, don't want to listen to xmas music, don't want to receive any "gift" from a murderer!

Don't let Phil ruin Christmas for you, skip the last track. Lovely collection of songs, fantastic vocals and an amazing array of talent on display. It will be nice to get this on vinyl to play next Christmas. To its negative it is just a Christmas album so the appeal is limited. Spector has pulled out the stops with his wall of sound. In places it takes the songs to an amazing level, in others it sounds like a flat mess with the sounds cancelling each other out

Good Christmas album

Glorious, bar the last, terrifying track :-)

Perfect timing. But fuck Phil Spector

Whimsy fun.

Classic Christmas Fare from the Spector Stable here and a classic all time for Christmas hits that have been re recorded since the sixties by numerous alumni! (My favourites Bruce and the E-Street bands "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and Dylans "Here Comes Santa Claus" but the Wall of Sound is a close second. Love this and it should be in anybody's vinyl collection imho.

This should probably get a lot more play at Christmas

This is delightful! So many of these songs have become the standard arrangement of these Christmas classics. And there's no doubt that Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" would not exist without the influence of this collection. The stand-out track is the one original song, Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". The whole album is full of joy and iconic performances from the pop queens of the 1960s.

Bangers, fizzers and crackers throughout. Timely too! A great Christmas album.

Kinda sounds the same after a while, but does contain some classics!

My years in retail mostly beat any affection for Christmas music out of me. But as these albums go, this is one of the best.

It is the sound of Christmas - sugary, of course, but rammed with sleighbells and tambourines and extra pianos and a second choir

Probably should have listened to this before Christmas! Good though, a nice change from the heavy rotation Christmas songs of the 70s/80s/90s.

A Christmas albums go, this is solid. Well worth the listen. Fun from start to finish. Added.

Platan er mjög fín. Pródjúserinn er ógeð.

How very festive.

I don’t know if there was programmatic collusion, but getting this album on Dec. 25th is a special treat. I enjoyed it a lot this morning while opening gifts. Very 60’s, a classic through and through. But only needed once a year.

Perfect Christmas album

98. Phil Spector ***** up Christmas - Various Artists 13 tracks. When Phil came up with this idea, he should have immediately shelved it once it became known that he couldn't get Bing Crosby to sing White Christmas. It should be illegal for anyone other than him to sing it. He didn't even try to snooze us into thinking that Bing was on there and we had just missed it. He actually got someone else to sing it. (I feel sorry for poor Darlene Love). Phil is going straight to hell for that one. Picture it now. Christmas morning around an open fire. Kids are excitedly laughing and opening their present, Gran is telling everyone that it's never too early for a drink and the next thing you know someone other than Bing Crosby, (forgive me Father because Phil Sector did the sinning rather than me), is signing White Christmas. Now the kids are crying, Gran says she had more fun last Christmas when Grandad died of Covid on his own because that cunt Boris Johnson made us all isolate while he threw parties in Downing Street and the Mrs is giving me daggers and telling me should have left me long ago. Thanks Phil. Happy Fucking Christmas! 3/5

Christmas and Phil Spector, an abysmal combination. The voices are beautiful but the music is blech.

Nice

I'm sick of this shit being played everywhere for the whole fucking December. And "White Christmas" sung by a woman? The craziest thing in the whole history of music.

wow. much christmas very christmas

Definitely my favourite xmas album produced by a convicted murderer.

Sparkly Christmas Murderer Cheese

Oh, today is the day I learned the generator is not completely random! No way I get this album on December 25th just out of the blue. That said, I'm sad I only got to this at 10pm on Christmas, because I would have loved to listen to this album all day long or over the past week. It's a pretty perfect Christmas album, as good as it gets. This album is what all artists aspire to when they make a Christmas album, whether they know it or not. The rich, sonorous arrangements, the warm and engaging vocals, and infectious melodies you want to keep singing. This is it. I mean, what's not to love about Darlene Love, the Ronettes, the Crystals and Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans? I've heard most of these songs individually over the years, but as a collection you appreciate them so much more. Phil Spector had an ear for what makes beautiful music, and an ability to find really talented artists to present his musical vision. First and foremost, these are great pop songs, that also happen to be great Christmas songs. That is what makes a Christmas song a classic that never grows old, it has to be an excellent pop song first, and Spector understood this better than anyone. These songs are beautifully made and so much fun to listen to. They are standards for the most part that many artists had performed before Spector got a hold of them (the exception being the brilliant Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” but these versions are the ones that really have endured over time. Thanks for the gift 1001 Albums Generator, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Ride, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, White Christmas, The Bells of St. Mary, Frosty the Snowman, A Marshmallow World, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Here Comes Santa Claus, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Silent Night

Un clásico

Great Christmas album, but that's all it is. No original songs or especially creative takes.

The worst shit I ever saw

It's Christmas music. There's not much else to it.

I'm hoping everyone is getting this for Christmas Day (it makes all the sense in the world if that's the case - I mean, how could anyone properly review this on say August 15th?). Just ignore the Phil Spector factor (although just because he became a convicted murderer doesn't make him less of a musical genius, although I'm still not sure what he was trying to do to the Beatles with "Let It Be"). Focus on all the joy and wonder that is the living national treasure known as one Darlene Love. One of the greatest things David Letterman did was to have Love sing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on his late night show every Christmas for something like 26 consecutive years. It's reportedly the only Christmas song Dave likes, so he'd have Darlene come out and belt her classic holiday tune with Paul Schaefer and company every year. What a gift for Darlene Love. And what a gift she is to us. Just listen to her start this album off by making a Bing Crosby classic all her own. Love's version of "White Christmas" is the only one I want to hear. Besides this album, the only other holiday album I enjoy is the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. This album is a big reason damn near every artist at least tries to record a Christmas song at some point in their career. Hell, I might have even choked up a bit during Spector's spoken word message over "Silent Night". In 100 years, the world will have moved on from Mariah Carey's Christmas song, but people will still be listening to Spector's Wall Of Sound, and Darlene Love will wear the crown as the true Queen Of Christmas.

This is the best example of Phil Spector's 'Wall of Sound' production technique. Though it was incredibly influential, this technique can muddy the background quite a bit. Playing the studio like an instrument was new in the early sixties and would truly come to fruition in the hand of Brian Wilson and the Beatles several years later.

Some nice versions of pop Christmas classics all with that distinctive Phil Specttor touch. Your Christmas celebration will be richer if this album is added to your holiday playlist

Points go the Ronettes and Darlene's "Baby Please Come Home." The Bob B Soxx tracks are noisy and busy, my least favorite. Darlene is ok, she has a great voice and I like her style shifts within the tracks. Her songs are the most original, and "Baby Please Come Home" is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Her other songs get a little cheesy here and there. The Crystals are decent; I love them most for their "Then He Kissed Me" hit. They're clear and harmonious, with a great jazz solo, incorporating the Christmas sound well into R&B, but otherwise the most forgettable. I don't think any of the tracks are remarkably special, although it's great for upbeat Christmas celebration, cheery and pure. The Ronettes are by far my favorite. I love Veronica's voice and the harmonious back vocals. I can tell who Winehouse's #1 inspiration was. I thought "Frosty the Snowman" was perfect, "Sleigh Ride" has a bit of an annoying side but very traditional pop-like, and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" had the most attractive vocals. My only complaint is that I don't find the instrumentals to be very interesting, kinda generic.

It’s a Christmas album. It’s enjoyable and some of the songs are better renditions than other peoples. 5.0/10

Rating: 10/10

Peak Christmas music I think.

I don’t particularly care for Christmas songs and these fell flat.

Remember that 1960’s Christmas song? You know the one? It’s on this album.

its Christmas songs from a bunch of Motown era artists 2.5

Man a lot of classics on here. Merry Christmas music adventurers

It’s May. No Christmas songs just now thank you.

Was it deliberately seeded that this would be generated on Christmas Eve? Anyway. These are some of the best renditions of these classic Christmas songs ever recorded... but they're still just Christmas songs. Hard album to rank.

Fun Christmas album with all the classics.

It was nice. But generic Christmas music, nothing really stood out.

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector was a new album for me, although I have heard some of the individual tracks as part of the regular rotation on the radio stations playing Christmas music in December. The Ronettes might be the only artist on the album that I recognized by name. The album was okay, but I'm not sure what I would come back for, for a second listen.

Wonderful! Oh, Darlene Love. What a treasure. PLEASE, people, please go watch the 2013 documentary '20 Feet From Stardom'.

Best Christmas album on EARTH !!

Haha got this dec 25th! This most be planned by the creator, nice. Or else it's a crazy coincidence. No matter what I'm not about to give a five to a mediocre christmas compilation produced by a convicted murderer. But a 4 will do. Eh a 3

Classics. Awful man, great pop music. Original "Christmas" song is one of the next on the album.

Normal Christmas stuff

had my fill of xmas music for a bit

As the world’s most famous celebrant of Festivus, the holiday for the rest of us, I’d like to say I’ve been tired of Christmas songs forcibly drilled into my head long before the cheap trick of being pushed on with this album on Christmas Day.

2/5 nothing much

Swiateczny prezent od pana listowego na 25 grudnia, wiec swiateczne granie w stylu lat 60, bo krazek z 63, nawet dzieli date wydania z asasynacja JFK, nie sa to koledy, a raczej mikstejp kawalkow okoloswiatecznych, ktore mozna uslyszec w hamerykanskich radiach w tym okresie, wiec typowy pop z mocnymi influencjami r&b, jest czarno, zarowno na chorkach jak i na glownych wokalach, o instrumentalach nie wspominam, bo tutaj jest juz troche bardziej bialy personel, ogromna banda muzykow brala udzial w nagraniach, bo plyta featuruje ponad dwadziescia nazwisk, wiec feeling big bandu na niektorych kawalkach jest obecny, 34 minuty i 13 kawalkow, dobrze ze pan od listy ustawil akurat na swieta taki album, bo w mniej swiatecznym dniu chyba bym nie wytrzymal takiej dawki swiatecznej milosci, na plejke nic nie wrzucam, bo zbyt specyficzne kawalki, ale dobrze wiedziec o istnieniu takiej plyty z swiatecznymi szlagierami w jezyku angielskim

4.0 + My go-to Christmas album!

Un dels grans clàssics nadalencs. Algunes de les girl bands més conegudes del moment recreant clàssics del Nadal amb la producció d'Spector. Ha quedat ja molt superat, però no deixa de ser un dels discos a escoltar quan es vol recuperar l'esperit d'aquesta època de l'any afegint-li un toc retro

Canciones muy típicas navideñas (que además ha coincidido escuchar el disco en la misma fecha), con grandes interpretaciones, grupos y clásicos de siempre. Me ha gustado bastante la selección y las composiciones.

Unos villancicos típicos bien cantados.

the greatest

Xmas must Xmas 🎄

Un addon?albuj de noel le jour de noel.jeme le garde pour lanne prochaine jai bien aime. 4.5

Coñazo navideño

Fine

Yep, Christmas music. 5/10

Seriously? Did any of these artists even write these songs?? Probably the only album on this list I’m not finishing.

honestly, i had no idea phil spector sounded so much like david sedaris. like...uncanny. anyway, buncha old-school christmas music. not bad at all - and certainly it's cool to hear a little more directly, as it were, from a person who had such an impact on literally decades' worth of music

Coincidentally I've been looking for some good Christmas music and struggling with it. Every Spotify playlist I find for rock n' roll Christmas or other types of more modern holiday music just results in crappy stuff. These are some great tunes. I could have lived without Phil Spector's creepy closing comments, but otherwise top notch. 4 stars.

I’m behind on my days so this didn’t hit me on the right day. But it’s so perfect of course for the time of year. Some of these aren’t my favorite versions, but it’s a great one. A lot of these I prefer male voices. Sleigh Ride, Marshmallow world,Winter Wonderland. Christmas are my favorites. Can’t do 5 because it doesn’t work in June.

no

Christmas songs

The output of Phil Spector’s production feels like some kind of devilish stress test of the semi fictitious chimera of “Cancel Culture”. Sure, it’s branded with the name of a clearly terrible (and if you believe the reports of some of his family, genuinely evil) person. On the other hand do you punish the individual artists by tossing it all in history’s dustbin? Putting all that aside, none of this grabbed me that hard. I didn’t feel like Christmas classics were much improved by that famous Wall of Sound treatment.

A great collection of different takes on some holiday classics, I was able to tolerate listening to this one which speaks highly to its quality. An aside on Christmas music: When will someone create a new holiday staple? The current Christmas song canon has been unmodified since Mariah Carey cursed the world back in the early 2000s. Perhaps I'm just a 20-something cynic but I'm tired of hearing the exact same recording every single year.

Pretty good Christmas album, lots of the classic hits you'd want to hear around Christmas. Not that remarkable for a standalone album

Good Christmas soundtrack but nothing special about it.

it is a christmas album

this could possibly be the album ive heard the most times in my entire life and it will never get old (well except the phil spector speech at the end). darlene loves voice is so phenomenal i wish she was more well-known today. this is what christmas should sound like

I was so happy to get a holiday album today! That's what I was hoping for. This one made me really want to explore the artists on the album, particularly the Ronettes. That is the most iconic version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause." You can almost hear her wink. I was curious by the last track, with Phil Spector saying that he did something "different" with the songs, but didn't say what. Now I know what the "Wall of Sound" treatment is, thanks to this album!

A great album for Christmas Day!

Cute! A classic Christmas album.

Am 5.1. ist es zu spät für Weihnachtsmukke xD

i hate chism

If it were still Christmas, i would give it three stars

Merry Christmas!

Don't like Christmas music in December, I certainly don't like it in January

I am a scrooge, Xmas albums are not the one.

Classic songs

Quintessential Christmas Album

Merry xmas

Unos villancicos típicos bien cantados.

Guay para navidades. Le daría un %. Pero .... Phil Spector ...

I’m kind of a grinch but this music slaps I’m a sucker for this sorta old-school pop 9/10

Good production can’t cover the fact that this is still a collection of fucking Christmas songs. Also, fuck Phil Spector.

Haha! Well I'll be listening to this later as I do every year! If you don't love these Christmas classics given the wall of sound treatment, you are a soulless mister and definitely on the naughty list! I realise the artists were horribly exploited, and that Phil Spector is an awful human being. But this album is a precious diamond regardless.

Try to forget that Phil is involved and this is a real Christmas cracker.

100% christmas

So many classics I have heard here and there over all the years, and I never knew they all came from this one album! Though it's not really a surprise, since they all share the same Wall of Sound production. This was a wonderful Christmas surprise.

Merry Christmas! It was a Christmas album with some good versions of some traditional songs. How fortunate to have the 1001 gods put it on our plates on Christmas Day. Even so, it was nice for a listen, but not anything overly exciting for me. I imagine that the “Phil Spector” label in the name of the album may be off-putting for some, as it was a bit for me…

A wonderful Christmas surprise.

IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! I didn’t expect this! Came into this a huge fan so really happy to have this join the 1001 list. This is THE classic Christmas album. Phil Spector at his wall of sound best and Darlene Love getting full credit as a single artist… really defined what modern Christmas music would sound like. Phil Spector talks of bringing “something new” to Christmas in his address at the end of the album. Must have been amazing to hear this when it first came out… I was under the impression that the 1001 Albums list didn’t include “Various Artists” so I wouldn’t have expected this but here it is. Love all the songs on this. Thanks for the Christmas present!

The odds of getting this particular album on Xmas Day... Usually I don't mind a bit of Phil Spector, but this Santa Claus rubbish was just too cringeworthy.

Obviously biased judging this on Christmas but I think most of these songs still hold up if I listened to them in March or august. Can’t beat the classics. Favs: sleigh ride, christmas

Julsång moment

Christmas songs with Phil Spector’s production. A very pleasant christmas gift

Lite utmattande men daskare

Christmas as we know it. Classy arrangements, bright harmonies, but is not my favorite music. (funny side note today is the 25.12.2021) (5/10) FT: White Christmas

Quintessential Holiday album. God bless.

Christmas music is the worst.

Some nice versions of pop Christmas classics all with that distinctive Phil Specttor touch. Your Christmas celebration will be richer if this album is added to your holiday playlist

All the classics!

Who knew all these canonical versions came from a single compilation?

It's a Christmas album. Enjoyable for Christmas.

Ah božićne pjesme. Najbolje mi je što silent night nije silent night već taj lik zahvaljuje svima koji su radili na albumu. To je revolucionarno i zato dvojka

ne znam kako sada biti objektivan, svaka im čast na ovom jer nekako sumnjam da je slučajno ovaj album, takve tematike na današnji dan. ukoliko nije? onda je to ono perfekt tajming brate woop woop. kad već moram nešt prisrat, bilo bi mi naaajbolje da mi je bio moj A Charlie Brown Christmas iz 65', ali moram si malo horizonte otvoriti! i naravno - da je babi......

Mislim nije moj đir, al ovdje su apsolutno svi božićni klasici, pa tako je sigurno i najutjecajniji božićni album ikada. Danas paše skoro svaka i jako se nadam da je došlo slučajno, a ne presetano hahhahahahah (presetano je, mi sa uključenim vikend albumima smo dobili danas, ostali plebovi jučer. Naravno oni koji koriste više od godinu dana su imali prošle, pa su danas dobili random album, tako ćemo mi nagodinu 🤘🏻)

Phil Spector sucks, but this slaps

J'ai toujours été très fan de Various artists et suis allé les voir en concert à chaque fois qu'ils sont passés dans ma région.

Il faut savoir avant de lire ce review que je deteste les chansons de Noël, que je trouve extrêmement déprimantes. Tomber sur cet album ne me ravit donc evidemment pas. Mais la où cela devient vraiment difficilement supportable, c'est que je me retrouve à écouter cet album le 27 décembre, la faute à un leger retard, une fois les festivités bien retombées. Une difficile experience, j'espere qu'aucun autre album de Noël n'a été glissé par Robert dans la liste.

In a vaccuum this is a 4 star album; it has solid performances and a fun sound that holds up and doesn't overstay its welcome. However, two major things hold it back: Firstly, it is a Christmas album. I won't get any joy busting this bad boy out in February. Secondly, I don't want any Christmas gifts from such a raging, irredeemable asshole as Phil Spector.

A punchy Christmas album with fantastic performances. I feel like that is kind of all I have to say about it.

Saved Prior: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Off Rip: Sleigh Ride, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Circling back to this one now that it's mid-December. Wall of Sound is definitely an apt description of this style of recording and music. Iconic. Weird dude Phil Spector, but highly influential and I gotta give him props for that. For me personally, I'll take Baby Please Come Home from this album and go.

Heel erg cliché kerstmuziek! Toeval dat dit op Kerst in de lijst verschijnt of niet? Wie zal het zeggen

Another Christmas spent in SHACK'S bedroom ruined.

So the ronettes and the crystals sing the tunes but for some reason Phil Spector claims it for himself. I'm going to rate this on the strength of the album and caveat that creepy, incesty, noncey killer Phil gets no praise for this. He didn't write the songs and he didn't sing them so he can fuck off.

Bad, bad Christmas nonce...but that's okay, because he shot a woman.

A Wall of Sound/Christmas combo, what's not to love? It beat listening to Mariah Carey wailing on about wanting me for Christmas while I ate my Christmas dinner. I'm married Mariah, leave it out will you. You bring this up every year, you're embarrassing yourself.

Dit cadeautje heb ik niet uitgepakt

Ja dit gaat niet he? Kerstmis muziek eind Februari met 20 graden en een zonnetje. Best leuk verder wel eigenlijk.

Zat al aan de kerstmaaltijd, maar klinkt achteraf best gezellig

Gezellig!🎅

Leuk!

About as good as Christmas albums get 9/10

6/10. Good Christmas music, but not a stand-out in my mind in any way.

This opened the floodgates for so much Christmas music by popular musicians, which isn't a good thing. Annoying to listen to as an album, even on Christmas. 4/10

The best collection of Christmas songs of all time. Darlene Love steals the show though. Every year its the same fucking boring debate about what the greatest Christmas song ever is. At least 6 tracks on this album are streets ahead of anything shat out of Mariah Carey or even Wham.

Man bekommt vielstimmig, was man einstimmig erwartet. Einstimmig fantastische Songs sind Young mit „Helpless“, Opener „Carry on“ und Titelsong „Deja Vu“. Zeitlos 3.4

I've had this on vinyl for decades and it gets brought up from the basement with the tree stand every year. The legendary Wall of Sound makes this head and shoulders above other Christmas albums from the era.  I unfortunately don't have the very rare and valuable original pressing and would take the money in a heartbeat if I did. It's unfortunate that Phil was such a whack job. He sure did make good music.

This is easily the best Christmas album I've ever heard. Also the only one that I've listened to start to finish. The vocals have a lot of pop, especially Ronnie Spector. I'm a late convert to the Ronettes. And the production is very well suited to a Christmas Album.

I’ll separate the music producer genius from the piece of shit here. There are only two Christmas albums that I can stand listening to, this one and Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown Christmas. I must say the Wall of Sound here is amazing. Reading Wiki its also incredible how many other artists that he influenced. I love Veronica Bennett’s (the Ronnettes) voice. This is a classic Christmas record for a reason, but I did get creeped out when we got a personal message from Spector at the end of the record though.

There's no way this was a coincidence right

Somehow I actually have this one on vinyl.