Reviews (page 3 of 17)
Its Christmas I can't NOT give this 5 stars now can I
i don’t love but also don’t hate christmas songs, so i don’t have a favourite really
i would give this a 5 but i fucking hate phil spector
świąteczne buja ale ale świąteczne
I guess if I have to listen to Christmas music, this album is for the most part one I don't mind too much.
Simply superb. Not my first time with this one - love the sound and these songs will never get old. A stone cold classic that’s a must listen at Christmas.
Makes some of the generally awful Christmas standards relatively listenable to.
Perfect Christmas album
Love this one! So wholesome, notwithstanding the Phil Spector of it all. Many of these are mainstays on my Christmas party playlists. The production is so bright and forceful, sounds great. And man, Darlene Love could sing!
Beautiful Christmas LP with classics
I hate Christmas music.
A superior Christmas album. This and Nat King Cole is the sound of the season.
Okei, så dette er det EGENTLIGE julealbumet. Fantastisk sunget av et ensemble av afroamerikanske artister, med en produksjon som minner om en tett snøstorm. Dette er 60-tallspop kamuflert i et juleslør. Top 3: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Sleigh Ride, Frosty The Snowman
classics
Have to admit not the biggest Christmas fan, English is my second language, and this music doesn’t scream holiday season to me. Either way I enjoyed myself, merry Christmas
Guess the better Christmas albums
Vanhanaikaisia amerikkalaisia joululauluja Phil Spectorin luomalla äänivallilla varustettuna. Mukavaa, kevyttä kuunneltavaa joka sopii hyvin tähän päivään.
Fantastic album.
I would make this a 5 but it’s a seasonal specific album so knocked off 1 for playability
It’s Christmas music, well made, good production, good vocals, Christmas music.
Can’t go wrong.
Merry Christmas!
Phil Spector is obviously a bad person, but this is obviously an incredible album. Just skip the last "song" which is basically just Spector speaking. Everything else is fantastic.
Great album that makes for a standalone christmas mini-playlist. Would never play outside of holiday season though.
This shit is so good
Love a Christmas album
very cool that this is the christmas day pick. some absolute classics on here.
For a Christmas record, this is good for the most part. The Wall Of Sound production works really well for the majority of the songs (e.g. Frosty The Snowman, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Sleigh Ride), but for some songs (e.g. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers) it's just all a bit too much and some of the songs (e.g. Marshmallow World, Here Comes Santa Claus) are just plain forgettable. I really like the groups performing the songs (the Crystals and the Ronettes in particular) so that's also a plus. I personally prefer Christmas music that's more somber, but all in all I think this is alright. However, if you know literally anything about the producer of this album, Phil Spector, it's probably that he was an abuser in every sense of the word and a murderer. Knowing how horribly he abused Ronnie Spector (lead singer of the Ronettes) during their marriage makes it hard for me to enjoy the music on this one. I know being a bad person doesn't make you a bad musician and that Spector was genuinely a talented producer, but I feel any sort of assessment of his works and legacy isn't complete without at least acknowledging how awful a person he was and how this label of "genius" that was given to him early on enabled him to hurt so many. To summarise: The music's good, but fuck Phil Spector. 3.5/5, rounding this up to a 4 mostly because I love the Ronettes. RIP Ronnie Spector.
A timeless classic, definitive versions of memorable Christmas tunes. And yeah, Phil Spector’s name is on this and he has his little speech at the end, but rank this and give credit to the wrecking crew, Darlene, the Ronettes, et al., who performed on it.
Merry Christmas!
Classic christmas bangers for a reason. 1960’s black excellence!!! Frosty the Snowman by the Ronettes? GREAT WHITE CHRISTMAS by Darlene Love ?? ICONIC Sleigh Ride by Ronettes???? LOVED SO MUCH Rating: 5/5- GEMV (25.12.2025)
i’m rly glad they gave me a christmas album, i had been plannning on listening to nothing but christmas songs all day yesterday except for my random album, but that’s rly cool that they do that, prob the best christmas album, either that or the charlie brown christmas one
Love it
merry christmas, love hearing a album produced by a murderer to celebrate the jolly spirit
I mean this has GOT to be a hell yeah, no? Great classic christmas album, Darlene Love is singing the house down, it's christmas today, the stars have aligned - happy holidays gang!
Natal fodase
the classics are classic and the rest are…….
A pretty fun Christmas album.
A lot of Christmas classics. I love the old sound and definitely some of the best holiday songs ever on here. All fun overall, but nothing amazing. Top Songs: White Christmas, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
I really, really don't like Christmas songs. I really don't.
GOING IN: Very excited indeed LISTENED WHILE: Drinking an Old Fashioned in front of the fire FAMILIARITY: Part of my life this one SKIP RATE: Played it straight through REPLAY VALUE: Deffo play again DISCOVERY CURVE: Loved it straight away ALBUM ARC: Pretty even, consistent VERDICT: Absolutely brilliant BODY'S VERDICT: Toe tapping situation FAVOURITE TRACK: Very hard to choose!!!... Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) My Rating: 5
Rating given strictly for the classic music, not Phil himself.
this might be the best Christmas album created by a convicted murderer
19. didnt like it didnt hate it
It’s christmas and this is a christmas album.
Can’t believe I got this album on Christmas Day
Man I wrote a whole review and saved it but for some reason when it reloaded it brought me back to the review I had written for my previous album. Not sure what’s up with that, but this is certainly not Ragged Glory by Neil Young so I’m gonna have to just re-write this as a summary: It’s a Christmas album produced by a murderer. The songs are all covers everyone knows by heart. It’s impossible to review this thing objectively. I am not inherently anti-Christmas music. Carol the Bells and Little Drummer Boy absolutely slap. Most of the hymns do as well. Even the more secular and contemporary stuff can be good. But god, hearing Phil Spector talk over Silent Night does not make me very holly jolly—nor does the obvious financial motivation behind this album. Darlene Love was the only good part. She has such an impressive voice. Sorry for the negativity, have a great Christmas.
Good album for the time of the year 1/5 didn’t finish the album 2/5 didn’t keep the album 3/5 kept it and will listen when songs randomly show up on shuffle 4/5 kept it and will listen to it again front to back on my phone 5/5 buying the vinyl
Working ina deli the past couple weeks I'm sick of Christmas music, but I still gotta admit this is a classic album
Such an amazing Christmas album, some absolute classics in here, velvet smooth flow and feel.
Best Xmas Album Ever 👌
These singers are wonderful - this is a cool choice for a Christmas record. But.... I guess for some people, no matter how many times they hear "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" in a given season they're still always filled with warm nostalgia for childhood Christmas mornings, and can't wait to hear it again. Aw, and now here's Frosty! They love that song! But honestly, me? I really would be glad to never hear about Frosty again. And now it's the end of the season, when I'm looking forward to not hearing any of it for another 11 months. (Plus, Phil Spector, eew.) They should have given me this record on December 1; I might have given it a 3 then. 2/5
Played this xmas morning after getting it as my album of the day and its going to be a tradition going forward. Liked almost all of these versions.
the perfect christmas album
Obviously Spector's a huge piece of shit and the world would be better off if he never existed. But also this is exactly what Christmas is supposed to sound like, so what can you do.
Didn't get around to listening to this properly, and somehow my last review got repeated here. I'll give it a proper listen next Xmas, I promise!!
Solid Christmas album, learned that Phil Spector is a murderer too so that was interesting as well.
Christmas
Truly a gift. I don’t really fuck with Christmas music too much unless it’s the blink-182 Christmas song but this is a great album. I didn’t like Phil Spector at the end little bit of a jump scare and didn’t expect him to sound like mj. Also first album listen with my new beats headphones I got for Christmas.
Yeah, ok, that was great.
It’s a Christmas album. A compilation album. A covers album. I should hate this and complain about it being on the list but this is fantastic throughout. As good as a Christmas album can be.
Lovely Christmas album, one I'm likely to revisit during the holidays. White Christmas ★★★★☆ Frosty the Snowman ★★★☆☆ The Bells of St. Mary ★★★☆☆ Santa Claus Is Coming to Town ★★★☆☆ Sleigh Ride ★★★★☆ Marshmallow World ★★★☆☆ I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus ★★★★☆ Rudolph the Red‐Nosed Reindeer ★★★☆☆ Winter Wonderland ★★★★☆ Parade of the Wooden Soldiers ★★★☆☆ Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) ★★★★☆ Here Comes Santa Claus ★★★☆☆ Silent Night ★☆☆☆☆ Average Album Rating: 3.2/5.0 ★★★☆☆
My rating 3.2
Bon ben je m’attendais à détester, mais finalement, c’était plutôt fun. D’ailleurs je connaissais déjà Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), que j’ai sûrement entendu dans un des grands films de mon enfance. Très malin de faire popper cet album le jour de Noël.
it's chrimmy, sleigh
The only Xmas album I have liked
🥞
To me, these are the definitive versions of all these Christmas standards, and all felt very unified under Phil Spector's sound. Great listen.
No thanks
Time and repetition has rendered this elevator music. Fav track silent night
A perfect album for Christmas Day. This was one of my favorite records growing up. My family played it on repeat every holiday season when I was a child. It's a shame about Phil Spector and his crimes, but I'm able to separate the artist from the art and still enjoy the music. Regardless of your feelings about Spector, this record is absolutely worth listening to.
Compilation album full of old Christmas hits most of us have probably heard a thousand times. They're good, but I'm never really going crazy for Christmas music.
Some of the only notable Christmas 60s recordings and arguably the defining seasonal album collection. Perfection of its kind
Sounds great. But, after all, it's Christmas music.
Classic and understandable that it's queued up for the 25th
Got this on Christmas. Thought ‘OMG what are the odds’, posted it to reddit, felt dumb when everyone told me first year users all get a Christmas album. This could be a 5/5, but it’s a Christmas album, so it loses a star
Rolling Stone's best Christmas album of all time... I love Spectors Wall of Sound take on these Christmas classics. Especially the Ronettes' songs.
Bonne musique de Noël
It’s perfect? Darlene Love and the Ravonettes bot doing the songs that are the original versions of the songs you know.
Good Xmas day listen. Classic but alt versions I haven’t heard. 2.6/5.0
This album has been part of my Christmas rotation for at least 20 years. Brought back fond memories. As far as I’m concerned Darlene Love is the star of the show. I added “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home )” to the playlist.
Great timing on the Christmas album! I don't know what it is about Wall of Sound production that just sounds so perfectly festive, it may very well be that this album has been so influential on Christmas culture that it has embedded its way into my psyche. So many classic Christmas songs come from this album, and even outside of the holiday season this is just a prime example of Brill Building brilliancy. Darlene Love absolutely steals the show with her songs, but by no means are the others' performances bad. It's just impossible not to feel at least a sliver of joy when the band kicks in on Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), which may very well be the greatest Christmas song ever recorded. I will say there are some songs that don't quite meet the standard, namely Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Bells of St. Mary which both lack interesting production and flair from the singers. Nevertheless this album is easily my pick for the most "Christmas-y" album of all time; no other album soundtracks the holidays quite like it. Merry Christmas! ^-^
Score - 3.6/5 Top Songs: Sleigh Ride, Santa Claus is Coming To Town, Christmas (baby please)
Aaaaaaaaaaaas
Wall of sound is an unexpected addition that Christmas was missing until this release A truly great album and possibly the greatest crimbo album ever . 5 stars all day long. Even if it’s only listened to 3 weeks of the year . Darlene love does a lot of the heavy lifting and it would have been interesting to hear a full album of her Christmas songs
Well... that sure is a wall of sound
Some of these have become the definitive rendition. All of these are good.
Classic Christmas
Not my preferred classic Christmas album but it's alright.
A good album.
If Carlsberg made Christmas albums then they'd be hard pressed to beat this one. 5 Stars all the way
#41 Working in retail during the holiday season over 10 years ago has killed any love for Christmas songs
Just fine.
Merry Xmas, peace and love to everyone. Except Phil Spector, he's on Santa's Naughty List.
Ei :D
Couldn't be arsed with this one as its a compilation of different artists, thus has no business on the list. Had to give a rating so will give 4 as I'm sure it is probably pretty great.
Lovely to listen to. Weird bio
Hard pass
Nice xmas album. Should have made Last Christmas before Wham so no 5 stars
Sorry Phil
interesting and fun takes on christmas carols through the wall of sound
Favorite track(s): who cares man, it's Christmas
not a fan of the style
Spector invented the Christmas song
All good ones. It is 29 December so unfortunately no additional capacity remains for listening to Christmas music. !RemindMe next Christmas.
Excellent album, full of favourites 🎄 Phil Spectors best moments - love it/ have it
somehow despite all of this music being on the edge of being right on the edge of hopelessly annoying, it actually all kinda vibes and is good. i'm shocked! well curated
Range of artists on this album is limited, although they are good. There are much better Christmas albums out there, even for that era. Especially ones that don't feature the elephant in the room.
Best Christmas Album ever!
Non
I love Christmas. I love this album. I love the sound.
Merry Christmas to the generator! These definitely didn't contain the best or my personal favorite renditions of the songs that were featured, but it did good enough of a job, it got me in a nice mood, and come on, it's Christmas. Can't be too hard on this one
Loved it! Can’t believe I didn’t play until Christmas Day!
Loved this!
Feliz Navidad a todo el mundo! Como si estás leyendo esto en junio, te la metes en el bolsillo y te la guardas para las próximas navidades. Hay que ser agradecido en esta vida. Y humilde. Y honesto. Estas navidades, en este turbomundo atroz, practiquemos la presencia, el vivir despacito. La vida va minuto a minuto con toda su calma como siempre, el único que le mete prisa eres tú, así que relaja y deja de intentar hacer 50 cosas a la vez y haz un par y quédate chill y todo contento. No te pierdas, expándete. Cuando lleguemos a ese río, cruzaremos ese puente. No seamos glotones, no queramos vivir más, sino vivir al máximo cada momento, recibiéndolo con gratitud. La vida está mega guay, el amor mola, y no somos más que la manera que tenemos de relacionarnos con los demás, así que cuidémonos los unos a los otros, expresemos nuestro cariño y comuniquémonos con valentía. Que sean estas navidades tiempo de no rogar más, sino de bendecir. Feliz Navidad.
This would have hit much harder if it was on our actual Christmas which in this part of the world is on January 7th. I appreciate the attempt though! Also, as someone who *doesn't* like Christmas and its festive songs, I really liked the music and singing on the album.
Ough
Could have done without the Phil Spector monologue at the end, but so many classic versions of Christmas songs on this one.
No. 57 So many classics I have heard here and there over all the years, and I never knew they all came from this one album!
7.5 / 10
As I said in the entry on Michael Jackson's "Thriller," we're reviewing the art, not the man. Phil Spector was always garbage, and his garbage-ness even extended to the making of this album, overworking everyone involved and stressing them out. And while this album is no "Thriller," I wouldn't toss it in the refuse pile. Charging up some Christmas songs with a brisk pace, insistent instrumentation (the "Wall of Sound") and exuberant singing is going to be an improvement every single time. The result is a generally pleasant listen throughout, but if you're not into Christmas music (and I'm not), it's not going to make you a convert. The core of most of these songs is still pretty basic and lacking in catchy melodies that would elevate the production, but if someone was going to make you play a Christmas album at gunpoint, you could definitely do far worse.
Fav: Christmas by Darlene Good compilation!
You really can’t go wrong with some classic Christmas songs. Obviously this type of music only fits a certain time of year, but it fits the time well. This was a nice surprise for the holiday and was fitting for my long car ride to see family.
Mixture of classics with some lesser-played songs but a lovely listen on my Christmas Day drive.
Happy Birthday Santa! Definitely not random! I wonder what happens next Xmas? This sounds great! Next!
Best Christmas album there is
Overall Rating - 3.35/5 (6.69/10). Love the production sound, good arrangement, very good musicianship.
Christmas songs are the lowest form of music.
7- GOOD
Ich hasse solche Lieder, Heile Welt für 1 tag
Nope! Next...
Merry Christmas
These are mostly songs I don't like but in the best possible versions. That makes it tricky to rate. I'm guided by two considerations: i. I'm going to have to hear these songs anyway, so they might as well be done well ii. It's Christmas Go on then... 4 stars
I'm not the Grinch. This probably doesn't deserve a low rating, but I simply don't like Christmas music. Huge respect to the artists who participated in the album, though. The production is good too.
Christmas morning tradition is to listen to this. Killing two calling birds with one stone.
Did they do this on purpose? Yes. Checking everyone else’s review dates, this album lands in your list on Christmas. It’s kinda cute. What isn’t cute is Phil Spector. I enjoyed these takes on Christmas staples. Or did this album make them staples? Either way, this was a fun album. What isn’t fun is Phil Spector. Let’s give it a 3/5 and move on.
- Classic songs, but most of them are in that nasal or yell-y high vocal register that sounds thin and bothers me. I definitely prefer other Christmas albums. - The majority of the artists, etc on this 1001 albums list are total creeps who I’ve boycotted (I can separate the artist from the music in terms of deciding if it’s good music or not/rating it for it’s musical appeal, but I can’t/won't separate the artist from the music in terms of supporting it), but this is especially egregious - a Christmas album from a psychopath with songs featuring the woman whose life he completely tried to ruin (I guess at least it didn’t include songs from the woman he murdered…)? Hard no.
Grauenhaft!
Best Christmas record ever.
Yes, you have to turn it off before the last track but it’s still the sound of Christmas
74/1001 First listen. Haven’t ever heard a good Christmas album. If you’re going to listen to Christmas music, it’s gotta be a playlist. 4/10
Deplorable
Known for the wall of sound the Christmas album was no diffeeent.
Yep, it’s a brilliant album, heard it many times, but fuck me I’ve had quite enough of xmas so I’ll listen to it again in summer
Álbum navideño. No me llegó. 3/10
You already know and love half of this album.
Favourite Track: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Рождественские песни лучшие!
Love the arrangements especially the drums in a lot of the songs. The wall of sound, the Christmas standards, a great time. The one thing, listening to this critically is maybe the shout singing, but I haven’t made up my mind if that’s necessarily a bad thing
It was a fun Christmas album. Lots of classics.
Fun, festive album for Christmas! 2.5
40 years before he murdered Lana Clarkson, he murdered with this absolute banger of a Christmas album. I hate Christmas music. But this is an easy 5 star album. The wall of sound is in full force here. Darlene Love is incredible. Masterpiece.
Spector aside, this is a banging Christmas album. Cheerful renderings of classic tunes, lush and big sound. Wonderful mixing and layering of great vocal performances. Darlene love kills it (not as much as Phil though oof, fuck him it’s deeply unfortunate this is very good)
It's fine in the background at Xmas at a suitably low volume .
Tää oli ihan letkeä, tähän aikaan sopivaa joulumusaa...
I don't celebrate Christmas and Phil Spector is a murderer. Never cared for Christmas music as a result. Pass.
Absolutely marvelous !
if the vibe is ever to play christmas music i’ll try to remember to play this one
I don't really understand why this is in here. Even setting aside the fact that it's novelty music, it's just not that good. It doesn't make sense to me. Favorites: Sleight Ride, Winter Wonderland
TIL Phil Spector is a murderer
Can't imagine getting this at any other time of the year. I'm listening to this on the 25th of December, and it's very lovely.
It doesn't get any better than this!
Very fitting selection for 12/25. Any other day it’s probably a 2 for me. But today, I’ll give it a 3 - I put this one while my kid opened presents and for the car ride to the holiday party- it set the vibe perfectly. This is a holiday staple and should be in all holiday rotations and playlists.
Best Xmas album ever.
Strong 3
Nein, geht gar nicht.
I have listened to this every December since 2020, typically multiple times in the month. Absolutely love it, Spector's wall of sound work is pure ear candy. Best track is Christmas Baby Please Come Home, and it's also a cozy familiar feeling hearing the Be My Baby drumbeat on Frosty the Snowman. Only real downside is hearing Spector himself and his dorky ass voice at the end
I hate Christmas music, this is definitely not the worst though.
This KILLED me Phil Spector
I rated this a 3 because in my system, it means I liked enough of it that it is already on or has just been added to a playlist. But also.. ew.
It's a Christmas album. It's fine, but nothing amazing.
Every so often with this list it's weird to go "Oh, those songs were on an album, they weren't just on grocery store speakers since time immemorial.
Great album of Christmas classics. Super creepy to hear Phil Spector talking over silent night at the end given what a profoundly awful human we eventually learned he was. But I’ll definitely honor these great musicians putting out some all time great Christmas music.
Great singers. And great production even though the guy is a murdering ass. I am not a Christmas music fan, and would grab Ella or frank over this if I need a tinsel hit.
Merry Christmas to all - including murderers!
For little old me?
*All time Christmas album. Would be a 5 if Phil Spector didn't turn out to be a monster.
Big sound. Christmas. Nice.
So much for this generator being random (got this on Christmas day, no way that's by chance.) Yes it's perfect even if I don't want to hear every song when it comes on. Darlene Love is a national treasure. The Ronettes rule. I could've done without the Phil Spector parting note.
I don’t like Christmas music. But this is probably as good as it gets.
Great album, great performances all around but I hate Christmas music so I’ll give it 3 stars.
When I started this I gave myself a ten skip limit, and I believe I’ve only used one so far. Well this year for Christmas I decided to gift myself one additional skip which I’ll be using right now! Seriously, it’s not even about Phil Spector being a murderer. That obviously sucks, I just really hate Christmas music. I’m still giving star ratings, based on how I think I’d like the albums I skip. I know there is a button to click specifically for albums we didn’t listen to, but I’m not using it.
A fantastic Christmas album. Forget Spotify's Christmas playlist, just put this banger on.
Great production, Christmas pop
Fan, det här är inte så bra. Det är roligare i teorin, i praktiken låter det skränigt och lite likadant alltihopa.
This is such a feel good album! Merry Christmas everyone!
If you are a fan of the early 60's Phil Spector sound, then this is required Christmas listening. Christmas albums dont really feature in my collection, but I have to admit there are some great performances here, that are as good as, or even better than the more recent efforts you will hear in every mall and restaurant at this time of year
Every Christmas I used to make a background playlist for the chaos: preparing vegetables, debating whether the ham was actually cooked, stress levels steadily rising as the planned serving time approached and parents and in-laws arrived hungry, helpful, and offering far too many cooks in our small kitchen. The easy part of the playlist was around the classics I already loved, or knew had to be on there: John & Yoko's political classic (also produced by Spector), Mike Oldfield's unhinged guitar workout, Mariah wanting everything, and more recently, Paul McCartney's strange synthy money-maker, which I've gotten a recent appreciation for, after seeing it performed live last year by Macca himself and a choir of schoolchildren. But the playlist would always run out. I'd be nowhere near the stereo by then, too busy rescuing the brussel sprouts or checking the cooking schedule (and checking it twice). Spotify would take over, the Christmas songs would keep coming, and before long things would get repetitive. Well, I realise now that all I had to do was put on this album to save myself a lot of effort. With only a couple of exceptions, one of them a spoken thank-you message, every track here is a Christmas classic. I'd already heard them everywhere: soundtracking the Late Late Toy Show, turning up in TV Christmas specials, blaring from tinny supermarket speakers. These songs have been part of the Christmas atmosphere since childhood. I just never realised they all came from the same album. Giving traditional Christmas songs an early-60s doo-wop Wall of Sound treatment was an inspired move. It works so well that almost every track went on to become a seasonal standard. As we listened, each song after another an undeniable classic, we kept joking about how obscenely rich this album must have made Phil Spector. Of course, it's impossible to listen without thinking about the darker side of him: the gun fired into the studio ceiling during the John Lennon recording sessions, Ronnie Bennett effectively imprisoned in her own home, putting a gun to Leonard Cohen's neck, telling him "Leonard, I love you", to which Cohen replied "I hope you do, Phil", keeping Dee Dee Ramone from leaving a studio session early by, you guessed it, pulling a gun on him, and ultimately the murder conviction. So when Spector speaks over "Silent Night" at the end, it leaves the album on an unsettling, uneasy note. But let's forget about the madness of Spector, and concentrate on the album itself. I mean, it's Christmas after all. The music here speaks for itself. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" stands as the lone original, yet became another eternal Christmas song. More than that, the doo-wop sound itself is now inseparable from Christmas, largely because of this album. Next year, I won't be stressing over playlists. I'll just put this on and let it do the work. Happy Christmas everyone! 🎄
What a killer collection of Christmas tunes! Spector certainly picked a bunch of quality tunes and artists to murder your eardrums with! In truth, it's a Christmas album, you've heard the songs before, they're fine. What more is there to say? Best songs: I mean, they're just going on in the background anyway, so is it worth picking favourites?
It was a Christmas album.
I sort of expected this to be a disaster but it's actually pretty listenable as far as Christmas music goes. It's not rocked my world but I might reach out for it on Christmas. Not sure why it's on the list though?
It's the first Christmas day during the 1001 project album. Strangely I don't know this one despite having a number of Christmas albums. Maybe the dark spectre of Spector kept me away, but here I don't have a choice. It's wall of sound soul pop and certainly feels Christmassy with harmonies bright instrumentation and lushness. So I can see why it became a staple.
Fuck Phil Spector. However. Hell yes to this collection. Merry Christmas everyone!
The irony of me struggling to find a Christmas album to open presents to yesterday and I hadn’t checked this site until Boxing Day…
Perfect. Perfect timing, perfect sounds, perfect perfect perfect
A very nice collection of Christmas classics
Christmas classics - what more is there to say?
You can tell they're not smiling while they sing...not jolly at all. Were they okay?
Absolutely gorgeous collection of Christmas classics. Throw this on and brighten any holiday party. Favorite track: Sleigh Ride
1.5 (34:12, 13 tracks, 1963, N/A) Christmas OK this doesn't belong on this list for a lot of reasons 1.) It isn't all that great. As far as Christmas compilations go there are better. (Nonetheless Rolling Stones put it as the 142nd greatest album of all time? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) 2.) Compilation albums are barred from this list, if compilation albums are allowed I can think of 500 "greatest hits" albums that should be on this list (I realized this was released as an individual album but still - stretching it 3.) Phil Specter - eewww These aside Specter adds his 'wall of sound' to Christmas and I guess in 1963 THERE wasn't much better. People like this album. I don't see me returning to it. Best Christmas Album Vince Guaraldi Trio (A Charlie Brown Christmas)
MerryMerry. c
Oh so 1001 is fucking with me now?
Classic early 60s girl group sounds, singing familiar Christmas favorites. Unmistakable who's singing what when you know the artist(s). This is warm, comfortable and nostalgic.
Lonely Christmas
Random album generator really hit this one out of the park. Classis.
It’s so sweet and special to listen to an album like this today!
It’s Christmas music! Wonderful for about one month a year. Some great tunes on here, but not all of them are my favorite version of the songs. Also, Phil Spector murdered someone. Best Track: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love
The best at what it is. Just that.
This album does exactly what it sets out to do, and it does it loudly, confidently, and without apology. The Wall of Sound isn’t a bug here, it’s the whole point. Sleigh bells piled on sleigh bells, choirs pushing everything forward, pop songs treated with the same seriousness and excess as teenage symphonies. If you’re open to that aesthetic, a lot of this works really well. There are genuinely great versions on this record. When the arrangements lock in and the performances hit their marks, it feels joyful, kinetic, and alive in a way that a lot of Christmas music never manages. It earns repeat listens, especially if you already like holiday records and don’t need everything stripped down and tasteful. What keeps it from being a five for me is consistency and restraint. Some arrangement choices miss small but important emotional beats, and a few moments feel more like production bravado than definitive interpretation. The highs are real, but they aren’t uninterrupted. This is still a very strong Christmas album and an easy seasonal staple. It’s fun, historically fascinating, and often fantastic. Just not quite untouchable. A solid four stars: one I’m happy to return to, even if I wouldn’t call it flawless.
Not cohesive
Merry Chrysler!
Jag låg lite efter och lyssnade på denna i januari, så jag är rätt trött på julmusik. Men förövrigt är det väl den vanliga julmusiken. Förstår inte varför det skulle vara ett album man måste lyssna på
ueh
I assume this is the best Christmas album ever, because it sounds like it.
Did not listen, not interested in Spector nor Christmas songs!
I suppose it isn't surprising that I get a Christmas album on Christmas. What's more surprising, perhaps, is that this was on the list at all. It's well made, but it's still Christmas music, and therefore not essential listening for anyone. The singing is great, and the production is also great. However, I'm not a huge fan of Christmas music, and this is Christmas music made by a literal murderer. So I have to pass on this one.
Strong-armed this onto the living room speaker system for a soundtrack while the whole family did the Christmas morning gift unwrapping routine/accidentally invited the damned "separation of the art from the artist" conversation back into the household re: Phil Spector's murder conviction/got my sister's boyfriend signed up on this website. Merry Christmas to all. Ring-a-ling-a-ling-a-ding-dong-ding
I wonder how many albums on this list had Hal Blaine as a session drummer.
Didn’t listen, didn’t care
Spector, despite holding his wife and children captive for years, allegedly molesting them, and killing someone, just to die of COVID. . . produced a good album here. And besides him, this record is amazing. I would honesty be surprised if any American (or perhaps, any westerner) above the age of 2 has never heard at least one song from this album.
I'm not much of a fan of Christmas music, but if you must, have Darlene Love and Ronnie Spector sing it. Some gems, esp Baby Please Come Home and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. There's also a charming message of peace and love from a convicted murderer and all around abusive dickhead. Merry Christmas!
Its christmas music. great for 2 months of the year.
I hadn't really heard about Phil Specter prior to this, though obviously I've heard his work and influence. Right here we're getting a classic American Christmas album. It's on the better end of cheesy holiday music, with "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" giving a quality display of artistry. It's well written, well composed, and well executed, kind of gives you an idea what the record is gonna be, but it's the only original track on there. Everything else has been produced to hit the mood in a simple but effective way. The album is niche, but I've found myself in this vibe, and I can see myself looking for this one in very particular dates some years in the future. It's great material for your Christmas playlist. I'm sure I'll be googling "Ike and Tina producer murderer Christmas album" to find this one when the mood hits. 2.7/5 Would rather be listening to: Willie Colón & Héctor Lavoe - Asalto Navideño Vo. 1
5/10
A lot of Christmas bangers on this. Also the others. Somewhat limited appeal to this in terms of content. 3 Heard before? Most Owned: No: 39/153 (25%) Will I get? No
Feel like several half cooked songs
Yowza wowza! A christmas gift from my favorite murderer of all time? Gee golly, I sure do love christmas music!
In terms of Christmas albums this is a good one. I don't care for Phil Spector personally, but you cannot deny that his 'wall of sound' sound is iconic.
Clearly a Phil Spectre production, complete with a bevy of artists from his stable. I’m not a big Christmas song guy, but for what it is, actually pretty good.
Spooky good
Outside of Phil Spector turning out to be a murdering psychopath, this is a flawlessly produced Christmas Album highlighted by Darlene Love which is truly a gift for the holidays.
I mean it’s Christmas standards from some seriously good artists. Can’t hate it. But also can’t rave about it.
YES This gets 5 stars if only just for Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". Yes, I'm well aware of what a terrible person Phil Spector was. But these are all classics.
Awesome - if you're in the holiday mood
Amazing Christmas album and stacked with Phil’s wall of sound.
Basically had finished Christmas by the time I listened to this, so was kind of over Christmas music at that point. Despite that this is a good album all the way through. Sleigh Ride and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) are two absolute classics that should be in any regular Christmas playlist. The rest of the album holds up and makes it a decent listen, except for the final track. I don’t need Phil Spector talking to me and I didn’t need to learn that he sounds like a knock off Ira Glass
160/1089 (xmas day 2025) i mean, nice xmas classics but rating a seasonal album/compilation like this is always kinda awkward bc ofc i like the songs but only in a specific context for a specific period of time… That said, the songs DO hold up and are pretty timeless
How can you not enjoy this on Christmas day?! Perfect.
Christmas classics from the 60’s. Lots of Ronettes takes. Some of these are definitely on your Christmas playlist.
A classic. Perfect album to celebrate a very merry Christmas :)
Fucking christmas music...
Lovely way to start Christmas Day! Not sure I’d be giving ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️if I got this in July, but I guess that’s the whole point of a Christmas album 🙂- Merry Christmas ⛄️🎄🎅🏼
just straight up christmas bangers
No thanks to Phil Spector. I do love the Ronnettes though.
Solid old school Christmas album.
Album goes hard 3 days a year
Predictable, but was enjoyable. Played while vegetables were prepared. It’s all solid, let’s be honest. I followed this with John Zorn’s A Dreamers Christmas, which is a beautiful Christmas album that I would recommend to all.
Eh. It's fine. Don't kill me Phil.
This is actually really good, but, well, it's an album of Christmas songs, there is nothing to actually hate about the content. So, nothing outstanding but for sure it is quite nice. Though I wouldn't listen to it out of Christmas time. Sure, today is Christmas, so, Merry Christmas everyone! Let's see what's tomorrow's surprise...
Some real bangers on here.
Merry Christmas 🎄
180/1001 :: Phil Spector - A Christmas Gift for You Heard before? ✅ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 8 Listen before you die: Every Christmas I had heard a bunch of these songs before but I didn’t realize they were all on the same album. And frankly now I’m wondering; is this the greatest Christmas album ever made? I think it’s in the conversation. Also Darlene Love smoked these songs, wow. Phil Spector might have been a killer but that lunatic also slayed this album.
What do you want me to say? It's a Christmas album init, and a compilation at that! Essential at Christmas maybe but for the rest of the year... not so much!
10/10 Favorite: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
I rather appreciated a bit of Christmas cheer as everyone opened their presents. It also made it easy to get my 1001 album listen in without any complaints. I don’t think I’ve listened to this album before but I’ve probably listened to most of the songs before one way or another.
Bah, humbug. I did get through the whole thing at least, so go me. I'm now off to drown myself in black metal.
This is a mess. From start to finish a cash in with barely any charm. This is an unwanted morass
I write this on 12/26, completely Christmased out. Also, Phil Spector is a wanker and a ghoul.
Listened to this on 12/23 and around twice the year before including a radio broadcast segment about this album. Some great Christmas and movie hits are in this one but the damn last track is just weird. Shut up Phil
♫ Listening to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by The Ronettes (A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector, 1963) ♫
The album features Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” one of the greatest damn holidays songs ever. The album also contains some pretty bog-standard Christmas fare—and, then, Phil Spector’s almost-unlistenable treatment of “Silent Night.” How do you put a rating on all that?
I love that I got this for my first Xmas during this project. That’s a great touch! I do enjoy this music- except for the absolutely ridiculous version of “Sleigh Ride,” which is the most popular song off of this album. There is something about the constant key changes that ramps up my anxiety. Yes- I know it’s supposed to amp up the excitement, but it’s just kind of overwhelming. I hate that arrangement. But everything else is pretty good. Merry Christmas!!! THREE STARS
don’t really like christmas songs but these ones are wholesome to listen to, reminds me of a different time
Merry Christmas 🎄❤️
Some of the best Christmas music for sure. A really nice setting for that Spector production style of the time. A lot of the arrangements are really fun. Then "Christmas (baby.. " is an absolute jam. Very fun to get on Christmas day and listen through while making Christmas dinner, but I'm not goi to listen to this one every month
I had heard songs from this album played for years but I never knew they came from one place. This has new been added to my annual holiday rotation.
An absolutely killer Christmas album. All of the artists really hit their marks, and that wall of sound really pops! It's a shame Phil Spector's name has to be all over it, otherwise this had a real shot at 5 stars.
Christmas standards, good versions and perfect for the season
Darlene Love is a goddess.
Best Song: Christmas Baby (Please Come Home) It is so weird listening to Christmas music in September. Anyway, I think this is the only Christmas album on here and I wonder why. This is a great Christmas album. That Phil Spector really can find great musicians, I hope he never does anything stupid to get himself in trouble. 5/5.
Perfect gift on Christmas Day - in this regard a 5 - but not very applicable any other day. 4/5
lol, a compilation record. How this made the list, I’ll never understand. I do like the Phil Spector sound though. It’s fine, but I can’t give this a real rating based on the fact that I’m basically rating an audio engineer/producer. 3/5
This album is a classic for a reason. Great songs, the Wall of Sound production, and it just gives that holiday spirit. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) is one of my absolute favourite Christmas songs.
This is one of the best sounding albums of all time. It's aged so well, most of the songs, you'd think were recorded this century and not over 60 years ago. If you like christmas songs or not, this is an incredible album. A true 5/5!
Great fun and incredible artists. I look forward to listening to it next Christmas.
I got two songs in. Just no.
Phil absolutely slaughtered this production. Too bad he killed a girl. 1/5
A fave!
This album’s OK. Yeah, it’s fun to hear a bunch of Christmas songs on Christmas, and the sound is full and interesting. But to me, this is nothing spectacular, and Phil talking at the end of silent night was just kind of creepy to me. Fun to get on Christmas Day, but I’ve heard so many different variations of these songs. These weren’t consistently any better or worse than the others I’ve already heard.
The idea of a glossy, high-energy Christmas compilation is charming, but the Wall of Sound ends up overwhelming the music. The heavy reverb — Spector’s trademark — turns many of the arrangements into a kind of echoing blur, making the songs feel more crowded than festive. There’s craft here and some undeniably classic performances, but the production is so dense that it becomes hard to enjoy the record on its own terms.
V/rv
I really don't try to do any of that art-artist separation crap unless it's an artist I already really like. I have zero reason to like Phil Spector as a producer or a person. The music is great, all classic covers of already good Christmas songs, I just really wish that anybody other than Mr. Serial Rapist/Murderer made it. The knowledge that Mr. Spector did what he did totally taints this album for me. It still gets saxophone bonus points, sadly.
É um bom e divertido álbum de natal. Pula Unicrom.
A Very Special Christmas 3 is my personal favorite Christmas album, but this one's in the top 5 for sure. Did Phil Spector murder a woman 40 years later? You betcha. Does that make this any less of an album? Nope. Influence 5 (pretty sure this was the first big various artists holiday album). Hits 4. Quality 4. Intangibles 3 (I'll dock him a point for the murder here). I really like non-traditional Christmas music 5.
Classic Christmas album, essential holiday listening
A solid slice of girl group/soul and most tracks are still endearing after sixty years
I'm going to ignore the Phil Spector of this and just focus on the music. When my children were young, there were three Christmas albums that got played as we decorated the house. The most beloved was A Very Special Christmas, which should be on this list if it's not (I guess I'll find out next year?). There was A Charlie Brown Christmas. And there was this record. Darlene Love is the star of the show, and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) is one that I'll save to a playlist and never skip. This is all around fun to listen to at this time of year and brought back many fond memories of holiday seasons past. Also, I do love the random generator sometimes not being so random. A perfect choice for today.
I'd rather have gotten coal
It's a classic Christmas album. If I have to listen to Christmas music, this is the album I'd pick. But I don't have to listen to Christmas music and I don't want to.
Classic Christmas album.
Okay, it's a Christmas album, so what what makes this any different from any of a thousand other Christmas albums?
Didn't expect a message from Phil Spector on Christmas Day. Very festive.
Happy Holidays to all! I must wonder if the rating on this is a little inflated due to it being given out on Christmas. Like if I got this in June, it would *not* hit. But this is probably the best way to handle this regardless. This is Christmas music, these are all classics, you probably know these songs. And they are well performed too. Everyone's favorite menace to society who died in prison, Phil Spector, puts his signature wall of sound all over it, and it works. The arrangements are warm and dense, and it feels sufficiently Christmas-y. I have the same problems here that I do with the rest of Christmas music though: namely that I've heard every song a billion times. Also, if you're in a good mood, it's great and jolly, but if youre feeling at all down, it does *not* help. But it's Christmas, and I'm in a good mood. So, even though Phil Spector was a dangerous lunatic, I must say that I am having fun, even if he spends the last song talking at me. I know only one way to end this review: to say what has been said many times before: "Merry Christmas To All And To All A Good Night".
Finfin julemusikk og vel så det, men de fleste album blir litt farga når du bruke mesteparten av lyttinga på å tenke «kæm va det nu Phil Spector tok livet av?».
Always like when they push out albums on here for specific days and very glad there is an Xmas one for today. Only just learning about Phil Spector and his past, but let’s start with music… It took me a while to make sense of this album and the phrasing in the description. In short it seems they are covers by artists he often used and the “wall of sound” is just his production style, but not recognisable as a wall of sound. It gets a bit confusing. And then you start to read how people experienced him and also his crazy behaviour and subsequent murder of his girlfriend, taking him to prison for the rest of his life. I’m not really sure what I think of a fairly standard cover album on this list. The songs are obviously familiar and enjoyable but I seem to be missing what makes this thing standout 🤷🏻♂️ And on further reading it seems to be something about how stand out the production and density of the sound was at the time. In contrast to the clean, polished Christmas tracks and recordings released up to that point. (3.5)
These are great performances, Mr. Spector’s misdeeds notwithstanding. I’d rather they were sprinkled in among the rest of my holiday listening.
I love Christmas music, and listen to plenty of it from Thanksgiving through Christmas. This is good, and a couple of these might just make it to my personal Spotify Christmas play list. Darlene does a nice cover of White Christmas, but that song is Bing's. Love this cover of Sleigh Ride. 4.0
I thought this wouldn't be too great of a album. Because Christmas songs... but Christmas songs aren't bad when not exposed to the overplayed ones and especially these soulful, Wall of Sound production technique renditions of the classics. The Ronettes songs defintely stole the show, when it comes to the band selection Highlight Song/s: "Frosty the Snowman", "Sleigh Ride" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
I work in a grocery store. This crap is all I hear all December. This is not enjoyable for me. Makes me want to rip my hair out. I hate christmas music.
Some decent covers but this was just ok