Various – Now That's What I Call Christmas (3xLP, Green Vinyl)
- Description
- Release details
- Tracklist
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Various Artists' NOW That's What I Call Christmas! brings the long-running UK compilation series into festive mode with a 3xLP set built as a broad sweep through Christmas pop history. The appeal is in that range: the set moves from wartime-era staple Bing Crosby's 1942 recording of "White Christmas" to later chart fixtures like Wham!'s "Last Christmas" and Ed Sheeran & Elton John's "Merry Christmas," giving the collection a clear sense of how seasonal hits keep being remade for new generations.
What makes this edition useful rather than merely exhaustive is the way it mixes perennial standards with songs that became Christmas records by association. Alongside canonical singalongs from Slade, Wizzard and Boney M., it folds in tracks like Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "The Power Of Love" and East 17's "Stay Another Day," both closely tied to the UK festive season through their chart lives. Elsewhere, collaborations such as Bing Crosby with David Bowie on "Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy" help show how the set jumps between novelty, nostalgia and straight-ahead pop craft without losing its thread.
There is a distinctly British shape to the sequencing, but the set also reaches across decades and styles with room for soul, crooners, glam, '80s pop and newer radio favourites from artists including Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, Coldplay and Cher. For anyone who wants one Christmas record that covers old-school standards, major UK number ones and a few modern additions without sticking to a single era, this does the job neatly.
Features
- 3xLP, Green Vinyl
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LP 1
1. Wham!: Last Christmas (Remastered)
2. Elton John: Step Into Christmas
3. Cher: DJ Play A Christmas Song
4. Wizzard : I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (2006 Remaster)
5. Slade: Merry Xmas Everybody
6. Greg Lake: I Believe In Father Christmas (Original 1975 Single Version)
7. Bobby Helms: Jingle Bell Rock (Single Version)
8. Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree (Single Version)
9. Boney M.: Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord (7" Version)
10. Shakin' Stevens: Merry Christmas Everyone (Single Version)
11. Mariah Carey: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
12. Darlene Love: White Christmas
13. The Crystals: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
14. Kelly Clarkson: Underneath The Tree
15. Leona Lewis: One More Sleep
16. The Waitresses: Christmas Wrapping (Radio Edit)
LP 2
1. John Lennon, The Plastic Ono Band, Yoko Ono & The Harlem Community Choir: Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (2003 Remaster)
2. Bing Crosby, David Bowie: Peace On Earth / The Little Drummer Boy
3. Ed Sheeran & Elton John: Merry Christmas
4. Bruce Springsteen: Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
5. Andy Williams: It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
6. Perry Como And The Fontane Sisters With Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra*: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
7. Elvis Presley: Blue Christmas
8. Mud: Lonely This Christmas
9. Johnny Mathis: When A Child Is Born
10. Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas? (1984 Version)
11. Paul McCartney: Wonderful Christmastime
12. Cliff Richard: Mistletoe & Wine (2002 Remaster)
13. Whitney Houston: Do You Hear What I Hear?
14. Eartha Kitt: Santa Baby
15. The Beach Boys: Little Saint Nick
16. The Wombles: Wobbling Merry Christmas
17. Mike Oldfield: In Dulce Jubilo
18. Jona Lewie: Stop The Cavalry
LP 3
1. The Pogues Feat. Kirsty MacColl: Fairytale Of New York
2. Pretenders: 2000 Miles
3. Chris Rea: Driving Home For Christmas
4. Coldplay: Christmas Lights
5. Pet Shop Boys: It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas
6. Jackson 5: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
7. The Ronettes: Sleigh Ride
8. Darlene Love: Marshmallow World
9. Frankie Goes To Hollywood: The Power Of Love
10. East 17: Stay Another Day
11. Münchener Freiheit: Keeping The Dream Alive
12. Ray Conniff & The Ray Conniff Singers: Ring Christmas Bells
13. Dean Martin: Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Remastered
2002)
14. Frank Sinatra: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (2002 Remaster)
15. Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) (1996 Remaster)
16. Bing Crosby: White Christmas (1942 Holiday Inn Version)