Various Artists - Now That's What I Call Christmas!, Vol. 2: The Signature Collection

Review

I really liked this 2 cd collection because it contains one cd with modern contemporary music and one cd with the older classics. So depending on your mood or the people you are with, there is something to please everyone. In my opinion, it was worth the purchase. December 18, 2007

New and old holiday hits

This CD is really nice because it has both the older holiday music and the newer holiday music. That way my daughter and my mother both can listen to the same CD and enjoy it together. December 12, 2007

a good selection of holiday music

I enjoy Méhdi"Christmas Treasures",Charlie Brown Christmas ,Mannheim Steamroller etc.and this a magnificent production that I also enjoy just as much. Now christmas: signature collection is filled with great artists of today and from the past. i think it is a set up from the first now christmas. The Signature Collection devotes one disc to contemporary pop versions of Christmas songs and another disc to vocal pop, jazz, and country versions of holiday favorites. November 19, 2007

fine CD set of Christmas tunes--and no reindeer were harmed during the making of these two CDs, either !!!

Now That's What I Call Christmas! gives us a great, extensive mixture of Christmas time songs both new and traditional on a two CD set. The quality of the sound is excellent and we get five star performances all the way!

CD number 1 is subtitled "Now, And Forever." Destiny's Child does a great job on "Opera Of The Bells." They harmonize to perfection and they never miss a beat! Kylie Minogue gives a smashing rendition of the classic "Santa Baby;" the musical arrangement gets strength from percussion and Kylie sings this like the pro that she is! You're bound to like Kylie singing "Santa Baby;" and the backup male vocalists bolster Kylie's performance. Good brass, too! Listen also for B2K doing their awesome rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." The rap beat works well up against the traditional lyrics and the majority of the arrangement which is rather traditional. Awesome!

Elton John's "Step Into Christmas" is sure to please; and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" features Mariah singing passionately. I predict that you'll like "All I Want For Christmas Is You" very, very much.

We also get Wham! Performing "Last Christmas;" and Norah Jones does a somewhat jazzy number called "Peace" that I really like a lot. "Peace" also has a great piano arrangement, too.

The second CD is subtitled "Then And Always;" this CD features more traditional renditions of classic Christmas tunes sung mostly by artists who were famous or more active in show business in the past. Listen for the immortal Louis Armstrong singing his best on "Winter Wonderland;" and Barbra Streisand's delivery of "I'll be Home For Christmas" lacks nothing--it's THAT good.

Johnny Mathis sings "Silver Bells" to perfection with, of course, bells in the background; and Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" is thrown in for a little bit of early rock and roll shock effect! Cool! SMILE

We also get José Feliciano performing "Feliz Navidad" which was extremely popular when it first came out in the early `80s ( and it still remains well liked today); and Burl Ives sings the classic "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" really, really, well. The backup chorus harmonizes well and the percussion works well for this number, too. In addition, listen for Andy Griffith singing "Go Tell It On The Mountain" with a strong country twist--very creative.

Pavarotti sings "Adeste Fidelis" with The National Philharmonic Orchestra & The London Voices; and Barry Manilow does "(There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays." The second CD ends strong with Guy Lombardo's "Auld Lang Syne."

The liner notes have great artwork and we get the credits for each song on this two CD set.

Overall, this two CD set really gives you quite a lot for your money. I highly recommend this two CD set for people everywhere who enjoy "high quality control" Christmas music. November 10, 2007

Best Christmas Album

This is a great set. The first cd has all of the wonderful traditional songs, and are nice when the fire is on or just the tree lights are on. The second cd is great when you want more upbeat modern music after getting tired of the first! We have lots of Christmas CDs, but this set gets more play because of the great combination. February 15, 2007

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