Love it or hate it, it’s that time of year where it’s basically impossible to escape from all the festive music that gets played, seemingly, from every available speaker. It might make you cover your ears and want to scream manically, or it might have you gladly reciting every line and put an extra spring in your step. One thing is for sure though, not all festive music is created equal. There are some truly terrible offerings out there, as anyone who has been unfortunate enough to hear ‘Mistletoe’ by Justin Bieber knows all too well. However, there have also been some genuinely good festive albums released throughout the years, and here’s our top three picks of good albums to listen.
After all, there are some great health benefits of listening to music, so we wouldn’t want you to miss out on them over Christmas and New Year.
James Brown’s Funky Christmas
Looking to bring a bit of funk and soul to your festive period? Make sure to get James Brown’s Funky Christmas going then. This compilation album was released in 1996, and it is the best tracks combined from Brown’s three previous Christmas-themed albums that came out between 1966 and 1970.
The Godfather mixes things up throughout the tracks and brings all of his tantalising flavors to the album. From soulful ballads, to R&B grooves, to full on funky foot-stompers, Brown delivers all of his magical talents, coated with a festive shine. Highlights include ‘Soulful Christmas’, ‘Let’s Unite the Whole World at Christmas’, and ‘Hey America It’s Christmas’. Sure to get the whole family tapping their feet.
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
If there’s one person who truly knew how to croon out a decent Christmas tune, it was Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. The man’s voice seemed tailor made to be softly singing in the background, floating out from your sound-system, as you go about wrapping presents or baking tasty treats. Sinatra recognized this himself, or at least his record companies did, and so he produced a whole array of Christmas themed albums.
Our pick of the bunch though is A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, which was first released way back in 1957. It includes his rendition of such classics as ‘White Christmas’, ‘Jingle Bells’, and ‘Silent Night’. Each track is delivered in his distinctive style, which conjures up the feeling that you’re being sung to by the great man in a festively decorated Las Vegas casino lounge. Which should be no surprise, as Sinatra was a man who spent a lot of time in casinos as he was incredibly fond of gambling.
There’s little doubt that if he was still around today he’d be into online gambling, just like millions of people all over the world, with websites such as Asiabet becoming more and more popular. They now reign supreme as your most trusted online gambling guide in 2021, with their mission being to bring you top online casino recommendations. With their expert insights and helpful reviews, you can make informed decisions and find an online casino that’s perfect for you.
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
This isn’t just one of the greatest Christmas albums ever, but actually gets brought up as one of the best albums of all time as well. In fact, legendary rock journalists Rolling Stone listed the album at number 142 in their countdown of the top 500 albums of all time. This is due to the amazing tracks that litter the album, paired with Phil Spector’s famed ‘Wall of Sound’ production style, that fired new life into the festivities.
The album was released in 1963, and featured some of the musical artists that Spector was most known for collaborating with. You’ll definitely recognize some of the famous versions, such as ‘Frosty the Snowman’ performed by The Ronettes, with lead singer Ronnie Spector beautifully belting out the lyrics to great effect. Another classic is ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ performed by Darlene Love, which whilst being a sad tale, is still a song that will have you gleefully singing along. It’s a stunningly good albums to listen, and it has you feeling like you’ve been embraced by a great warm hug, as you listen to its timeless tunes.
