If it's Christmas season, it's time for me to break out my Mannheim Steamroller CDs. The first one, Christmas, released in 1984, is probably my favorite, although A Fresh Aire Christmas isn't far behind. The latter adds brass to the ensemble, which is nearly always a good thing. I'm not very familiar with much New Age material, but I like this.
Posted by Linkmeister at December 14, 2003 01:21 PMMS aren't bad; the holiday releases grew wearisome to me after a while, though. I have a good recommendation for you: A Winter's Tale, by Loreena McKennitt. It's a five song collection she did several years back that's wonderful. Her voice is like crystalline moonlight.
Posted by: Scott at December 14, 2003 06:23 PMThanks for the tip. I only listen to these about three times each all year, of course, so they haven't yet begun to pall. Now if it were Ray Coniff's Christmas Album or something...
Posted by: Linkmeister at December 14, 2003 09:26 PMYou won't regret it. And then, you'll start buying the rest of her cds. She's the real thing, that's for sure.
Posted by: Scott at December 15, 2003 03:39 AMI like MS Christmas CD!
You've good great taste, Linky!
My favorite Christmas CD these days is "Oy to the World", by the Klezmatics. Nothing says Christmas like "Jingle Bells" in Yiddish.
It was a little disconcerting to see it show up in the ad space on Talking Points Memo, though.
Christina, ain't that the truth? I had a discussion with a friend in chat a while back and I asked her if there were any Klezmer versions of carols; she thought not. Lo and behold, a week later, there was that ad on Josh's site! Serendipity lives.
Posted by: Linkmeister at December 15, 2003 10:21 AMI forgot about Mannheim Steamroller. I LOVE them. Thanks for the reminder. Think I'll go find some of their music.
Cas
Posted by: Cassie-B at December 15, 2003 11:52 AM