****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (MSM-30057) was issued on a special red MCA label in 1978. As KAPP had been absorbed by MCA a few years earlier, the collection includes tracks by the defunct label's artists. This is a mono-only LP.RANDOM NOTESLoretta's "...Comin' to Town" combines guitar pickin', tinklin' pianer and plunkin' bass for an upbeat LP hghlight. Liberace and Roger Williams both play solo piano numbers. A young KAPP-era Jack Jones does the album's only medley, while the first Boone family track's sudden fade suggests it was originally part of a multi-song performance. Middle-aged Pat has lost his warm singing quality and wavers on long notes. He marginally better on "Silent Night."The Crosby selection is from his early '50s DECCA era. Sounds like John Scott Trotter's band and singers back him. Larry Welk's "Silver Bells" features muted brass, strings, and his own accordion on a lovely slow waltz. A chorus supports Pete Fountain and his gold-plated key clarinet on a country-flavored "I'll Be Home..." Only the youngest Brady kids are heard on "Jingle Bells." Typical Xmas set-closing "Hallelujah Chorus" is ruined by a too-fast tempo.SIDE ONE[2:09] Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Pat Boone family[5:15] MEDLEY: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear; The First Noël - Jack Jones[2:46] It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby[1:37] Jingle Bells - The Brady Bunch[2:05] I'll Be Home for Christmas - Pete Fountain[3:25] Adeste Fidelis - Atlanta Symphony & Chorus w/Robert Shaw, cond.SIDE TWO[1:59] Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - Loretta Lynn[2:26] Silver Bells - Lawrence Welk & his orch.[2:38] Jesu Bambino - Liberace[2:01] Silent Night - Pat Boone family[2:03] O Little Town of Bethlehem - Burl Ives[1:45] O Holy Night - Roger Williams[3:30] Hallelujah Chorus from "The Messiah" - Atlanta Symphony & Chorus w/Robert Shaw, cond.TOTAL TIME: 33:36
