Finishing off our series on Top Ten lists, I thought it would be appropriate to look at the Top Ten Christmas albums.
As with the previous lists, these are just my personal favorites and not an official top-ten list compiled from charts or a majority of reviewers. Shall we begin?
Honorable Mentions: This is a bit tricky for this particular list because, I hate to admit it, but I listed practically every single CCM Christmas album I could think of (at least the ones I’ve heard in their entirety). However, I could think of artists I wish had made Christmas albums but never did:
- Petra: How cool this would have been? Perhaps Petra Praise: The Christmas Album?
- Whiteheart: With their searing harmonies and crystal clear production, they could have done such a wonderful job adding to their already amazing “Little Drummer Boy.”
- Stryper: Of course this would have been great back in the day (say 1989?), and an appropriate Christian release for the secular market. After all, Christmas is the only time when secular radio and TV will play religious music. A better-produced redo of “Reason for the Season” and “Winter Wonderland” would have been an appropriate addition.
Okay, here we go!
10. Handel’s New Young Messiah (Various artists,1993): This is sort of a de facto Christmas album, considering it is an oratorio of the whole life of Christ from the Old Testament prophecies to his second coming (hence, the popular “Hallelujah Chorus”). But it has been a Christmas tradition since 1818 though its first performance in 1742 was around Easter, and one could argue is probably more suited as an Easter oratorio than Christmas. Be that as it may, the New Young Messiah released for the 250th-ish anniversary focuses more on the birth while not ignoring the whole of Christ’s life. It balances the contemporary with the traditional pretty well, but in some places is still a bit nauseating for the modern listener, which is why this sinks to #10.
9. Majesty and Wonder (Phil Keaggy, 1999): I hate to put this wonderful Phil Keaggy masterpiece at number nine, but in comparison to others on the list, it must go here. For the average Phil Keaggy fan, we’ll certainly play this every Christmas without hesitation, but it doesn’t quite live up to one’s Phil Keaggy-meets-symphony expectation. I was expecting a little more lush classical than contemporary, and while it seems Phil was trying to walk a delicate line between the two, I would have rather had one or the other. The result is a fairly nice album that really doesn’t feel very Christmassy.
8. Our Christmas (Various artists, 1990): This is another one that I hate to put towards the bottom of the list. Afterall, it has the cream of the crop artists of the late 80s/early 90s–Michael W. Smith, Russ Taff, David Meece, Bryan Duncan, Mylon Lefevre, a wonderful duet with Phil Keaggy and Kim Hill; and an absolutely amazing duet with Amy Grant and Sandi Patty. So why so low? Because with absolutely great songs that (should) live on as CCM Christmas classics, the album as a whole falls short with just enough songs to disappoint the average listener.
7. Blues for the Child (Various artists, 1993): I am a little surprised that this Lanny Cordolla ensemble album beat out the aforementioned big names in the previous reviews. How could a blues-jazz offering with lesser-name (and even no-name) artists do that? Well, because it is something different, and it’s done with authentic artistry. These guys were playing without playing around. When Christian artists gave us jazz or blues tunes, rarely was it taken seriously. Instead, it was often a “hey, let’s have fun with something different.” Don’t get me wrong, artists such as Rez and others on the Grrr label knew how to do real blues. But rarely, if ever, did we find blues-jazz. And here we have an album that feels as if it was recorded live in a crowded coffeehouse filled with Christmas decorations and the smell of hot chocolate permeating the air. This is truly a rare gem.
6. A Christmas to Remember (Amy Grant, 1999): I must admit, Amy Grant is the “queen of Christmas.” Her third release, A Christmas to Remember, is the first of her three Christmas albums on this list. Why are all three of her Christmas albums (from the 20th Century) on this list? Well because even though she made each one different, she still made them completely, perfectly Christmassy. This third one took me a while to grow on me. I’ll admit it’s a little bland in some places and her version of “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Mister Santa” isn’t quite ‘guy material.’ But as time went on, I came to appreciate it as a really great “warm and fuzzy all over” Christmas album.
5. Christmastime (Michael W. Smith, 1998): One of the common elements of a great Christmas album (though not all great Christmas albums have this) is lush orchestral arrangements. And Smitty’s second Christmas album does this very well. It gives us the type of warm living-room Christmas feel we all long for, starting with the Mel Torme-style opening, “Happiest Christmas,” to the beautiful title track with a wonderful boys’ choir. The album also has a few nice instrumentals as well, one of which has Phil Keaggy’s wonderful guitar work performing the melody. Though this is a great album, it’s just shy of perfect. As with the previous Amy Grant album, he has a couple of songs on here that are a bit too happy, and thus, a little cheesy for this reviewer’s personal taste.
4. A Christmas Album (Amy Grant, 1983): This is the second of three Amy Grant Christmas albums to make the list, and probably the first CCM Christmas album many of us purchased (or Memorexed). Having said that, this probably has the most sentimental value for many of us, having played it during youth group functions, going Christmas shopping, or to a Christmas festival or event. This is the Christmas soundtrack of our youth and is a perfect blend of 80s contemporary and traditional Christmas songs.
3. A Christmas Story (Point of Grace, 1999): As previously mentioned, one of the things that can make a truly great Christmas album is the lush orchestration, and Point of Grace’s A Christmas Story is no exception. In fact, it’s the perfect example, in league with Smitty’s Christmastime; but what bumps this up two notches is the absolutely wonderful arrangements coupled with the mesmerizing harmonies from these four ladies. This is an album where–if you were to listen while putting up decorations or baking Christmas cookies–you become so captivated by the sound that you can’t help but stop what you’re doing and give your full attention to this. So why is this not #1? Well, another similarity it has with Smitty’s Christmastime is that it does have a few unfortunate skippable songs.
2. Christmas (Various Artists, 1988): While I said that Amy Grant’s A Christmas Album was the Christmas soundtrack of our youth, I can’t deny that this one was, for some of us, maybe more so. This has what I would consider the most classic CCM Christmas songs gathered together in one place–Whiteheart’s amazing “Little Drummer Boy,” Steve Taylor’s tongue-in-cheek “Winter Wonderland,” Margaret Becker’s dramatic “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” Geoff Moore’s rollicking “Jingle Bell Rock,” Steven Curtis Chapman’s lovely “Away in a Manger” and the everyone-all-together big finish, “Angels We Have Heard on High.” The only thing that brings this down a notch from #1 is that there are just enough songs that many of us still today will fast-forward through.
1. Home For Christmas (Amy Grant, 1992): Amy Grant was soaring high on the charts with her wonderfully produced, warm, and bright pop album, Heart in Motion. It would of course seem fitting for her to express her Christian roots on the secular airwaves (as I wished Stryper would have done in my introduction) with Christmas music. Of course, she would have to make sure the production was up to par with her latest hit songs, and so many of us were expecting, Heart In Motion–Christmas! Instead, what we received was quite a surprise. Here, like Michael W. Smith and Point of Grace, we have lush orchestral arrangements set to traditional and contemporary songs. For some, I’m sure it took some getting used to, and I can’t quite remember whether it did with me or not, but if it did, it didn’t take long.
I can’t say as I remember how it fared on the secular charts, or if it made any impression at all, but for the Christian charts, it rocketed to the top spot pretty quickly, and no wonder why. It is the perfect Christmas album, with wonderful arrangements and performances that make you feel the warmth of Christmas no matter where you are, how old you are, how many times you’ve heard this album, or what season it is. It could be The Fourth of July, and you’d still feel the wonderful sensation of Christmas. And there is not a skippable song on the tracklist.
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