EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN (Part 2)

I promised, earlier, that we'd give you all the deets on the Real Gone releases when we got all the cover art and track lists.  So here they are.  Yet another nice thing about Real Gone is that their "product info" is so thorough, there really isn't anything for me to add.  So I get an easy night and can get to bed early for once.  Release date for all of these is in November (either the 2nd or 9th) and clicking on the cover art will take you to the Amazon listing.  And, btw, I know I overdo it and it annoys some people, but I love color.  The world is not black and white.  Music is not black and white.  If you've got a box of virtual crayons, why wouldn't you use them?

1. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
2. Give Me Your Heart For Christmas
3. He
4. Christmas Alphabet
5. Honorable Congratulations
6. Without Him
7. The Littlest Angel
8. The Cactus Christmas Tree
9. If You Believe
10. I'd Like To Trim A Tree With You
11. He's Got Time
12. Happy New Year
13. Be A Santa
14. Peace
15. Ave Maria

One of the most popular vocal groups of the ‘50s releases a Christmas album at the peak of their popularity…and it never comes out on CD? Well, that’s a headscratcher…one that calls for our resident Real Gone Christmas elves to “comb” through the vaults and set straight! Inspired by The Andrews Sisters and The Dinning Sisters, The McGuire Sisters were the most popular female vocal group of their era, having risen rapidly through the ranks thanks in part to a big break given them by Arthur Godfrey on his Talent Scouts show. Christine, Dottie, and Phyllis McGuire signed with Coral Records in 1952, and it was at Coral that they scored all their big hits, including “Sincerely” and Sugartime.” The hits continued on Greetings from the McGuire Sisters, their 1958 Christmas record for Coral, which featured the two-sided smash “He” b/w “If You Believe” along with such charming fare as the children’s song “Cactus Christmas Tree.” But we didn’t stop there on this reissue! We found three bonus tracks from long out-of-print albums to append to the original album to make this The Complete Coral Christmas Recordings: “Be a Santa” comes from the album The McGuire Sisters Sing “Subways Are for Sleeping,” “Peace” is from May You Always, and “Ave Maria” comes from In Harmony with Him. Tom Pickles produces and annotates our release. The term “long overdue” doesn’t quite capture just how long and how ardently folks have been waiting for this one…it’s a Christmas classic!

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1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2. Deck The Halls
3. The New Born King
4. The First Christmas Trees
5. Oh Fir Tree Dear
6. Christmas Is A-Comin' (May God Bless You) [1963 Version]
7. O Come, All Ye Faithful
8. Jingle Bells
9. Santa Got Lost In Texas
10. Stuck In The Chimney
11. Why We Light Candles On The Christmas Tree
12. Merry Christmas Neighbor
13. Merry Christmas And Goodnight (Silent Night)
14. Twas The Night Before Christmas (A Visit From St. Nicholas)
15. The Gift Of The Magi
16. (There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays
17. Jingle Bells
18. Christmas Is A-Comin' (May God Bless You) [1965 Version]
19. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
20. The Holy Night (A Christmas Cantata)
21. It Must Be Santa
22. One Solitary Life

Between 1959 and 1973, viewers tuned in weekly to NBC for the latest episode of Bonanza. The beloved western, following the exploits of the Cartwright family on their Ponderosa ranch, aired for a remarkable 431 episodes and reached an estimated 400 million watchers in 87 countries. Bonanza inspired, well, a merchandising bonanza, with action figures, comic books, lunchboxes, model sets, dinnerware, and even a chain of steakhouses and a Lake Tahoe theme park. The program was so popular that RCA Victor jumped at the chance to bring its cast into the recording studio. Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records are proud to ring in the holiday season with a true yuletide Bonanza. The Complete Christmas on The Ponderosa brings together the newly-remastered 1963 album Christmas on The Ponderosa—featuring Lorne Greene (Ben Cartwright), Pernell Roberts (Adam Cartwright), Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright), and Michael Landon (Little Joe Cartwright) reprising their television roles for a merry family sing-along—plus the worldwide CD premiere of Lorne Greene’s 1965 seasonal album Have a Happy Holiday, along with both sides of Greene’s rare 1966 single “Must Be Santa” b/w “One Solitary Life.” The Complete Christmas on The Ponderosa has been remastered by Mike Piacentini at Sony’s Battery Studios and features new liner notes by The Second Disc’s Joe Marchese along with album art and photos. This first-of-its-kind release celebrates the festive musical legacy of this true TV classic and its memorable stars. Saddle up this season with the Cartwright family!

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1. White Christmas
2. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
3. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day / Carol of the Bells
4. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!!
5. Jingle Bells
6. Ave Maria
7. Silver Bells
8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
9. Christ was Born on Christmas Day / Angels We Have Heard on High
10. Frosty the Snowman
11. Winter Wonderland
12. Gesu Bambino
13. Silent Night / O' Little Town of Bethlehem / We Wish You a Merry Christmas
14. All Around the Christmas Tree
15. Sleigh Ride
16. Joy to the World / Adeste Fideles / Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
17. The Little Drummer Boy
18. O Holy Night
19. God Rest You Merry, Gentleman / O Christmas Tree / Deck the Halls
20. I'll Be Home for Christmas
21. Greensleeves
22. Away in a Manger / The First Noel / It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
23. The Christmas Song
24. Ave Maria

RCA’s Living Stereo imprint made quite the cottage industry out of releasing Christmas albums in the late ‘50s/early ‘60s, and indeed we at Real Gone Music have taken great pleasure and pride in releasing a lot of them on CD. But of all the Living Stereo Christmas records, the one that is perhaps the most distinctive—and one that remains close to many people’s hearts—is the 1959 album by musical Renaissance man John Klein, A Christmas Sound Spectacular. Trained by Igor Stravinsky and Nadia Boulanger (teacher to both Aaron Copland and Quincy Jones!), Klein brought his formidable talent and skill on this album to the most imposing instrument in the world: the Carillon Americana, the largest of its kind, consisting of 1500 bronze caste bells ringing in perfect tonal quality. In fact, the Carillon Americana was so large that RCA Victor brought all of their recording equipment to the instrument’s home at the Schulmerich Bells’ offices in Sellersville, PA. instead of trying to move it to New York! The sound of the bells, beautifully meshed with Klein’s Billy May-inspired arrangements for accompanying orchestra, resulted in a record so unique that RCA offered a money-back guarantee to any customer who didn’t agree that it was “the most spectacular sound on records.” One suspects they got very few takers; however, this one-of-a-kind holiday classic has never been out on CD except for a small private pressing of the mono version; this marks the stereo CD debut of A Christmas Sound Spectacular, and, trust us, you’re gonna want to hear this in stereo! We’ve paired it with Klein’s other “bells” record, Let’s Ring the Bells All Around the Christmas Tree, which was recorded at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York with a Carillon specially built for the occasion, with arrangements by Henri Renè, who had already won his Christmas bona-fides by scoring Eartha Kitt’s unforgettable “Santa Baby”…another CD debut, also in stereo! Liner notes are by R. Steve Harmon, whose father James Harmon, President and Program Director at the mighty 690 in San Diego, chose to bring A Christmas Sound Spectacular home to play for the family out of all the thousands of Christmas records the radio station received. Remastered by Mike Piacentini at Battery Studios in New York...Christmas bells will be ringing once again this holiday season with this Real Gone release!

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[CD1]
1. White Christmas
2. The First Noel / It Came Upon A Midnight Clear / Silent Night, Holy Night / Oh Little Town Of Bethle
3. What Child Is This?/Joy To The World (Medley)
4. White Christmas
5. Sleigh Ride
6. Away In The Manger / We Three Kings Of Orient Are (Medley)
7. March Of The Toys / Toyland (Medley)
8. O Holy Night
9. The Skaters' Waltz
10. Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71A (Miniature Overture/Marchdance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy/Russian Dance/Arabi
11. My Favorite Things
12. Greensleeves

[CD2]
1. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer / Jingle Bells (Medley)
2. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town / Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
3. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
4. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
5. It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas
6. The First Noel / It Came Upon The Midnight Clear / Oh Come, All Ye Faithful (Medley)
7. Winter Wonderland / I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Medley)
8. White Christmas
9. Silver Bells / Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry) [Medley]
10. Christmas Chopsticks
11. Sleigh Ride
12. Joy To The World / Silent Night, Holy Night / Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly (Medley)
13. Greensleeves
14. Ave Maria
15. Ave Maria
16. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
17. O Come All Ye Faithful
18. What Child Is This?
19. The First Noell / Joy To The World (Medley)
20. Silent Night, Holy Night
21. Christmas Chimes
22. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Angels We Have Heard On High (Medley)
23. Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly / Jingle Bells (Medley)
24. Away In A Manger
25. Three Kings Of Orient
26. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
27. O Holy Night
28. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear / Away In A Manger (Medley)
29. O Tannenbaum
30. We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Reprise)

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Almost forty years after his passing, the name of Andre Kostelanetz is still synonymous with the sound of beautiful music. The Russian-born American conductor gained national attention bringing classical music to the masses first on CBS Radio in the 1930s and then via a series of albums on Columbia Records. A guest conductor of The New York Philharmonic and Washington, DC’s National Symphony, he reportedly sold over 52 million records and set the world record for attendance at a classical concert when 250,000 people showed up to a 1979 performance in Central Park. In his discography of over 100 albums conducting everything from Swan Lake to the hits of Chicago, Kostelanetz’s Christmas albums are among the most treasured. Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records invite you to a true wonderland of Christmas with the release of Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra’s The Complete Christmas Albums. This comprehensive 2-CD, 42-track set features all three of the legendary conductor’s classic Columbia Christmas LPs – Joy to the World: The Music of Christmas (1959), Wonderland of Christmas (1963), and Wishing You a Merry Christmas (1965), on which he was joined by vocalist Phyllis Curtin and The St. Killian Boychoir – plus a host of holiday bonuses. These include Kostelanetz’s rare 1950 single of “White Christmas,” a complete recording of “The Nutcracker Suite” featuring Peter Ustinov, and additional seasonal favorites from the Kostelanetz catalog. Wishing You a Merry Christmas makes its CD debut here. Along with his fellow “easy listening” kings Percy Faith and Ray Conniff, Kostelanetz defined the sound of the holiday with his Columbia Christmas recordings, and you’ll find them all here (this is really his complete Christmas recordings, except he made several recordings of The Nutcracker, sparklingly remastered in crisp original mono and splendid “360 Sound” stereo by Maria Triana at Sony’s Battery Studios. The Second Disc’s resident Christmas elf Joe Marchese has penned the new liner notes. There’s no doubt the maestro’s yuletide recordings will become a few of your favorite things!

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1. The Carols Of Christmas
2. So My Sheep May Safely Graze
3. Thank You For Christmas
4. And To Each Season
5. Here He Comes Again
6. The Snows Of Amsterdam
7. Spend This Holiday With Me
8. The Day After Christmas
9. When Winter Comes
10. So Long, Stay Well
11. Simple Gifts
12. As We Traveled Through Vermont
13. Bethlehem, B.C.
14. A Hand To Hold At Christmas
15. Who Knows Where We're Going

Originally released in 1971 on Rod McKuen’s own Stanyan label, and available on CD for only a brief time in the mid-‘90s, New Carols of Christmas—The Rod McKuen Christmas Album offers the poet/singer/songwriter’s trademark blend of spoken word and song, with songwriting assistance from Rod’s long-time artistic partner Anita Kerr on three of the tracks (The New Christy Minstrels’ Art Podell and electronic music pioneer Mort Garson are his other collaborators). Recorded save for one track on December 6, 1970 at Chappel Studios in London, and featuring members of The Westminster Symphony Orchestra, New Carols offers such highlights as “Bethlehem B.C.,” which begins with a spoken word interlude followed by a really beautiful instrumental passage; “So My Sheep May Safely Graze,” which tells the story of the birth of the Good Shepherd; and the upbeat, uplifting “Here He Comes Again.” We’ve enlisted Rod’s biographer Barry Alfonso to write the liner notes, and added some photos to the original gatefold album art. Celebrate the season this year with the late, great Rod McKuen!