Time-Life Music: Treasury of Christmas - Holiday Memories

Various Artists

List Price: $19.98
Price: $15.59

Even though it includes some of the same songs, this isn't the Time-Life Christmas collection advertised annually on TV. It's actually a budget version of that anthology, and not a bad deal at all. Some may argue it's missing the two Elvis Presley tracks found on the three-CD TV version. Others will contend that any self-respecting Christmas music aficionado probably already owns (or should own) Elvis's wonderful '57 Christmas Album. What's attractive about this one is it gathers a lot of classic singular performances in one place--a tad too much Bing Crosby, perhaps, but also the original hit versions of "Jingle Bell Rock," Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby," Burl Ives's "Holly Jolly Christmas," and the Drifters' "White Christmas" (the blueprint for Elvis's version). This is a terrific cross section of seasonal sounds. --Bill Holdship