Artist: Howard Blake

Timeless, 2010-02-25
My daughter is enthralled by The Snowman, and the CD is the next best thing when we're in the car, etc. I remember listening to this when I was small too, so there's an added element of nostalgia.

Artist: Andre Rieu

Artist: Josh Groban

Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Josh Groban is known as a versatile performer and singer. Here he introduces fans to his festive side with Noel," a collection of cover tunes that run from "the religious to the irreverent". With orchestral backing from the London Symphony Orchestra, Groban croons and soars his way through a varied range of Christmas classics, enlisting the likes of Brian McKnight ("Angels We Have Heard on High"), Faith Hill ("The First Noel"), and a gospel choir directed by Kirk Franklin to help conjure up a warm and soulful vibe. Tracks like "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", (featuring just voice and piano) and "O Come All Ye Faithful" (with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) should provide a soothing sonic accompaniment for all music fans, no matter what the age range or stylistic leaning. --Danny McKenna
enchanting, 2009-03-03

Love it!
Beautiful voice, excellent selection of songs - you cannot help but feel good listening to this album. Buy it, its a must have!

Artist: Various Artists

One of the best......, 2007-12-10
If not the best Christmas album out there ..... and beleive me I should know, I've bought pleanty over the years, I say if your looking for a all round, something for everyone Christmas Album get this one I'll be suprised if your disapointed






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Artist: James Taylor

Way beyond anything I expected, 2009-12-26
I bought this for my partner as we're both JT fans and I wasn't expecting a great deal. I thought that it's just another Christmas record but James's great voice will maybe save it. How wrong can a person be, it's just superb !. The CD was mainly produced and arranged by Dave Grusin and the arrangements are just fantastic. So many top-rank musicians that it's difficult to name them all but the rhythm section of Jimmy Johnson on bass and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, is unbeatable. Great support also from John Pizzarelli and Michael Landau on guitars. Dave Grusin also contributes consistently inventive piano playing. I would say that the arrangements transform each track and even add life to old chestnuts like 'Go Tell it on the Mountain'. James's sense of humour is always there too.

My personal favourites are Santa Claus is coming to Town, Jingle Bells and Some Children See Him. I'm not remotely religious, in fact quite the opposite but this is simply great music. Whoever envisaged doing Jingle Bells as a funky blues complete with slide guitar and a marvellous guitar solo, deserves a medal. It's just brilliant and I just broke down in laughter as it progressed.

James's voice is consistently excellent and is surprisingly adaptable on these mainly jazzy interpretations. We played this CD non-stop for all of Christmas day and I would unreservedly recommend it.

Author: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
By BBC Audiobooks Ltd

Christmas from Comedies Crown Curmudgeon..., 2009-12-12
I love listening to these two CD's and listen to the religiously every Christmas.

Both CD's showcase Mr Hancock, (As well as his supporting cast Sid, Hattie, Bill etc) at his funniest and most put upon.

My personal favourite among the four is the episode, 'The Christmas Club' But all of them deserve to be listened to as many times as you can.

Three Cheers for the cast and Galton and Simpson, for this wonderful Christmas treat.

Rated: Exempt
Artist: David Foster Andrea Bocelli

Bocelli at his best., 2010-03-02
A must have for Christmas! Will be played at that time of year for for the rest of my life. Turn the lights down low, relax and enjoy with your loved ones.

Artist: Various Artists

Nightmare Before Christmas, 2009-12-08
This is exactly as it says: the soundtrack to the film. My children loved it especially This is Halloween'.

Artist: English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner

An excellent recording and superb value for money, 2009-12-05
A superb introduction to Bach Choral music. A delight to listen to and what a bargain price..love it

This slimline British Composers double-pack from EMI offers stunning value for money, cramming the contents of nearly three Vaughan Williams anthologies from the mid-1980s onto two extremely well-filled CDs--and all at mid-price, too. Performances and production values are consistently first-rate, and the pleasures come thick and fast. Under Richard Hickox's sympathetic and invigorating lead, the 1923 ballet score Old King Cole (still a considerable rarity) creates a delightful impression. There's an engaging contribution from the Sinfonia Chorus both here and in the lovely Five Mystical Songs (which finds baritone Stephen Roberts in rapt, if not perhaps always ideally steady voice). Elsewhere, the Northern Sinfonia's then leader, Bradley Creswick, excels in the bracing Concerto accademico (a title the composer later rejected in favour of the plainer Concerto for violin and strings in D minor) and ravishing The Lark Ascending, while the oboe concerto receives eminently stylish advocacy from soloist Roger Winfield. Not the least of this generous sets many attractions can be found in some of the shorter items such as the perky overture to the 1929 opera
A cherishable collection, 2008-05-04
This double CD album, a mixture of Vaughan Williams's most popular and rarely-heard music, is a cherishable collection indeed for the excellent performances contained in it, the constant delight the music affords, and the fact that both discs are full to the brim with an embarrassment of riches.

Richard Hickox is a most gifted interpreter of RVW, and these performances see him - and the Northern Sinfonia - at their peak. The soloists in the concerti are also heard at their best - Bradley Creswick in the Concerto Accademico, and Roger Winfield in the Oboe Concerto.

The first disc has a most attractive mixture, much of it comparative rarities, starting with the orchestral version of the Serenade to Music, and includes the overture to the opera 'The Poisoned Kiss' (which Hickox has made a complete recording of), and the rarely-heard but nevertheless enchanting music to a ballet based on the story of Old King Cole (a highlight of this collection for me). Hickox's versions of 'The Running Set' and the Sea Songs marches go at a fair lick, and are very compulsive.

The second disc is mainly made up of better-known pieces, such as the two concerti mentioned above, the 'Greensleeves' Fantasia, the rapturous 'Lark Ascending', and the sublime 'Five Variants of Dives And Lazarus', which must rival the more famous 'Tallis' Fantasia (which is not included on this collection) for the composer's mastery of string writing. There are, too, smaller gems, such as the Welsh Hymn Tune Preludes, which include the delectable 'Rhosymedre'.

If there is a drawback to the collection, it is only very slight, and it is the choice of soloist for the Five Mystical Songs. I think there are other, better interpretations, such as those by John Shirley-Quirk and Thomas Allen. I find either of the latter-named soloists to be more at one with the mystery of these songs than Stephen Roberts, but that is only personal.

I gave this set to a friend who wanted an introduction to RVW's works, and she fell in love with it, and has been spurred with enthusiasm for his music ever since. I only wish I could give it more than five stars!