Greetings friends, I hope you are doing well!
Also, let me wish you all a "Happy Holidays!" as we rush through the last few weeks of 2025.
While this is a time of good cheer and many fond memories, it is also a SAD Season for many people as well. A sort of yin-yang, sweet & sour, time of year from an emotional standpoint.
To counter those winter blues I like to remind myself of all those things I'm grateful for, like friends and family, you dear readers, this fine audio hobby, music, and the other stuff that makes life so enjoyable.
The Music
Music plays a large role in my life for putting a smile on my face, and of course this time of year out comes the Christmas albums for a little merry-making.
The ones I enjoy the most this time of year are:
Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas (1955).
Bing Crosby's 'Merry Christmas' album is a classic, and Bing Crosby is one of my all-time favorite singers and film stars. Discogs link HERE.
For us audiophiles, Bing Crosby is very important for his role in the development of high-fidelity magnetic tape recording, and introducing it to the USA.
After the end of World War II, Bing recognized the important potential of the German invention of magnetic tape recording for recording music and broadcasting. Bing loaned the Ampex Corporation, owned by Alexander Poniatoff, $50,000 to develop the magnetic tape recording technology further. The result was the Ampex Model 200, released in 1947, which ushered in the high-fidelity recording era.
All those wonderful magnetic era of recording albums we audiophiles treasure were made possible by Bing's foresight. Thank you, Bing!
Frank Sinatra's A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957).
Frank Sinatra's A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra album is a classic album that came out the same year I did, and never fails to put a smile on my face. The Discogs link is HERE.
Vince Guaraldi Trio's A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Every audiophile has a copy of Vince Guaraldi Trio's A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) in their library. A fantastic recording of great music.
Reissued many times by many labels, my favorite version is the 2006 version from Analogue Productions (AJAZ 8431) from Chad's "Fantasy 45 Series."
The Discogs link is HERE.
Amy Grant's A Christmas Album (1983)
Fast forward a few decades, and another favorite is Amy Grant's A Christmas Album (1983).
Way back when, my friend Jonathan, a very talented musician in his own right, was friends with Amy, and they would play music together at the Estes Park music festivals. Lots of good memories there.
The Discogs link is HERE.
She & Him's A Very She & Him Christmas (2011)
Fast forward another few decades, and She & Him's A Very She & Him Christmas from actress and musician Zooey Deschanel and musician M. Ward, was a big hit.
Audiophiles will appreciate the excellent sound quality and superb musicianship of A Very She & Him Christmas. The Discogs link is HERE.
The Wonderful Sounds Of Christmas - Various Artists (2015)
Another album every audiophile should have in their music library is The Wonderful Sounds Of Christmas from Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions record label. It's superb!
The Discogs link is HERE.
The Chess Records Christmas Album (2025)
The Chess Records Christmas Album that was released this year is a new favorite. A particularly fun take on Christmas music, and very nicely done.
I bought mine from Amazon.
Another fun aspect of these albums is that they document the evolution of the magnetic era of the recording arts, and you can listen to how high-fidelity recording evolved over the decades - great fun!
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