The Best Ever Christmas Songs Only Thread.

I think most of my favourites have been captured above, but no one has yet mentioned John & Yoko's 'Happy Christmas War is Over' (although it never is).

Then the Slade Xmas song is great for its energy, if a little over played. 

Overall I find it hard to choose between Kirsty MacColl & the Pogues, Greg Lake, John & Yoko, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Presley (Blue Christmas)...

and then there are other gems from yesteryear including Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald etc.

Nice to see most people got it by not posting the normal fare that bombards us on the airways at this time of year.

Some good selections above keep em coming.

It's all a matter of personal taste.

Well that's another 4 minutes of my life that I wasted!

+1 River is just magical thanks for the reminder.

Wat,

I havent got a tv guide yet so don't know.

Do you know if all the folkies are going to do there normal festive live show this year?

Surely in need of re-release. It says Yes but it's really Chris Squire and Alan White with some session musicians I think.

On the back of this I discovered Chris Squire's Swiss Choir which is choral music with a contemporary injection of Chris's bass and Steve Hackett's guitar. 

Two wonderful (in very different ways) albums which are a marvellous antidote to the appalling tripe that oozes out of too many shops at this time of year:

I bought both as a result of recommends from this very forum and they've both become part of my Christmas playlists.

If you want something more traditional, this 1998 recording is my favourite:

Mark

Two of our favourites...

John Fahey had some very good guitar instrumentals of familiar Christmas carols. They are on an album entitled The New Possibility. Particularly noteworthy are Medley: Hark The Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful and, not unreasonably, Silent Night Holy Night. A mention must also be made for God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

Also Just Like Christmas by Low is very pleasant as is Belle & Sebastian's reading of O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

All these songs will bring you joy.

Pips,

Ghetto Yout'.

Will add this one because he passed away in October this year and he was marred to Skippy the bush Kangaroos best mate.

Here you go Count,

Some real shite just for you.

Enjoy man.

pretty good compilation record. used to play this a lot at christmas shows.

this is Cassandra Wilson's Little Drummer Boy.

av in bc.

Nice but nothing new man.

I can hear better being played on any street in Uganda from dawn to dusk every day of the week.

You might as well play this shite.

I was just going to.

+++1

M

I have it. I love it. It's my favorite when things get too sugary these days, yet it retains the proper spirit.

If I have to quote one single song, a proper Christmas song, here's mine:

As today is the Winter Solstice..... 

Having had so much enjoyment out of the first (see above), I was delighted to find there were further Ultra Lounge Christmas Cocktail releases. This arrived with perfect timing this morning and is great fun, just like volume 1:

The best christmas song ever ist "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht"

If we take that approach this is a good candidate also:

The poem written in swedish, Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt (i signad juletid) by Zacharias Topelius, set to music by Jean Sibelius, loved and respected in Sweden and Finland as well as in the rest of the world, is definitely a christmas song. But technically first the poem and then the music was both produced by Swedish-speaking russian citizens, in the Grand Duchy of Finland. The translation into Finnish was published in 1909.

Fay Lovsky  Christmas was a friend of mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xTiXSj1xm4

... and also a more modern classic from Finland

Juice Leskinen - Sika (1980)