> I'm in the mood to buy Christmas CDs. Has anyone heard the Linda Ronstadt > Christmas album, which includes a cover of "River?" Is the cover good, and > is the album good?
Linda does a very nice version of 'River' that has a pretty arrangement with just a few strings playing a classical sounding accompaniment. Linda also sings 'White Christmas' as a duet with Rosemary Clooney. The first part of the cd is secular. The last half is sacred Christmas music and it is all gorgeous. Linda uses her upper register on a lot of the religious material and her voice is as sweet & clear as a bell. I really like this record a lot. It's rapidly becoming one of my favorite Christmas albums. > > Any other Christmas albums I should buy? I'm a folkie and part-time > Anglophile. One thing I want is a good version of "I Heard the Bells on > Christmas Day." If you can find Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band's 'Carols and Capers' I'm sure you would like that. Some familiar carols and some more obscure songs from the annals of British folk music, all very well done. For an American folk sound you can't beat Emmylou Harris' 'Light of the Stable'. It has a beautiful a capella close harmony version of 'The First Noel' and the final cut features Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton & Neil Young singing harmony on 'Light of the Stable'. It's great! Happy Holidays, everyone! Mark E.
