csberry

Phil Spector had a sound. With A Christmas Gift For You, he demonstrated how his production skills can be used for other genres...as long as they can fit into his Wall of Sound. While he does have some quiet moments of spoken word with light accompaniment, this is quite the antithesis of Perry Como's or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas albums because of the raucous new arrangements and production. Many of these Christmas classics saw their tempo sped up a bit. While “Silent Night” is basically a string version behind Phil's message, its presence on the album made me wonder if he would have given that song also the Wall of Sound treatment if he did a proper full version or could he have otherwise made the song angelic.

The album uses four of Spector's musical groups/artists to embody his vision for these mostly secular songs. One of my issues when listening to this is how ubiquitous some of these songs are nowadays. It is hard for me to see the impact this album had in the Christmas music landscape. I will say that if I see this album for sale, I will buy it and add it to my box of Christmas CDs I pull out each Black Friday when the Christmas decorations come out each year.

Songs I Knew I Liked: “Sleigh Ride” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by The Ronnettes, “Winter Wonderland” by Darlene Love

Songs I Now Like: “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love (knew the U2 version, but now love this one)

Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: None, although I was usually bored with “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” by The Crystals