Various Artists - A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector (RS500 - #142)

Many months ago, I posted three discs from the Phil Spector: Back To Mono (1958-1969) box set on this blog (posted here). What I didn't mention was that this compilation was a FOUR-disc set. Here's the fourth disc, A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector, originally released on Philles Records in 1963 (unfortunately, on the same day as the Kennedy assassination) and reissued with the box set in 1991 on ABKCO Records.

This is arguably the greatest Christmas album of all time, and one of the first compilations of classic holiday tunes interpreted by modern artists. Every one of the Christmas albums you can find nowadays, from the likes of The Rat Pack, Herb Alpert, The Stylistics; various soul singers and Motown artists; country Christmases, jazz Christmases, polka Christmases, etc. - all of these albums can trace their origins back to A Christmas Gift . . . This is pretty much what started all of that.

Each and every song version included here is a bonafide, stone-cold CLASSIC holiday song. Frankly, there's really nothing else for me to say about this offering. This is the one by which all other Christmas compilations are measured, and well-deserving of its inclusion on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.

And thus, here you are. Merry Christmas!

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Various Artists - Phil Spector: Back To Mono (1958-1969) (RS500 - #64)

OK . . . so it turned out that Phil Spector was crazier than a barrel of snakes. Fair enough. I heard enough insane stories about him prior to the Lana Clarkson murder (for instance, pulling a gun on the Ramones during the recording of End Of The Century - those guys, who weren't strangers to violence and life on the streets, were legitimately scared of him) to know that the guy had a serious screw loose, and bad stuff would come down on him sooner or later.

But with that said, the guy was, frankly, a musical genius, and the music he produced throughout the 1960s isn't just classic, but part of the overall soundtrack of America during that time. Sadly, until this album set was released in 1991, there was no collection available that grouped together all of the songs and artists he produced, and provided a thorough overview of his career. That's why this set is so important. Through these three discs, you can see the development of Spector's famed Wall Of Sound, and see how it was effectively and devastatingly used in such hits as "Be My Baby" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Practically every song on this collection is a stone-cold classic.

In my opinion, this is one of the best boxed sets EVER released, and a must-have for any music lover. Enjoy:

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