Like most people, I break out my Christmas albums sometime after Thanksgiving, with the rest of the holiday-related decorations, and then put them back into storage in early January, but not this album.

“A Christmas Gift” sits proudly with the rest of my music collection, and it is the only Christmas album that does. The reasons are simple. This is an album that would sound great on St. Patrick’s Day or the 4th of July. The album deserved to be a million-seller, but Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963 occurred on the exact day of this record’s release, drastically altering the nation’s mood for uplifting, joyful holiday music. Luckily, the album survived its awkward debut and became the most beloved of holiday records.

Say what you will about Phil Spector, but in the early ‘60s he had a penchant for making fabulous recordings, and after the Ronettes album, this is his only other album-length masterpiece. In some ways, it represents the best work of his entire career, because it features so many of the artists that he ‘produced’ (read ‘controlled’), performing instantly recognizable (read ‘ubiquitous’) material with unique versions that almost unanimously upend all previous versions. Is there a better “White Christmas” than Darlene Love’s gorgeous, full-throated interpretation? Bing Crosby’s is classic, and The Drifters’ is cool, but Spector captures the celebratory melancholy of the lyric while simultaneously keeping the mood uplifting. “Sleigh Ride” is such a classic reinvention that I can’t help but insert the “ring-a-ling-a-ling a ding-dong-dong” to any version that lacks it. We all know Bruce Springsteen’s version of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”, but does everyone know that he lifted his arrangement from the Crystals’ version that appears here? The mood of “A Christmas Gift” never slackens for even a second, and it feels so good because it does exactly what every Christmas album should do by making you wish every day was celebrated with such vigor.

Most of “A Christmas Gift to You” consists of songs that celebrate the Winter season, making it something more than simply a ‘holiday’ record. “Frosty the Snowman”, “The Bells of St. Mary’s”, “Sleigh Ride”, “Marshmallow World” and “Winter Wonderland” make no mention of the Christian holiday, and they resonate so strongly that they transcend cold weather. Excepting an instrumental version of “Silent Night” that serves as a musical bed for Spector’s odd sign-out message, the album is entirely secular. So, go ahead and sit by the pool on a hot August night with a gin and tonic and play this album. See if it doesn’t make you smile. I’m willing to bet that you’ll even start to sing along with Darlene, Ronnie, and the rest of the crew. You haven’t really lived until you sing to Spector’s glorious holiday record while wearing a bathing suit.

Featured Tracks:

White Christmas - Darlene Love

Frosty the Snowman - The Ronettes

The Bells of St. Mary's - Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - The Crystals

Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes

Marshmallow World - Darlene Love

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Ronettes

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - The Crystals

Winter Wonderland - Darlene Love

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers - The Crystals

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love

Here Comes Santa Claus - Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans

Silent Night - Phil Spector and Artists

November 1963