Favourite Christmas Songs

[Jake T]

Carol Of The Bells - Celtic Woman

 

[Sunny]

2,000 Miles - K T Tunstall

 

[Jet]

Sleigh Ride~Boston Pops




Hark The Herald~Charlie Brown Christmas

 

[Black Dahlia]

"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" The Crystals (1963)

 

[Jet]

O Come All Ye Faithful~Casting Crowns

 

[Jonny Come Lately]

I like Christmas music myself although I can't listen to it endlessly. I like most of the standards although I tend to have one preferred version (I don't think you can beat Bing Crosby's version of White Christmas).

For the more rock/pop songs I really like:
Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry (Fun rock 'n' roll but still festive)
I Believe In Father Christmas - Greg Lake (Great lyrics)
In Dulci Jubilo - Mike Oldfield (Awesome guitar provides an interesting twist on this carol)
Ring Out Solstice Bells - Jethro Tull (All round great song)
Please Come Home For Christmas - Eagles (One thing I really like about this is that it's a good straightforward bluesy rock song without any gimmicks, it's quite refreshing compared to a lot of other Christmas songs)
Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea (Great driving Christmas song)
Christmas Lights - Coldplay (Very popular in my family, I think this is a really nice festive tune).

My family also own a copy of Bob Dylan's Christmas In The Heart. I actually rather like most of it, save for his murdering of O Little Town Of Bethlehem (Hark The Herald Angels is marginally better - close to murder but the backing singers just about save it). I really like his cover of Here Comes Santa Claus but my favourite has to be this one:
Must Be Santa - Bob Dylan


I'm also very fond of Steeleye Span's version of Gaudete, and Bert Jansch's In The Bleak Midwinter.

Having said that, there's also a fair few which I don't like. My 'guilty pleasure' would probably be Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys, which in truth is a rather clumsy rewrite of Little Deuce Coupe which can't quite decide whether it's about Santa himself or about his sleigh, but it has a certain charm about it and I do enjoy listening to it.

 

[Migmagnific]

 

[That 70s Guy]

 

[Sharp Dressed Man]

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My family also own a copy of Bob Dylan's Christmas In The Heart. I actually rather like most of it.

It's a good record, but I know quite a few people who hate it with a passion!

 

[Jonny Come Lately]

As much as I like it, I can totally see why others might loathe it - his vocals on the album are something of an acquired taste, particularly on the most famous songs like Winter Wonderland where you would normally expect a 'nice' singing voice.

Oddly enough I heard Bob's version of Must Be Santa in a restaurant today, I think he pretty much owns that song now. I think it's great fun!