Ultimate Christmas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ultimate Christmas | ||
 |
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| Studio album (Christmas) by The Beach Boys | ||
| Released | 22 September 1998 | |
| Recorded | October 1963 - November 1977 |
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| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 61:58 | |
| Label | Capitol Records | |
| Producer(s) | Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and Dennis Wilson | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Beach Boys chronology | ||
| Endless Harmony Soundtrack (1998) (2000) |
Ultimate Christmas (1998) |
The Greatest Hits - Volume 1: 20 Good Vibrations (1999) |
Ultimate Christmas is a 1998 seasonal compilation of music by The Beach Boys released on Capitol Records. It rounds up all of the tracks from 1964's The Beach Boys' Christmas Album, including alternate versions of its lead single, "Little Saint Nick", while also including the extremely rare 1974 holiday single, "Child Of Winter (A Christmas Song)". In addition, there are a handful of unreleased tracks from the aborted Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys album in 1977, some of which were revised to be included on M.I.U. Album the following year.
As a collection of The Beach Boys' Christmas tunes, Ultimate Christmas manages to round up virtually every song the band recorded and released on the subject.
[edit] Track listing
- "Little Saint Nick" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 2:01
- Album version is a different mix from the 1963 mono single
- "The Man With All The Toys" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 1:32
- "Santa's Beard" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 2:00
- "Merry Christmas, Baby" (Brian Wilson) – 2:21
- "Christmas Day" (Brian Wilson) – 1:47
- "Frosty The Snowman" (Steve Nelson/Jack Rollins) – 1:54
- "We Three Kings Of Orient Are" (John Henry Hopkins) – 4:03
- "Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes/Jay W. Johnson) – 3:09
- "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (J. Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie) – 2:20
- "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 2:29
- "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (Kim Gannon/Walter Kent/Buck Ram) – 2:44
- "Auld Lang Syne" (Trad. Arr. Brian Wilson) – 1:19
- Above 12 tracks originally released as The Beach Boys' Christmas Album in 1964
- "Little Saint Nick" (Single version) (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 2:08
- "Auld Lang Syne" (Alternate mix) (Trad. Arr. Brian Wilson) – 1:23
- "Little Saint Nick" (Alternate version) (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 2:04
- Same backing track that would be used for All Summer Long's "Drive-In"
- "Child Of Winter (Christmas Song)" (Brian Wilson/Stephen Kalinich) – 2:49
- 1974 single-only release
- "Santa's Got An Airplane" (Alan Jardine/Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 3:09
- Released as "Loop De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin' In An Aeroplane)" on Endless Harmony Soundtrack in 1998, and again in 2000
- "Christmas Time Is Here Again" (Buddy Holly/Norman Petty/Jerry Allison/new lyrics by Al Jardine) – 3:02
- Revised and released as "Peggy Sue" on M.I.U. Album in 1978
- "Winter Symphony" (Brian Wilson) – 3:00
- "(I Saw Santa) Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" (Brian Wilson/Al Jardine) – 2:23
- "Melekalikimaka" (Alan Jardine/Mike Love) – 2:34
- Revised and released as "Kona Coast" on M.I.U. Album in 1978
- "Bells Of Christmas" (Alan Jardine/Ron Altbach/Mike Love) – 2:44
- Revised and released as "Belles Of Paris" on M.I.U. Album in 1978
- "Morning Christmas" (Dennis Wilson) – 3:22
- "Toy Drive Public Service Announcement" – 1:23
- Recorded in 1977
- "Dennis Wilson Christmas Message" – 0:31
- Recorded in 1977
- "Brian Wilson Christmas Interview" – 2:35
- Recorded in 1964
Ultimate Christmas (Capitol 72434 95734 2 0) never charted in the US or the UK.
[edit] Sources
- Ultimate Christmas CD booklet notes, Brad Elliott, c.1998.
- All Music Guide.com
