Now Xmas 2005 (Massive Christmas Hits) - Various Artists

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Lacking inspiration
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Good Songs, No Fillers
Disadvantages:	Old Songs in a New Package

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This album includes all the usual festive classics that you expect to hear droning from every department store and supermarket as from the middle of October every year. The up side to this album is that they haven't padded out the track list with lesser known songs which is great if you don't like having to keep skipping tracks. The downside is that there aren't many modern songs on here which is a shame given that this is a pretty modern release. The only up-to-date track is "Santa Baby" by Kylie Minogue and even that is simply a re-recording of a classic Christmas hit! The rest of the album consists of the usual festive tracks like "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid and "Mistletoe and Wine" by Cliff Richard.

Track Listing

1: Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - Lennon, John & Plastic Ono Band
2: Wonderful Christmas Time - McCartney, Paul
3: Do They Know It's Christmas - Band Aid 20
4: Santa Baby - Minogue, Kylie
5: White Christmas - Crosby, Bing
6: I Believe In Father Christmas - Lake, Greg
7: Power Of Love - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
8: Step Into Christmas - John, Elton
9: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard
10: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Lee, Brenda
11: Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
12: Little Saint Nick - Beach Boys
13: Christmas Wrapping - Waitresses
14: Stop The Cavalry - Lewie, Jona
15: In Dulci Jubilo - Oldfield, Mike
16: Winter Wonderland - Buanne, Patrizio
17: Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow - Martin, Dean
18: Driving Home For Christmas - Ball, Michael
19: Spaceman Came Travelling - De Burgh, Chris
20: Mistletoe And Wine - Richard, Cliff
21: Christmas Song - Cole, Nat 'King'
22: Walking In The Air - Jones, Aled

Kicking off with "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon gets the album off to a good start with it's smooth rhythm and memorable lyrics. "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney follows nicely with it's upbeat funky rhythm and cheerful sing-along lyrics. Come track three, "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid, all your Christmas party guests will be downing their drinks and heading to the dance floor (ie round your living room sofa). Whereas most albums start to wane after the first track, this is one of those rare gems that keeps it going throughout and it's bound to be a hit at any Christmas bash.

By the time your festive celebrations are coming to a tipsy high, you'll be onto the "hardcore" Christmas sing-alongs including "Spaceman Came Travelling" by Chris De Burgh and "Mistletoe And Wine" by Sir Cliff (who doesn't know the lyrics?). And for your totally trolleyed Uncle John there is of course "Walking In The Air" by Aled Jones to take centre-stage with.

If you already own a Christmas album or two then the chances are you already have most of these songs in your collection so there's really no point buying this album. But if you don't already own one then I'd definetely recommend this one as it includes most of the festive favourites from the last half of the twentieth century.