Since the buying season is on, we've finally come up with our
Christmas 2000 section! So, check out our picks of Christmas music
and the best gifts for your friends and family. And keep comin'
back, for our lists are small right now, and we're going to update
them. And to celebrate the Christmas section, here's a review of a
great old-skool singer.

THE VERY BEST OF BING CROSBY CHRISTMAS (1999)
by Josh M. Shepherd
To some, he's the symbol of everything wonderful about Christmas--
simple thoughts of home, family, and snow. To others, his songs reek
of outdated styles and sentimental excess. Whether you're Scrooge or
Santa, Bing Crosby is unavoidable in December, the elevator music of
choice for shopping malls big and small. Prepared at the close of
the twentieth century, eighteen tracks of 100% pure, blue-eyed Bing
were collected for The Very Best of Bing Crosby Christmas. Don't be
fooled by the dozen or more labels who release knockoff Cds, the
result of poorly-handled copyrights; The Very Best is not only longer
than others (at 51 minutes), but authorized by Bing's label home,
Decca Records--now owned by MCA. Deep-toned and easygoing, a suite
of peacefully delivered classics opens the record, including "Adeste
Fideles," the Latin refrain that was Crosby's very first Christmas
hit back in 1942. The Andrews Sisters, his longtime studio partners
(from the film White Christmas), and the jazzy Vic Schoen Orchestra
break up the record with "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," a bebopping
cut that illustrates the fluid way Bing deals with melodies ("you'd
better na-ot cry..."). "That Christmas Feeling" and "Christmas is A-
Comin" are lesser-known tunes where the ringing echo and entirely
simple delivery of one of America's greatest personalities
pictures "the holly in the window ~ and the birds begin to sing."
Choirs in four-part harmony, often "la-la-laing" or humming in the
background were certainly a preference of Bing's, heard on "Christmas
Carols (Medley)," "The First Noel," and briefly on any number of the
selections. Blasting horn sections, an acoustic bass, frisky vocal
performances, and even a toy piano intro give "Jingle Bells" an
enjoyable, even timeless appeal; "Silent Night" suffers from a too-
predictable dependence on orchestral strings. After hearing them for
decades, no one's surprised to see included "The Christmas Song" and
a frivolous, rememberable"Sleigh Ride"--yet in the 1950's, it was
considered risky for a big star to record nearly-untested Christmas
songs. Most of the corny, showy bits on The Very Best of Bing Crosby
are forgivable, simply common to the big band era, but "Rudolph" goes
too far in its obnoxious gaudiness. Elegant harp solos and signature
Bing coloring give "Here Comes Santa Claus" that extra oomph, while
Carol Richards does a winning alto harmony on the classy,
introspective "Silver Bells." During a good many of these songs,
listeners could easily flashback to Bing's immortal roles in Going My
Way or White Christmas...and the versatile actor's greatest
performance isn't forgotten. Comforted by his pipe, wooing his blond
love interest, and flanked by a perfectly-trimmed evergreen, the
proprietor of Holiday Inn (aka Crosby) introduced "White Christmas,"
penned by film director Irvin Berlin and included here in a new
digital transfer. If nothing else, The Very Best of Bing Crosby
proves that songs done right--sung with confident vocal caliber, and
dwelling on universal hopes--can outlive the artist by generations.
May your days be merry and bright...

Find more great Christmas releases:
http://cMusicWeb.com/features/christmas


AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER (on cMusicWeb.com)

POP: http://cMusicWeb.com/pop
Transparent - LaRue [01/23]

Click on the album titles on the genre page to order them and recieve
them on the release date.


CHRISTIAN HIT RADIO CHARTS FOR THIS WEEK
> The top 4 are locked, but dc Talk is moving towards #1,
> as are Tree63 and SCC, plus the Poet's rockin' track.
1. Don't Worry - Rebecca St. James
2. God is in this Place - PlusOne
3. Learning to Breathe - Switchfoot
4. Everything - delirious?
5. Say the Words (Now) - dc Talk
6. More Than a Dream - Raze
7. Treasure - Tree63
8. The Change - Steven Curtis Chapman
9. I Wanna Be Moved - Ginny Owens
10. Every Reason - Smalltown Poets

SOURCE: CCM Update (http://www.ccmupdate.com/)


cMUSICWEB UPDATES
• Have we got 'em this week!!!
• Christmas section:
http://cMusicWeb.com/features/christmas
• Minor, minor changes throughout the site,
maybe some new reviews I forgot to show...


I'd love to hear how you like the site's latest developments! We
hope to be adding a lot of artist pages and stuff within the next
couple months, and we really think you're going to like it.
Hopefully, that will make up for the lack of releases within the next
couple months. So stay tuned, for many upcoming things are in store!

Dan Ficker
http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music
ICQ - 43224317 AOL IM - dMusicWeb