This is the definative Elvis Christmas Album and one of the best Elvis compilations ever released! All the songs included on other Elvis Christmas CD's are included here, plus several alternate takes/versions and a christmas message from Elvis himself! The songs are as excellent as the lay-out of this deluxe package. Included are (of course) the CD, a well documented booklet and a beautiful pop-up of Graceland on a snowy winter night! Except for the pop-up this release is similar to the regular CD of "If Every Day Was Like Christmas". The CD starts with a powerful version of "If Every Day was Like Christmas", goes through all-time-classics like "White Christmas" and "Silver Bells" and ends with "Silent Night". Also included is an unreleased alternate take of "It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You)" and "Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees". If you want to buy a christmas album from Elvis, the regular version of this CD is the one, if you are an Elvisfan, this collector's edition is absolutely essential!

Christmas music is a genre that Elvis Presley sings with the same passion he brings to his gospel music and the Southern hymns that reflect his roots. During his career he recorded two complete albums of Christmas music. Many of these songs and others are brought together in this wonderfully cheery and inspirational CD.

Along with the title song, the heart-rending renditions of "If I Get Home on Christmas Day" as well as "It Won't Seem Like Christmas Without You" are personal favorites of mine. But this album contains more than just the secular, jingle-bell tunes like "Here Comes Santa Claus" (sung as only Elvis can) and "White Christmas' (more over, Bing!) but Elvis' voice soars on the religious cuts like "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "The First Noel," and more.

If you need just one more Christmas CD to lift your spirits during the Holiday season, I highly recommend this one.

Elvis captures all the moods of Christmas here: the happy, excited, loving, festive, worshipful, reverent, the sad and the lonely. This CD reflects the mixture of feelings that many of us have about Christmas. Combine that with Elvis's magnificent voice and ability to express those emotions in song, and you get a powerfully emotional Christmas music CD. "Merry Christmas, Baby" is one of our favorites. I love to hear Elvis sing religious Christmas carols such as "The First Noel". This is our favorite Elvis Christmas CD and I highly recommend it.

Details: The CD is 1 hour and 3 minutes long. All tracks are in stereo except tracks 2-8 and 24. I find the audio quality to be acceptable with good stereo separation on the stereo songs. A 16 page booklet with liner notes is complete with credits, 2 photos of Elvis (besides the one on the cover), and text about the individual songs.

Elvis Presley hit it big during an era when recording an album of Christmas songs was expected of all the biggest pop stars. And they didn't come any bigger than Elvis, but it was considered almost a mortal sin for "Elvis the Pelvis" to be recording Christmas carols as well as the standards firmly belonging to Bing Crosby. Elvis's first Christmas recordings were a first for mainstream rock & roll and they set such a high standard that few acts to follow dared even to attempt to record their own (the Beatles certainly never did).

The only person capable of matching Elvis was Elvis himself, and when his record company told him they were tired of re-issuing his same collection of songs from 1957 year after year, he recorded a new batch of instant holiday classics for release in 1971 that were almost as good. The main difference was that things were changing in Elvis's life; more mature in his 30's with a child of his own and a marriage that was more closely reaching its end every day, the later Christmas recordings have a far more serious and gloomy edge than the first set recorded during the early days of rock & roll when Elvis represented all that parents across the country feared most for their kids. The contrast is staggering.

Each Christmas album when released initially had additional tracks included as well, traditional hymns and gospel tunes not necessarily specific to the Christmas season. However, none of those tracks made their way onto this compilation CD of ALL (including alternate takes) the Christmas music the King recorded in his lifetime. Every song on this CD is pure Christmas and pure Elvis, which is to say absolutely fantastic.

It is 25 tracks, ranging from traditional Christmas carols to pop holiday standards to raunchy rhythym & blues. In some cases you have alternate recordings exceeding the initially released track (this is particularly the case with "I'll Be Home Christmas Day"), and in some cases you wonder if there's indeed any difference at all ("Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees"), but there is no more definitive collection of Christmas songs on one disc (and not likely more than one, either) that exceeds either the artist nor the range of material covered. If you're an Elvis fan that presently lacks any of the King's Christmas recordings, this is the one CD which will give you ALL of them. If you're a fan of rock & roll who needs something other than choir music to put you into the spirit of the season, who could possibly be better than Elvis to turn the trick? Merry Christmas, and enjoy this CD!

Elvis recorded 20 Christmas songs during his career. All 20 songs are on this CD in addition to 4 alternate takes, making this the most comprehensive Elvis Christmas collection available!

The highlights of this collection are the first 8 songs along with the alternate version of "I'll Be Home On Christmas Day", (which I like better than the original release - it has a more of an R&B feel to it) and the final selection, "Silent Night." Most of these songs were recorded for the original Elvis Christmas album released in 1957, with the title track being recorded and released as a single in 1966. Elvis is in top form on these songs and several of them have become Christmas classics still receiving radio play 50 years after they were recorded!

The rest of the songs were recorded for his 1971 "The Wonderful World of Christmas" album. While they are good, they are not in the same class as the earlier recordings. Elvis' voice seems strained on a few songs and in general the material is not as strong as his earlier recordings. But still this collection is a must for Elvis and Christmas music fans! Highly recommended!