This limited edition two-track single, containing a pair of Christmas-themed covers, had a slightly curious origin.
The first track, "Frosty the Snowman," was recorded a full year earlier for an issue of a British CD magazine, Volume, as both an acknowledgement that the band was still around and to celebrate the issue's end of year release.
Guthrie didn't want a religiously-themed song to reinterpret, that not being his bag in general, thus the choice of a more secular tune.
When Snow surfaced in its own right, the group added another non-religious themed standard, "Winter Wonderland," to round things out.
Both versions are perfectly enjoyable takes; the Cocteaus lean more towards their sweetly blissful than their powerfully dramatic side for the takes, a choice which suits the bouncy feeling of both songs perfectly.
"Frosty" gets the slightly slower take, Fraser's voice happily playing around with the fun lyrics as Guthrie and Raymonde create a fine overall arrangement Cocteaus style.
"Winter Wonderland" gets a perkier pace but still has a relaxed, contented glow, Fraser using her higher register to flesh things out.
Both tracks have turned up on more widely available Christmas-themed various artist compilations since.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winter WonderlandFelix Bernard, Dick Smith | Cocteau Twins | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Frosty the SnowmanSteve Nelson, Jack Rollins | Cocteau Twins | Play | 02:55 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 mins | 13 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Bernard | Composer |
| 2 | Cocteau Twins | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 3 | Andy Earl | Photography |
| 4 | Steve Nelson | Composer |
| 5 | Jack Rollins | Composer |
| 6 | Dick Smith | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |