Christmas albums are often festive and cheery, but Paul Anka's Songs of December takes a different approach.
It's certainly a warm and inviting listen, but this is the album to play in front of a crackling fire on a winter's night -- Anka favors the meaningful ballad, with every note treasured, rather than the jingling carol with sleigh bells on every track.
Helping him in this endeavor is a series of the best arrangers in the business, including David Foster, Johnny Mandel, and Chris Walden.
Beginning with "Let It Snow," which is often taken at a brisk pace, Anka positively revels in a soft, slow, yet beaming chart.
The strings are top-flight, with flutes and other woodwinds providing their flair.
"The Christmas Song" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" are similarly winsome and textured, and Anka never raises the tempo throughout the entire set, which completely radiates confidence and makes this a statement album (note the title) rather than just another Christmas album because management or label suggested it.
Anka's in superb voice, as strong as singers one-third his age, but with the gravity and power of a man who's been performing as long as there have been Christmas LPs to listen to and treasure.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let It SnowSammy Cahn, Jule Stein | Paul Anka | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Christmas SongMel Tormé, Robert Wells | Paul Anka | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | I'll Be Home for ChristmasKim Gannon, Walter Kent | Paul Anka | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Winter WonderlandFelix Bernard, Dick Smith | Paul Anka | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | It's the Most Wonderful Time of the YearEddie Pola, George Wyle | Paul Anka | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | White ChristmasIrving Berlin | Paul Anka | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | Have Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasRalph Blane, Hugh Martin | Paul Anka | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 8 | Santa Claus Is Coming to TownJ. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie | Paul Anka | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Blue ChristmasBilly Hayes, Jay Johnson | Paul Anka | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Silver BellsRay Evans, Jay Livingston | Paul Anka | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 11 | Silent Night/A Cradle in BethlehemAl Bryan, Lawrence Stock | Paul Anka | Play | 05:40 | 12 MB | 29 MB |
| 49 mins | 112 MB | |||||
| 49 mins | 271 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Anka | Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 2 | Kevin Axt | Bass |
| 3 | Steven Becknell | French Horn |
| 4 | Wayne Bergeron | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 5 | Chuck Berghofer | Bass |
| 6 | Irving Berlin | Composer |
| 7 | Felix Bernard | Composer |
| 8 | Charlie Bisharat | Violin |
| 9 | Ralph Blane | Composer |
| 10 | Tom Boyd | Horn (English), Oboe |
| 11 | Ray Brinker | Drums |
| 12 | Al Bryan | Composer |
| 13 | Becky Bunnell | Violin |
| 14 | Sammy Cahn | Composer, Lyricist |
| 15 | Darius Campo | Violin |
| 16 | Mark Cargill | Violin |
| 17 | Gene Cipriano | Clarinet, Clarinet (Bass), Clarinet (Contrabass) |
| 18 | Heather Clark | Flute, Flute (Alto), Soloist |
| 19 | Ronald Clark | Violin |
| 20 | Pip Clarke | Violin |
| 21 | Giovanna Clayton | Cello |
| 22 | Matt Cooker | Cello |
| 23 | J. Fred Coots | Composer |
| 24 | Jon Crosse | Clarinet, Clarinet (Bass), Sax (Tenor), Soloist |
| 25 | Charlie Davis | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 26 | Graham Dechter | Guitar |
| 27 | Joel Derouin | Violin |
| 28 | Yvette Devereaux | Violin |
| 29 | Assa Drori | Concert Master, Violin |
| 30 | Ernest Ehrhardt | Cello |
| 31 | Joan Elardo | Flute, Flute (Alto), Horn (English), Oboe |
| 32 | Ray Evans | Composer |
| 33 | Charles Everett | Violin |
| 34 | David Foster | Arranger |
| 35 | Vanessa Freebairn-Smith | Cello |
| 36 | Matthew Funes | Viola |
| 37 | Kim Gannon | Composer |
| 38 | Steve Genewick | Engineer |
| 39 | Haven Gillespie | Composer, Lyricist |
| 40 | Pamela Goldsmith | Viola |
| 41 | Gary Grant | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 42 | Neel Hammond | Violin |
| 43 | Chandler Harrod | Mixing Assistant |
| 44 | Billy Hayes | Composer |
| 45 | Gary Herbig | Flute, Flute (Alto) |
| 46 | Tiffany Yi Hu | Violin |
| 47 | Jay Johnson | Composer |
| 48 | Alan Kaplan | Trombone (Bass) |
| 49 | Suzie Katayama | Cello |
| 50 | Roland Kato | Viola |
| 51 | Peter Kent | Violin |
| 52 | Walter Kent | Composer |
| 53 | Randy Kerber | Piano |
| 54 | Valerie King | Flute, Flute (Alto) |
| 55 | Miran Kojian | Violin |
| 56 | Michael Lang | Piano |
| 57 | Randy Lennox | Executive Producer |
| 58 | Mario de León | Violin |
| 59 | Gayle Levant | Harp |
| 60 | Jay Livingston | Composer |
| 61 | Norman Ludwin | String Bass |
| 62 | Johnny Mandel | Arranger |
| 63 | Hugh Martin | Composer |
| 64 | Miguel Martinez | Cello |
| 65 | Bob McChesney | Trombone |
| 66 | Edward Meares | String Bass |
| 67 | Joe Meyer | French Horn |
| 68 | Susan Michalek | Art Direction, Design |
| 69 | Jorge Moraga | Viola |
| 70 | Sangwook "Sunny" Nam | Mastering |
| 71 | Joel Pargman | Violin |
| 72 | Dean Parks | Guitar |
| 73 | Eddie Pola | Composer |
| 74 | Steve Richards | Cello |
| 75 | Jimbo Ross | Viola |
| 76 | Jochem van der Saag | Vocal Engineer |
| 77 | Doug Sax | Mastering |
| 78 | Al Schmitt | Engineer, Mixing |
| 79 | Wesley Seidman | Assistant Engineer |
| 80 | Don Shelton | Flute, Flute (Alto) |
| 81 | Dick Smith | Composer, Lyricist |
| 82 | Jule Stein | Composer |
| 83 | Lawrence Stock | Composer |
| 84 | Marda Todd | Viola |
| 85 | Richard Todd | French Horn |
| 86 | Mel Tormé | Composer |
| 87 | Mari Tsumura | Violin |
| 88 | Chris Walden | Arranger, Flugelhorn, Soloist |
| 89 | Robert Wells | Composer |
| 90 | Ashlea Wessel | Photography |
| 91 | Pat Williams | Arranger |
| 92 | Patrick Williams | Arranger |
| 93 | Craig Woods | Trombone |
| 94 | George Wyle | Composer |
| 95 | Bob Zimitti | Percussion |
| 96 | Shari Zippert | Violin |
| 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. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |