Various Artists - A Very Special Christmas (1987)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

First, I direct your attention to this 2022 article from the Washington Post: How a 1987 Christmas album changed the way the holiday sounds, which includes this quote:

“A Very Special Christmas” arguably altered the recording industry’s relationship to holiday music, and the way Christmas sounds in the present day.

And I can't speak for everyone, but for your humble blogger, 21 years of age at the time of release, it certainly altered my own relationship to holiday music.

Up until that time, the only Christmas albums I had heard complete were the classic Carpenter releases, tire store sampler albums similar to this one or, starting in 1983, New Age classics like George Winston's December. Sure, pop stars may have put out the occasional holiday single (i.e., Wonderful Christmastime, Last Christmas, Do They Know It's Christmas), but the only artists I remember putting out full Christmas albums in the early '80s were country artists (that can't be the case but that's how I remember it). A look at the top-selling Christmas albums of 1983 shows many albums released in previous decades:

Billboard, December 17, 1983, p. 6

Things were definitely getting stale. So to have a bunch of new releases by popular artists - including women plus a rap act! - all on one album was a gamechanger, for sure. And to benefit Special Olympics to boot! As for longevity, most of these tracks can still be heard on your local radio stations each December. I know I absolutely wore out my cassette tape back in the late '80s. 

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #20
• Billboard CD: #3
• CashBox CD: #7
• Rolling Stone: #4

Tracks:

• Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - The Pointer Sisters
  Backed by members of the E Street Band, The Pointer Sisters offer a take that is very similar to the one recorded by The Crystals, but if you're gonna steal an arrangement, ripping off Phil Spector ain't a bad way to go. And the Clarence Clemons solo is simply perfect.
• Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics
  I've never heard another version like this one and I doubt I ever will. A perfect synthpop treatment with a beautiful voice floating atop. 
• Do You Hear What I Hear - Whitney Houston
  I don't even like this tune, but Whitney's voice brings me to tears every damn time. And she did this in one take?!?
• Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
  I've since heard earlier versions, but this live version was my introduction to the 1947 R&B tune. It's more RnR than R&B, but what else would you expect from The Boss? 
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - The Pretenders
  I've always liked this tune and Chrissie is in fine voice, but it's the ethereal sound of the guitar pad that makes this one for me. 
• I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - John Cougar Mellencamp
  Well, it certainly sounds like a Mellencamp cut, but I'll pass.
• Gabriel's Message - Sting
  Probably my favorite cut on the album. I've never heard this carol in any other version and I'm totally fascinated by it.
• Christmas In Hollis - Run-D.M.C.
  Taking a sample from the Clarence Carter tune Back Door Santa, we're treated to a fantastic groove and great rhymes - my personal favorite line rhymes yule log with eggnog. Classic.
• Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2
  Meh. Give me Darlene's original over any cover.
• Santa Baby - Madonna
  I had never heard the Eartha Kitt version, so if you had told me in 1987 this was a campy new tune written specifically for Madonna, I'd have believed you. It fit right into her Material Girl persona of the time and she hams it up appropriately. 
• The Little Drummer Boy - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Boy
  Another pass.
• Run Rudolph Run - Bryan Adams
  Adams and crew give this Chuck Berry tune a fun, high energy take. I always forget this is one is on the album and then it comes around I start dancing appropriately.
• Back Door Santa - Bon Jovi
  It starts with a cheesy synth lick and goes downhill in a hurry although Richie Sambora tries his best to save it.
• The Coventry Carol - Alison Moyet
  My introduction to this beautiful carol. And what a voice to deliver it to me. But don't be deceived, the lyrics definitely ain't cheerful. Despite the subject matter, this is my second favorite track on the album.
• Silent Night - Stevie Nicks
  I dig the simple arrangement that slowly builds, I just don't think the song is suited to Nicks' distinctive voice.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: During my break from college during the holidays in 1987, I remember spending a few hours at a piano with this tape transcribing Gabriel's Message simply for my own edification.

Previously revisited for the blog:
A Very Special Christmas 3 (1997)
Jazz To The World (1995)
A Very Special Christmas 2 (1992)