Search - Ferrante & Teicher :: Snowbound / We Wish You a Merry Xmas

Winter Extravaganza

Linda Smith | Phoenix, AZ USA | 12/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Actually I WANT this album. I have this on an old record and have played it for years, and it is one of my very favorite Christmas/Winter albums. It is well done and the type you want to listen to over and over. I am ordering it NOW!!"

5 big stars for the 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' LP

rodney wiltin | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | 04/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This twofer cd of two albums by FERRANTE & TEICHER is half great, half between good and great.



The first 12 songs are a 1962 album called SNOWBOUND and it is more of a winter styled album than a christmas album. That's fine because in most cases with albums like these, they're pretty much christmas albums too since the themes and melodies have to do with aspects of christmas such as snow (think 'white christmas'). Many of the songs we accept as christmas songs anyway such as 'sleighride' (taking a sleighride with family and friends just before christmas and on christmas day is a tradition with many during the christmas season).



The problem on this album is that some songs just really don't have any feeling for not only christmas but even winter. The first 9 songs are all great, really great with the chorus occasionally popping in a few of the songs. But songs 10-12 aren't really christmasy or even wintry at all. Track 10, MOONLIGHT SERENADE, which is one of my favorite non-christmas songs for example, just doesn't fit here. And the other two don't either.



But some songs such as SLEIGHRIDE, LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!, I'VE GOT MY LOVE TO KEEP ME WARM (with vocals by a chorus), SKATERS WALTZ or even a new song for me, SNOWBOUND (which vocals by a chorus) fit in perfectly with a christmas or winter theme. I also really like another new song, BRAZILLIAN SLEIGH BELLS which is a nice upbeat christmas styled tune. Overall, I would probably give the SNOWBOUND album a 4 out of 5 stars because there's enough in it to make it enjoyable overall for a christmas/winter album, but with three of the songs lacking in that christmas/winter theme, I can't give it a 5 star rating.



Note that with this SNOWBOUND album, there is a chorus in a few of the songs and this really works great with the wonderful orchestra that often has some very beautiful lush strings and the excellent twin piano playing of FERRANTE & TEICHER.



But starting at track 13 (which is now the 1966 WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS lp) through the rest of this cd, the real christmas beauty of this twofer kicks in and does it ever with the first several tracks which are mostly religious medleys. Each song should be familiar and they flow so beautifully from one to the other. And due to the twin piano lead of FERRANTE & TECIHER with a wonderful orchestra with lots of lush string (no chorus in this album, purely instrumental), you're getting something here that's kinda familiar (a beautiful orchestra sound) but also kinda unique (the twin piano's with the orchestra). Every song is great in these medleys and so it's hard to name any individual ones.



The last several songs are solo songs by themselves (not in medleys) and they are of the non-religious, secular kind, but all ones you should know and like such as WHITE CHRISTMAS, THE CHRISTMAS SONG, a real wonderful version of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER which just might be the standout track on this whole cd and one of my favorite versions ever, and SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN. Just as in the religious songs, every secular song is fantastic and just like the religious medleys, you're getting something you're kinda familiar with but also something unique because of the combo of the orchestra and twin pianos.



While the twin pianos of FERRANTE & TECIHER are the obvious lead instruments, the orchestra is not left out and it shines throughout these songs on the WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS ALBUM which I like because as I have mentioned in other reviews, I really like a full orchestra sound the most for my instrumental christmas music and so it's great to have alot of the orchestra throughout this christmas album along with some of the best piano playing you'll ever hear probably.



If you can ever get a copy of this twofer, I would highly recommend it, especially for the WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS album but the SNOWBOUND album is really great too as long as you don't mind three songs (tracks 10-12) that don't seem to fit the christmas/winter mood that the rest of this album has."