Various Artists - Ultra Lounge Christmas Cocktails 3 (15 tracks) +Album Reviews

Lesser of the 3, But Still

Rob Christopher | Chicago, IL | 11/14/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Volumes 1 and 2 of the Ultra-Lounge Christmas series are classics, hands down. So stick with them if you don't have any of these already. But, for completists, this CD is well worth having. (And the 3-CD boxed set is a great buy).

This CD does have one OUTSTANDING track that's a must-have: Julie London's recording of "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" is probably the sultriest, sexiest wintertime song ever. No wonder it sat unreleased in the vaults of Capitol for more than 45 years. Her voice just drips with insination; it's like she's singing it in a whisper right into your ear. Plus she changes the lyrics slightly at one point:

Off with YOUR overcoat

Off with YOUR gloves

YOU need no overcoat

I'm burning with love

Ho ho hoochie mama."

A Big Disappointment

R. Cryan | Virginia | 12/19/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Christmas Cocktails, Vol. 3, was a big disappointment, and a closer look at the liner notes reveals why: the compilation producer of the first two (and the original Ultra-Lounge Series) was Brad Benedict, whose selections for Volumes 1 & 2 were truly inspired.

The compilation producer for Volume 3 is a Frank Collura, who apparently doesn't get the concept. The result is a very pedestrian Christmas album with none of the flair of the Ultra-Lounge series.

It also has no bonus tracks and is missing the extensive liner notes of the original series.

Too bad."

Going downhill...

G. Kaiser | Texas | 12/24/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The Ultralounge series was always very cool, and as pointed out in another review, was compiled by an ealier regime, but these days it seems that the glory days are over. New team. Capitol seems to be reverting back to their 1970s ways of reissuing music with minimal liner notes, no information and a total lack of follow-through. The Ultralounge 1 & 2 have an actual booklet, listing when the songs were recorded, and also giving extra info, drink tips, etc. Volume Three does not have a booklet, doesn't list recording dates and doesn't even list who the singer is when the track features a bandleader like Ray Anthony (who's the female singer?). Very disappointing.

A quick trip to www.ultralounge.com will glean the original tracklist for the CD, which is NOT the tracklist Vol. 3 ended up with. (The tracks from Keely Smith, Bobby Darin and Steve & Eydie are missing, and the June Christy track is replaced with another one) Shame on Capitol for giving fewer songs than the others in the series and for holding back these gems! I will say that the June Christy track included (Sorry To See You Go) is very good. The Julie London track is extremely slow; it almost loses me half way through. The track with Johnny Mercer & the Pied Pipers sounds great (at least I'm pretty sure it's the Pied Pipers - the CD doesn't say!).

I hate to think the wonderful era of Capitol reissues that started circa 1990 is over. It seems that there's a new sherrif in town... :-("

You put on a first class show and I'm sorry to see you go.

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 12/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD originally came out only as part of a set with Christmas Cocktails Parts 1 and 2. Some people must have complained that they didn't want to have to buy Parts 1 and 2 all over again just to get Part 3, because a year later Part 3 was released on it's own. It is somewhat disappointing, for a few reasons. While the first two CDs were both over an hour long, this one is under 40 minutes. And this CD has no liner notes to speak of, not even listing when the songs were recorded and other important information. Like, who is the girl singing "A Marshmallow World" by bandleader Ray Anthony? I personally recognized Thurl Ravenscroft as the singer of Billy May's "Do You Believe in Santa Claus?", but most people wouldn't. But forgetting all of that, most of the music on this CD is quite enjoyable. If you enjoy traditional pop music, you'll probably like this CD."

An example of why the music industry is in trouble today...

Dave from Central CT | USA | 12/28/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The first two "Christmas Cocktails" CDs were absolute classics--a wide variety of music--some familiar, some esoteric--and a great value. Volume 3? Well, it's got some wonderful tracks on it, but for the most part, it's a very ordinary song selection.

Perhaps most troubling--and why the music industry is in such dire straits today--it the fact that they give you less and less for your dollar. The first two volumes in this series were 72 and 64 minutes, with 21 and 20 tracks, respectively. Volume 3 is under 40 minutes with just 15 tracks. Plus they eliminated the liner notes booklet, and now only have a one sheet insert. And all for the same price as volumes 1 & 2.

If Capitol wants consumers to buy their "physical" product, give them some reason to do so--provide something they don't get via a download (legal or not). And don't cut back so much on the content itself--value "added" gets more buyers, not value "subtracted"."

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