Sunday, 22 December 2024

Top Christmas EPs/Deluxe Edition albums of 2023


3 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Listen to tracks from these EP/albums on my 2024 holiday playlist (Spotify)

It's a double whammy this year as I share with you some of the best of the year's festive EPs as well as those deluxe editions of Christmas albums from days gone by that added enough new songs to warrant an EP release in their own right (for a Christmas album is for life, not just the year it has been released). It is another bumper year for new holiday music - each year I ponder whether there will be enough to keep me going; each year there is at least 60 days worth of new material to wade through. You think I would get tired of all this festive frivolity but quite honestly it brings a little sparkle of magic to my November and December. I can't wait to do it all again next year - in the meantime, consider adding these to your Christmas weekend playlist - or even better, support the artist by buying whatever digital/physical copies they have for sale...

The deluxe editions:
  • Natasha St-Pier ~ Whispers of Christmas Magic: French-Canadian singer Natasha added to her already sparkling bi-lingual 10 track Christmas Album with five magical new songs that were all bought to life by her expressive voice and lavish production values. She even teamed up with splendid vocal-harmony group The Tenors on a tour-de-force of the classic Petit Papa Noel - it was like a soaring Disney anthem. The whispers of Christmas magic will linger long into the new year...
    Best song? Her twinkling remake of It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...
  • Tom Gaebal ~ A Christmas To Remember: another brilliant bilingual album from dapper German singer Tom Gaebal who makes his five extra tracks a convivial party affair by inviting along some legendary performers. It is grandiose yet intimate, opulent yet heartfelt - like the soundtrack to a glorious MGM musical movie from days gone by (tho Tom keeps it contemporary with a remake of Underneath The Tree)!
    Best song? His duet with charming crooner Matt Dusk on My Favourite Things...
  • George Perris ~ The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year: Like Tom and Natasha, George enhanced his deluxe edition album with a Christmas tour (and, judging from the clips online, it seemed like the most wonderful place to be). There is a timeless elegance about the album that transcends trends, meaning that it would have been just as magical 50 years ago as it will be in 50 years time. A real gent of a performer...
    Best song? His lovely retelling of the evergreen White Christmas...
  • Dennis van Aarssen ~ Christmas When You're Here: keeping the spirit of rat pack and big band alive through effusive contemporary interpretations is dapper Dutch singer Dennis van Aarssen who adds to his gorgeous 2022 album with a wonderful five new songs. He excels at crafting Christmas originals but also isn't shy about transforming the classics into something exhilarating and new. 
    Best song? The deluxe album's new finale, Until Next Christmas...
The EPs:
  • Mason Ramsey ~ Merry Christmas Baby: Mason Ramsey is far more than an enviable head of hair and the ability to rock powder blue like no-one I've seen since the 80s (both huge compliments). He is a gifted country singer-songwriter whose knack for a resonant vocal performance with personality has endeared him to millions of fans. Merry Christmas Baby features five songs, done the Mason Ramsey way - including a blend of new takes on old classics and new songs destined to become old classics in years to come...
    Best song? The beautifully constructed original Waiting On You (For Christmas)...
  • Jordin Sparks ~ Joy: The season always gets a little brighter when Jordin Sparks unwraps The Gift Of Christmas - for the second year in a row Ms Sparks has got her Roller Jam on to skate down Candy Coated Lane and bring us some Joy via a brand new holiday EP of the very same name. It is beautifully done - and don't think I don't notice that these back to back EPs are the gift that keep on giving. Put together with last year's movie song contribution to Candy Cane Lane and you've got a mighty fine album that would look ever so pretty on vinyl next Christmas!
    Best song? Her reverent remake of What Child Is This...
  • Laufey ~ A Very Laufey Holiday: I discovered Laufey's music via her collaboration with Norah Jones last year on two Christmas songs. This year, revisiting those gems has led me to find her own A Very Laufey Holiday EP which is actually two years old but been given a new lease of life thanks to some physical releases & streaming extras. Her warm, expressive tones work well on familiar songs as well as those you may know less well - making them all future favourites to bring out year after year while decorating the tree, quaffing the eggnog and spending time with your chosen family...
    Best song? The UK top twenty Christmas smash from Red One, Christmas Magic...
  • Marc Martell ~ A Marshmallow World: Just a few years after his Thank God It's Christmas EP, Marc Martel has returned to the festive season with a new EP that brings us a trio of new songs from Mr Christmas himself. A Marshmallow World may be a whirlwind spin through the emotions of the most wonderful time of the year but it is no less impactful in its brevity. The songs are drenched in opulent arrangements that work wonderfully with his expressive voice - ensuring the instrumentals as much a part of the lyrical narrative as the actual words Mr Martel sings.
    Best song? What better way to be than All Christmas All The Time (Mr Christmas)!
  • Deborah Silver ~ Swinging Through The Holidays: How amazing to get Christmas music from genre-bending vocalist Deborah Silver. And not only new Christmas music but she's teamed up with the Count Basie Orchestera to take us all Swingin' Through The Holidays. Across three songs with lush, big band production, enchanting vocals and enough festive merriment to power Santa's sleigh until new year, you'll soon be feeling joyful and triumphant at this selection box of songs. Even the usually morose Blue Christmas has enough flair to it to make it feel like its a cathartic release of emotion to get the holiday party started in style!
    Best song? Nothing better for the holidays that Hanukkah in Santa Monica!
  • T.3 ~ FaLaLa Lonely: There's nothing quite like Broadway (or, if you're British like me, the West End) at Christmas time. Holiday tunes have found their way into musicals that aren't Christmas shows for years (think A New Deal for Christmas from Annie; Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher from Billy Elliot, etc) but there's always something special about the voices of Broadway coming together to sing their favourite wintry Yuletide classics. T3 is made up of stars of stage Liam Fennecken, Brendan Jacob Smith and Jim Hogan. Together, they have come together to feel less FaLaLa Lonely at the most wonderful time of the year by collating a harmonious mix of seasonal songs.
    Best song? Their own original number & title track, FaLaLa Lonely...
  • Cody Belew ~ The Joy of Christmastime: For the past few years country-pop music star, fashion guru and all around jolly good fella (definitely on the Nice List) Cody Belew has been delivering some exquisite musical festive fare. Indeed, his single last year, The Joy Of Christmastime, was one of my favourite new songs of the season and one that I have already returned to amidst the troubles of the world this Yuletide period. He's collated those songs and added a new cover version for his four-track-plus-a-remix EP that is yours to unwrap, savour, repeat listen and tell everyone you've ever met about.
    Best song? The title track is one of the finest Christmas songs of this new decade...
  • Walker Hayes ~ Christmas Vacation: Ah, the joy of having country singer, family man and all round good egg Walker Hayes delivering a whole festive EP. Yup, Walker is auditioning to be the new Southern States Santa via a brand new concoction (sweeter than egg nog creme) called Christmas Vacation. Four songs add a little sparkle to your tree (with the title track being a brand new composition rather than the well-known movie song). It is the musical equivalent of chilling on the deck by the lake, cooler out (full of peppermint frappucinos) and Yuletide riffs that will keep you finger clickin' and singin' along until well past New Year's Day...
    Best song? The title track, Christmas Vacation, isn't the cover you think it is!
**Ghosts of Christmas past**
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