It's almost like Christmas was invented for Karen Carpenter to sing about; her milk-bath vocals fit "Sleigh Ride" and "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" like a reindeer sweater. This volume features repeats of songs featured in previous volumes from the series; The Stone Roses' "What The World Is Waiting For" featured on Volume 3, and Mansun's "Wide Open Space" featured on Volume 5, although the version of "Wide Open Space" here is a remix by Paul Oakenfold.

However, neither achieved the seismic success we all associate with Carey and Christmas until 25 years later. Irving Berlin, the author of "White Christmas," was so scandalized by Elvis's 1957 version of the song that he tried to get it banned from radio. It's a balancing act we didn't know we needed, and it may just be the most unique entry on this list. The Jackson 5’s Santa Claus Is Coming to Town is exuberance bottled; Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen intriguingly jazzy.

Of course, this song is loved, too, for its association with possibly the best Christmas film in the world, The Snowman (another Christmas staple), but it’s also a stand-alone winner. This compilation earned its place in history by featuring the first track ever released by OutKast, Player’s Ball. Bublé also tries his hand at Mariah Carey's Christmas behemoth "All I Want for Christmas Is You," a bold attempt at taking an uplifting power ballad and turning it into something a little more broody, and we won't hold against him. In fact, his grizzled baritone is exactly what gives his 34th record a subversive charm: No music worships good singing like Christmas music, and by doing a carol like "The First Noel" or a post-War pop tune like "Christmas Island" straight and earnest, he makes you hear them with new ears. Guests include Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, and Dinah Washington, all singing alongside Armstrong while he jovially bellows out hit after hit.

He sings carols with conviction, but it’s the tunes he wrote himself that really hit home – not least the cheeringly realistic Get Behind Me, Santa! While both works are certainly about Christmas, the songs' lighthearted jazz has permeated pop culture to a point that nearly all of us can enjoy them, regardless of faith or creed.The track, an ultra-funky saga of a harassed drug dealer’s Christmas Day, is undoubtedly the highlight, but TLC’s All I Want for Christmas and Toni Braxton’s classy take on The Christmas Song run it surprisingly close. These 50 beautifully and traditionally recorded carols include everything from “O Come All Ye Faithful” to “Ding Dong! There’s also gospel on offer and masterful ballads: the version of I’ll Be Home for Christmas is genuinely heartbreaking.

Having given Oasis two songs on every album in the series, this is the first volume not to feature any of the bands' music; it does however feature The Chemical Brothers' "Setting Sun" which is co-written by Noel Gallagher and features him on lead vocals. J'ai beaucoup apprécié le fait que dans le même coffret on puisse avoir un cd de chansons traditionnelles de Noël et dans l'autre cd radicalement plus moderne des chansons de Noël qui ne font pas fuir les jeunes de la table du réveillon. The release of their first Christmas album was met with a similar degree of excitement, as the pair's smokey lounge vocal stylings are well-suited both for one another and for holiday classics. Several editions have been released since the first album, Power Ballads – The Greatest Driving Anthems in the World.

Many 7" Vinyl Singles are sold in generic card or paper sleeves and not in the picture sleeves which are shown - these will be described as 'Generic' or 'Not Graded' in the condition descriptions above. Christmastime brings people together almost as well as music, which means holiday tunes are essentially at the crux of spreading cheer for all to hear. While there's plenty of raucous music out there for rocking around the Christmas tree, sometimes it feels nice to curl up in a chair with a cozy blanket and a warm drink to listen to something a little more sensual. People’s preferences in Christmas music tend to be even more deeply personal than usual, bound up with memories and family traditions, but the music on A Charlie Brown Christmas sweeps everyone under its tree skirt: it is alternately sophisticated and as rough-hewn as a school nativity play, but always spellbinding. Bought this about 20 years ago and listened to it every Christmas until I lost it in a move last year.