The Fifth CD of Christmas

In "My Easy Listening/New Age/World" post (11/11/08), I wrote how my dad first got into Mannheim Steamroller with A Fresh Aire VI (1986). I know he'd always been a fan of the song "Classical Gas," but I'm not sure if he owned the Mannheim Steamroller version on an album of the same name (1987). Then there was A Fresh Aire Christmas (1988), the sophomore release in a series of Christmas-themed albums which celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a "best of" double-disc set last year. A few years after the release of Yellowstone: The Music of Nature (1989), my family went to Yellowstone and I'm sure the CD would have been featured prominently in all the gift shops. I'm not sure which year I got into Mannheim Steamroller, but based on the way it kept intersecting with my life, it was probably inevitable. I think my dad liked the folk side of it. For me, it was all about the synthesizers. "Carol of the Bells" was like the "Axel F" of Christmas songs. It exposed me for the first time to the concept that Christmas songs could "rock," (not that it was a rock song - maybe derivative of prog rock, but far from a power metal offshoot like Trans-Siberian Orchestra) yet at the same time, it was easy listening. Paradox seems to be the goal of Mannheim Steamroller, as it's always sounded both old and new and acted both silly and serious at the same time, kind of like most people around Christmastime. The traditional (and my favorite) songs on A Fresh Aire Christmas are "Veni Veni (O Come, O Come Emmanuel), "The Holly and the Ivy" and "Still, Still, Still." For a non-traditional song, check out the "Hallelujah (Remix) " on Christmas Song (2007). In case you're wondering about the other Christmas albums, don't bother. Mannheim Steamroller Christmas (1984), is almost as good as the album featured here (not as sentimental for me) but there are only ten songs from later albums that stay true to the sound and spirit of the holiday (and earlier works):

Christmas in the Aire (1995)
2. "Joseph Dear, Oh Joseph Mine"
4. "Herbei, oh ihr Gläubigen (Oh Come All Ye Faithful)"
11. "Kling, Glöckchen"
12. "Jingle Bells"

Christmas Extraordinaire (2001)
3. "Away in a Manger"
4. "Faeries (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy)"
5. "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
6. "The First Noel"

Christmas Celebration (2004)
1. "Christmas Celebration"

Christmas Song (2007)
10. "Traditions of Christmas" (music box)