Bing Crosby - White Christmas (1949)

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and that means it's time for Christmas music. Over the weeks leading up to Christmas, I'll be doing a series of reviews on as many of the Christmas albums I have as I can. This week, we'll kick things off with an eternal classic: Bing Crosby's White Christmas.


I'll bet that when most of you think of Christmas music, one of the first songs to come to mind after the classic Christ-centered carols is "White Christmas." I'll also bet that the version your mind jumps to is that by Bing Crosby.

What most casual listeners don't realize, however, is that Crosby was much more than a one- or two-trick pony. His rich, soothing voice continues to this day to be a great match for these classic Christmas tracks we see on White Christmas.

Take the opening track of "Silent Night." Nearly every single full-length Christmas album has some sort of rendition of it, and for good reason. However, Crosby's smooth baritone-bass voice brings back some of the song's original character as a lullaby. Now, when the choral arrangements kick in, the song loses a little bit of that soothing character that Crosby brings, but it's still a solid arrangement. "Adeste Fideles" follows this one up nicely, bringing a more regal yet still soothing character.

Next comes the big one: "White Christmas" itself. It's no challenge to see why this particular recording is the best-selling single of all time, as it's charming, soothing, suave, and hopeful all at once. Irving Berlin's lyrics are never presented in a more dream-like state then in Crosby's delivery, which makes this the best rendition of the classic tune. Many have tried to bring something new to this classic by both changing things up and trying to copy Crosby's arrangement, with none coming remotely close for one reason: Crosby's dreamy delivery. There are some other versions that do the song justice, but none like Crosby's. Crosby's versions of "Silver Bells," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" stand out for the same reasons: they have his standard smooth delivery and dreamy qualities.

Crosby follows up "White Christmas" with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," an amazing arrangement of the classic carol that retains both the somber and joyful tones of the original. This is then followed by "Faith of Our Fathers," an unknown but still good carol that is definitely before my time.

Immediately following "I'll Be Home for Christmas," we get Crosby's fun side popping out for a couple tracks. His version of "Jingle Bells" with the Andrews Sisters is instantly ear-grabbing and infectiously cheery. Another collaboration with them on "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" proves smart as well, bringing the same charm and bounciness as the first. This leads to another change of pace, with "Silver Bells" and "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" slowing things down a bit, again showcasing Crosby's smooth, dreamy delivery. We then get two slightly quirky but still fun tracks in "Christmas in Killarney" and "Mele Kalikimaka." The latter is especially fun to listen to and is a nice tune, even if it feels a little gimmicky.

Overall, White Christmas is a phenomenal classic Christmas record from one of the masters of the craft. Bing Crosby's unique charm and delivery make this worth you and your family's time this Christmas season and many more to come. It's timeless, easy on the ears, and even a little quirky at times. There's something for everyone to like on this Christmas classic.

My rating: 4.5/5

 Recommended tracks: "White Christmas," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Jingle Bells," "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Image
What is the Jurassic Park franchise, and what should it be? Those two questions are sitting at the front of my mind the morning after watching the fifth installment in this series, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom . Sleeping on this movie was not a good idea; instead of being ambivalent as I was last night, I am now deeply concerned that this franchise is not going to continue being one of my more anticipated summer movie events as it has been for both this film and Jurassic World . The predominant problem with watching Fallen Kingdom is structure and pacing. It appears like two separate movies were put together end to end and played as the final product. The first half revolves around getting the dinosaurs off the island of Isla Nublar, saving the animals from its active volcano, while the second half turns into a gothic horror-esque monster movie that is tonally inconsistent by itself. These distinct aesthetics and tones make the finished film nothing more than a bridge b...
Read more

The Greatest Showman (2017)

Image
This is a rare occasion for me. I don’t think The Greatest Showman is a good movie, but I did enjoy watching it most of the time. It’s not a guilty pleasure; it’s more like a sugary, rich dessert that doesn’t strike me as inventive or unique but also doesn’t make me sick of its richness. What does this, no doubt, are the musical numbers. They took me out of The Greatest Showman in the best way possible. Let’s be real: this movie doesn’t know what character development is. It doesn’t know how to craft a compelling story. What it does know how to do is tell a story through music, and for that reason it’s actually quite tolerable to a fan of musicals like myself. It’s not just that the music itself is good; the numbers are filmed well in their own right. They are choreographed and shot quite competently, and the vocal performances are excellent as well. My personal favorites were “Rewrite the Stars,” “The Other Side,” and the likely Oscar contender “This Is Me.” There’s o...
Read more

Jurassic World (2015)

Image
Somehow, some way, Jurassic World  is both one of my most anticipated films of the year and one of the most surprising. The anticipation shouldn't be hard to grasp: I remember seeing the original Jurassic Park  on VHS when I was give or take 8 years old. I fell in love with it immediately and even more so when last summer I saw it on the big screen for the first time at my local arthouse. So, where did the skepticism come from? Well, as I saw more and more material come from Jurassic World , I kept thinking (and hearing from others) that it looked more and more like a mindless CG crapfest similar to the Transformers  franchise...or Jurassic Park III . Thankfully, the 14 years we've waited for a fourth Jurassic Park  film were well worth the wait. Not only is Jurassic World  visually entertaining and thrilling, it also captures a lot of the magic of the original film. The majority of this magic comes from the story. The "too long; didn't read" version...
Read more